This action packed Arenal combination tour includes: a safari float down the Penas Blancas River, a hike to the La Fortuna Waterfall with swim, a guided hike to see the Arenal Volcano, and a relaxing soak at Tabacon Hot Springs, one of the most luxurious natural hot springs resorts in the area. This full day tour includes lunch, dinner, snacks, all transportation and a bilingual naturalist guide.
Your adventure will begin when you are picked up from your hotel in the morning and brought to Rio Penas Blancas for a leisurely boat ride. You will be helped into a durable rubber raft to go out on a water safari and nature tour. Your guide will paddle and steer the boat while pointing out an amazing variety of wildlife living on or near the water. You will be offered a fresh fruit snack and cold bottled water along the way.
After the Safari Float, you’ll be driven in an air-conditioned van to the La Fortuna Waterfall. Here you will descend down over 400 stairs built into the canyon as you follow the descent of the waterfall from lookout platforms along the way. When you reach the bottom, you will likely see that it was totally worth the trek as you witness the thundering water cascading 230 feet down into a dazzling turquoise pool. This is a beautiful setting where many people have gotten married or engaged! You can take a plunge into the refreshingly cool water or sit and rest on the bank enjoying the lush scenery. Afterwards you’ll hike back up the stairs receiving an excellent workout! Due to the many steps, this part of the tour is not recommended for people with knee problems.
Between activities, you’ll stop to refuel with a hearty traditional Costa Rica style lunch at a local restaurant.
Next stop, the Arenal Volcano! This active, but “sleeping” volcano is seen on a clear day towering over the town of La Fortuna. Entering a private reserve, you’ll go for a guided hike on well maintained trails through the rainforest canopy stopping to observe any wildlife along the way. Eventually you will reach an observation platform with amazing views of the volcano, excellent for taking photos.
After your boating and hiking expeditions your guide will drop you off for a few hours at the luxurious Tabacon Hot Springs. This property was originally bought by an architect who took great care to preserve the native rain forest setting while creating private hot spring grottos fed by the natural hot springs river. These grottos and stepped waterfalls create a romantic and peaceful oasis for couples or groups of friends to share an incredible outdoor experience. Included in this stop is a delicious buffet dinner in the open-air restaurant. Your driver will pick you up at a prearranged time after dinner and take you back to your hotel.
Included in this fun filled full day of adventure are all admission fees, boat ride, bilingual naturalist guide, lunch, dinner, fruit snack, bottled water and round trip transportation from your hotel in the La Fortuna area. One way transport can take between 15 to 45 minutes depending on your the location of your hotel. Combined time of tour including transportation can take from 7.5 to 10 hours. Please bring your bathing suit, towel, hat, hiking clothes, hiking shoes, rain jacket, bottled water, sun protection and insect repellent. See ya there!
6 and up
Latitude: N 10° 29' 17.03"
Longitude: W 84° 43' 18.95"
01/01/2020
This ended up being a very long day and we were exhausted, but did enjoy every minute of it. The safari float was cool. Saw a lot of wildlife and the guide was great. The hike down the waterfall was next and it was beautiful, but it is my least favorite thing we did on this vacation. I didn't mind the hike down or up, but it just seemed so touristy. The hike up Arenal was awesome and we also did a hike in the rainforest there too. Our guide was very good and full of information. Lastly, we went to the Tabacon Hot Springs. We were very tired by then and the water felt good, but looking back on this, we could have just skipped that part of the tour.
11/08/2018
Danny was awesome! We had the best day!