Things to Do at Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica: What to Book Ahead, and What to Walk Into

Two or three days covers the best things to do at Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica: a walk across the old lava fields, a morning on the hanging bridges or riding to La Fortuna Waterfall, one day on the water (rafting, canyoning or Lake Arenal) and an evening in the hot springs. Book the guided tours with fixed start times before you arrive. The national park and the waterfall sell tickets at the gate on the day.

TL;DR: Arenal is the volcano and La Fortuna is the town at its base, and almost every tour leaves from La Fortuna hotels. Pick one thing from each group below (volcano, water, wildlife, warm water at night) and leave the gaps empty. As one traveler on r/CostaRicaTravel noticed, it is very easy to overplan La Fortuna. If you are still working out how to arrive, our guide to getting to Arenal and La Fortuna covers every route in.

The main things to do at Arenal, with time and cost

Prices for tours we sell are live from our catalogue. Entrance fees for places we do not sell come from the operator that runs them.

Activity	Time	Cost	Best for
Arenal Volcano Guided Hike	Ask us	from $60 per person	First-timers, anyone who wants the volcano up close
Arenal Volcano National Park on your own	A few hours	US$15 non-resident adult, US$5 child (SINAC)	Independent hikers with a car
La Fortuna Waterfall on your own	About 1 to 2 hours	US$20 foreigners, under 8 free (ADIFORT)	Everyone who can manage 500 steps
Horseback Riding to La Fortuna Waterfall	3 h	from $75 per person	Couples, mixed-fitness groups
Mistico Hanging Bridges, guided	3 h	from $50 per person	Wildlife spotters, families
Jungle Night Walk	2 h 30 min	from $55 per person	Frogs, insects and night animals
Rafting, Balsa River Class II to III	4 h	from $65 per person	Families, first-time rafters
La Roca Canyoning	4 h	from $99 per person	Adventure travelers, ages 6 and up
Hot Springs at Arenal Volcano	4 h	from $49 per person	The evening after any tour
Arenal 4 in 1 Combo Tour	Full day	from $155 per person	Travelers with one full day
Lake Arenal Private Pontoon Cruise	2 h	from $250 per group (up to 6)	Small groups, a slow afternoon
Coffee & Chocolate Tour Arenal	2 h	from $50 per person	Rainy mornings, kids, food lovers

If you want a shortlist rather than a full menu, our top 5 Arenal tours narrows it down.

The volcano itself: the national park, or a guided hike

You cannot climb Arenal. SINAC, the national park authority, forbids going up the cone or its immediate surroundings, so every "volcano hike" here crosses the lava flows and forest on its lower slopes.

The simplest way in is Arenal Volcano National Park. SINAC's park page lists it as open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a non-resident adult fee of US$15 and US$5 for a non-resident child. You buy tickets at the park's own ticket booth on the day of your visit. A volcano viewpoint sits 1.5 km from the entrance booth, and pets are not allowed.

The guided option is the Arenal Volcano Guided Hike (from $60 per person), which crosses old lava fields and primary forest with a certified naturalist guide and opens onto views of the volcano, Lake Arenal and the northern plains. What the guide adds is wildlife. Much of what lives on these slopes is camouflaged, and you will walk past most of it without someone who knows where to look. Our piece on why smart hikers stop asking which Arenal trail is best goes through the trails one by one.

La Fortuna Waterfall: walk it, ride to it, or fly over it

The waterfall belongs to ADIFORT, La Fortuna's community development association, which puts the ticket money into local schools and social projects. Its own site lists entry at US$20 for foreigners and US$10 for nationals, free for children under 8. The way down is about 500 steps, mostly concrete with a railing, and takes 20 to 30 minutes. The climb back up takes longer, depending on your legs. You can swim in the pool below the fall.

