If you plan to visit La Fortuna and are not sure what to do, this post will help!
As the La Fortuna area is surrounded by rivers, waterfalls, tropical rainforest and is near the Arenal Volcano National Park, there are a ton of fun activities in La Fortuna for everyone.
It’s no wonder why La Fortuna is one of the best places to visit in Costa Rica!
Want to book tours in La Fortuna? Get our La Fortuna tours discount for hiking, birdwatching, and much more.
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Quick Information About La Fortuna, Costa Rica
- In the Alajuela province.
- ~3 hours from San Jose International Airport and Guanacaste Airport
- You can drive there via rental car (no 4×4 required), take a public bus directly from San Jose, book a shared shuttle, book a private shuttle, fly there on a domestic flight, take a taxi-boat-taxi from Monteverde or do a rafting tour from San Jose or Puerto Viejo.
- Famous for natural hot springs, wildlife, hiking, rainforests, and volcano.
Planning to rent a car?
Get our Costa Rica car rental discount to save some $$!
Don’t want to drive? Get our Interbus shared shuttle discount!
What is the difference between Arenal and La Fortuna?
A lot of tourists get Arenal and La Fortuna mixed up, thinking it’s the same place.
Technically, it is not. La Fortuna is the name of the small town, located about 20 minutes away from Arenal Volcano.
Best Things to Do in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
La Fortuna is best for nature lovers, adventurers, couples, solo travelers and families. Here is our list of the best things to do in La Fortuna including day trips from La Fortuna.
Get our La Fortuna tours discount to save money on your guided tour!
Visiting with your family? Check out our post Best Things to do in La Fortuna with kids.
Want a specific itinerary? Check out our La Fortuna 3 day itinerary that also works for 2 and 4 days.
Canyoning (Waterfall Rapelling)
Jump down 200 foot waterfalls and tall cliffs deep into the rain forest on a tour of canyoning in La Fortuna.
Canyoning, or waterfall rappelling may seem a bit intimidating, but once you start your journey down surrounded by the sights and smells of a lush rain forest, you’ll leave all your fears behind.
This is an adventure for those who don’t mind getting down and dirty, as you’ll end up leaving a lot more wet than when you started.
But it’s all worth it, as you experience the rain forest in a unique and exciting way.
You can see more pictures and watch a video of our Canyoning Arenal adventure. Request to book the canyoning tour with our discount in the link!
River Adventures
If you want an even more adventurous outdoor experience, check out Rainforest Falls.
You travel 1 hour outside of La Fortuna, to a rural mountain to rappel down two waterfall, jump in 4 pools and rock climb up a pristine river canyon!
This tour is perfect for the adrenaline junkies and thrill seekers, looking for a more exclusive adventure in the rainforest.
Click to go to our Rainforest Falls booking page and get a discount off this tour! You can even combine canyoning +Rainforest Falls in ONE day to have an even more fun day!
Rio Celeste Waterfall Hike
Nature lovers, you can’t miss seeing Rio Celeste, a sky blue river on a day trip from La Fortuna.
You’ll hike through the rainforests inside the Tenorio Volcano National Park along side the stunning Rio Celeste.
During the 7 kilometer (4.3 miles) roundtrip hike, you will see the beautiful Rio Celeste waterfall, cross a few bridges, see the blue lagoon and the joining of the two rivers.
At the end of the Rio Celeste hike, you can see where the two rivers come together to create the spectacular sky blue color.
Tenorio Volcano National Park is one of the most beautiful places in Costa Rica and well worth a day trip from La Fortuna!
Book the Rio Celeste day trip from La Fortuna here.
Pro planning tip: you can also visit Rio Celeste if you plan to drive from La Fortuna to Guanacaste or vice versa as a stopover.
Sky Adventures Ziplining (For Extreme Ziplining)
Ziplining is one of the best things to do in La Fortuna, Costa Rica since there are so many canopy tours.
The views are fantastic, whether you’re soaring over the rainforest or over rivers.
For extreme ziplining, Sky Adventures is a fantastic option.
