A La Fortuna ATV Tour offers an exhilarating way to explore one of Costa Rica’s most stunning natural wonders: the tropical rainforest and the Arenal Volcano. Zoom through lush jungle, splash through muddy trails and catch awe-inspiring views of the active Arenal Volcano throughout the whole ride.
This La Fortuna ATV tour isn’t just about the ride though. With an included stop at the Maleku indigenous community, this tour will fully immerse you in Costa Rica’s diverse wildlife, breathtaking landscapes and rich culture, perfect for a half day excursion in La Fortuna.
Ready to book? Click the link to go to our Arenal Volcano ATV booking page to reserve your tour!
About the La Fortuna ATV Tour We Did
Here are the details of the two hour La Fortuna ATV tour we did.
- Minimum age is 16 to drive your own quad.
- Minimum age is 5 to ride with an adult.
- A valid drivers license is required. Must bring ORIGINAL license. No temporary, paper or photo copies.
- Tour is not suitable for pregnant women or those who have recently underwent major surgery.
- Will not allow any guest if they are under the influence of any drug or alcohol
- Weight limit is 310 lbs (140 kilos).
- Doubles and singles available.
The Two Hour La Fortuna ATV Tour
The outfitter we went with offers 2 different La Fortuna ATV tours: a 2 hour one and a 3 hour one.
Difference: The 3 hour tour goes through a private ecological park to drive through pristine forests and the residuals of the volcanic eruption to an incredibly close view point of Arenal Volcano.
Stops: Both tours include a stop at the Maleku Indigenous Village for a short presentation, a stop at Arenal River and a stop at the Monterrey viewpoint.
Included: Fruit, bottled water, bilingual guide, the quad, transportation and safety equipment.
Our Two Hour La Fortuna ATV Tour
Watch our video of the two La Fortuna ATV Tour. You can see exactly what it’s like!
We went with a group of 5 (7 total including Yeison and I) with my brother. Read our tips for planning trip to Costa Rica for a large group here. Our group took 1 single and 3 doubles (all adults). All the drivers, including my brother were first time ATV drivers.
First, the guide gave us a thorough 20 minute introduction. Then we hopped on our quads and revved up our engines.
The tour started off easy and slow, just driving around a short dirt trail before crossing the main road to get to the rest of the tour. I was really glad that they provided this short trail because it definitely helps to make you feel comfortable driving the ATV, especially if it’s your first time.
As soon as we crossed the road, we entered into the forest via a very nondescript dirt trail to start our adventure!
Book your Arenal Volcano ATV tour today!
The two hour La Fortuna ATV tour does require crossing 1 major road and driving on another less trafficked road.
After about 10 minutes, we came to our first stop, the Maleku Indigenous Village.
Maleku Indigenous Stop
The Malekus is one of the several indigenous groups in Costa Rica. They used to inhabit much of the land that is now La Fortuna, Guatuso and Bijagua de Upala. Now, there are only around 600 Malekus left, the smallest population of all indigenous groups in Costa Rica.
The main reason the ATV tour stops at the Maleku village is to share their traditions and cultures with tourists as they were the original people of the La Fortuna area. As it used to be their land, it is important to pay homage to them and this is one way locals and tourists alike can support the Malekus.
The presentation is very short, around 10 minutes, focusing on some of the most important aspects of their culture. They showed us some important medicinal plants, their traditional bow and arrow and the traditional arts and crafts. If you wish to support them further, you may purchase one of their artisanal crafts.
Monterrey Viewpoint
After the Maleku stop, we hopped back on our quads to embark on the longest part of the tour, driving up to the Monterrey Viewpoint. Monterrey is a district of the San Carlos canton, very close to La Fortuna and as it’s up a mountain, they have amazing views of Arenal Volcano all around.
The road up to the Monterrey Viewpoint is a low trafficked road, with some steep hills and climbs, making it more of a fun drive. There is not terribly much up in this area, some hotels and vacation rentals here and there. But it was mostly empty fields and forests so really, all you see is green green green and the volcano.
Once we got to the viewpoint, our guide had us line up our quads to get off, get some water and take some pictures. Even though the volcano was partially covered in clouds, it was still beautiful.
The guide parked his quad at a really nice photo spot and offered to take pictures for us. Our group had a lot of fun taking photos on the quad and doing like a mini photo shoot.
The ATV outfitter also has their own photographer who takes pictures for you. You may purchase them at the end of the tour.
We spent around 30 minutes at this view point and afterwards, we hopped back on the quad to go to our last stop: Arenal River.
Arenal River
The last stop on the 2 hour Arenal Volcano ATV Tour was at the Arenal River. I’m SO glad they included this stop. After over an hour of sitting on a hot quad under the hot and humid sun, we got to cool off in the incredibly refreshing Arenal River.
Our guide gave us plenty of time to take a dip, cool off and refresh ourselves at the river. I was pretty flushed and sweaty and enjoyed splashing the cool water on myself. So thankful for this stop! We even saw toucans flying around which added on to the very jungley adventure.
If you want to take a dip, you will need to wear your swimsuit underneath your clothes (no changing areas) or just go in with what you’re wearing. You’ll dry up quickly under the intense sun if you are visiting during the December through April dry season!
End of the 2 Hour Arenal Volcano ATV Tour
And after our river time, we drove back to the headquarters. If we did the 3 hour tour, we would have continued the last hour to drive to the private park and up to another view point of the Arenal Volcano.
Want to do this tour? Click this link to book your Arenal Volcano ATV tour!
Thoughts
This was a really fun tour for our group. Even though three drivers were first time ATV drivers, they loved it! In fact, they loved it so much, they then ended up booking another ATV tour when they were in Tamarindo.
Something important to know is that this is not an adrenaline tour. Yes, you will drive on some dirt trails with some mud but this is not a like a monster truck or Formula 1 tour. You can’t drive crazy fast, drive crazy or go off on your own and leave the group.
I appreciated the fact that they were very strict on everyone driving safely because it made this ATV tour very family friendly, fun and safe. Even though it may feel boring to the more experienced ATV drivers, they need to understand that this is a tour for all experience levels and ages.
If you are looking for an ATV that lets you drive at crazy speeds, go extreme off roading or go off on your own, this tour is NOT it. Safety is the number one priority and they will keep the tour to be safe for everyone.
Our group of 7 mid thirty adults LOVED this tour and they were so happy they booked it on their last day in La Fortuna. They did this on their fourth day in La Fortuna. Feel free to check out our sample La Fortuna 3 day itinerary here for a complete schedule.
Click the link to book your Arenal Volcano ATV tour!
La Fortuna Resources
Plan your trip to La Fortuna with our following posts!
Things to do in La Fortuna with kids
Best hot springs in La Fortuna
Driving from Guanacaste to La Fortuna
Driving from San Jose to La Fortuna
Jill Maher says
Your website is so helpful and easy to use. Thank you. Are the quads really loud? could you have a conversation with the other riders or the person riding with you?
Sammi says
Hi Jill, you can’t really carry on a full conversation during the tour as ATV engines are loud, if you want to say something, you’ll have to say it really loud. Also it is hard to hear the person driving talk, because they’re facing forward so they’d have to look back at you for the passenger to hear them.
Marianna Kenyon says
I’m curious about the noise as well. We are “do it yourself” travelers, but we’re looking for a fun 2-4 tour to fill an afternoon of free time. Any other recommendations?
Sammi says
ATVs are loud. You can kinda yell things to each other but you can’t really have a full on conversation the whole time. The tour stops a few times though so you will have time for conservation. If you’re looking for a fun afternoon tour, I also recommend Canyoning.