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.
Renting a car? Get our Costa Rica car rental discount and extra freebies!
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!
Jennifer says
Hi. We were thinking of taking route 4 and route 6 (through rio Celeste but not stopping) to route 1 from La Fortuna to Liberia airport to avoid the windy road on our travel day. Our flight doesn’t leave until 5 pm so even though this route would take longer it may be easier?
Sammi says
Yes that is definitely possible. It is less curvy, there is a section around the national park to Bijagua that is a bit curvy, steep and hilly but it’s not as bad as going around Lake Arenal. If you’re going to drive the day of your flight, I’d leave very early to account for any delays.
SD says
We are thinking of taking the time to drive along Lake Arenal from La Fortuna to Bijagua, hoping it is the more scenic route than taking route 4. Would you recommend it ? We are staying overnight and hiking Rio Celeste next morning so won’t be in a hurry. One question is whether to take route 927 or go south to Canas and then north to Bijagua ?
Sammi says
Hello, we sent you an email with more information but you can go either direction if you don’t have any rush on the travel day. The Lake is very picturesque and more than the other route.
katrien says
Hi, we are planning our trip in March and i was wondering if you can get from Fortuna to Rio Celeste by scooter or motorbike?
Sammi says
Motorcycle yes, lots of locals use that road. I would just probably add some more time to your estimated driving time
Sherry Schwartze says
We will be heading to Monteverde from La Fortuna on January 3rd and thought about adding a stop — Rio Celeste — on the way. Is this doable or too much to do in one day to make it enjoyable? We want to see everything but also want to slow down and actually enjoy our vacation (not just check the boxes). Do you recommend the stop?
Sammi says
Yes it is doable but make sure you leave early, Jan 3 is still busy and the national park stops letting people in at 2 PM or whenever they’ve reached their max limit.
Julie M. says
Hello. What would your best route suggestion be for driving from Rio Celeste to Monteverde? We’re a little worried about road conditions. Thank you.
Sammi says
Go to the Interamericana highway 1 and then Route 145
Carlos Sanchez says
Hi. We are planning on flying into San Jose and then spending a few days in Monteverde and a few days in Bijagua to visit Rio Celeste. Is it necessary to rent a car or can we just take other forms of transportation? Thank you very much!
Sammi says
I would definitely rent a car
Margarita says
This site is great! We are staying in Nuevo Arenal this week and driving up to Tenorio. Is 143 advisable? That’s the route Google Maps shows to take, but a local we met said to go down to Canas and then head up.
Sammi says
Its better to go to Canas and then head up like the person you talked to said
Lisa Weldy says
Hi,
We will be landing in Liberia around 2:30 pm and renting a car. We’re headed to La Fortuna but need a stopping point that night before we get there (lodge doesn’t have availability til next day). We’re trying to decide between Rio Celeste or Lake Arenal. If Rio Celeste would do the short hike next morning before heading out (not full hike). Otherwise we’d enjoy the scenery at Lake Arenal if option B. Which do you suggest? We’ll have 4 nights in La Fortuna, 2 in Monteverde.
Are either of these choices safe to drive in the dark? Not sure when we’ll get car/clear customs in order to arrive before sunset.
Thanks,
Lisa
Sammi says
Hi Lisa, either place is fine, it really depends on what you’d like to do. Road from Liberia to Nuevo arenal and Bijagua are paved and go through a major highway for most of it so you can drive in the dark but make sure to use a GPS as signage is not good in those areas.
Erin Holland says
Hi there!
I’m flying into Liberia with my 10-year old daughter and will be heading to Rio Celeste, staying at Finca Amistad Cacao Lodge, for a few days and then ending our trip in Tamarindo for a few days. It’s her birthday/mother-daughter trip and her requests are ziplining, hiking in the rainforest, horse back riding and some solid beach time. My main questions are: 1) is it best to rent a car when I’ll have to be navigating by myself (I also haven’t found clear directions anywhere online) or to hire airport transport to/from hotels, and 2) would you recommend one area over the others for those activities (specifically ziplining and horseback riding). Many, many thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Erin, I would definitely rent a car, especially if you’re going to the Bijagua area. It will be more comfortable especially being with your daughter. You can use Google Maps or Waze on your phone as GPS and the roads between Bijagua and Tamarindo are on a main highway so it’s paved, the only thing is I would check about the road condition to your hotels but in between the two, they’re good roads that a lot of tourists drive.
You can check our Things to do in Guanacaste for ideas 🙂
erin says
Thank you!!
Okiki says
Hi! I am planning a trip in August, and was wondering what the best way to visit rio celeste from rio pacuare/pacuare river lodge
Sammi says
Hello Okiki, that is very far, there is no way to do it in one day. You will need to go back to San Jose after your time at the lodge, and then you can bus or make your way over to Bijagua. If you go to La Fortuna, you can also do 1 day trips to Rio Celeste from there.