Not only do you fly through the tree tops, you have to ride an 800 meters (2625 feet) aerial tram just to get to the first cable!
This ziplining tour has incredible views of Arenal Volcano and Lake Arenal throughout the entire circuit, with high and fast lines up to 70 kmph!
This is not a ziplining tour for the faint hearted! You’ll need to have an adventurous spirit, love of thrills and not be scared of heights.
And if that’s you – you will have an absolute blast at the Sky Adventures park.
You can also add on their hanging bridges hike to enjoy their entire park.
Arenal Canopy Adventure for Families and First Timers
If you’re not quite that ambitious, there are milder canopy tours such as Arenal Canopy Tours that aren’t as high or fast.
However, these are still perfect for first timers and young families visiting Costa Rica.
The Arenal Canopy Adventure has a fun zipline circuit that is family and beginner friendly. It has a fun tarzan swing to add some extra excitement!
Book the Arenal Canopy Adventure and tarzan swing with our discount here.
Wildlife Safari Float
One of our favorite things to do in La Fortuna is a wildlife watching safari float. You float down the river for about 2 hours on a raft, using paddles to move along.
Our tour partner in La Fortuna runs an exclusive safari float, called the Pure nature safari float, making it a truly natural and memorable experience to see wildlife like sloths, monkeys, river birds, and more.
Book the Pure Nature Safari Float tour here.
If you don’t have a full day, then the next best wildlife safari float is the Peñas Blancas Safari Float since it’s only 30 minutes from La Fortuna.
Book the Peñas Blancas safari float tour with our discount here!
The safari float rides are one of the best things to do in Costa Rica with kids since it’s a very easy going, laid back way to see wildlife and nature.
Just sit back, enjoy the beautiful river views and listen to the sounds of the rainforest.
If your kids are too young (less than 4 for Pure Nature and 5 for Penas Blancas) or are with seniors who cannot sit on a raft, we recommend the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge by boat tour instead. Amazing experience on a covered, motorized river boat to see wildlife down the Rio Frio river.
Hot Springs
If you visit La Fortuna, then you have to visit a hot spring.
Thanks to the naturally hot Tabacon river, you can visit any of the beautiful hot spring resorts to relax in their warm thermal pools surrounded by a lush garden.
Many hotels have their own hot springs open to the public to purchase day passes.
Popular hot springs resorts are The Springs Resort and Spa, Baldi Hot Springs Hotel, Titoku, Termalitas, Ecotermales and Paradise.
There are also a few hotels also have their own exclusive private hot springs like The Royal Corin, Arenal Kioro and Volcano Lodge that do not allow non hotel guests.
You can read more about the different La Fortuna hot springs here.
***IMPORTANT ABOUT TABACON****If you want to visit the Tabacon hot springs, we highly recommend booking your hot springs passes ASAP. This resort sells out very far out ahead of time, if you are visiting during the high season December through April. They also have a strict cancellation policy.
Consider staying at the Tabacon resort because hotel guests get extra time at the hot springs and have exclusive access to one of the gardens.
One of our personal favorite hot springs is the ones at The Springs Resort and Spa.
This luxury hotel also has equally luxury hot springs with amazing views, pools by the river, waterfalls, water slide and swim up bar.
Get a discount off the Springs Resort hot springs day passes here!
Free Hot Spring River
One of the cheap things to do in La Fortuna is to visit the public entrance of Tabacon river where all the locals go.
This is the free hot spring in La Fortuna and it’s across from Tabacon Resort.
You can also visit the cheaper hot springs resorts like Relax or Termalitas. They cost around 4000-5000 CRC per person ($8 – 10 USD) per person.
Read more about the free hot spring in La Fortuna here.
Traveling on a budget in Costa Rica? Check out other free things to do in Costa Rica!
Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges
Explore the rain forests of Arenal in an eco-friendly way at the Mistico Hanging Bridges Park, which sits on 600 acres (243 hectares) of private land by the lake.
It is an easy 3.1 kilometer (1.9 miles) trail with 16 suspended and hanging bridges, so that visitors can get different perspectives of the rain forest.
