Ultimate Travel Guide: Montezuma, Costa Rica

Montezuma was a last-minute addition to our route through Costa Rica, we were looking for a spot to spend some time by the beach on the Pacific coast. Due to a music festival being on in Uvita and the insanely high prices of popular destinations like Santa Teresa and Tamarindo, we landed on spending a week in Montezuma.

Montezuma is a small town on the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula and you’ll find incredible views of the jungle meeting the sea here. The small town is full of wildlife, we found it hard to go more than a few hours without seeing something that captured our attention, there were monkeys galore, reptiles everywhere you looked, tropical birds and plenty of marine life.

In this guide to Montezuma, Costa Rica, you will find absolutely everything you need to know about the small town and what you can get up to whilst you are here, so make sure to keep reading.

Best Time to Visit Montezuma, Costa Rica

The age-old question of the best time to visit, which really depends on how you like to travel. High season in Montezuma when you will find many tourists and higher prices, and the best weather is between December and May. The wet season starts in May and due to flash flooding and a lot of rain, they won’t be many tourists around. You’ll find the highest rainfall in the months of September and October. 

So do you prefer fewer tourists and unreliable weather or enduring the crowds for more days of sunshine? Personally, I don’t want to be spending my days by the beach in the rain.

How To Get to Montezuma, Costa Rica

So Montezuma is located at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula and by car or private transport can literally be reached from anywhere in Costa Rica. However today I am specifically talking about how to get to Montezuma from San Jose, as this is what we did. If you are coming from somewhere else scroll down or click here for more information.

We got the public bus from Terminal 7-10 at 6 am in the morning with Transportes Cobano, I believe there is only 1 public bus a day. So we bought our tickets at the terminal a day before just to make sure we had a spot. Little tip the Transportes Cobano office is downstairs in the car park of Terminal 7-10, they also close between 12 and 1 for lunch.

The ticket costs 9000 colones/£14ish and in total took 6 hours, it’s a 3-hour journey from San Jose to the ferry at Puntarenas. Then you get off the bus and walk onto the ferry, but don’t worry the bus will park up on the ferry also, meaning you don’t have to collect your big bags and the price of the ferry is included in the bus ticket. The ferry is actually a really scenic journey and takes about 1 hour and a half, you’ll find some food and drink options inside if you’re peckish. Just before the ferry docks, you will notice everyone heading to their cars, so make sure to head back to the bus and then it’s about an hour and a half before reaching the town of Cobano. Cobano is the hub for all buses to and from Montezuma, so when you get here there will be a bus ready to take you to Montezuma, it’s only a 15-minute journey.

You can just reverse this journey if you’re going from Montezuma to San Jose, the bus leaves Montezuma at 12:30 or Cobano at 1, and we got to San Jose at about 7:30/8 at night. For the return journey, we actually bought our tickets online here —>

If you coming from a location like Monteverde or Uvita, look for a bus going to Puntarenas and from there you can just buy a ticket for the ferry over to Paquera. At the Paquera ferry dock, you’ll then find plenty of buses running to Cobano where you can change for Montezuma. 

From Santa Teresa, you can opt for an expensive shuttle/taxi or to save the dollar just get the public bus to Cobano and swap there for the bus to Montezuma. Find more details about the public bus between Santa Teresa and Montezuma here.

Things to Do in Montezuma, Costa Rica

Have a Beach Day

Montezuma is the perfect place to visit if you fancy a few relaxing days on the beach, that’s why we headed here. You’ll find a few different beaches you can visit all within walking distance of the small town. Playa Montezuma is just off the main and only street of the town and if you head left over the rocks you will find a long stretch of beach where you can lay out your towel and read a good book.

If you are up for a slightly longer walk to the beach, Playa Grande is the spot for you. It will take you about 30 minutes and you just have to follow the coastline from Playa Montezuma, the walk is a mix of beach strolling and some paths through the jungle. Although I don’t believe the beach is officially called Playa Grande, this is the name everyone was using and as soon as we arrived I could see why. It was possibly the longest stretch of gorgeous uninterrupted beach I have ever seen and the perfect place for a beach day. Just make sure to bring a lot of water and some good snacks you won’t find a shop here.

Visit the Montezuma Waterfalls

An incredibly popular activity in Montezuma is to go visit the waterfalls and you’ll find the entrance to the trail only a few minutes walk outside of the town. There are 3 waterfalls to see, but only the lower waterfall is free to enter, the 2 higher waterfalls will cost $4. The trail to the lower waterfall is a lot simpler than the two higher spots, however, watch out for all the tree roots, I tripped over a few. 

Tortuga Island Tour

An unforgettable day trip from Montezuma is to head to Tortuga Island, as long as you can put up with a lot of other tourists and gorgeous blue water. We went with Zuma Tours, who I highly recommend, although they aren’t the cheapest option it’s well worth your money. Included in the day was the boat trip, 2 snorkelling spots, lunch and unlimited beers, water and soft drinks and it cost us $77 each.

We also had roughly around 2 hours of free time on Tortuga Island, the one thing that made me sad is the fact there were no tortugas (turtles). The island is beautiful and surrounded by crystal clear blue water, with plenty of bars to get a pina colada in a giant pineapple. But don’t think you’ll be enjoying this island paradise alone, they will be boatloads of people enjoying it with you.

