If you like thermal springs and hiking, then this spa getaway is for you! My husband, some friends and I planned a short trip to the Arenal Volcano area for 5 days. Here are some tips and details about our trip!
Getting There:
Non-stop flights from Southern Florida (Ft. Lauderdale or Miami) to San Jose (SJO) are approximately 2.5 hours. United also flies non-stop from Newark, NJ (EWR) if you are traveling from the East Coast. Other airlines such as Jet Blue, American and Southwest fly with a stopover in Ft. Lauderdale or Miami.
Arenal Volcano Area:
Arenal Volcano is 1,600 meters high. The volcano has been dormant since 2010, however, before that there were periodic eruptions. The last deadly and destructive eruption was in 1968. These days, lava fields are visible around the base of Arenal, and some are open to hiking.
During our visit, we stayed in the area around Arenal Volcano and Arenal Lake.
After arriving at SJO, we waited for quite a long time to clear customs. Once we were through, we rented a car and headed towards our hotel: Tabacon Thermal Resort and Spa (https://www.tabacon.com).
It’s a long and windy 3-hour drive from the airport through the Cloud Forest to the resort, but despite the heavy traffic, the ride is beautiful. Given that you are driving through the jungle and that conditions can be dangerous at night, you need to make sure you get to the resort before dark.
The minute you enter the grounds of the resort you forget about the drive and are submerged into paradise. Tropical lush greenery, gardens, and flowers are everywhere. There are many other hotels in the area, but Tabacon has the best thermal springs, which is why we selected it. The hotel isn’t cheap(from $300 to $500 per night, but you can find some deals on stay packages if you reserve well in advance, especially during high season, which runs December through April. Even though we’ve been married for almost 37 years, my husband and I stayed in Honeymoon Suite because it was the only type of room available when we reserved! The room was huge, as you can see in the picture below, with high ceilings, a living room and featured excellent amenities such as a Jacuzzi, complimentary coffee, tea, and water.
As soon as we got into the room, we changed into bathing suits, put on robes provided by the hotel and headed to the thermal springs area. The thermal springs originate from geothermal heated underground rivers. You can walk there(100meters) or take a free hotel shuttle that runs continuously. The springs are open until 10pm. Since it was already around 6pm when we got to the springs area, we decided to eat in the buffet-style restaurant above the springs. The food was decent, especially ceviche, which we learned is the national dish of Costa Rica. The restaurant is casual, which was great because you can wear your robe or a cover-up for dinner.
After eating, we really got to see the springs, and they are unbelievable! There are cascades of hot water flowing from the volcano filling a couple dozen pools that are surrounded by tropical plants. The pools are all different temperatures ranging from cold to hot, depending on how close they are to the source spring. It is indeed paradise and pictures don’t do it justice!
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The only thing better than seeing the springs is getting in the water! The feeling when you are submerged is out of this world. The water is energizing and relaxing at the same time. I have been in a lot of thermal springs all over the world but have never seen anything remotely close to the variety and beauty of Tabacon springs. After soaking in the springs, we took a shuttle back to the hotel to get some sleep.
Our stay included buffet breakfast at the hotel, which was undoubtedly sufficient to fuel us for the morning. After breakfast, we headed to our first hike at the Arenal Observatory Lodge. https://www.arenalobservatorylodge.com/. There are quite a few beautiful trails and observation decks there with excellent views of Arenal Volcano and Arenal Lake, which are the main attractions of the area. You can see the volcano from every vantage point, covered in clouds. As a matter of fact, it is rare to see the volcano and the lake unobstructed by clouds.
We were lucky to see it clearly the following day. Hikes around Arenal
Observatory Lodge are tranquil and picturesque, and you can see a variety of
birds(more than elsewhere in the area as we discovered later on). Toucans and
wild turkeys were the most abundant.
After about two hours of hiking, we had a quick lunch in an unremarkable restaurant and returned to the hotel to visit the thermal springs during the day. Amazingly, the springs were even more sensational during the daytime with all the tropical gardens and waterfalls in full view! We headed toward the Shangri-La area of the springs, which is reserved for hotel guests only. After a few tropical drinks, we relaxed on the lounge beds and indulged in pools of hot water while waterfalls crashed down on our shoulders.
