Option 1 (recommended)
Fly into Liberia Airport (LIR). Air Canada and many airlines have direct flights.
From there, rent a car at the airport or take a 2 hour cab for around $45USD for a shared shuttle or $100USD for a private van to Nosara. There are plenty of vans when you land.
Fly into San Jose (SJO)
A more affordable option is flying directly into San Jose (please check that it's not California). From there, you can take a very small charter plane to Nosara. Please check to make sure you arrive 2 hours before your charter flight takes off.
There are two airlines flying from SJO to Nosara. Please check to make sure there are seats available before booking SJO
Flight times:
06:20AM
12:00PM
Thu 03:20PM
By Private Shuttle
You can also coordinate a private shuttle bus from San Jose airport to Nosara. This is a lengthy ride (4-5 hours).
https://tropicaltourshuttles.com/routes/nosara-shuttles/
More option to come...
If you are renting a car to get you to/ around Nosara a crossover SUV is best. Nosara has recently paved its main road but all the side roads are rugged. Liberia has plenty of car rental options. Nosara does too but they can be very unreliable.Do you need to rent a car? You definitely don’t need one and can take simple transit in town (tuktuks can be ordered ahead of time or hailed at the side of the road) especially if you are staying directly in town, if you choose to stay up in the hills we recommend at least of member of the group you’re staying with has a vehicle.
IMPORTANT: Don't buy car insurance ahead of time. Costa Rica requires you to buy liability insurance through your car rental agency and won't accept pre-purchased policies