Driving to Arenal from Guanacaste: Road Conditions, Route and Stops In Between

If you’re planning on driving to Arenal from Guanacaste, we’ll show you what it’s like in this post.

Watch our video below or read on to find out if what kind of car you need, see what the road is like and what to know for this drive.

PS. Don’t forget we also have a Costa Rica car rental discount which you can get in the link if you plan to rent a car.

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Driving to Arenal (La Fortuna) from Guanacaste

Whether you are staying in Gulf of Papagayo (Playas del Coco, Hermosa, Ocotal, etc.), Papagayo Peninsula resorts or coming from Tamarindo/Flamingo/Westin Conchal, the driving route to La Fortuna is about the same.

You need to go to Liberia, get on the Interamericana highway 1, exit at Cañas, start driving around Lake Arenal, pass Nuevo Arenal and some small towns and then finally reach La Fortuna. The distance is about 130 kilometers or 80 miles.

Arenal to Guanacaste Driving Time

From Guanacaste Airport to Arenal/La Fortuna, the drive time takes around 2 hours and 45 minutes.

If you’re coming from Playas del Coco or the Gulf of Papagayo, the drive time is around 3-3.5 hours.

From Conchal or Tamarindo, it is around 4 hours.

Please remember that these are estimated driving times without any traffic or stops.

Furthermore, you will probably be driving much slower than you expect as this route is not on a highway the entire time. The only section on the highway is on the Interamericana Highway 1 from Liberia to Cañas.

After that it’s small roads that are curvy and windy so you will not be going 60mph / 100 kmph the whole time.

Because of these factors, we recommend to anticipate your drive to take a minimum of at least 1 hour longer than what your GPS tells you.

Even plan up to 2 if you plan to stop to get food, stop for views, leg stretch break, bathroom, etc.

If you are visiting during high tourism season December through April, there is a lot of traffic around Guanacaste Airport and Liberia downtown.

Also, if there are any car accidents along this route, it can greatly increase your driving time due to the infrastructure (one lane per direction).

Get more of our driving in Costa Rica tips here.

Route and 4×4

Do you need a 4×4 for La Fortuna from Guanacaste? No. The route from Liberia to La Fortuna does not require a 4×4 using Route 1 and Route 142. These are all main paved roads. In fact, most of it goes on a highway.

The fastest route Waze and Google Maps will normally show you is after Cañas, leaving Route 142 up to Ranchitos and going back to Route 142 by Lake Arenal Condos. This is a paved, albeit quite hilly/steep road going through the mountainous windmill farms.

Something else important to know: Once you start going around Lake Arenal, the road gets very curvy so you have to go slow.

If you get carsick or have kids, I highly recommend taking anti-nausea medicine before the drive.

Please bring Dramamine or your preferred non-drowsy medicine from home with you, as non drowsy anti-nausea medicine is not sold at every supermarket.

If you didn’t bring any, your best option is to go to a pharmacy and get either Gravol or Famodil.

When you set your GPS for La Fortuna, enter your hotel as your final destination.

Map of the Route and Points of Interest

Once you get around the lake, you can stop by the dam for a nice view of the volcano and lake. 

If you want to follow our exact route, including the stops, please check the map here!

Don’t forget our Costa Rica car rental discount!

Video

We made a video of this exact drive, so you can see what the roads are like and the stops.

Driving to Arenal from Liberia

This is a beautiful drive as you go through the rainforests and around the Lake Arenal.

This route has a lot of signage but we still recommend to use a GPS.

Eventually after all the curves and turns, the volcano finally appears and you’ll start noticing signs for resorts and hotels.

You will know when you are close to La Fortuna when you drive across a short bridge on the lake.

There is a view of Arenal Volcano right in front of you on the bridge to the left. From there, you are only about 20 minutes from La Fortuna downtown.

Keep going on this road, driving past the many luxury hotels and resorts in the area, passing the Arenal Volcano National Park entrance on your right and eventually ending up in La Fortuna, the main town and tourism hub.

Guanacaste to Arenal Driving Stops: Restaurants, Bathroom, Places to See, Etc.

Make sure to get our Costa Rica car rental discount for our car rental discount and freebies.