You can visit three ways:

• On foot, on your own. It is cheap and easy if you have a car or take a taxi from town.
• On horseback. The Horseback Riding to La Fortuna Waterfall tour (from $75 per person) is a 3-hour trip with about two hours in the saddle and a swim stop in the basin. Is it worth booking? It is if your group mixes fit and less fit walkers, or if you want the open views on the way. If what you came for is wildlife, a guided bridges walk will show you more. One traveler on r/CostaRicaTravel put the same choice plainly: "if you want to see wildlife, then do the tour at Mistico. For a fun and scenic activity, do the horseback riding."
• From above. The Arenal 12 Zipline Cables Experience (from $107.18 per person) runs a cable over the waterfall itself. Our comparison of Costa Rica zip lines puts it next to the other canopy tours.

Hanging bridges, sloths and the night walk

The Mistico Hanging Bridges are a set of suspension bridges strung through the forest canopy. You can walk them alone, but most of what lives there is camouflaged, and the guided tour (from $50 per person, 3 h) puts a naturalist beside you who knows where to look. Travelers disagree about it: one called the bridges "a tourist trap", while another, answering a 2-day itinerary question, said to go "as part of a guided tour at Mistico. You will see so much more." Both can be true. Walked fast and alone, the bridges are a pretty walk. With a guide, they become a wildlife tour.

A few smaller tours fill the gaps:

• Jungle Night Walk (from $55 per person, 2 h 30 min): glowing fungi, red-eyed tree frogs, tarantulas and sleeping sloths by flashlight. As a Reddit commenter noted, "Night tours are cool if you're into insects, frogs and snakes. In the day time tours you're more likely to see monkeys and sloths."
• Sloth Watching Trail (from $60 per person, 90 min): a short walk with a spotter, which suits small kids.
• Bird Watching Tour (from $55 per person, 3 h): for keen birders.

Rafting near La Fortuna: which river

Our rafting tours from Arenal run on two rivers, the Balsa and the Sarapiquí, at different difficulty levels. Choose by the class of rapids:

Tour	Rapids	Time	Price	Who it suits
Arenal Rafting Tour, Balsa River	Class II to III	4 h	from $65 per person	Families and first-timers
Arenal Rafting, Río Sarapiquí Class III (afternoon)	Class III	4 h	from $70 per person	First-timers who want more splash, or a free morning
Arenal Rafting, Río La Balsa Class III and IV	Class III to IV	4 h 30 min	from $85 per person	Fit groups wanting the bigger rapids
Arenal Rafting, Sarapiquí Class IV (Extreme)	Class IV	5 h	from $85 per person	Experienced paddlers

If you want water and adrenaline without a raft, La Roca Canyoning (from $99 per person, 4 h) has four waterfall rappels, two ziplines over the canyon and optional river jumps, with hotel pickup and lunch included and a minimum age of 6. Groups who want the canyon to themselves can book the Private Canyoning Tour in La Fortuna (from $170 per person, minimum 2 guests).

Hot springs: the evening, not the day

The water here is heated underground by the volcano, and a soak after a tour is how most people end the day in Arenal. Our entry-only Hot Springs at Arenal Volcano (from $49 per person) gives you about four hours in pools of different temperatures, with dinner as an optional upgrade. The resorts differ a lot in price, crowds and atmosphere, so we wrote a separate Arenal hot springs comparison on which one suits whom and how day passes work.

The combo tour: is one big day worth it?

The Arenal 4 in 1 Combo Tour (from $155 per person) packs the Mistico Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall, a walk on the 1968 lava trail and an evening at Relax Termalitas hot springs into one guided day. According to the tour page it leaves at 7:00 a.m. and includes bilingual naturalist guides, transport and meals.

It is worth booking if you have one full day in La Fortuna, no car, and want the classic four without arranging four pickups. It is the wrong choice if you have three days, travel with small children, or prefer one place done slowly over four done briskly. Spread over two or three days, the same pieces leave room for an afternoon nap and a rain delay.

