Page 88 - NORTHERN GUANACASTE TOURIST GUIDE

Isla Bolaños Wildlife Refuge
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How do you get to the Isla Bolaños Wildlife Refuge?
Since it is an island, situated about 3 km from Puerto Soley, the refuge can only be accessed by sea.
From San Jose, Puerto Soley can be accessed by vehicle or private/ public transportation. Visitors arriving from Liberia International Airport can also easily reach the national refuge. Once in Puerto Soley, the best way to reach the refuge is with a guided boat ride, which will help avoid disturbing the wildlife. Transportation can be arranged in Puerto Soley, by means of a 3 km (1.9 miles) trip to the island. The trip from San José to Liberia takes about 6 hours by private vehicle.
By car
take the Interamericana highway until you reach the canton of La Cruz.
From Daniel Oduber International Airport, Liberia (LIR): Keep going on the road towards Liberia and then take the Interamericana highway until you reach the canton of La Cruz. The refuge is located in Bahia Salinas, near the Nicaraguan border, 6 km southwest of the town of La Cruz.
By bus:
You can take the San José - La Cruz - Peñas Blancas bus, the final destination of which is the border crossing with Nicaragua. The bus takes about 5 hours from San José (Transportes Deldú, +506 2256-9072).
You can also take a bus from San José to Liberia, which takes about 4 hours (Pulmitan Liberia, +506 2222-1650) and then take a bus from Liberia to La Cruz (Arrieta Terminal). From there, Puerto Soley is 6 km away, and can be reached by vehicle or walking. In Puerto Soley, it is possible to arrange boat transportation to Isla Bolaños at any time of the year.
By plane:
You can also catch a flight between Juan Santamaría airport and Liberia international airport, with daily departures on Sansa or Aerobell Airlines. From there, you can rent a car and drive to Port Soley, which can take approximately 1.5 hours.
From San José: Drive west towards Puntarenas and then
More information
Guanacaste Conservation Area acg@acguanacaste.ac.cr
Liberia: (506) 2666-0630
www.acguanacaste.ac.cr
Santa Rosa: (506) 2666-5051 INFOTUR: 1192
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The Iguanita National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Nacascolo Peninsula, and is part of the Papagayo Tourism Pole. Playa Iguanita offers placid, calm waters that are ideal for a little swimming, since Culebra Bay is protected from the open waters of the Pacific Ocean. Its territory includes 35.8 ha of a restricted area (31% of the total area) in a strip of forested land surrounding the mangrove swamp.
The Iguanita National Wildlife Refuge is part of the Guanacaste Conservation Area in northwestern Costa Rica, with warm average temperatures that range from 22°C (70°F) to 34°C (90°F), and the area includes primary forest, tropical dry forest, mangrove forest and a marine portion in the bay.
The region contains a large number of tourist, educational and scientific attractions, which are accessible to the public thanks to the proximity of the refuge to the community of Liberia. These attractions play an important role in the sustainable management of natural and cultural resources, ensuring that the refuge can be protected while maintaining the community’s traditional use of the beach.