Liberia, Guanacaste

Liberia, Guanacaste

The park in Liberia Guanacaste Costa Rica has the colorful and vibrant spirit of the locals and is a space for relaxing, chatting, and taking beautiful photos.

Liberia is set within the northwest reaches of Costa Rica, in Guanacaste province where visitors have smooth access to some of the Costa Rica’s most attractive white-sand beaches, and impressive volcano-studded rainforests.

Liberia is Guanacaste´s capital city and as such acts as a gateway for the entire province. The Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR) allows for easy travel to and from the area.

Whether you’re coming from another part of Costa Rica or an entirely different country, you won’t have any trouble getting to Liberia and on to the places that you’re interested to visit. 

From Liberia you can enjoy the best Guanacaste volcano tours in the protected areas: Santa Rosa National Park, Rincon de la Vieja Volcano National Park, Tenorio and Miravalles Volcanoes, to name a few. While you within 30 min.-1.30 hrs. you can visit the pristine shoreline through the Northern Coast.

Liberia… the gate to Costa Rica!

A great urban development has been seen in the last few years in Liberia, concerning the flights to Guanacaste Costa Rica, which include the Daniel Oduber International Airport (LIR), receiving nowadays scheduled flights from major airlines coming from USA, Europe and charter flights from Canada.

Its location, only a few miles from the closest beaches, makes it an ideal gateway to some of the most spectacular and exclusive destinations in Costa Rica. That’s why each year thousands of visitors from all over the world choose the Liberia Costa Rica Airport as their entry point to the country.

Where is located the Guanacaste Costa Rica airport?

The Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport is located 12 Km West of the city of Liberia, Guanacaste and about 40 Km East from the Papagayo Peninsula and 79 Km Northeast from Tamarindo, Playa Conchal and Flamingo areas.

The border with Nicaragua is about 95 Km northeast. The distance between the Liberia the Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose is approximately of 220 Km or about 137 miles (about 4 hours driving time).

Liberia: the town, the style and what makes it unique!

“White City” is how Liberia is locally known not only for the wide streets, but also for the old buildings and bahareque homes.

In Liberia you can find a combination of old buildings, customs and traditions.  Modern facilities including shopping centers and other businesses are also found in this location.

It is one of Costa Rica’s oldest towns, a fact that is clearly visible in the colonial appearance of many buildings. The main street in Liberia, extending various blocks from north to south, is lined with ancestral homes and is part of the historic district.

The historical constructions have been restored and give Liberia its identity. Locals use adobe and bahareque materials as well as lime, which give houses their white color and gives Liberia the “White City” name.

Many ranches surround the Liberia area, and the town plays a vital role in Costa Rica’s cattle industry. It provides a market for farmer’s goods, both locally and through international export. Rodeos are a timeless tradition in Guanacaste, and they are the most popular of sporting events.

From all over the region, rodeos draw many locals who are intrigued by the chance to see brave cowboys hurled by infuriated bucking bulls.

July 25th, 1812 is a historic and emblematic date as Guanacaste became independent from neighboring Nicaragua. Every year on that day great celebrations take place in the province. They include an annual horse parade, bullfight, and rural fair- all making for a lively cowboy fiesta. Besides, Liberia offers entertainment, bars, great food and hotels. 

Liberia offers entertainment, bars, great food and accommodations. Hilton Garden Inn Liberia Airport is one of the hotels in Liberia Costa Rica we can make arrangements for you.

Due to the short distance to the coast line main beaches: Papagayo / Hermosa (40-minute driving time) or Tamarindo Guanacaste / Conchal / Flamingo (1 hour driving time) most of visitors opt for going straight to the beach upon arrival. Dry season is one of the busiest times to travel, thus visitors are suggested to make their arrangements weeks in advance.

Driving from San Jose to Liberia usually takes around 4.5-hours along the Inter-American Highway, a length of 145 miles (234 km).

Things to do in Liberia, Guanacaste – Costa Rica

Liberia town itself is steeped in history and for a great time it traded hands between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. It has all of the amenities that generally accompany a larger city. However, most visitors don’t spend much time in the city bur rather to move on to the Pacific coast beaches or inland rainforests that are set nearby.

Needless to mention that if you end up spending the night in Liberia, you’ll get a glimpse of an authentic Costa Rican town. Cruise the city’s central park and sip on Jugo de Caña (sugar cane juice) or slurp down some Copos (snow cones) from local vendors in the park or any town street, they are great!

Liberia’s location provides travelers with easy access to beaches, rivers, mountains, rainforests, ranches, and even an entirely different country. What you end up doing totally depends on your interests and the amount of free time you have to explore the surroundings.

