6KM from the base of the Arenal Volcano is the town of La Fortuna. No longer the quiet town that sprouted from tourism boom that followed the last major volcanic eruption in 1968; the town is now one of Costa Rica’s busiest tourist destinations. While the Arenal Volcano has been officially dormant since 2010, the lava that once fed the volcano still flows below the surface, turning various water sources in the area into natural hotsprings. I also found local hangout spots – such as “El Salto” where locals gather both to Tarzan swing next to some beautiful waterfalls as well as watch the show some of the local daredevils put on. La Fortuna offers an amazing array of outdoor activities, from canyoning next to waterfalls, visiting hotsprings, rafting, to volcano hikes.
This post includes affiliate links. If you make a purchase via one of these links, I may receive a small percentage at no extra cost to you.
Contents:
- Transportation to La Fortuna
- Accommodations in La Fortuna
- Dining recommendations in La Fortuna
- Arenal Volcano Hikes
- Canyoning
- Free things to do in La Fortuna
- Free Hotsprings River
- Tarzan-swinging into the Rio Fortuna at “El Salto” Waterfalls
- Rafting to the Caribbean on the Pacure River
- Trip Costs for 6 days and 5 nights in La Fortuna
- Final thoughts on La Fortuna
Transportation to La Fortuna:
There are regular public buses that run from San Jose to La Fortuna. If you want a more door-to-door option from San Jose or other destinations, you may consider booking a direct shared shuttle through Interbus Costa Rica.
Coming from Monteverde, the hands-down best way to get to La Fortuna (or vice versa) would be the Jeep-Boat-Jeep service. This is a door-to-door service between La Fortuna and Monteverde that runs at 8am and 2pm everyday. The service will get you between the two destinations in about 4 hours. You’ll be picked up by a vehicle (typically a van, and not a jeep) at your accommodations, then transferred to a boat to cross Lake Arenal. You’ll then be picked up by another vehicle that will drop you off at your destination. The cost is approximately $27USD. Best way to book this service is through your departing hotel or guesthouse. You can travel via the public bus system between La Fortuna and Monteverde, but given lengthy transfer and the fact that you have to go around Lake Arenal, ground travel can take 8 – 10 hours.
Accommodations in La Fortuna:
I stayed at Hotel La Choza Inn in La Fortuna as they offer a daily free shuttle to the hot springs river (see map). The problem with getting to the hot springs river is that while it’s easy to get from La Fortuna to the hot springs river, there is no cell service in the area once you get there, so calling an Uber or a taxi coming back can be tricky. So the free shuttle service to the hot springs river at La Choza was great for that. Their rates (approximately $15USD for a 4-person shared dorm) also included a very generous breakfast of scrambled eggs, gallo pinto, fruit, fried plantains, coffee and juice. I know quite a few people also had rave reviews about Rio Danta Hostel – which at the time of this writing was only charging $8USD per night in a shared dorm.
Dining Recommendations:
Soda Visquez is a wonderful family-run restaurant that I went back to on many nights in La Fortuna. The restaurant services typical Costa Rican food at some of the most affordable prices in La Fortuna. Casados are 3000 colones, but they also serve other dishes like steak and seafood for very reasonable prices as well. Angel works there with his two sisters, and the restaurant is owned by his uncle and aunt. They greeted us like restaurant regulars after a few nights – wonderful service and food!
About 1.5km away from the town centre, El Chante Verde serves an amazing array of salads, buddha bowls, falafel, Asian-fusion cuisine that will surely please those who are looking for a delicious vegetable-forward meal. Ask for a dish of their homemade hot sauce. Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free available. Meals were 4000 – 6000 colones on average.
Arenal Volcano Hikes:
Hiking excursions to the Arenal Volcano, will take you to the base of the Volcano (hiking on the volcano itself is not allowed – and is dangerous in any case). I did this half day Arenal Volcano hiking excursion with Arenal Jungle tours which combined a hike to the base of the Arenal Volcano with a visit to the hot springs. The guided excursion included round-trip transportation from your hotel/hostel, the $19USD Arenal Park fee, and lunch. They even threw in some shots of homemade “contrabana” Costa Rican rum, which is estimated at 60% proof. It tastes like rum and tequila had a baby and it was made of fire. The excursion ended with a relaxing soak in the hotsprings river where we were all given volcanic mud facemasks that were supposed to make us all look 10 years younger 🙂 While $50 seemed like a lot for a hiking excursion, in the end I had a great time, and honestly, the guides were knowledgeable and entertaining; and it would have cost me at least $35 – $40 to do the excursion on my own when you factor in the $19USD park fee, transportation and lunch.
