Can you climb arenal

A tour is nice because you get the free transport, plus a guide. We know of a great one and would be happy to help you book a tour with him if you would like- just let us know. Reading your website has been so helpful! Can I find out more information about those guides? My husband and I will be in La Fortuna next week. We will have a rental car and we are generally physically fit, so I believe we can do the hikes independently, but it sounds like a guide would be helpful with pointing out fauna, animals, and the history of the area.

Thank you for the information! Your blog has been so helpful, planning our first trip to CR this coming January. What do you think? Thank you again for any guide recommendations! Hi Jess, Yes, a guided tour is nice because it includes transportation.

Rental cars can be pricey in January so that is definitely a good idea. We will send you the information about the guided tour now so check your email. Hi David, The national park would be good with a 3.

This reader was asking a similar question about where to hike with a toddler. EcoCentro Danaus is also very good for young children. I have been reading your blog posts for the past year. My wife and I are going to be in La Fortuna in October 2nd visit and would like to take a guided hike around the volcano. In your posts you mention taking a guided hike. Hi Mike, Just saw this second comment. I think we sent you an email last week about helping you book a guided tour of the park.

To answer your question, the hike at the national park is fairly easy. If you are looking for a more challenging hike, Arenal is a good option. We can help with bookings for that too. I will be in La Fortuna next week and, based on the comments you have made and the others above have made, I am thinking it might be a good idea to get a guide…can you send me information on how to do that?

I have been reading your forums and have found a lot of the information useful. I was wondering if you could send me some info on the guide you took at The National Park and whether u recommend walking The National Park trails and Arenal trails in one day. I am going to La Fortuna in the next 2 weeks. Hi Melanie, We would recommend picking one of the two for hiking since the experience is similar.

The main difference is that the Trail is slightly more difficult. We will send you an email with more information and about the guide. Your site is amazing, has helped me plan my honeymoon! Or is that too rushed? I am asking because we have done a full revamp of our schedule to squeeze in a day trip to rio celeste since I came across your blog on that by accident I got lost in clicking!

I suppose I should mention — our next stop after that is Jaco… multiple stops after that as well …. Online says 3.

Hi Paola, Yes, the volcano hike is about a few hours so easily done in the morning so that you could get back for lunch. Your schedule looks fine and your assumptions re: timing for transportation and tours are right on.

Also, make sure to leave early the day you do Rio Celeste because it is a little far away but doable as a day trip, yes. I am interested in your guide contact info. Thank you for this awesome website!! My husband and I will be visiting Costa Rica in June We will be spending a week in Monteverde on a volunteer project. Then after that, we plan to go to La Fortuna via taxi-boat-taxi and arrive around noon.

Staying at Hotel Rancho Cerro Azul thx for recommendation. From reading the comments, it sounds like a great idea to hire a guide for the national park. Can I get that info, please? Is that a half day affair?

We are also interested in the waterfall and hanging bridges. We will not have a car — are those far from the hotel? Any advice for our days in Fortuna would be greatly appreciated! Hi Lynette, We forgot to approve this comment after we emailed you the other day.

Looking forward to helping you with some of the planning for your trip in the New Year. Hello there- your blog has been extremely helpful in planning our upcoming trip to CR.

We will be going mid-April. Thank you!! We are vacationing in CR for 10 days beginning February 15 and running through February It has been 20 years since we last visited the area, and understand that a lot has changed. We are looking for suggestions that would be fun for both the parents and the 10 year old girls. The challenge is knowing what would be both age appropriate and fun for the kids.

The final week will be spent in Playa Flamingo, and we are not the least bit familiar with that area. Any insight would be welcome. Although the other family is not concerned about budget, our little family of 3 is on a limited budget and would like to make the most of our dollar. They have really improved the facilities and built nice steps to get down to the falls. Some good inexpensive or free activities with 10 year olds are the free hot springs across from the Tabacon , national parks kids get a discounted admission and for guided tours with the company that we work with , and a chocolate tour.

Kids that age usually really like zip lining and there is a reduced rate for that so that would be a good option for an exciting paid tour.

Horseback riding can be done fairly cheaply too. Hi Jenn and Matt! Thank you for this informative blog! I am interested in contact info of tour guide for Arenal National Park. Hi Jenn and Matt, thanks for the great blog! Could you send me the info on the guide as well? We are planning to be in La Fortuna late next week and would love to get information for the guide for the Arenal trails? Thank you so much. My family ages 70, 60, 38,35, 33, 24 plus grandkids ages 3,5,7.

Our first time to Costa rica. This is very disappointing since the grandkids have been hiking national parks for the last 2 years. What tours do you recommend and can you please recommend a private tour guide certified naturalist perhaps?

