What‘s Included

Meeting and Pickup

What To Expect

Reviews

• Great tour

  Barbara H,

  Dec 5, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We had an amazing day, though a bit of a rough start when we weren’t picked up at the designated hotel. However a gentleman picked us up and we met up with the tour bus. From then on, it was super. Chris, Brian and Melanie were our guides and we had a lovely day.

• Andres good guide, 50 min delayed pickup with the transport,

  41maibrittk,

  Dec 5, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Very good guide, Andres, with great knowledge. Enthusiastic and inspiring. The company Red Lava had some logistic problems, came 50 minutes late to pick us up, but when we got started, it was good. We skipped the hot springs in the end, because it was not in the nature, but party-like place in a hotel. We did not swim in the waterfall either, since it was slippery and rainy and people found it a bit difficult to enter - but nice to see :)

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Not for a couch potato

  Jas M,

  Dec 5, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  4.00

  This tour is for people that are fit and ready for strenuous hikes all day long, including hikes on rocks, slippery terrain where one can easily get hurt. Be mindful of that, it’s not for walkers or couch potatoes :) That being said, tour was organized very well, the snacks and food were plentiful, definitely bring water in a reusable bottle as you can refill several times, non slip shoes, definitely a hat and possibly a rain poncho. Now drawbacks: Disappointed that we didn’t really hike the actual volcano but just the lava rocks on the bottom, felt like that was a little misleading, top of volcano was covered in fog so we didn’t get to see it. The hot springs were crowded with locals so we asked to be taken back to our hotel to enjoy hotel hot springs pools, which was then organized by our guide no problem at all.

• Not the greatest… would not recommend… just do it yourself

  Sarah G,

  Dec 3, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  2.00

  There’s a lot of things that went wrong during this experience, but overall the beauty of Costa Rica is unbeatable that it still made up for it - we just would’ve rather done it ourselves. The tour is basically paying for transportation between locations. I also would’ve done it in a different order based on activities. There was also way too many people in the group (24 instead of 12) and not much guidance or information was shared or even able to be heard. Pickup was prompt at our hotel but was a bus filled with 24 people (instead of the advertised 12) and 2 “guides” and the bus driver. The guides were also maybe 30 minutes late leaving a lot of people just sitting on the bus downtown waiting for their arrival. Picking up everyone also took awhile because once again 24 is too many for a group instead of the maximum 12. When we finally got going to our first stop (the Arenal volcano hike), the guide was communicating how the day would go (no mic, no headset) and only the front 3 rows of the bus could hear. So if you're sitting in the back there’s not much you can do about it. Our first stop ended up being to a convenience store after 30 minutes to an hour of just picking people up. Then we finally got to the volcano hike and the group split into 2. One group had a guide with a scope to explain and point out animals and see them close. The other didn't so if you were stuck with the one without the scope, you’re just wishing you brought your own binoculars. Not that you could find much or learn much on your own - and at this point why are you even paying for a guide? Because of this, the groups ended up combining because obviously everyone wanted to see the animals through the scope, making the group 24 once again with 1 (and a half?) guides since the other guide really didn’t provide much guidance or information about anything. After the volcano hike we got to eat the cut fruit. Then we got back on the bus (soaking wet bc weather is always on and off rain so come prepared!) and made our way to the waterfall portion. When we arrived, we ate a casado lunch which was actually delicious and then the guide with the scope pointed out more animals to see. We saw some bats, toucans, sloths, and butterflies. Then we took a tractor up to the waterfall. This part you need to be 1000% aware of and prepared for. We did not go down the standard path that people take when you descend to the waterfall. We hiked down an alternate route with TONS of slippery stairs in the rain, crossed a hanging bridge, and then left our stuff in the rain (bring a trash bag, umbrella, waterproof jacket to put over your bags) and crossed a river up to our hips to shoulders depending on your height (you need a swimsuit and swim shoes for sure), and then had to do some wild acrobatics across slippery rocks to get close to where the main waterfall is. The guide with no scope stayed back to watch the stuff, while the guide with the scope “led” us through the waterfall. I didn’t really see them the entire time because we were focused on not getting hurt scaling slippery rocks. After about an hour there, we went back to our stuff, dried off (bring towels for this part) as much as we could, and ascended back up the hundreds of stairs (this probably took like 30 minutes straight up stairs for reference). Now we are all soaking wet in our swim gear and they are taking us to the Maleku village for a 30 minute presentation about the indigenous people. This was one of the most informative and coolest parts of the tour sessions, I wish it was done PRIOR to the waterfall where I wasn't exhausted from the 2 hour volcano hike and the hundreds of stairs and sitting near their beautiful artwork in my muddy and wet swim gear. Then we went to the hot springs, where I was expecting a serene and relaxing environment. Instead it was like a college spring break with loud club music, flashing lights, alcoholic drinks from our guides, and crowded with tons of other tour groups and drunk people. While it is definitely a fun environment for some (I would’ve loved this experience with friends in college!) , it was not what I was expecting for the hot springs experience with my partner after a long strenuous day. Just worth it to know and tailor your expectations! We ended up overstimulated and hungry so we ubered home for $6 USD instead of waiting for the 24 people to load back onto the bus and go through another half hour of drop offs. TLDR: it’s a long and strenuous day, you can 100% do this yourself and spread it out across a couple days more comfortably and more relaxing, there’s not much info the guides give you to make this worth the money, there’s a lot of waiting around because the tour groups is simply too large at 24 people, it was an expensive tour for being primarily just transportation between sites