Liberia

If you are coming from Guanacaste Airport and are hungry right away, a popular stop is La Choza de Laurel. It’s a typical Costa Rican restaurant. Good food, they are kinda slow though.

If you are coming from Tamarindo/Coco, there is a coffee shop called Sun Burst at the Do-It Center about 50 minutes into the drive.

There are bathrooms and a small cafeteria. There is also a gas station in the same plaza.

Then, if you need to use the bathroom in Liberia, Plaza Santa Rosa has public bathrooms. This plaza also has a large supermarket, bank, restaurants and an ATM.

As Liberia is the capital city of Guanacaste, there are a lot of food options, including fast food.

Then on the drive from Liberia to Cañas, you can stop by Catarata Llanos de Cortes for a quick photo off of Interamericana highway 1.

It’s technically in Bagaces, about a 15-20 minute drive from Liberia and right off the highway before Cañas. It a 5 minute walk down to the beautiful waterfall.

Cañas

In Cañas, we like to get breakfast/lunch at Restaurante Mimi. This is where all the local farmers and workers eat in town. Great cheap local spot with their own parking lot.

There is also a convenience store right next door. Right on the route so no detour required.

There is also a large supermarket a few minutes from Mimi’s, on the route. It’s called Supermercado Compre Bien Cañas.

Ranchitos

Waze takes you through Ranchitos after Cañas. This part of the route goes through the windmills up in Tejona.

Most people drive straight through but we recommend to stop to stretch your legs and look around, as you get a beautiful view of Tilaran and the Guanacaste province below.

You can also see the windmills up close.

Go slow and enjoy the views. As you head down the mountain back onto Route 142, the section is paved but very steep. Drive carefully.

Lake Arenal

There are several places around Lake Arenal to stop. You will see a ton of signs that say something like “tourist stop” “tourist coffee” “Great views and coffee” and things like that.

For us, we usually like to stop at Cafe y Macademia because it’s very convenient being right off the road.

They have a bakery, restaurant, clean bathrooms, souvenir store and a nice view of Lake Arenal. Food, pastries, coffee and smoothies are great.

However, Cafe y Macademia is where all the tour buses stop so there are always a lot of people there.

We avoid stopping here in the high tourism season as it gets too crowded (December through April).

Other nice places to stop are Lake Arenal Pizza and Seafood, La Rana, Gingerbread Hotel & Restaurant or Los Heroes. Tourism buses do not stop at those places.

Lake Arenal Viewpoint

One of our favorite viewpoints along the lake is a point called “zona de descanso y mirador Lago Arenal.”

You can pull over and there are some picnic benches and plenty of room to park. Enjoy the views of the lake and Arenal Volcano from there.

Once when we drove to La Fortuna super early, we saw the sunrise from that spot and it was amazing!

You can’t miss this spot to stretch your legs and get a beautiful view of the volcano and the lake.

Actually, you’ll get nice views of Lake Arenal all along this part of the route. And glimpses of Arenal Volcano as you get closer.

Nuevo Arenal

This small town along Lake Arenal has convenience stores and restaurants. Moya’s Place is a great restaurant.

The German Bakery is popular but it’s difficult to park there since it’s hilly street parking only.

We personally love Cafe Con Amor Gourmet Coffee Shop and Restaurant – it’s across the street with a few dedicated parking spots. Yummy coffee, pastries, desserts and food and open until 9 PM. Gingerbread Restaurant is also very good with a nice view of the lake.

Selva Paraiso is another coffee shop with souvenirs and bathrooms right off the road.

Closer to La Fortuna

Then for a couple of local spots with great views, there is Rancho Mirador Los Peñas, near Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park.

It’s a local family owned property with a stunning view of Arenal Volcano and Lake Arenal, offering traditional food.

This one requires a longer stop, it’s about 30 minutes total to go there and back from the main road. 4wd or high clearance car in dry season highly recommended to visit this spot.

Lake Cote

If you rented a 4×4 and are a proficient off road driver, you can also stop by Lake Cote. This is the largest natural lake in Costa Rica and also the spot of the only “official” UFO sighting in the country.

As it is truly an off the beaten path place, a 4×4 is required.

Read our post above for more information because this detour will add at least 1 hour to your drive from Guanacaste to La Fortuna.