There is also the 5km 1968 Arenal Volcano lavafield hike (see map for trailhead) that you can do on your own. Here are the trail details: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/costa-rica/alajuela/arenal-1968-volcano-trail. You’ll need to pay a $19USD park entrance fee, and pay your own way to the trailhead and back – caution: there is very little signal in the area, so getting a taxi or Uber back might be tricky. You might want to take down the number of your Uber driver in case you need to get someone to call them to come back to pick you up – expect to pay double the price – as your outgoing Uber trip as they effectively need to make two trips. The Arenal Volcano National Park Visitor Centre (see map) might have someone who can help you make a call, or if you’re lucky they might have WIFI available for you to call an Uber.
Canyoning:
I did a canyoning adventure with PureTrek. I have zero experience rappelling; let alone next to waterfalls, but PureTrek, is used to working with complete beginners, and made the experience very enjoyable. The excursion includes hotel pick-up/dropoff, all equipment, and lunch. We rappelled down 5 waterfalls, with the highest one being 168ft high. There was also a Zipline called the “Monkey Drop” where they “dropped” terrified tourists about 20 feet into a deep pool of water. The sound of a person being dropped into the water created a loud “boom” sound which echoed against the surrounding rock walls. This left all the other tourists standing at the top of the cliff even more apprehensive about what was to happen to them after hearing sound of a body hitting water – with no explanation from the guides who seemed to be getting a kick out of seeing our scared faces.
You can purchase a photo package for $35USD for a couple or $25USD for a single – but note, they send you all the photo files for everyone in the group in a Dropbox link – so only one person in the entire group needs to purchase a photo package – and split the cost with everyone else. Highly recommend canyoning with PureTrek, the guides were amazing, and super entertaining – ie: purposely pulling us into the waterfalls at times. Also, considering it costs $18USD just to view one waterfall in the area (ahem…La Fortuna Waterfall), why not rappel down five waterfalls in an adrenaline-filled value-pack deal of waterfalls?
Rafting on the Pacure River a.k.a raft your way to the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica!:
My next stop after La Fortuna is Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. Unfortunately, there are not direct bus options from La Fortuna to the Caribbean Coast. From La Fortuna, I will have had to take a bus all the way back to San Jose and then another bus from San Jose to Puerto Viejo. Fortunately, there’s a Pacuare river rafting expedition that doubles as a transportation option from different points in Costa Rica to the Caribbean Coast and vice-versa!
The Pacuare River is home to some of the best class 3 and 4 rapids in the world, and is one of the best places to go rafting in Costa Rica. Exploradores Outdoors offers an amazing one-day rafting excursion with pick-up from San José, Arenal, La Fortuna and drop-offs on the Caribbean Coast and vice-versa. As I needed to get to Puerto Viejo in the Caribbean Coast after my visit to La Fortuna, rafting my way to the Caribbean Coast seemed a whole lot more fun than taking another 8-10 hours of buses first from La Fortuna to San Jose, and then San Jose to Puerto Viejo.
Free things to do in La Fortuna:
Due to the enormous number of amazing activities, that I could not say no to; La Fortuna was the most expensive destination I visited in Costa Rica. Thankfully, there are some wonderful free activities you can do in the La Fortuna area that can help even out your costs during your time there.
Free Hotsprings River:
Just 50m from the Tabacon Resort, is the entrance to the free hot springs river (see map). Save some dollars and do what the locals do – bring some beer and enjoy the hot springs experience for free. If you come in the evenings, locals usually put out candles for a candlelit hot springs experience. Note: cell signal can be spotty here, so if you need to call an Uber back, you might need to walk over to the Tabacon Resort and see if they can help you call a taxi back, or let you use their WIFI network to call an Uber. Hotel La Choza Inn provides a free shuttle to the hotsprings at 4pm daily (including return) for their guests.
Catarata “El Salto”:
Just a 1.5KM walk from the city centre is a very popular swim spot complete with gorgeous cascading waterfalls and a deep turquoise pool where local and tourists alike can swing into Tarzan-style. If it’s a clear day, watch the local daredevils come out and perform amazing stunts off into the pool.
Trip costs for 6 days and 5 nights in La Fortuna:
Accommodations: $95USD
Transportation: $36.03USD
Laundry: $4USD
Dining out: $40.31USD
Groceries: $8.52USD
Excursions: $254USD
Total: $437.86 USD
Final thoughts on La Fortuna:
While extremely touristy at times, La Fortuna was an unforgettable stop on my Costa Rican itinerary. Yes, it was expensive. Yes, it seemed like everything cost money – even to view a waterfall, it costs $18USD – I’m (not) looking at you La Fortuna Waterfall… all that being said, I happily shelled out for activities like canyoning, volcano hikes and rafting – and felt they were well worth the cost. I was joking that I was “new verbing” with activities like “canyoning.” The tour guides and companies are very professional and experienced, and I marvelled at how enjoyable they made complicated activities like rappelling down a 200ft waterfall do-able and safe for complete beginners. When else would newbies be able to enjoy such experiences? When in La Fortuna…
