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Arenal Volcano National Park & La Fortuna
This region is currently considered to be the capital of Eco-Adventure in Costa Rica. It is an evergreen, warm, lush, very beautiful, fun area with some world renowned unique accommodations, guided activities, flora, fauna and hot springs.
The Arenal Volcano resembles almost a perfect cone. It stands 5,436 feet above sea level and it has a weather of its own. It dates back to some 3 million years ago. In 1968, the Arenal Volcano spewed rocks, ashes and gas destroying the nearby villages. It used to be Central America´s most active Volcano but its inactivity began in 2010 and some experts say it could be 400 years before it erupts again. Yet, we still consider the Arenal-Fortuna area the capital of Eco- adventure in Costa Rica. Watch a video on this region here:
La Fortuna is a town which was born after this eruption and it has naturally evolved around the adventure tourism industry with some top notch world class small boutique hotels. There are also some truly wonderful naturalist guides in this area. It is a very nice small place for dining, shopping and meeting the friendly inhabitants. It retains much of its original Tico (Costa Rican) charm. Across from the Volcano sits the sparkling Arenal Lake, the largest man-made lake in Costa Rica, a delight for water adventures and the second best place in the world for windsurfing.
This National Park and town are surrounded by magnificent natural attractions and nice people who mainly live off agriculture and ecotourism. For nature lovers, there are many opportunities to enjoy wonderful guided hiking trails with stunning waterfalls, forests and its inhabitants. There are also beautiful tropical rivers to explore as well as tropical farmland. This can be a very active destination but also a very relaxing one because of its natural hot springs and spas or better yet, a key part of any cleverly customized itinerary.
Some private bilingual guided activities which can be arrange include: Guided night hikes, horseback riding to the Volcano and tropical waterfalls, guided hikes to the old lava flows or forest hanging bridges, mountain biking, zip-lining, Venado Caverns, ATV’s, white water rafting at la Balsa, Sarapiqui or Toro rivers, floating safaris on the Peñas Blancas River or boat trips to Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge, Aerial Tram, organic farms, Costa Rican cooking classes, lake fishing, canyoneering which means safely rappelling down tropical waterfalls, hot springs and many surprises just to name a few.
Even at some of its magnificent deluxe boutique accommodations which are by far favorite ones, this area is suitable for blue jeans, shorts, T shirts, a bathing suit and light rain gear since you are likely to get some warm rain since it is a tropical rain forest too.
Weather: Throughout the year, you will get a mix of sun, clouds, and sudden bursts of warm tropical rain. Since the temperature is mild, no one seems to mind and gardens and forest stay green year round and the abundant wildlife very active. You may enjoy days of almost constant rain but there are no constants. From February through April, the volcano is usually clear during the day, but the clouds will start to cover it at night. The volcano is spectacular to view during the day but it has its own weather. The weather is really unpredictable. If you see the volcano during the day, you will very likely be very impressed. We will find you small luxury unique hotels with hot springs. Some but not all of them, have their own hot springs on site.
Approx. driving distances to Arenal: From San Jose less than 3 hours, from Monteverde 4 hours going around the lake (It is more fun to be taken you across the Lake Arenal), from Guanacaste 4 to 5 hours, from Puerto Viejo Limon 6 hours, from Manuel Antonio 5 hours, from Jaco 4 hours.