1,884Reviews18Q&A
Reviews
Traveler rating
- 1,086
- 587
- 174
- 30
- 7
Traveler type
Time of year
Language
More
Selected filters
- Filter
- English
Popular mentions
We took a morning tour and loved it. We came across many species of birds, owls and a rare grey hawk that was amazing. The views were beautiful. Bring water and layered clothing in case it rains or gets too muggy, and bug repellent. If you are not physically fit there is much walking.…
Read more
Date of experience: January 2020
Helpful
We were content watching the clouds roll in and around the volcano. Breath taking views. A must see if you visit Costa Rica.
Read more
Date of experience: May 2020
Helpful
Arenal is probably the best known volcano in Costa Rica and was our primary motivation for visiting the La Fortuna area. Unfortunately, we only saw the bottoms of the heavy cloud banks completely shrouding the volcano during our three days there. One of our trips was to Arenal National Park, which took quite an effort to locate. Many of the Park entrances are commercial operations, and finding the National Park entrance was a real challenge because of the poor quality maps and road signs. Once there, we paid a hefty entrance fee. The only facilities were a set of dilapidated restrooms and a couple of picnic pavilions. The roads were in poor repair, so the going was slow to the trailheads. The trails were dirt, winding under the jungle canopy with no views, but not a difficult hike. At the end of the trail, we found ourselves in a small clearing full of boulders. Were it not for the clouds, we should have had a nice view of the volcano. The highlight of the park visit was seeing a coati mundi and a small pit viper. Check the weather forecasts carefully before making the journey to La Fortuna. Even if the weather permits, you cannot get close to the volcano, because of its safety perimeter zone. We suspect that the best trails to Arenal are the commercial ones closer to town and easier to access. …
Read more
Date of experience: February 2020
Helpful
We took about a one-hour boat ride across the lake. This is a manmade lake. We are interested in wildlife, but saw very little on the boat ride. Had much better luck on river tours (Rio Frio, Tarcoles). Arenal volcano is sometimes visible from the boat but the peak is usually in the clouds. Peaceful, pretty boat ride, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to do it. …
Read more
Date of experience: March 2020
Helpful
While touring Costa Rica we had the opportunity to travel around this lake and see it from different viewpoints and our guide gave us great information on it. We were told it was completed in 1979 and created by evacuating and flooding the valley’s three villages and when the lake water level drops enough you can actually see some of the house tops and church top that were in the villages. A larger village was created further up river where these residents were relocated and when the lake is full they have lake front property. The lake is beautiful and you can view it from several directions while traveling through the countryside of Costa Rica.…
Read more
Date of experience: March 2020
Helpful
