The village of Quebrada Grande, eight kilometers east of Highway 1—the turnoff is at Potrerillos, 23 kilometers north of Liberia [1] (there’s a Guardia Rural checkpoint at the junction)—sits on the lower saddle between Volcán Rincón de la Vieja [2] to the southeast and Volcán Cacao to the northeast. It is surrounded by grasslands ranged by cattle.
Several haciendas welcome visitors for horseback trail rides.
Curubanda Lodge (tel. 506/2573-4746 or 8396-7618, www.curubanda.com [3], $50 s, $63 d), has a rustic but cozy lodge with a TV lounge and capacity for 15 people in four simply appointed but perfectly adequate and pleasing accommodations. Consider one of its three-day activity packages. It offers transfers from/to Liberia ($45).
A bus runs from Liberia to Quebrada Grande at 3 P.M. daily; a second bus departs Quebrada Grande at 4 P.M. daily for Nueva Zelandia. Group transfers from Daniel Oduber Airport cost $20 per person. The road turns to dirt about five kilometers east of Quebrada Grande.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/costa-rica/guanacaste-and-the-northwest/liberia-and-vicinity/liberia
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/costa-rica/guanacaste-and-the-northwest/liberia-and-vicinity/rincon-de-la-vieja-national-park
[3] http://www.curubanda.com