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!
Diana says
Thanks so much for all the info! We are staying a couple nights in La Fortuna and then driving to Andaz Papagayo for 5 nights and I was thinking of checking out Rio Celeste on our way to Andaz from La Fortuna. Do you think that is possible, and if so which route would be best?
Sammi says
Hi Diana, yes it’s possible, we wrote more details about it in this post: Driving Guanacaste to Arenal (click on alternative routes).
Alexandria P says
Hello,
My husband and I will be traveling to Costa Rica May 18-June2. We are flying into Liberia and want to go to La Fortuna, Rio Celeste, Monteverde cloud forest, Tamarindo, Playa Conchel, and Santa Teresa. Is there enough time for all of this? Thank you in advance. I LOVE your blog. So helpful
Sammi says
Yes definitely! You have plenty of time for both since you can do Rio Celeste in one day and then Conchal as a day trip from Tamarindo.
Amrutha says
Hi! Thank you so much for this info! I was wondering – once we get there, will we be able to see/hike/hike nearby the volcano?
Thank you!
Sammi says
You can hike in the Tenorio Volcano National Park.
Celeste says
Thank you so much for all of this information! I am so glad I read the comments where you referenced the Facebook page for the river conditions. So helpful! One question, we are driving from San Jose to Rio Celeste and Google Maps says that take 27 to 1 going east and then north takes a little longer than if we went west on 32 and jumped on 4. Any suggestions on which route is best? Also, we will be taking 4 back down when we head to Puerto Viejo so I kind of wanted to take the route to the east heading there so we could see more of Costa Rica. Thanks again for your help!
Sammi says
I would recommend to take the 27 and then the 1, the Interamericana highway 1 is really nice so you can drive a lot faster and not deal with as much traffic because it’s a huge highway, I would say it’s actually faster than going all the way through the 4 and Sarapiqui because the 1 is such a nice highway. There is sometimes traffic on the 27 though. Since you’re taking the 4 back, you can take the 27 and then 1 to Bijagua.
Sammi says
You can do either way, it’s up to you depending on scheduling if you want to fit it in during the day of your drive, which will save you a day in Guanacaste/Arenal or use it as one of your days in La Fortuna.
Leona says
Hi,
I’m finding your information to be extremely helpful in planning our first trip to Costa Rica in Feb. Thank you!
We are renting a car and we will be staying for 2 weeks.
Starting in La Fortuna, we are staying there 4 nights then driving to Playa Flamingo area.
We really want to check out Rio Celeste and wonder if we should make it a day trip while staying in La Fortuna then when we head to Playa Flamingo area, we would take the 142. OR, should we leave for Playa Flamingo after stopping at Rio Celeste.
I appreciate your advice
Lexi says
Hi! We are going to be in Costa Rica in a week! And we really want to go to Rio Celeste. We know its rainy season and that the water could be brown. I also heard they could close it. Is there a way to check the day of and see if it will be open? Thank you!
Sammi says
Hello Lexi, I would check this FB page, it is the official national park and they post updates and they have a phone number: https://www.facebook.com/PNVolcanTenorioACAT/
Maxime says
Hi,
Having the driving direction would be very useful.
Also, is there more than one entrance?
Thanks,
Maxime
Sammi says
There’s only one entrance and driving directions from Liberia are in there now 🙂
Shelby says
Just wondering if it is possible/ enough time to travel from Monteverde to Rio Celeste to Arenal/La Fortuna in one day? Trying to make the most of our days! Thank you for all your help in planning our trip!
Sammi says
You could! Just make sure to leave early ad get a good night sleep because you’ll have to drive a bit. Around 3 hours for Monteverde to Rio Celeste and 2 to La Fortuna. Then the hike could take around 4 hours depending on how long it takes you and the weather so it’ll be a long day. The park also closes at 4 and you need to be in the park by 2 PM.
Journey Filkosky says
Hi I just returned from Costa Rica and Rio Celeste and they recently replaced the entire road all the way up. It is 100% paved until you get to the parking lot.
Sammi says
Hi Journey! Thank you for the update, great to hear!