We are then going to La Paz Waterfalls was hoping to see Poaz puffing? Do you put together itineraries with private drivers and guides or recommend how we do so? Thank you Thank you. Maybe you found some bad info? They did change ownership recently but it looks like you can still purchase admission for children.

If you would like, we could help you arrange some tours for your time in La Fortuna, La Paz, and Manuel Antonio based on what your family is interested in. We would charge a small fee for our time.

If you need help with transportation, we can do that too. Thank you very much for the wealth of information you share with us. I really appreciate your blogs and use them as a base for my research. We are going to Costa Rica in two weeks in a group of 9 5 adults 4 kids and would like to do and see as much as possible.

We are staying in La Fortuna for 4 nights and my head is spinning on how to fit all the top things to do into our short visit. Hi Inessa, Glad that our website has been helpful with your planning! Yes, you can definitely do the Arenal Trail and the hot springs in one day. These activities are a reasonable drive from one another and complement each other well.

Did you want a guide for the hike? We do recommend it to see the most and learn about the history of the area. Let us know if you need a recommendation. We may be able to get you a group discount through them since you have 9 people. Will you have a car?

If you do have a car, you could do the hike either guided or unguided, then drive yourselves to the springs. I would be interested in hearing more about group discount and the price for the package you mentioned. We do have cars for our group. Which springs would be included in the package? We are leaning towards Paradise Hot Springs but open to your suggestions.

Just sent you an email with the information, Inessa. Hello — Thanks for all your good information. My family 6 is traveling with another family 5. I saw one company that had a hike along the river, bubbling mud flats and waterfall, which sounds interesting.

It seems as if the guides want to incorporate a meal to extend their trips, which we would rather not do. We are an active group and are wondering if you might have suggestions of hikes and guides? Hi Hillary, We know of some great guides in the area for a volcano hike and also for something more challenging if you are looking for that type of experience. Since you have a larger group, we also may be able to secure you some discounts if you book more than one tour through us.

We work with a couple of different companies that offer canyoning. If that sounds good, let us know and we can send you an email with more information on how we can help. Hi Matt and Jenn — great site! We have three nights in El Castillo and want to do a hike one day. I was reading your blog about the Arenal trail and really like the look of that and then going to the hot springs later in the day.

Thanks so much and really appreciate all the fantastic info! Thanks for your amazing site. We will be traveling to Costa Rica May for our honeymoon. We are staying near Arenal for the beginning for the trip and then are heading to Guanacaste for the remainder of the trip. During our time we would love to do as much adventurous activities as we can. For our time in Arenal will you provide us with the guide for the volcano hike with transportation and any other must sees or activities.

Hi Jenn and Matt, wonderful site! We will have our own transportation. Is this fee collected only if stopping at what is marked as Arenal National Park Visitor Center on the map, or is it collected just driving on the roads through the park? For instance if I want to go to Arenal Observatory Lodge we are not staying here but have heard we can use trails for a fee do I have to pay both a park entrance fee and then the fee for the Arenal Observatory area? Or if I want to drive through the park to get to Sky Adventures Arenal Park for a bridge walk, do I again have to pay the National Park entrance fee just for using that road?

Do you have any opinion on Sky Adventures bridges vs. Anything here we should cut, or something else we should consider? If I was picking only one hike to have a guide with and the remainder to do on our own, which would be the best? We want to see and do a lot but still have a bit of time for relaxing at the hotel. You only pay if you enter at the park entrance. Arenal Observatory is near the park but a completely separate property. To access its trails, you pay their entrance fee at the gate.

Same for Sky Adventures but there you pay a fee for a tour or if you want to do the hanging bridges hike unguided, you pay at the desk near the parking area. Sky is primary rainforest and passes by waterfalls, a river, etc. Rainforest Chocolate is great for kids and they would probably enjoy a float trip because of all the wildlife. La Fortuna Waterfall is great too. Thank you for the detailed response. Your blog has been so helpful in planning our Costa Rican honeymoon!

We are headed to La Fortuna for 5 days in May and were wondering if you had recommendations for hike guides in the Arenal National Park? Is it possible to also do the Ecothermales after the hike? Hello, Thank you so much for your wonderful blog. Would it be possible to e-mail me the information for the tour guide? Great blog! We are a family of two parents and three kids, Can you send your guide contact? Also I am interested in possible zip lining, either in Arenal area or in Tamarindo.

Any suggestions? I am looking next on your site for the beach areas. Hi Mary Ann, We just sent you an email with our guide info and some other recommendations. Hi, if we do a self guided hike, do we need a car to get to the trail or would a local taxi be able to get us to the start past the ranger station.

The company that we work with and get a discount through, Adobe, has an office in La Fortuna and could deliver the car to your hotel for free if you request it. Hope that is helpful! We are visiting La Fortuna October and would like information on the Mistico hanging bridges, hiking at the Arenal Volcano park, and possibly the Rainforest Chocolate, and any other suggestions.