You can get as daring and adventurous as you want, or else take things down a notch and engage in some real-time relaxation, which is very valid in a vacation! The choice is totally yours!

So if you’re into getting wet and see some nature, try out one of the river rafting tours down the Colorado or in the Corobicí rivers. If some exploration in the last remaining protected tropical dry forest in the world, then a visit to Santa Rosa National Park may be a great alternative for you.

More traditional ways to have fun and still learn and explore include Guanacaste horseback riding tours across the beach or mountains, canopy tours through the rainforest, and hikes within one of the many volcanic national parks (Rincon de la Vieja, Arenal, and Miravalles).

In one tour you can even test your skill as a cattle hand and spend the day learning how to ride horses and lasso, rope and tie calves if you feel into that.

There are certainly other activities that are slower-paced and often quite relaxing. You can spend the day enjoying a massage at one of the area’s spas or simply lay down on the beach and relax while reading your favorite book.

Cultural activities include a visit to Liberia town and also a one-day outing to the historical Nicaragua Cultural Tour. During these, you’ll be led down century-old streets and visit important cultural attractions including plazas, churches and restaurants.

Needless to say, there is something for everyone in this land. If you’re running low on time, however, and are looking for a way to explore several of the mentioned activities more quickly, a combo tour could be perfect.

These Costa Rica tours combine several exciting activities – such as canopy tours, hanging bridge walks, and spa visits, such as the Buena Vista Combo Adventure – all into just one day.

Liberia Local Restaurants

The Guanacaste Costa Rica hotels serve the best food imaginable! The region is famous for its high-quality meat cuts and savory flavors that you need to try!

Where to eat in Guanacaste Costa Rica?

There are endless places to have a great dining experience in Guanacaste, as you can see with the many places to visit the area has. As we are focusing now on Liberia, then here you have a little selection of local restaurants and “sodas” (small traditional restaurants) to consider if you want a different food trial.

There is a great variety of culinary options for you to enjoy the flavors of Guanacaste local Costa Rica food and drinks. So, not only there are alternatives for those looking for typical dishes but also for those seeking to try the best of Guanacaste´s gourmet / fusion cuisine!

Pizza Pronto: An old-world pizzeria is what you find at this venue, where the wood is stored right next to the smoking courtyard oven. You can have a romantic time while enjoying a simple pizza, pasta or a salad.

Café Liberia: a beautiful restored colonial building has wooden furniture and frescoed ceilings, that together create a romantic ambience for a gourmet coffee. This venue offers live music and some occasional performances.

Copa de Oro: Family restaurant offering local cuisine to locals and tourists. Try the rice and seafood house specialty: Arroz copa de oro.

Toro Negro Steakhouse: located in a beautiful colonial building, this family-friendly restaurant offers its clients an international menu specialized in meat, including New York strip, filet mignon and burgers. A rustic interior and an outdoor balcony are two great settings to enjoy the chosen dish.

Los Comales: This is a local spot run by a group of women where you can come for a traditional Guanacaste fare. Locals frequently visit this restaurant so it tends to be crowded.

El Meson Liberiano: This Liberia house is now one of the nicest restaurants in town, offering modern presentations of pretty traditional food. Service is good, but what makes this restaurant special is the delightful back patio as the wooden tables are shaded by a big mango tree.

Liberia Costa Rica Map

The city of Liberia constitutes an important part of the Guanacaste map, and it is considered the capital of the Province.

Guanacaste – Costa Rica

Guanacaste became part of Costa Rica in 1824; until then, it still remains as an independent province. This territory certainly has a very important natural and cultural richness for Costa Rica’s economy.

As one of the most beautiful places in the country, Guanacaste has become a popular destination in Costa Rica for its tropical paradise with a pristine shoreline, beautiful mountain ranges and a number of volcanoes. It is home to some of the best all inclusive resorts in Costa Rica and involves some of the most best places to visit in the country.

Visitors are drawn to the long summer days, active culture and unparalleled wildlife. Guanacaste Costa Rica vacations is definitely one of the strongest reasons why people visit Costa Rica.

The Guanacaste province is famous for its spectacular beaches in the Pacific coast with more than 125 miles of extension and also for its high quality cattle ranching production.

There is a great number of activities that can be part of your Guanacaste Costa Rica vacation package. Here, visitors have a lot of things to do just like: fishing, swimming, diving, kayaking, surfing, stand up paddle board, hiking in any of the national parks and mountains, horseback riding, visit the hot springs, rappelling, canyoning, white water rafting, zip lining canopy tour or simply relax and take the sun at any of the beaches of this beautiful destination.

Guanacaste Location

Where is Guanacaste Costa Rica located?

