Things to do in La Fortuna
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit La Fortuna
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season, clearest volcano views and firmest trails, February driest and March hottest, peak prices and crowds.
Shoulder months with sunny mornings, afternoon rain, lower rates and quiet trails, November transitions back.
Little summer veranillo, a mid rains dry break of one to three weeks coinciding with school holidays.
Deep green season, rainiest months, Rio Celeste often brown, but emptiest, cheapest and best for hot springs.
What's on
- Fiestas Civicas typically February
Local civic festival season in San Carlos canton with rodeos, horse parades, fairground and concerts.
- Semana Santa Easter week, March/April
Whole country travels, processions in town, book everything and expect the highest demand.
- Juan Santamaria Day 11 April
Parades and concerts across Alajuela province for its hero.
- Independence Day 15 September
Lantern parades on the evening of 14 September, school bands and the torch run.
- Christmas and New Year late December
Town fiestas and the highest prices of the year.
- Fiestas Palmares mid-January
Huge traditional fiesta about 1.5 hours away in Palmares, worth a day trip in season.
Best things to do in La Fortuna
La Fortuna Waterfall
A 70 metre cascade into a swimmable emerald pool, reached by 530 steps through jungle just outside town.
Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park
Canopy level bridges through primary rainforest, best with a guide who finds sloths, vipers and toucans.
Arenal Volcano National Park
Trails across the 1992 lava flow to a lookout over Lake Arenal, with the cone filling the view.
Arenal 1968
Private trails across the actual 1968 lava flow with strong cone and lake panoramas and fewer queues.
Bogarin Trail
Flat guided trail in town famous for reliable close range sloths, plus frogs, toucans and owls.
Ecocentro Danaus
Small regenerated reserve with butterfly garden, frog pond and lagoon, dense with wildlife in two flat hours.
North Fields Coffee
Family farm tour of coffee, cacao and sugarcane with generous tastings, ideal for a rainy afternoon.
El Salto
Free local swimming hole with a rope swing and small cascade, where La Fortuna swims on a Sunday.
Where to stay in La Fortuna
Volcano road (Route 142 west of town)
best overall base, honeymooners and drivers
Volcano views, gardens and hot springs along the road west to the national park and Tabacon.
Downtown La Fortuna
no car, budget and short stays
Walkable grid around the park with sodas, cafes, tour offices, bus station and supermarkets.
Waterfall road and south side
longer stays and families in cabins
Greener and more residential, five minutes to the waterfall and El Salto and cyclable to town.
Lake Arenal and El Castillo
deliberate slow stays and birders
Beautiful far shores 30 to 45 minutes from town restaurants and most tour pickups.
Think twice about
- Isolated rentals far east toward the Arenal airstrip and Route 4 corridor
No volcano view, no springs and nothing walkable, despite La Fortuna in the listing title.
- Unmarked rural Airbnbs beyond the hot springs road without a car
You will pay for taxis on a road with no lighting or pavement for walking.
- Bus station block late at night
Usual petty theft awareness applies, keep bags in sight on buses at all times.
Best restaurants in La Fortuna
Don Rufino
Contemporary Costa Rican fine dining on the main street, the consensus special dinner in town.
Soda Viquez
Classic soda a block from the park serving huge casados, gallo pinto breakfasts and fresh juices.
Soda La Hormiga
Family soda beloved for breakfast and casados done perfectly, slightly more local than Viquez.
Travesia
Elevated Costa Rican cooking with whole fish, risottos and a famous lava cake in a garden setting.
Selva Rustica
Modern Costa Rican grilling in a wood and jungle room, the quieter romantic alternative to Don Rufino.
Pollo Fortuneno
Wood roasted chicken institution packed nightly, arrive around 6pm before the chicken sells out.
Organico Fortuna
Smoothie bowls, salads, juices and proper vegetarian plates one block east of the central park.
Mercadito Arenal
Open air food court with tacos, sushi, burgers, pizza and a central bar, solving group decisions.
Best coffee in La Fortuna
Rainforest Cafe
Town cafe for empanadas, cake and coffee, opposite Hotel Las Colinas with a second spot on Route 142.
Red Frog Coffee Roasters
Small roaster for beans to take home, and the best flat white of the trip.