• Full Day at Arenal Volcano, La Fortuna

  dulcelilat,

  Dec 2, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Such an awesome experience!! I am CR and i brought my boyfriend from the US for the first time and we both had the greatest time!! We went for a hike, spotted sloths, tucans, birds, macaus, butterflies, and bats!! Lunch was awesome and the LA FORTUNA WATERFALL is MESMERIZING and ending up at the hot springs with some drinks is THE move! Tysm to our tour guides Carlos and his co worker! pd: bring water shoes and a change of clothes and a tripod.

  

  

• Excellent tour with a passionate and knowledgable guide

  E3843XYalexanderc,

  Dec 2, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Fantastic trip, the highlight was Juan Carlos who was an excellent tour guide, you really got a sense of the passion he has for Costa Rica and the La fortuna area and volcano.

  

  

  

• Covers the most popular sights in la fortuna, was a really fun day!

  Vivi2001neaH,

  Dec 1, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  It was a really nice day tour, the tour through the park was really interesting and fun to learn about the animals and plants we’ve seen. You can feel that the guides are really passionate about their field of knowledge, which motivated us to learn more! The Fortuna Waterfall was really impressive and a nice cool down from all the walking before ;) And the last spot the hot springs was a nice end to a great day!

  

  

  

  

  

• Worth it!

  LiserMD,

  Dec 1, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Andres and Melanie were wonderful tour guides. I could tell they loved their country and their jobs. The waterfall was stunning but be prepared for a massive leg workout. The volcano was tucked behind clouds so we couldn't see the peak, but learning about the plants and animals around the site was fabulous. The only bummer of the tour was that the hot springs at the end were jam packed with people. It would be a good vibe for a party group or friends trip but wasn't the relaxing atmosphere that I hoped for at the end of a long day. I thought the tour company put together an organized day!

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Best of La Fortuna

  Brittany F,

  Nov 30, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  This is an amazing tour that offers the best that La Fortuna has to offer. The tour includes so much more than is described. The hike up the Arenal Volcano includes a guided rainforest tour with lots of animals to see and learn about. The hike is 2-3 miles and a good bit of elevation gain. Make sure you wear good hiking shoes. You can bring a change of shoes and clothes for the water activities later in the tour. Our guide was Andy, and he was fantastic!!!! He was great with the kids and was so knowledgeable about the plants and animals. We were able to see so many different kinds of animals including tree frogs, toads, leaf cutter ants, howler monkeys, etc plus amazing plants. The lunch provided was delicious. La Fortuna waterfall did not disappoint. It was an adventurous hike with a couple hundred stairs down to the waterfall. The water was refreshing and so nice after all the hiking. My kids loved jumping off rocks in the pool of the fall. There was another pool with less current that was so enjoyable. We finished the tour at the hot springs. It was so amazing!!!! There are multiple pools with different temps of water. This was the perfect way to end the day. The whole day had a great flow. We didn’t feel rushed and didn’t feel like it was dragging either. All of the places were clean, safe, and perfect for families. My kids have said they would want to do this exact tour again when we return. Andy was the perfect tour guide.

• Great for families with adventurous kids

  Lizzete G,

  Nov 29, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  My family (two girls, aged 9 and 6) did this tour and we had A GREAT time! Our tour guide was Rasta and he was very attentive to our girls (we had a very young crowd and we would be last in the hike). Rasta and the crew were very knowledgeable and answered any and all questions we had. We we're completely soaked on the volcano hike, but the view and presentation were well with it. Plus, it added a big part to our kids memory bank. We ended the tour at one of the best hot springs in La Fortuna. From the beginning until the end it was simply amazing. Would do again hands down.

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