Activities in Arenal Route
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Desafío Adventure Company
This highly recommended company offers a variety of tours including rafting, lava-viewing hikes, horseback riding, mountain biking, spelunking and more. Look for the castle-like building.
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Swimming hole
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Springs Resort & Spa
The newest entry into the spring scene, this over-the-top, luxury resort, partially opened in 2008, is giving Tabacón a run for its money. The Springs features 18 free-form pools with various temperatures, volcano views, landscaped gardens, waterfalls and swim-up bars, including a jungle bar with a water slide. During our recent visit, the resort was still partially under construction. But the parts that have opened, including the hot springs and the main lodge, are quite impressive.
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PureTrek Canyoning
The reputable PureTrek leads guided rappels down four waterfalls, one of which is 50m in height.It’s located several kilometers west of town, on the road to Arenal Nayara Hotel & Gardens.
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Eco Thermales Hot Springs
A large forbidding gate leads to this recommended complex, which is by reservation only. The theme here is minimalist elegance, and everything from the natural circulation systems in the pools to the soft, mushroom lighting is understated yet luxurious. Just 100 visitors per four-hour slot are welcomed at 10am, 1pm and 5pm, and you can phone ahead or book online at www.anywherecostarica.com. During the evening session, guests have the option to choose from one of three set menus, which feature home-style food served in earthenware pots.
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Ecoglide
Opened in 2008, Ecoglide is the newest and biggest game in town, featuring 15 cables, 18 platforms and a ‘Tarzan’ swing. Ecoglide is highly recommended for families with young children; the dual-cable safety system provides extra security and peace of mind.
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Canopy Los Cañones
Canopy Los Cañones is based at the Hotel Los Lagos, with 15 cables over the rainforest. You can also do canopy tours inside the park itself with SkyTrek.
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Baldi Hot Springs Hotel Resort & Spa
Baldi sports concrete Roman pillars and a Maya pyramid sprouting water-slides; the ambience of these springs 5km west of La Fortuna falls somewhere between Caesar’s Palace and Epcot Center. The 25 thermal pools here range in temperature from 32°C (90°F) to a scalding 67°C (153°F). At night, Baldi is especially popular with the younger backpacker crowd, attracted by the three swim-up bars, loud music, and decent buffet – but be aware that drink prices are ridiculously expensive.
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Arenal Paraíso Canopy Tours
Try Arenal Paraíso Canopy Tours for two-hour tours along 12 zip lines.
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Arenal Mundo Aventura
An ecological park where you can take a canopy tour over La Fortuna Waterfall, go rappelling, horseback riding and catch Maleku performances all in one go.
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Arenal Bungee
It was bound to spring up here sometime – Arenal Bungee lets you fling yourself through the air from its ‘Extreme Machine’ structure in several ways, including launching upwards from the ground. Confused? Try it for yourself at this outfit, safety-certified by the Costa Rica Tourism Board. During our visit, Arenal Bungee was in the process of moving to a new location by Ecoglide.
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Wave Expeditions
Wave Expeditions runs fun, professional river trips for all experience levels. Prices are competitive, and readers have raved about the excellent staff running these trips.
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Herrera Day Spa
Two hundred meters northeast of Parque Central, Herrera has an intimate, European atmosphere and sells its own line of homemade beauty products.
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El Sueño Spa
This place offers massages, facials and reflexology treatments in its peaceful little salon just across from the south side of Parque Central. It also sells volcanic mud so you can relive the spa experience at home.
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Desafío Adventure Company
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Desafío Adventure Company
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Canoa Aventura
Highly recommended Canoa Aventura is about 1.5km west of town on the road to Arenal and specializes in canoe and float trips led by bilingual naturalist guides. Most are geared toward wildlife-watching, with birds (green macaw, roseate spoonbill, honeycreeper etc) being the focus of various tours. Popular paddles include the full-day trip to Caño Negroand an overnight to the northern rainforest for an opportunity to spot the great green macaw.
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Aguas Bravas
Aguas Bravas, 2km east of Fortuna, offers a gentle safari float trip on Peñas Blancas that’s a good choice for families, plus Class-III and Class-IV trips.
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Tabacón Hot Springs
If a movie director ever needed a setting for the Garden of Eden sequence in Genesis, Tabacón Hot Springs would be it. Enter through the gratuitously opulent ticket counter, flanked by an outrageous buffet on one side and glittering gift shop on the other. Then, with a thundering announcement, rare orchids and more florid tropical blooms part to reveal, oh yes, a 40°C (104°F) waterfall pouring over a cliff, concealing natural-looking caves complete with camouflaged cup holders. Lounged across each well-placed stone, in various stages of sweat-induced exhaustion, relax reddening tourists all enjoying what could be called a hot date.
This hedonism comes at a price – on t…
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Sunset Tours
This is La Fortuna’s most established tour company, recommended for high-quality tours with bilingual guides.
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Pura Vida Tours
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Jacamar Tours
Recommended for its incredible variety of naturalist hikes. It’s located on the ground level of Hotel Arenal Carmela.
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Eagle Tours
Budget travelers rave about this professionally run tour agency. It’s located on the premises of La Choza Inn.
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Aventuras Arenal
Has been around for over 15 years, organizing a variety of local day tours via bike, boat and horseback.
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Sendero Los Miradores
From the park headquarters (not the ranger station), there is also the 1.2km Sendero Los Miradores, which leads you down to the shores of the lake, and provides a good angle for viewing the volcano.
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