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Travel guide
Arenal Volcano
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: December to April (dry season)
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Welcome
Arenal Volcano, in a few days
An almost perfect 1,670-metre cone above La Fortuna, quiet since 2010 after forty-two years of continuous eruption. Around it: old lava flows where the forest is growing back, rivers heated by magma, and sloths ten minutes from the village.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The 1968 lava flow trail · about 1 h 30A three-kilometre trail across the blocks of lava from the 1968 eruption, which buried three villages in minutes and is slowly being reclaimed by forest.
- Afternoon · La Fortuna Waterfall · about 1 h 30A 70-metre fall into a basalt pool five kilometres from the village, reached by around five hundred steps: fifteen minutes down, twice that back up.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Arenal Springs Resort & Spa€140 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · El Salto rope swing free · about 1 hA deep pool in the Río Fortuna at the edge of the village, where locals swim and swing from a rope into the water.
- Afternoon · Bogarín Trail and its sloths · about 1 h 30A private reserve ten minutes' walk from the centre, with a flat two-kilometre path where two- and three-toed sloths are seen on almost every visit.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Arenal Manoa€170 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Tabacón Hot Springs · half a dayA river heated by the volcano to 35 to 40°C, channelled into pools and cascades in a garden named after the village lost in 1968.
- Afternoon · Mistico Hanging Bridges · 2 to 3 hA 3.2 km loop through primary forest over sixteen bridges, six of them hanging, at canopy level where toucans, howler monkeys and sloths live.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Lomas del Volcan€150 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Lake Arenal free · about 30 minAn 85 km² reservoir created in 1979 for hydropower; steady trade winds from December to April make it a renowned windsurfing spot.
- Afternoon · Río Celeste at Tenorio Volcano · half a dayA river of milky sky blue that begins at the Teñidero, where two streams meet and suspended minerals scatter the light within a few metres.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Los Lagos€150 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Gallo pinto: rice and beans, cooked together. Breakfast, every day.
- Casado: a plate of rice, beans, meat, salad and fried plantain.
- Ceviche: fish cured in lime, eaten cold at the beach.
- Tropical fruit in quantity: mango, papaya, and pejibaye, the palm fruit eaten with mayonnaise.
- Café de altura: high-grown coffee, among the best in the world and cheapest at the farm gate.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Take a four-wheel drive for the unsealed roads, and check the insurance excess.
- Leave nothing visible in a parked car, above all at trailheads and beaches.
- Rip currents are the main danger on Pacific beaches. Swim where others swim.
- Do not feed the monkeys or the coatis. It makes them sick and then aggressive.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Spanish
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Hello | Hola |
| Thank you | Gracias |
| Please | Por favor |
| Yes | Sí |
| No | No |
| Excuse me | Perdone |
| Goodbye | Adiós |
| Do you speak English? | ¿Habla inglés? |
| I don't understand | No entiendo |
| How much is it? | ¿Cuánto cuesta? |
| Where are the toilets? | ¿Dónde están los baños? |
| The bill, please | La cuenta, por favor |
| Help! | ¡Socorro! |
| Cheers! | ¡Salud! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyCosta Rican colón (CRC)
BudgetAbout €125 a day, mid-range
Best seasonDecember to April (dry season)
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink in towns
Tipping10%, often already on the bill
Emergency911
EntryNo visa for stays of up to 180 days with a passport, for EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian citizens. An officer sets the number of days on entry, so check the stamp, and you may be asked to show an onward ticket.
HealthHepatitis A and typhoid are recommended. A yellow fever certificate is asked for only if you arrive from a country where it circulates. Malaria risk is low and limited to the lowlands; dengue is the real reason to use repellent.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/arenal
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.