If you’re planning on driving to Arenal from Guanacaste, we’ll show you what it’s like in this post. We’ve driven this exact route quite a few times and it is one of our favorite drives in the country with beautiful views and fresh weather.
You can watch our video below or read on to find out if you need a 4X4, see what the road is like and why it’s such a beautiful drive!
Driving to Arenal from Guanacaste
Our video from our drive from Playas del Coco to Arenal. We stopped a few times to take shots of the dam, lake and road.
The Route
This route takes roughly 3 hours and goes through Canas, Tilaran and around Lake Arenal.
The drive to Arenal Volcano in the Alajuela province from Guanacaste is through the Inter-Americana highway which takes around 3 hours. The scenery is one of the most beautiful with some of the most green landscapes I have ever seen!
Leaving Liberia
Our departure point was Playas del Coco which is an easy 35 minute drive to Liberia. From the main cross section/traffic light in Liberia you turn onto the Inter-America highway.
After driving on the Inter-American highway for about 1 hour, you’ll turn left to get to Tilaran and Canas. There is a small sign for this turn so keep an eye out especially since there is a ton of construction going on so you may miss it.
We stopped a few times so I could take some pictures and to stretch our legs in the beautiful green landscapes. We’ve driven this route during both dry and rainy season and hands down, rainy season is much prettier to see.
I absolutely love driving through the countryside, it’s such a fun way to see the sights and it gives you more freedom to enjoy more of what the country has to offer.
Approaching Arenal
After about an hour or so, you start driving around Lake Arenal which is the largest lake in the country. There are many signs for Lake Arenal/Nuevo Arenal so watch out for those if you’re not using a GPS. Restaurants and hotels are scattered along the highway that offer lovely views of the lake and near the hydroelectric plant, people can take boat rides, kayak and canoe.
This area is called Nuevo Arenal past the town of Tilaran and it is so pretty. The dirt against the lake banks look like an brown-red clay which contrasts incredibly with the blue waters and green vegetation.
Eventually after all the curves and turns, the volcano finally appears and you’ll start noticing signs for resorts like the Springs and Nayara. The next big town you’ll come across is La Fortuna which is where most people stay or go to eat when visiting Arenal Volcano. It’s a pretty large local town that you can find nearly everything with plenty of banks, restaurants, hotels and the bus stop.
You will also pass the Arenal Volcano National Park entrance on your right a little after you pass Tabacon.
If you ever get a chance to go driving to Arenal from Guanacaste, definitely do it. It’s not that long and during rainy season, it is just absolutely beautiful!
Tips for Driving to Arenal from Guanacaste
- If you get carsick, bring anti-nausea medicine. The road gets quite curvy. Be very careful if it’s raining!
- It’s not advised to drive this route late at night, especially if you aren’t familiar or have a GPS or if it’s raining because of the curvy roads and lack of good signage.
- If you don’t rent a GPS, use Waze, a GPS app. Download it on your phone and you can use it if you get a pre-paid sim card or have data.
- The road is nicely paved so you won’t need a 4X4 (Read our driving in Costa Rica tips.)
- You’ll pass through several towns so don’t worry about getting hungry, you’ll see sodas and places to eat all along the road.
Psst… if you are looking to rent a car in Costa Rica, we have a special discount for our readers!
Looking for some activities? Find out what are the top things to do in La Fortuna/Arenal!
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You can do a day trip but it will be very tiring for the driving so you should get a 2nd driver so you can switch (we offer a free 2nd driver with our car rental discount Costa Rica car rental discount) . It’s worth staying a night in Arenal since it’s such a vast and beautiful area but if you are only in Costa Rica for a week, a day trip is more practical for time. Definitely leave around 5 AM so you can get there by 9-930 AM. Yyou can hike the national park in a couple hours, visit La Fortuna waterfall for a couple hours and spend another couple hours at a hot spring. There are a lot of hot springs in Arenal, Tabacon is the most popular and famous but most expensive. Baldi is a fun one with waterslides, or Ecotermales/Paradise are also very nice ones. On your way back to Tamarindo, it will probably get dark so just go very slow around the lake as it’s a super curvy route.
My husband and I and my two brothers and their wives are coming to Costa Rica on February 11. We fly into Liberia and are renting a car and driving to Tamarindo where we Will be staying for the week. My big question is do you recommend driving from Tamarindo to La Fortuna/Arenal for a day trip? How long of a drive would you say it is? We were thinking of leaving at 5 AM. While in that area my top picks are To see The volcano, the waterfall in La Fortuna ( in your opinion what is the best waterfall in Costa Rica to see ?) and the hot springs ( where is the best place to swim in the springs?)
Sorry those are some loaded questions. Thanks for any help you can give!
There’s not too many places, but there is this very nice waterfall near Bagaces, about 20 minutes from Liberia on the Highway 1 that is definitely worth a stop! You can read about it here: Catarata Llanos de Cortes
Then from there it’s just small local towns. You can maybe eat lunch or dinner around Tilaran, there’s a few good restaurants there and then once you get to Lake Arenal, you can stop at some of the souvenir stores or cafes along the road for some great views until you get to Fortuna.
any interesting places in between that would be worthwhile to visit? We will have the full day to drive from Fortuna to Liberia and are looking for any pit stops of interest…
We are arriving in Liberia at 2pm. Do you think it would be okay to drive to the Tabacon Resort in Arenal the same day? I’ve been reading about how it is a more difficult drive later in the day. I’m pretty comfortable driving in other countries. Thanks!
Hi Anu, it’s about a 4 hour drive to Arenal so you would definitely get there past dark since you’ll probably leave Liberia around 3 after customs, immigration and getting your car. You can definitely drive it, but get a GPS and be very very careful because there’s a lot of construction going on at the InterAmericana highway and the turn into Tilaran off the highway is pretty hard to see when it’s dark since all the construction going on there and the sign is not very well placed. Then the road starting from Nuevo Arenal is super windy without any street lights so be super careful if you decide to drive.
Aaaahhhhh! This video makes me homesick for that place! Thank you! 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