Chocolate Fusión
Cute cafe bakery for coffee, chocolate, ice cream and pastries, the dessert stop after a soda dinner.
Outdoor things to do in La Fortuna
Balsa River Rafting
Continuous bouncy class II to III rapids through rainforest, exciting for first timers and confident kids.
Sarapiqui River Rafting
Bigger, more technical class III to IV white water for rafters who want the step up from the Balsa.
Pure Trek Canyoning
Rappel down tropical waterfalls in a remote canyon, the signature La Fortuna adrenaline half day.
Sky Adventures Arenal Park
Tram ride then seven long zip lines between volcano and lake, with automatic braking for first timers.
El Choyin
The thermal river running wild in natural rock pools under the road bridge, with no facilities.
Ecotermales Fortuna
Family run hot springs with capped numbers and jungle pools, the quieter mid priced soak.
Baldi Hot Springs
Twenty five thermal pools with waterslides and swim up bars, lively fun for teens and groups.
Tabacon Thermal Resort & Spa
Thermal river landscaped into garden pools and cascades, the largest natural thermal network here.
Best hotels in La Fortuna
Nayara Springs
Adults only villas with private hot spring plunge pools in rainforest gardens, the honeymoon benchmark.
Nayara Tented Camp
Luxury tents with plunge pools above Nayara Gardens, with its own hot springs and a sloth sanctuary.
Tabacon Thermal Resort & Spa
Rooms in gardens at the thermal river, with all day guest access to the springs and Shangri La Gardens.
The Springs Resort & Spa at Arenal
Sprawling hilltop resort with its own springs, adventure centre and cinematic volcano views.
Amor Arenal
Boutique canyon edge cabins with private Jacuzzi decks in forest below the volcano, quiet and design led.
Hotel Lomas del Volcan
Wooden bungalows with volcano facing terraces on a large property, secluded feeling yet close to town.
Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort
Large grounds with its own thermal pools, waterslide and trails, the value resort with springs.
Arenal Springs Resort
Cabins scattered through gardens with direct cone views, pools and its own thermal water.
Is La Fortuna expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CRC 38,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CRC 58,000 a person |
| Splurge | CRC 155,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park: a few days ahead
- Proyecto Asis: a few days ahead
- Pure Trek Canyoning: a few days ahead
- Ecotermales Fortuna: a few days ahead
- Tabacon Thermal Resort & Spa: a few days ahead
- Rio Celeste Waterfall: a few days ahead
- Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge: a few days ahead
- Nayara Springs: months ahead
- Book Tabacon and Ecotermales day passes, Proyecto Asis, Nayara tier hotels and the first Mistico guided slot ahead in high season.
- Book Pure Trek canyoning and Don Rufino at weekends ahead, and Rio Celeste tours due to park entry caps.
- Buy Arenal national park entry online in advance where offered and carry the passport used for booking.
Is La Fortuna safe?
- Leave nothing visible in cars at trailheads and the free springs, petty theft is the main risk.
- Keep valuables on your lap on intercity buses, not in the overhead rack.
- Watch river currents after rain at El Salto and waterfall pools, and go to El Choyin in daylight in a group with an empty car.
- Emergency number is 911, La Fortuna has a clinic and pharmacies, regional hospital is in Ciudad Quesada.
La Fortuna travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Combo tour overload packing bridges, volcano, waterfall and springs into one tired 12 hour day.
- Baldi for romance, it is a water park with thermal water, choose Ecotermales or Tabacon for a quiet soak.
- Animal encounters offering sloth selfies or handling, legitimate centres never offer it.
- Timeshare style tour desks offering free tours for a presentation around the park.
- Paying luxury prices for a volcano view room in green season when the cone may never appear.
- Cerro Chato tours from touts, the trail is closed.
Getting around La Fortuna: public transport and more
- Town is flat and walkable, everything else spreads along Route 142.
- Rent a car for freedom, use tours with hotel pickup for zero effort, or taxis with the fare agreed first as there are no meters.
- Use the lake transfer to Monteverde: van to the dam, boat across Lake Arenal, then van up, about three hours total.
Who La Fortuna suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make La Fortuna your trip
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