As you walk on the hanging bridge, it’s common to spot wildlife like bats, snakes and birds.
Though the hanging bridges are one of the more popular activities in Arenal, you’ll still get a true sense of the forest when you’re that high up!
To see just how high up in the rainforest canopy you are, look down as you walk on the hanging bridge to see the lush forestry below.
If you have your own rental car, you can make reservations on their website and drive yourself to the park .
If not, the next best option is to book a guided tour with transportation included.
Book the Arenal Hanging Bridges guided tour with our discount here.
Butterfly Garden
Nature and wildlife lovers can’t miss a day trip to the rural small town of El Castillo.
Home to one of Costa Rica’s premiere butterfly gardens, the Butterfly Conservatory has an incredibly knowledgeable staff who will guide you through their perfectly maintained rainforest trails to see the butterflies, frogs and other animals.
Must have a 4wd, 30 minutes drive.
Another option is the Danaus Eco-Center. It’s a private reserve with a 1 kilometer trail to see butterflies, birds, mammals, reptiles and birds.
Only a 5 minute drive from town center, no 4×4 required.
La Fortuna Waterfall
The best waterfall to visit in La Fortuna is the La Fortuna waterfall.
This is one of the top things to do in La Fortuna, Costa Rica as this waterfall is stunning.
Dropping 75 feet in the jungle, the emerald La Fortuna waterfall impresses visitors with its postcard perfect rainforest views.
The entrance fee is $18 USD per adult. The La Fortuna waterfall park is only a few kilometers from La Fortuna town.
You can drive, take a taxi or call an Uber.
You can spend as much time as you like at the waterfall if you go on your own as they have a cafeteria and an observation area.
Read more about visiting La Fortuna waterfall here.
El Salto Rope Swing
For a fun day out with the locals, head to the El Salto rope swing!
Swim and bathe in the refreshing La Fortuna river or dare yourself to hop on the swing and throw yourself into the water!
This is a free swimming hole just a 2 minute drive from La Fortuna town. It’s a super fun place to mingle with locals.
It does get very busy on weekends so if you can, walk there.
Get more information about El Salto here.
White Water Rafting
There are a couple of rivers for white water rafting in Arenal but our favorite is the Pacuare River whitewater rafting Class ii and Class iv rapids tour.
Raft your way through one of the best rivers in the world for white water rafting!
Paddle under waterfalls, swim in the calm pools and see toucans on this exciting rafting adventure.
If that sounds a bit too exciting for you, there are other rivers with Class 2 and 3 rapids, better for younger families or first timers.
Something really nice about the Pacuare rafting is that you can make it your transportation method to and from La Fortuna, San Jose or Puerto Viejo (Caribbean coast).
Many companies can pick up at La Fortuna and can drop you off in San Jose or Puerto Viejo. Instead of sitting in a bus or shuttle, you get to river raft your way over!
Want to book the Pacuare white water rafting tour? Get our Pacuare rafting discount!
Horseback Riding
Venture into the country side of La Fortuna by way of horseback, one of the best to discover the intricate corners of the land.
You’ll ride through rivers, under trees and up to stunning viewpoints of the valley and surrounding hills, places you can’t reach by car and foot.
On a clear day, you can horseback ride with Arenal Volcano as your backdrop. Not a bad view while sauntering though the open country!
See more photos and read what it’s like to go horseback riding in Arenal.
Book the horseback riding to the Arenal Volcano tour with our discount here.
A popular combination tour is Arenal Canopy Adventure and Arenal horseback riding as well as Arenal horseback riding and La Fortuna waterfall.
Lake Arenal
Lake Arenal is the biggest lake in Costa Rica. Though it’s man made, it initially created to produce hydro electric power.
However, it’s is also a place for recreation.
Take a sunset boat ride, go fishing, jet ski, stand up paddle board, kayak, sail, windsurf or boat across to Monteverde.
The lake offers spectacular views of Arenal Volcano and is a great place to enjoy the water and rainforest.
For a leisurely walking tour, check the Arenal Volcano Peninsula sector walk and Lake Arenal by boat tour.