Guanacaste is located in the far northwest corner of Costa Rica providing diverse and exotic geographical features. Its main town is Liberia where major facilities for locals and visitors can be found such as hospitals, banks, supermarkets, City Hall, Catholic churches, shopping centers, movie theaters, among others.

If you are looking to an airport near Guanacaste Costa Rica then you must know that this province is home to the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia (LIR), which is one of the two country’s international airports, so getting to this province is a breeze.

And this is one of the main reasons why traveling to Guanacaste has boomed in the recent years, this airport is very convenient and receives both chartered and scheduled flights from across the world, including the United States, Canada and Europe.

Guanacaste is also situated along the Pan-American Highway, or Highway 1, which makes it easy to reach for travelers with a rental car or those taking advantage of public transportation in Costa Rica.

Getting to Guanacaste from San Jose Costa Rica can take anywhere from 4 to 6 hours depending on your final destination within this place, our travel guides will be more than glad to wait for you at the airport and also take you to your hotel, so you won’t need to be driving your own rented car and then you can dedicate some time to rest before arriving to your destination.

History of Guanacaste

The name Guanacaste comes from the indigenous ‘quahnacaztlan’, a native word for the Guanacaste Tree, native from this region and also the national tree of Costa Rica.

The history of this province comes before the arrival of the Spaniards when the area was inhabited by Indians known as Chorotegas, culture from Mesoamerica.

During the colonial ages, Guanacaste was not a part of Costa Rica. The inhabitants of Nicoya, Santa Cruz and Cañas decided that they did not want to belong to Nicaragua but to Costa Rica instead, so they announced their Annexation on July the 25th in 1824 to the country.

Until today, this date is considered as its Independence Day, which was accepted from both countries in 1821.

Although Costa Rica managed to get the province back from Nicaragua, the region still boasts a slightly different personality than the rest of the country, making it a great place to visit for new and seasoned Costa Rica travelers alike.

Guanacaste Geography

Most of Guanacaste’s terrain is flat, with higher areas such as the Nicoya Peninsula, however the province is bounded on the east by a group of green-swathed volcanoes forming the Guanacaste Mountain range; which features Orosi, Rincón de la Vieja, Miravalles and Tenorio volcanoes, and additional to that it can also be found the Tilarán Mountain Range, which is located in the Abangares district of Guanacaste.

The edge of the range is the Monteverde Cloud Forest, a major ecotourism destination and the east of the Arenal Volcano and Lake.

Guanacaste Costa Rica Weather

Guanacaste is the driest region of Costa Rica, especially the coastal areas. Its climate is highly seasonal.

The province experiences little rain and consistent heat from November to April (with temperatures going up to 95 F. max. average – 73 F min. average), and a green season from late May to November (with temperatures going up to 87 F. max. average – 70 F min. average).

Its hot and dry climate makes tropical dry forests, the province’s natural vegetation type. The one exception is the highland portion of the province which consists of the upper Pacific slopes in the Guanacaste Mountain Range and the northern half of the Tilarán Mountain Range. The cool, moist conditions along these ridges support luxuriant cloud forests.

The main reason for the diversity in Costa Rica’s weather is the various elevations at which different parts of the country are located. For example, Guanacaste has a dry arid climate as it sits on the lowlands.

The perfect time to plan your Guanacaste vacation packages is year around. No matter if you visit during the dry season or during the green season, both provide spectacular advantages. The dry season provides plenty of sunshine, while the green season brings the trees into bloom with explosions of colors and fragrances. The hills become carpeted in brilliant green.

In general terms, the best time to visit Guanacaste is from December through April, as it is Costa Rica’s dry season.  Visitation in the region is heavier this time of the year, as well as during Easter week, meaning it’s highly suggested to make your Costa Rica tour package arrangements in advance to secure your rooms and services.

Guanacaste is known for having sunny and warm days year-round, with occasional rains in the late afternoons during the green season.  The dry season is rather intense in the province, with no rainfall for several months.

If you want to avoid the tourist fuss and get more affordable rates for lodging for your Guanacaste travel, the early months of the green season (May-June) are a great time to vacationing in Costa Rica.

Visitation during this time of year can still provide for a great experience, especially the more eco-tourist attractions. Rivers run higher and even the dry-forests of Guanacaste turn green and lush. However, during the green season roads get muddy and rivers start to swell, making travel throughout the country a more challenging experience.

The time in Guanacaste Costa Rica is the same time in all the country – as the country is small and has no time variations among the places – which is UTC/GTM -6 hours, in the Central Standard Time of the time zone.

We are active members of the most important tourist associations, both national and international.

To navigate this site use a different one than Microsoft Explorer.

We use cookies to offer you the best experience on our site. Continue browsing if you are happy or check more information about our protection and privacy policy..