Full day Arenal Volcano, La Fortuna Waterfall and Hotsprings

Marco and Franklin were very good! So personable and accommodating! The trip overall was a great experience thanks to our tour guides.

This was a wonderful day! Christian was our tour guide and he was patient, knowledgeable and very helpful. Here are my top recommendations for this tour: bring snacks for the day! You can keep them in the van so you don’t have to carry them but we were starving by late afternoon. Bring water shoes for the waterfall hike, it is muddy and you will want them to navigate the rocks once you reach the bottom. Bring a towel and set of dry clothes for the end of the day after the hot springs. They have showers so you can even bring soap and shampoo. Each stop during the day is a different location so you can leave unnecessary items in the van when you don’t need them. It is a long, somewhat challenging day but well worth it!

I was a little nervous when I heard it was an 11 hour day, but everyone in my family of 4 agreed - this was the highlight of our trip. The van picked us up directly at our resort in La Fortuna, communication was super easy. This tour is run by red lava tour company - sometimes it is hard to tell that from this site. Some specifics about the day I thought I would share for those curious what the full day is like: Took about 1 hour to pick everyone up. Short ride to entrance to the park once everyone was picked up. Walked around the entrance area where there was a little farm with animals, a butterfly garden and little room with frogs. Then we took a tractor ride up a massive hill and took about 25 min. Got to a great view point to overlook a valley then started the hike down the mountain. Definitely treacherous but only 10-15 min down. There is a hanging bridge in the middle that was scary (for me). At the bottom you get to the base of the river and can walk through the water(and lots of rocks) to get a view of the waterfall. You will get wet up to your chest if you get in the water and it is very Rocky and slippery. Wear water shoes! I saw people going barefoot and it looked painful. You can get to a good view point to see the waterfall or go in the water up pretty close to it. It was quite powerful - the waterfall. This was a really amazing experience! The hike back up all those steps was definitely a lot of cardio work but again relatively short - but straight up. Took the tractor back down abd visiting a traditional village and learned some culture and tried their delicious cider drink. Then had lunch - fantastic lunch. Fruit juice, chicken (you could choose beef, fish or veggies)rice, beans, etc - delicious. After lunch we got back in the van and drove to arenal and hiked to a view point to see the volcano better and a green lagoon. Another pretty strenuous uphill hike but pretty short for a great view. Carlos was our guide and he was great, provided us lots of great history and facts about the volcano, Costa Rica and the plant life.

Excellent tour of the critical attractions in La Fortuna. Christian from Red Lava Tours was amazing as a tour guide. The hot springs at the end of the tour are not “natural hot springs” but still a good end to a long day of hiking through the rainforest.

My friends and I had a great time. Marcos was a great tour guide and very entertaining! The walk to the waterfall was a moderate hike, but a little strenuous on the way back since we had to make our way back up. Marcos encouraged everyone to take their own pace which allowed us to personalize the experience for ourselves. The views at the top to see Arenal weren’t as clear as we would’ve liked due to the weather, but still beautiful and worth the hike. This excursion was a great way to experience Costa Rica.

Santiago and Marco were lots of fun and very informative. Santiago was always on the lookout for local wildlife and both guides made the trek a great experience.

Marcos and Emmanuel were great! They were really helpful and friendly. We really enjoyed our trip. Would recommend!!

A full day in nature with Henrique our great biologist guide that excelled and made the day special with all his knowledge and experience. The day ended in a perfect hot spring that was really nice.

Really appreciated the variety of the full day. We were lucky to see the volcano for a few precious moments unobstructed by clouds.

The BEST your with thee BEST guides! We got so much out of this trip, it was worth every penny! There was swimming, hiking, cultural experience with the indigenous tribe, and REALLY good food. All that being said our guides Carlos and Erick MADE the trip! They were both so knowledgeable and had so many interesting things to show us. The were energetic, kind, and are clearly so passionate about what they do. We could not have asked for a better day!