Rio Celeste is undoubtedly one of the most incredible places in Costa Rica. This sky blue river in the Tenorio Volcano National Park enchants visitors with its stunning color and beautiful waterfall.
The Tenorio Volcano National Park is now one of the top five most popular national parks in Costa Rica.
For those renting a car and driving to the Tenorio Volcano National Park, find how to get to Rio Celeste from Bijagua, how to get to Rio Celeste from Liberia and how to get to Rio Celeste from La Fortuna.
What Car to Rent and Tips for Driving to Rio Celeste
The road from Bijagua to the park entrance is fully paved.
However, even though the road is concreted over the whole way, in rainy season we highly recommend a 4wd. This is because when it rains, the road gets slippery and there are some narrow curves and steep hills.
This area tends to rain a bit more, even during the dry season (December through April). It can still be raining a lot in January and February. Honestly, it can rain any time of the year up in the national park.
Make sure to drive extremely carefully on this road no matter what time of year you visit. Locals drive fast and will tailgate so don’t feel pressured or stress out if that happens to you. Just go slow and they’ll pass you on their own accord.
Note that this road does not have painted lanes, stop signs, traffic lights, or raised pavement markers so go slow!
Rio Celeste Parking Lot (Tenorio Volcano National Park Parking)
There are several parking lots at the entrance of Tenorio Volcano National Park. The one closest to the office and the other across the street are paid parking lots. They charge 3000 CRC per car. They’ll give you a parking slip to put on the dashboard of your car.
Although this is a paid parking lot, don’t leave any valuables visible in your car. Make sure to lock your doors and roll up windows.
The national park/local community won’t take responsibility for any damage to cars or theft. These parking lots are not part of the national park. They are simply created by locals who charge for parking but do not have any security cameras, insurances or real guards.
If you have luggage in the car, I recommend to get there earlier and park as close as you can to the entrance where there are more people.
Keep your luggage in the trunk (or covered under a luggage cover if you have a SUV) and take all your valuables like ipads, wallets, phones, credit cards, cameras, etc. with you into the park.
There is another parking lot near the mini market that says “Free parking” but I’m not sure if it is truly free (like they make you purchase something at the market) or if they have anyone watching it.
What to Put in Your GPS
On Google Maps and Waze, enter Parque Nacional Volcan Tenorio as your destination. Don’t put in Rio Celeste as it’ll say “route not found” or take you to the wrong place.
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How to get to Rio Celeste from Bijagua
Bijagua is the main town near Tenorio Volcano National Park and it’s about a 25-30 minute drive from the town center to the park entrance.
There is no public bus or shuttle from Bijagua directly to the national park entrance. The best option is to drive.
How to get to Rio Celeste from Liberia
You can use your GPS to get you to Bijagua or the national park from the Guanacaste Airport. This drive takes about 1.5 hours.
This route is on all well paved roads and is a very easy drive.
There is a public bus with the bus company Grupo Caribeños from Liberia that stops in Bijagua de Upala, 3 times a day. The bus stops right in town.
How to get to Rio Celeste from La Fortuna
The route from La Fortuna to Tenorio Volcano National Park takes about 1.5 hours. This road is fully paved but there are some sections with big pot holes when you get out of BIjagua before turning onto Route 4.
You can follow Waze or Google Maps for this drive.
Here are some photos of this route.
How to get to Rio Celeste from Playas del Coco
This route is very easy. All you have to do is drive from Playas del Coco to Liberia and then follow the same directions from Liberia. Playas del Coco to Liberia is about a 40 minute drive on an easy route.
Playas del Coco to Rio Celeste is about 2 hours.
How to get to Rio Celeste from Tamarindo
From Tamarindo, the drive to Tenorio Volcano National Park is around 2.5 hours. However, due to a lot of traffic near Liberia and Tamarindo lately, it’ll probably be closer to 3.
How to Get to the Free Rio Celeste Swimming Pool
Click here to go to our guide to the Rio Celeste Free Pool so you can swim in the sky blue river!
Robin says
My husband gets car sick. What is the best route to Rio Celeste from airport?
Sammi says
Which airport?