Since the hotel food was pretty standard, we asked the hotel concierge where we could get whole fish for dinner. We were directed to Snappers House. It is a very simple restaurant in the town of La Fortuna, which is a 10-minute drive from the hotel. The restaurant was exactly what we were looking for! The fish was great, and the prices were meager. The town itself is not worth exploring. Satisfied, we returned to the hotel.
The following morning we drove to MisticoArenal Hanging Bridges for our scheduled 10am guided hike.https://misticopark.com/. From the platform in front of the hiking area the view of the Volcano was great, and because it was a clear day, we had a rare, non-obstructed view of the volcano!
The hike was around 3.5 miles up and down the rain forest trail and the hanging bridges, which range in height and length, with the highest being about 45 meters above the ground. Our guide provided exciting information, and we were able to see two varieties of monkeys, birds, small snakes and some other inhabitants of the rain forest. The rain forest around us was full of vegetation. Costa Rica has an incredible abundance of flora. It boasts more than 9,000 species of flowering plants and about 800 species of ferns.
Our guided tour cost $40/person, but the hike can easily be done without a guide for $12/person. The hike was harder than the one on the previous day and tired we returned to the hotel for our first treatments in the Tabacon Spa. The spa is located within the hot springs area and has a separate heated pool. Procedures are done in outdoor tents surrounded by running springs, greenery and singing birds. Simply amazing. The spa offers a variety of treatments, which are described on the hotel’s website. You get tropical drinks and fresh fruits before and after treatments. The four of us really enjoyed our spa experience.
This day also happened to be Super Bowl Sunday, and we decided to watch it in the hotel lobby and ordered chicken wings for dinner for a real American experience. As I mentioned before, the food in the hotel, like the Super Bowl, was not great and we regretted not going into town for dinner.
For our last hike, we went to Arenal Volcano National Park and hiked along Arenal Volcano. https://www.arenal.net/arenal-volcano-national-park. Because of the lava fields, the rainforest was different from what we saw before. The most remarkable flora species you’ll find are trees like Guava Bush, Cebo, Laurel, Higueron, Guarumo, Balsa, as well as heliconias, orchids, ferns, and bromeliads. The hike that we selected was pretty flat and 3-miles long. Other more difficult hikes go up to the Volcano. All of them are fun, interesting and easily accessible. To enter the park, you pay $15/person, and you get a hiking map. You do not need a guide. Below is a picture of the snake eating lizard that we saw, and it is pretty scary experience.
After the hike, we went back to the springs and enjoyed them as much as ever had and indulged in some more spa treatments. The springs and the spa did not get tiresome.
For dinner, we headed to the town of La Fortuna again to what is considered the best restaurant: Don Rufino https://www.donrufino.com. We enjoyed some excellent ceviche, trout and meat dishes. The restaurant was reasonably priced, and we enjoyed our last night in the area.
The following morning we headed back to the airport for our flight home.
Know before you go:
-There are additional attractions in the area such as a hike to La Fortuna waterfalls with 600 steps up and down, river tubing, rafting, zip lining, horse riding, fishing on the lake and bungee jumping. They are advertised at every corner on the main street of La Fortuna or in the hotel.
–You do not need a tour guide. Select an activity, google the starting point on the map and drive there.
-If you decide not to rent a car, transfers to and from the airport are available on many websites as well as by the hotel. They are pretty expensive (appx $250/each way). If you do not have a car, then you need to take tours, which range from $65 to $ 100/person per trip. A car for 5 days was only $200, and we used it a lot to get to restaurants and to starting points of all attractions. Parking is free everywhere. Taxis are available as well.
-If Tabacon Thermal Resort and Spa is out of your budget, you can stay in much cheaper accommodations in the area and buy a day pass to Tabacon springs. Information is available on the website. https://www.tabacon.com/special-deals-packages/
-Food is expensive in the hotels but very reasonable, and tastier, in town
-The Internet is good everywhere
-Only casual and gym type closing needed. Sneakers are a must.