Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Exchanges US dollars. It also has a 24hr ATM at Hospital La Anexión.
Hospital La Anexión
HOSPITAL
The main hospital on the peninsula is north of town.
Getting There & Away
Most buses arrive at and depart from the bus terminal southeast of Parque Central.
Liberia
US$2.25; 2½ hours; departs every 30 to 60 minutes from 4am to 9pm.
Playa Naranjo, connects with ferry to Puntarenas
US$3; two hours; departs 5am,
9am, 1pm and 5pm.
Playa Nosara
US$2; two hours; departs 4am, 10am, 12:30pm, 3pm and 5:30pm
Monday to Saturday. On Sundays there is no 4am bus.
Sámara and Playa Carrillo
US$2; 1½ hours; 13 buses daily from 5am to 9pm.
San José
(Empresa Alfaro) US$7.50; five hours; departs five times daily.
Parque Nacional Barra Honda
Situated about halfway between Nicoya and the mouth of the Río Tempisque, this 23-sq-
km national park protects a massive underground system of caverns composed of soft
limestone, carved by rainfall and erosion over a period of about 70 million years. Spele-
ologists have discovered more than 40 caverns, some reaching as far as 200m deep, though
to date only 19 have been fully explored. There have also been discoveries of pre-
Columbian remains dating to 300 BC.
Stalagmites, stalactites and a host of beautiful formations have evocative names such as
fried eggs, organ, soda straws, popcorn, curtains, columns, pearls, flowers and shark's
teeth. However, unlike caverns found elsewhere, Barra Honda is not developed for wide-
scale tourism, which means that it feels less like a carnival attraction and more like a scene
from
Indiana Jones
. So, don your yellow miner's hat and sturdy boots, and be prepared to
get down and dirty.