Lake Arenal: the slow afternoon

The lake is the reservoir on the volcano's western side. Every boat we sell there is private, priced for the whole group, and runs about two hours:

• Lake Arenal Private Deck Boat Cruise with Paddleboards (from $180 per group (up to 4)), with a captain and two paddleboards.
• Lake Arenal Private Pontoon Cruise (from $250 per group (up to 6)), with paddleboards on board.
• Lake Arenal Boat, Jet Ski and Paddleboard Combo (from $400 per group (up to 9)), the one for bigger groups.
• Wakeboarding, Tubing or Foiling on Lake Arenal (from $250 per group (up to 4)), with an instructor, for ages 12 and older.
• Jet Ski Rental on Lake Arenal (from $120 per person), one hour, one jet ski per guest, driver 18 or older.

Coffee, chocolate and the Maleku

For a rain morning or a rest day, the farm tours near La Fortuna are short and easy on kids: the Coffee Tour Arenal (from $30 per person, 1 h), the Chocolate Tour Arenal (from $30 per person, 1 h), or both in the Coffee & Chocolate Tour Arenal (from $50 per person, 2 h). The Maleku Village Traditional Tour (from $65 per person, 3 h) visits one of Costa Rica's Indigenous peoples. Before you go, read our piece on the culture of the Maleku so you arrive knowing whose home you are visiting.

Things to do at Arenal by traveler type

Families with young kids: the Balsa River Class II to III raft, the sloth trail, the waterfall (ADIFORT says children from 3 can do the steps), a chocolate tour and a hot springs evening. Keep each day to one main activity.

Couples: horseback to the waterfall in the morning, a private pontoon on the lake in the afternoon, and hot springs after dark.

Adventure travelers: La Roca Canyoning, the Class III to IV La Balsa run or the Class IV Sarapiquí, and the Bungee Jumping Arenal Adventure (from $90 per person), a jump from a suspended bridge in the San Ramón cloud forest.

One day only: the 4 in 1 combo tour, or the guided volcano hike in the morning and hot springs at night.

Budget-minded: the national park and the waterfall on your own (gate fees above), plus one guided tour where a guide matters most, which is the bridges or the night walk.

Season: what changes through the year

Arenal sits on the side of Costa Rica's mountains that faces the Caribbean, so rain is possible in any month. December through April is generally the drier stretch. From May to November the forest is at its greenest and the paths are quieter. Whatever the month, the summit is often hidden in cloud, so treat a clear view of the cone as a bonus rather than a promise. Pack a rain layer for every tour. The hot springs, for what it is worth, feel better in a light shower.

What to book ahead, and what to walk into

Book before you arrive: tours with set start times and small groups. The night walk and the sloth trail cap groups at 10, and the canyoning and combo days include hotel pickup that has to be arranged. The private lake boats take one group per slot. In the December to April high season, lock in the one or two tours your trip depends on first.

Walk into on the day: Arenal Volcano National Park (SINAC sells tickets at the booth on the day) and La Fortuna Waterfall (pay at the entrance).

Plan the mornings: many tours here start early, which makes breakfast trickier than you would expect. We covered what works in breakfast before an early Arenal tour and in our list of the best breakfast spots in La Fortuna.

Not sure which three to pick?

Tell us how many days you have in La Fortuna, who is coming, and whether anyone has their heart set on the rapids or the hot springs. We will suggest the two or three that fit, in an order that works with pickups and the weather. Ask us on WhatsApp or by email.

In this guide

• Breakfast before an early Arenal tour: what actually works
• Why smart hikers stop asking which Arenal trail is best
• Top 5 Arenal Tours: The Ones We Actually Book for Ourselves (2026)
• Arenal Hot Springs: Which One Is Right for You? (2026 Comparison)
• Best Breakfast in La Fortuna: 6 Spots We Actually Eat At (2026)
• Discovering the Rich Culture of the Maleku Indigenous Tribe in Costa Rica

The complete Arenal guide

• The Complete Arenal & La Fortuna Travel Guide (2026)

Where to stay: the main guide

• Where to Stay in La Fortuna: The Ultimate Hotel Guide (2026)

Getting there: the main guide

• Getting to Arenal and La Fortuna: Every Way In, From SJO, Liberia or Your Last Stop