La Fortuna: Arenal Volcano, Waterfall & Hot Springs Full Day

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.85 (27 reviews) 93% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/10

Duration11h–14h

GroupUp to 30

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Four stops in one day: rainforest, waterfall, volcano, and thermal pools

You start before dawn, hike through hanging bridges and rainforest, swim at a waterfall, walk the base of Arenal Volcano, and end the day soaking in hot springs with dinner included. A bilingual guide handles the narration and logistics; a minivan handles the route. Return is late, so plan for a full day away from your hotel.

11h–14h

Step-by-step itinerary

Arenal Highlights and Hot Springs

Start Mistico Hanging Bridges hike
Visit La Fortuna Waterfall and swim
Lunch break
Hike at Arenal Volcano base
Relax at Baldi Hot Springs
Enjoy dinner

The Experience

You'll wonder how it all fits into a single day, and then the minivan picks you up at 7:30am and you realize the timing is tight but real. The morning starts at Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park at 8am, where a bilingual naturalist guide walks you through the canopy on suspension bridges strung between old-growth trees. You're looking for wildlife — sloths, howler monkeys, birds — and the guide knows where to point. The bridges give you height without the scramble, and the rainforest floor stays quiet enough that you actually hear things move.

By 11am you're at La Fortuna Waterfall, the one that drops into a pool you can swim in. The hike down takes maybe twenty minutes, and the water is cold and clear. You get an hour and a half there, which is enough to swim, dry off, and sit on the rocks without rushing. Lunch happens at 1:30pm — included, so no hunting for a restaurant — and then you're back on the road for the Arenal Volcano Walk at 2:30pm. This one is a guided hike on the base of the volcano itself, and your guide talks through the geology and the 1968 eruption while you walk through secondary forest and lava fields. It's not a technical climb, but it's a real walk, and it takes three hours.

The day ends where most people want it to: Baldi Hot Springs from 5:30pm to 8pm. These are thermomineral pools fed by geothermal water, and you soak in them as the light goes. Dinner is served at 8pm, included in the price, and you're back at your hotel by 9:30pm. The whole thing — transport, entrance fees, guide, both meals, water — is one price. You bring a swimsuit, a raincoat, walking shoes, and a camera, and that's the setup.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and drop-off, all entrance fees to Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park, La Fortuna Waterfall, Arenal Volcano base, and Baldi Hot Springs, professional bilingual naturalist guide, lunch and dinner, transport by air-conditioned minivan, and cold bottled water throughout the day.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats availableNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by SEVEN TOURS COSTA RICA

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see the main Arenal attractions in a single push without arranging separate transport, guides, and meals — the fixed itinerary and included food mean you're not making decisions between 8am and 9:30pm.