Location and Driving Directions

Hotel Punta Islita is located on the northwest coast of the Nicoya Peninsula in Guanacaste. If you are traveling by car there are two possible routes to take. One option is to take the ferry from Puntarenas to Playa Naranjo and then drive through the villages of Jicaral, Coyote, Javilla, Pueblo Nuevo, Corozalito and finally Islita.

FROM SAN JOSE TO PUNTA ISLITA BY THE TEMPISQUE BRIDGE: Take the highway C1 toward Liberia. After about two hours driving, you will pass a sign for Puntarenas. Keep driving on the C1 for approximately 50 more minutes until you see a sign on the right hand side that says Puente la Amistad (the Taiwan Friendship Bridge). Turn left (there is a Shell gas station on the left). Continue on this road, cross the bridge and follow the signs to Nicoya. You will turn right at a T in the road just past a gas station on the right (following signs to Nicoya). Continuing to follow signs to Nicoya, you will then turn left coming into the town of Nicoya. Drive through Nicoya and follow the signs to Samara and Carrillo on the main road. Once you pass Carrillo, you will continue on a dirt road. Keep driving until you see the Hotel Sueño Tropical on the left hand side and come to a sign on the right that says Punta Islita 9 Km. Turn right and keep driving until you get to the river.! check the water level (wade out--if it´s knee level, it´s too deep) before entering the river with your car. If you can drive through the river, just continue on the road until you reach Punta Islita.

If you cannot cross at this point, there are 2 alternatives:

1) if the river is high due to a high tide and not rain, and you don´t want to wait, turn around and go back to the road you were on, turn right and go 1 km to Estrada. Turn right again and cross the river at this point if the water is less than knee deep. After crossing the river, continue on the road and turn right at the white and brown picket fence. At the end of that road, turn left and continue on to the hotel--approximately 7 km.

2) if the river is high due to rain, you must turn around and go back to the road you were on, turn right and go to the town of Estrada where you veer to the left toward Santa Marta. Take a right turn at Santa Marta toward Santa Maria and then another right turn after Santa Maria toward San Martin, cross the bridge and pass through El Carmen. After you go through El Carmen, you will see a white and brown wooden fence on the left hand side. Turn left at the end of this fence. At the end of that road, turn left again and continue on to the hotel--approximately 7 km.

After all of these alternatives, when you are on the main dirt road to the hotel, you will pass a beach on the right hand side called Camaronal and then you will come to a small river. Go through this river and you will go uphill for a short distance then downhill. You will come to the end of the road where you will turn left. Follow this road for 300 meters and you will see a gate to the left. This is the entrance to the Hotel Punta Islita. The total driving time is about 4 1/2 to 5 hours