Camping Montaña de Azucar (Formerly Mirador La Armonia)

This is another nice place to stretch your legs. It’s a local family owned property with a beautiful view of Arenal Volcano and Lake Arenal, it is mostly for camping.

They don’t offer anything and the entrance fee is kind of expensive for just a lookout point at 3000 colones per person (~$6 USD) when we went a few years ago.

But if you bring food and drinks, you can enjoy a picnic since they have some benches around.

We brought our dogs and they loved running around the property since it is very flat with lots of space.

Tips for Driving to Arenal from Guanacaste

• Give yourself at least 4-5 hours for this drive to include bathroom, photo and food stops. Drive slow around the lake. It’s curvy with tight turns and no street lights.
• Whenever you stop, try to park your car where you can see it from wherever you are. Never leave valuables visible and alone in the car.
• Always roll up windows and lock your doors. Try to hide your luggage so it’s not visible in the car.
• If you get carsick, take anti-nausea medicine!!! I can’t stress enough how CURVY this route is.
• It’s not advised to drive this route late at night, especially in rainy season. This is because of the very dark and curvy roads with no street lights. Remember, the sun sets at 6 PM and it tends to start raining in late afternoon in rainy season.
• If your flight lands from 3-6 PM, we recommend to stay a night in Liberia to settle in and leave in the daylight the next day. You can also stay somewhere halfway in Tilaran or Nuevo Arenal. Read more about driving to La Fortuna after landing.
• Use Waze or Google Maps for navigation on your phone. You need phone internet data so get a Costa Rica pre paid sim card or sign up for an international date plan with your home provider. Does your phone only use eSIM? Get 10% off your Airalo eSIM package with our promo code “mytanfeet” Want to also have minutes and texts? Sign up for a Holafly package and get 5% off with our MYTANFEET promo code.
• There are a few gas stations along the way in Liberia, Cañas, Tilaran and La Fortuna. Fill up before you leave if you have less than half a tank…just in case.

Alternative Route (Via Bijagua and Rio Celeste in Tenorio Volcano National Park)

There is an alternative route you can take from Guanacaste to La Fortuna, allowing you to see one of the most beautiful places in Costa Rica: the Rio Celeste river and waterfall inside Tenorio Volcano National Park.

You can drive from Liberia to Bijagua, hike Rio Celeste in Tenorio Volcano National Park and then continue to La Fortuna.

In Google Maps, you can set it as Liberia – Parqueo del Parque Nacional Tenorio – La Fortuna.

The drive from Liberia to Rio Celeste is 2 hours and Rio Celeste to La Fortuna is about 2 hours. High car is recommended.

Tips For This Alternative Route Stopping at Rio Celeste

IMPORTANT: Tenorio Volcano National Park tickets must be purchased in advance and they will give you a time slot to enter the park. If you are late, you cannot enter the park.

If you are visiting in low tourism season, the park rangers may allow you to enter but they only allow a certain number of people in the park at a time and per day.

This is one of the five most busiest national parks in Costa Rica so do NOT be late! It’s better to arrive earlier so leave with PLENTY of time to account for traffic/stops/etc.

Duration: The hike can take around 3 hours. We recommend you to buy the 9 AM time slot so you can be done around 12-1 PM with lunch included. That way, you can arrive in La Fortuna right at sunset and not have to drive much in the dark.

Have lunch at the restaurant outside the national park entrance and then head on your way to La Fortuna.

Keep in mind that if you visit during rainy season, particularly months like May, June, August – December, the Rio Celeste area does rain a lot. The river may not be quite as blue or you may get really rained on.

You can also stop at the Rio Celeste Free Pool to swim in the river after the hike. You can read more about getting to Rio Celeste in this post here. Remember to buy your park tickets beforehand (mandatory to enter the national park).

San Jose to La Fortuna

Are you coming from San Jose instead of Liberia? Check out our post driving from San Jose to La Fortuna to see what it’s like.

Driving from San Jose to Tamarindo? Click the link to read our guide to that drive.

Looking for some activities? Find out what are the top things to do in La Fortuna/Arenal! You can also read our recommended Things to Do in La Fortuna with kids post for ideas.

Remember to check out our Costa Rica car rental discount for our car rental discount and freebies.

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