Liberia Costa Rica, gateway to Costa Rica's Northwest.

LIBERIA, COSTA RICA is the capital of sunny Guanacaste province in northwest Costa Rica and gateway to some of the most beautiful beaches and National Parks of Costa Rica. Currently most travelers use Liberia as a base to visit areas such as the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano and Santa Rosa National Park, or as an overnight stop to or from the beaches of Guanacaste and on the way to Nicaragua. Travelers also frequently spend a night in the city before or after their flight to Liberia International Airport (LIR).

The City of Liberia

Liberia is a friendly and open city compared to other Costa Rican cities of the same size. Locally, the town is often referred to as "la ciudad blanca" (the white city). An appropriate name due to its whitewashed, colonial houses, built with “bahareque” (similar to adobe houses), a type of clay found all around the city with a particularly white color. Liberia is the only town in Costa Rica to which the term "colonial" could be applied.

Local fiestas, the biggest being July 25, "El Día de la Anexion", celebrating Guanacaste's Province annexation to Costa Rica, give color to Liberia with parades, horseshows, cattle auctions, rodeos, fiestas and roving marimba bands. There's also the "Fiestas Civicas de Liberia" in the last week of February and first week of March with Tico style bullfights (1 bull, 300 people and one small bullfighting ring). If you want to attend, make sure you make your hotel reservations as far in advance as possible.

Liberia International Airport

Liberia’s Airport (officially named Daniel Oduber International, three letter code LIR) has become Costa Rica's second most important international airport and the starting point for those wishing to take advantage of the spectacular beaches of northwestern Costa Rica. It is also becoming a gateway to all of Costa Rica with connecting local flights and ground transportation to the entire country.