Take a Day Trip to Santa Teresa

We were given the fantastic idea of seeing the sunrise and set of the same day by a girl in our hostel and we were so up for this mission. So you can see the sunrise in Montezuma, and then see the sunset in nearby Santa Teresa, which is known for beautiful sunsets. Originally the plan was to hire an ATV to get over to Santa Teresa but after looking at the prices we opted for public transport instead, see how below

So now you know how to get to Santa Teresa, what do you do whilst there? Well with 3 main beaches, Playa Hermosa, Playa Santa Teresa and Playa del Carmen a beach day is for sure on the cards. Or maybe you want to shop till you drop, there is plenty of boutiques in Santa Teresa just get the credit card at the ready there’s no Primark here. And when you get peckish or thirsty the street is lined with restaurants and bars, serving food and drink from all over the world.

I’m glad we took a day trip here, I see why it attracts so many tourists, the beaches are beautiful and everything else is located on one main long street making it easy to find. Taking a day trip from Montezuma is the perfect way to enjoy the beauty without breaking the bank. We visited Playa Santa Teresa, had lunch at Eat Street, which had a load of different food trucks to order from, highly recommend the Garlic Fries. Then after going back to the beach for more sun we spent the late afternoon and early evening at Banana Beach Club, the hotspot to watch the sunset over Playa del Carmen with a cocktail in hand.

It was such a fabulous day and if you find yourself with a few spare days in Montezuma, you won’t regret checking out Santa Teresa.

Hike to El Chorro Waterfall

El Chorro is one of the few waterfalls in the world that falls into the open sea and it’s located slightly outside of Montezuma. A challenging hike but with great reward, walking to the El Chorro waterfall is about 2.5 hours each way. You walk towards Playa Grande and through the trail onto Playa Cocalito and on your way, you will pass many small coves and jungle paths, it’s pretty easy to not get lost just follow the coastline.

It was recommended to us by our hostel that we headed out around 5 am to avoid walking in the heat, but one thing we failed to look out which I recommend you do is the tide times. As the tide was HIGH for us and this meant nearly all of the beach was covered in sea, our walk was spent dodging crabs and the waves. 

Nonetheless, it was an incredible hike as we saw the sunrise over the sea, spotted howler monkeys, an army of crabs, and flying fish and even had a dog guide us part of the way. And the actual waterfall isn’t too shabby. But hey it’s all about the journey right?

Honourable Mentions

• Watch the sunrise, head down to the rocks on Playa Montezuma nice and early
• Take a tour to see the bioluminescent plankton
• Hike and look out for wildlife at the Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve

Where to Stay in Montezuma, Costa Rica

My top recommendation for where to stay in Montezuma is Luz en Cielo Bnb & Hostel, they offer both dorm rooms and private cabins. You can find my full review here, but if you would like a friendly, clean and well-located place to rest your head in Montezuma you should for sure check it out.

Find more Montezuma accommodation ideas here —>

Things I Loved About Montezuma, Costa Rica

1. The fact there were coconut trees everywhere, I’m obsessed with them.
2. The quiet beaches, if you head around the corner from the main beach and towards Playa Grande there was some very peaceful spots, with little to no people.
3. We saw monkeys all day every day, from them jumping onto the hostel roof to nearly crapping all over Josh from the telephone line, you couldn’t turn a corner without seeing them. Not to mention all the other wildlife, anteater, spiders, crabs, dolphins, flying fish, and giant lizards.
4. The weather is hot hot hot here which is exactly what you want from a beach destination, just don’t forget the suncream.

Things To Know About Montezuma, Costa Rica

• The currency is Costa Rican Colones however most places, especially accommodation and tour companies will accept US dollars, always worth checking first though.
• The plug sockets are type A and B which is the same as the US, so unless you have US chargers you will need a travel adaptor. I also recommend the worldwide ones so you can be prepared for anything.
• The national language of Costa Rica is Spanish, although out of all the countries we have visited in Central America, English was widely spoken here. However, it’s always good to have a few Spanish phrases in your back pocket.
• The nearest ATM to Montezuma is in Cobano so bring the cash you need with you, alternatively getting a taxi/bus to Cobano is possible.
• There is a supermarket in Montezuma called Super Montezuma, however, because it’s the only one in the town the prices are a little steep, but they accept card payments. There is a smaller shop called Super Mama Tea, the prices are a little cheaper here.
• Our average daily spend here was £98 for the two of us, Costa Rica isn’t known to be super backpacker budget friendly.

A lot of the destinations on the Nicoya Peninsula get a bad rep for being overly American and touristy and although Montezuma is a well-known location and you will see many other tourists, it’s nothing to put you off. Compared to the likes of nearby Tamarindo or Santa Teresa, Montezuma is nowhere near as built up for tourists, it’s a tiny village compared to the aforementioned two.

We loved our time in Montezuma and I would highly recommend a visit here if you find yourself in Costa Rica soon. Let me know if you are planning a trip to Costa Rica in the comments below, what does your itinerary look like?

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