By Bus
International buses from Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Panama pull into the Ticabus station, Av 4, C 9/11 (tel 221-8954), next to the yellow Soledad church. Since buses can arrive at odd hours, you may want to take refuge at one of the 24-hour eating spots nearby on Av 2 before looking for a room. One of the cheapest is the Casa del Sandwich on the corner of C 9, and there's a taxi rank around the corner on Av 2 between C 5 and 9. Coming from Managua on Sirca, you'll arrive at the terminal at C 7, Av 6/8: taxis can be flagged down on C 7. The closest thing San Jose has to a domestic bus station is La Coca-Cola (named after an old bottling plant that used to stand on the site), five blocks west of the Mercado Central at Av 1/3, C 16/18 (the main entrance is on C 16). Buses arrive here from the north and west (including Monteverde), and from Liberia, Puntarenas and most of the beaches of the Nicoya Peninsula. The name La Coca-Cola not only applies to the bus station proper - which is quite small and the arrival point for only a few buses - but also to the surrounding area, where many more buses pull in. Lugging your bags and searching for your bus stop around here makes it very hard not to look like a confused gringo, thus increasing the chances that you'll become the target of opportunistic theft: best to arrive and leave in a taxi. Be especially careful of your belongings around the Tilaran and Monteverde bus stop (C 14, Av 9/11): people waiting here for the 6.30am bus to Monteverde seem to be particularly at risk of attempted theft.
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