If we are staying at the Observatory and most likely would check out their hiking trail, would you still recommend going to the Arenal Volcano National park? Have both in the itinerary right now and wondering if that would be redundant. Hi Sheryl, The trails at the Observatory are somewhat limited, especially now that access to Cerro Chato is closed. If you have time, we think it would be worth it to still check out the national park. The environment is a little different as well as the view of the volcano.

Thank you for your great information! We are planning a trip on april and we have 4 kids with us ages 1. Hi Matan, With very young kids like a 1. The Peninsula Trail is paved so great for little kids, but it is a little farther from the volcano. Most of the hike is through the rainforest then you get a nice view of Lake Arenal and the volcano at the end.

My husband and I are thinking of going for 10 days mid March your info has been great. Hopefully we can do most the sites. I am staying in cahuita and la fortuna. Are the Arenal National Parks and la fortuna waterfalls generally safe? Hi Jennifer, We have heard of problems at the Manzanillo refuge near Puerto Viejo de Talamanca but not at Cahuita National Park so hopefully that was only an isolated incident.

Yes, the Arenal area is very safe. We have 4 kids ages and would like your tour and information for Mistico hanging bridges and a guide for either the National Park or Trail.

Just starting our research and loving your tips and suggestions. Are all of the National Parks and excursions open during the holiday? Any other advice if we come during this week that we should be aware of? Looking forward to reading more through this amazing site. It was constantly erupting between and when explosions could be heard on a daily basis.

Activity has become more sporadic since then. If the weather is clear, and the volcano is erupting, glowing lava can be seen at night. Unfortunately, this area normally has wet weather; so a little luck is needed to see the volcano. Even if you don't have a chance to see the peak, it's still worth the visit since you there are many things to see in the area and on the slopes of the volcano.

When active, you can hear explosions from the volcano throughout the day and night. No eruptions have been reported since Arenal was dormant from the year until July On that day, Arenal exploded and lava flows covered two towns and killed 80 people. The volcano forms an almost perfectly symmetrical cone. The lower slopes are rich in wildlife and forest, and many beautiful waterfalls lace the slopes of the volcano.

You must first make your way to the town of Fortuna, located on the west slopes. There are several options. Leaving from San Jose is the most popular option. For other options and cities, check any of the travel agencies in Monte Verde, Tilaran, or Punta Arenas. Just about every hotel in Costa Rica seems to double as a travel agency, so you don't have to look around for one. It does pay to check prices at several locations, however.

Alternately, you can take any number of guided tours from San Jose. There's too many too list, and every hotel or hostel in San Jose can book one. Make sure to shop around. This is one place where it is recommended that you take a guided tour. It's easier than independent travel, and the locals know much history about the volcano, and also know the best trails and viewing places.

They also know where to find the rich wildlife in the area. See several recommendations below. Since you probably have to rent a car to visit independent of a guided tour anyway, you really wont save any money doing it on your own. If you do visit independent of a guided tour, first drive or take a taxi to the Arenal Visitor Center.

To do this, drive 15 kms west of Fortuna and turn left at the Parque National sign. Follow the dirt road 2 kms to the visitor center open 7 AM to 10 PM. This is the trailhead for the West Slopes hike. The walk to La Catarata de la Fortuna begins right at the chuch in the town center. Guided Tours Information Arenal is one place where it pays to go on a guided tour. Los Tucanes is one of the longer Arenal hiking trails.

There is an old lava trail extension halfway through the loop that eventually leads to Arenal Observatory Lodge. Check-in with the ranger station regarding accessibility before your hike as Los Tucanes is sometimes closed. Within the national park boundary, Arenal Observatory Lodge offers access to 11 km of trails. The trail is also known to host howler monkeys in the trees. With two possible entry ways, the trail from La Fortuna waterfall has in recent years been closed off due to erosion, while a trail from Arenal Observatory Lodge is typically more accessible.

The opportunity to explore the ecosystems and terrain of this volcanic region is an experience you will never forget. Travelling to Costa Rica? Chat with a local travel specialist in Costa Rica who can help organize your trip. There are several trails to hike around Arenal Volcano.

Trail distance: 1. Trail distance: 1 km Hike duration: 25 minutes Hike difficulty: Easy, due to great accessibility, flat terrain, and short distance. While you cannot hike up the volcano, it is possible to get the best views of Arenal from the lava fields.

Trail distance: 2 km Hike duration: 1 hour Hike difficulty: Easy to moderate. The trail is mostly flat but requires climbing a staircase at the end. Take precautions if walking over the lava fields as debris can be large, jagged, and wobbly. The land is flat and the walk is a popular choice for leisurely strolls to admit the local flora and fauna.

Hiking inside the national park is a great way to explore the local flora and fauna. Trail distance: 3 km Hike duration: 2.