Arenal Volcano and Thermal Hot Springs from San Jose
Overview
Available languages
13 hours
Mobile ticket
Your adventure begins in the picturesque town of Sarchí, recognised as the artisan heart of Costa Rica. Discover family workshops where master craftsmen create colourful hand-painted oxcarts, wooden furniture, and souvenirs reflecting generations of tradition.
Next, travel through Costa Rica's fertile countryside of vast pineapple, mango, and banana farms and traditional cattle farms. Arrive in La Fortuna for a typical lunch at a restaurant with panoramic views of Arenal Volcano. This iconic 1,633-meter-tall volcano dominates the horizon and defines the region's landscape.
After lunch, immerse yourself in a unique thermal experience. The La Fortuna area is world-renowned for its natural hot springs, heated by Arenal Volcano's geothermal activity. Many pools are connected by small waterfalls and thermal water slides for a complete sensory adventure.
Finish your day with a delicious dinner while contemplating Arenal's silhouette against the sunset sky before returning to San José.
Additional Info
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Specialized infant seats are available
Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Bring to your tour: swimsuit, comfortable clothing, walking shoes, a change of clothes, and sunscreen
Tour requires a minimum of two participants to operate
Contact line available for handling hotel pick-up reconfirmations and day-to-day operational matters
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
Sarchi
Enroute to the Arenal Volcano there will be a stop in the famous town of Sarchi, known as the birthplace of Costa Rica’s Artisans. In Sarchi, you may very well see an ox cart that holds the title as being the largest ox cart in the world. The cart is made of wood (cedar) and is decorated with stunning colors, such as a bright orange. The design is typical and intricate, indicative of traditional oxcarts. The ox cart is two stories high and took 70 days to complete. The oxcart is also deserves an honorable mention in the Guinness book of world records.
The journey will then continue, traversing diverse plantations with agricultural products, including pineapple farms, and mango groves, ornamental plants and cattle ranches until arriving to the small town of La Fortuna, and stopping to enjoy lunch at a cozy restaurant with a spectacular view of the Arenal volcano.
What‘s Included
Water included during meals
Comfortable, air-conditioned transportation provided from hotels in San José
Accompanied by a professional tour guide delivering expert insights and personalized service
Savor a rich buffet with a wide selection of fresh, flavorful dishes
Guests can choose from a selection of main courses, including beef, chicken, or pasta options."
Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
Gratuities
Optional massage or treatment at Baldi Hot Springs
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Options
Arenal Volcano and Thermal Hot Springs from San Jose
Pickup included
Reviews
237 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Absolutely horrible!!!!!...
Kassandra F,,Feb 14, 2026
- Review from Viator
1.00Absolutely horrible!!!!! No communication whatsoever… whoever runs this experience needs to get fired! I’m coming for the United States my number doesn’t work here so I have WhatsApp and the tour guide should have had WhatsApp as well for 1 week now I emailed I tried calling from the hotel I contacted support absolutely horrible! I hope the same thing happens to them!
Good tour
Jorge G,,Feb 10, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00It is a good tour you eat rich in two places, the tour of Sarchi is the essential to buy your wagon, the volcano if it is not cloudy you can see and the thermals are delicious
This trip ended up being...
David H,,Feb 2, 2026
- Review from Viator
1.00This trip ended up being 9 hours of driving with 2 hours to “see” the sights. Twice a person got sick in the car due to the erratic driving. Although he appeared to be trying, the guide wasn’t helpful at all.
Great tour!
Roam19063605915,,Jan 12, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00This tour was very long but very good. We went to a different hot springs named Los Lagos and it was spectacular. I will come back here and stay as the hot springs were unbelievable. The volcano was beautiful and Peter was an outstanding tour guide. He was very nice and informative. Just know that if you go on a Sunday the 3 hour drive back turns into 5 hours very quickly due to traffic. It was a 15 hour day which was exhausting. It’s definitely worth it including the lunch and dinner. Both meals were very good and filling. I would recommend this tour to people on their first trip to Costa Rica.
Terrible Experience!
Chandra B,,Jan 9, 2026
- Review from Viator
1.00My tour was canceled at the last minute despite multiple email confirmations from the Viator corporate office. Robert at the local San José office promised a callback but never followed up, and repeated calls went unanswered. I was waiting in the hotel lobby at 6:30 a.m. when the tour was canceled at the last minute, wasting my entire day. To make matters worse, my card was charged in full, and corporate redirected me to the local office for compensation. I strongly discourage booking with this company due to poor communication and lack of accountability.
Day was fine until the hot springs
Aliyah B,,Jan 6, 2026
- Review from Viator
3.00I unfortunately cannot give this tour more than 3 stars. 3 feels generous for what I went through, but my tour guide was a saving grace. He has a natural passion for his work, and it made the first part of the day absolutely amazing. The Arenal volcano is beautiful, the drive was scenic, and lunch was great. My problems started when we got to the hot springs. I was told the night before that "we" would be visiting a diffent resort, which was fine with me, except I did not know until day of that I was going to be left there alone while the rest of the group went to a different resort. This was not a fault of the guide, but something the agency did for some reason. Why? I don't know. As a solo traveler and someone with extremely bad social anxiety, it was a scary experience and I felt really lonely. I was there by myself for 3.5 hours. I felt trapped. It was crowded. I did not know anyone. I was stared at because I was alone. I simply could not have fun. I cried to myself because I was very overwhelmed. I asked around to the staff if anyone knew where my group was they didn't have any context of my situation and I looked even more pathetic. The dinner was buffet style, and the tables at the resprt filled quickly with families. Unable to find a table, I stood in a corner of the buffet and ate by myself. During this, I reached out to the tour company's emergency support line on WhatsApp (that they provide by the way) out of desperation and I recieved no help. This trip was my last day in Costa Rica and I expected so much more, but the hot springs experience honestly ruined everything for me. When I finally got reunited with my group again, I was very depressed because they had a good time together at their hot springs resort. Again, my guide-Harold- was a wonderful spirit; I just wish the tour company planned this better. I don't recommend this tour to any solo travelers because of the risk of what happened to me happening to them.
Poor planning
merediths21,,Jan 1, 2026
- Review from Viator
3.00It was very frustrating because rather than having people meet at one location they picked every single person up at each individual Hotel. It's a nice idea but they should have someone picking people up and bringing them to the bus. We spent almost 2 hours picking people up before we even got on the road to head out to the volcano. Which that ride took several hours, by the time we got there there was a tropical storm and did not even get to go up and see the view! We did get a little extra time at the hot springs because of that but it was way more than enough time that we needed there. Then spent several hours going back to San Jose and again having to drop every single person off individually and if you were one of the first people to get on the bus you were the last to get off!
Everything but the first...
Carlos S,,Dec 31, 2025
- Review from Viator
3.00Everything but the first stop was worth it. Didn’t spend enough time at Arenal 1968. Felt too rushed.
Utter incompetent, unprofessional.
Y9818AWjamesr,,Dec 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
1.00The company failed to update us, communicate with us, or even show up at our hotel. We made every effort to contact them, being on time and waiting over an hour beyond the pickup time. They never showed or tried to contact us ! We tried to contact them via WhatsApp, Tripadvisor App, and even regular call and text, and heard nothing.
Terrible customer...
Marcin C,,Dec 30, 2025
- Review from Viator
1.00Terrible customer service! Our tour got cancelled after 1 hour past our pick up time, they never show up! They don’t pick up phone calls, no respond on whatsup, only messages we got that our spots got sold out, we can change date or they can cancel my reservation.
From US$195.00
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Operated by Destination Services Costa Rica