Arenal Volcano Hike
Arenal Volcano erupted in 1968 and you can visit the national park or a private reserve to hike around the base of the volcano and see the lava rocks.
One of the best places to see the lasting effects of the eruption is Arenal Volcano National Park.
The national park has trails to see the original lava rocks with viewpoints of the volcano and Lake Arenal.
The national park entrance fee is $15 + tax USD for adults and you can hike it on your own. Signage is excellent.
You can also visit the other sector of the park, called the Peninsula Sector which goes to a viewpoint of Lake Arenal.
You can also hike in the private reserves near the national park such as Arenal 1968 for equally impressive views. This reserve has a small cafeteria with a beautiful view of the volcano.
La Fortuna Cooking Class and Farm Tour
Enlighten your taste buds on this interactive and fun La Fortuna cooking class and farm tour.
You’ll learn about the farm to table concept, traditional food of Costa Rica, staple foods and ingredients of Costa Rican cuisine and how to cook certain dishes.
Book the Pura vida La Fortuna cooking class with our discount here!
Chocolate Tours
Cacao is incredibly important to the indigenous communities in Costa Rica and it grows incredibly well in La Fortuna.
Learn how to grow cacao, how to process the beans and how to create the sweet delicious desserts we love on a chocolate tour.
Many chocolate tours also offer sugar cane and coffee so you can spend a full day learning about three extremely important crops of Costa Rica.
Book the Arenal chocolate tour here!
How Many Days Should You Spend in La Fortuna?
Since there are SO many awesome things to do in La Fortuna, we highly recommend a minimum of 3 nights.
That way, you have 2 full days in the beautiful La Fortuna area to enjoy and experience the rainforest, volcano and nature.
4 nights will be even better, if you have the time in your itinerary.
La Fortuna, Costa Rica Sample Itineraries
If you’re not sure what activities to do or when to schedule them, here are some ideas. For the tours, get our discount here!
2 full days in La Fortuna, Costa Rica: hiking, nature, wildlife, relaxation
Day 1: Full day. Arenal hanging bridges in the morning, La Fortuna waterfall, lunch and then Arenal Volcano hike. End the day at the hot springs resorts.
If you do not book this as a guided tour and go on your own, we recommend Soda La Hormiga or Restaurante Nene’s for for a Costa Rican lunch.
Day 2: Sleep in and then go on a wildlife watching river safari float in the afternoon to see animals. ~130 PM – 530 PM.
Afterwards, relax at the local central park in the evening and have dinner. Or you can go back to the hot springs and have dinner there.
If you plan to eat dinner out in town, check out Mercadito or La Fortuna Pub for craft beer and a fun night out.
Don’t forget to get an ice cream at the Chocolate Fusion sweet shop in downtown for dessert.
2 full days in La Fortuna, Costa Rica: adventure, hiking
Day 1: Enjoy a full fun day of ziplining and white water rafting Class 2 and 3. It includes lunch and afterwards, shower, rest, nap and relax. Visit the hot springs at night to relax.
Day 2: Sleep in, rest and visit either Arenal Volcano National Park or one of the private reserves like Arenal 1968, El Silencio or Arenal Observatory Lodge to hike the trails for close views of the volcano. This will take around 3-4 hours if you hike a couple of the trails.
If you don’t want to hike, go for a fun horseback riding tour!
If you have a third full day in La Fortuna
Costa Rica is known for its adventure so don’t waste any time! Book a canyoning tour or an ATV tour for more exciting rainforest adventures!
If you want something more chill, we recommend a coffee and chocolate tour or a cooking class instead.
Have more days? Check out our La Fortuna 3 day itinerary that also includes ideas for 4 days!
What You Have to Pack for La Fortuna
Mosquito repellent, sunscreen, hat/visor, waterproof rain jacket, swimsuit, sturdy closed toed walking shoes, water shoes, fitness clothes and backpack. Binoculars or camera for photographers.
Get our full Costa Rica packing list here!
Costa Rica Vacation Checklist
- First time to Costa Rica? Read our First Time in Costa Rica guide.
- Not sure how to move around Costa Rica? Read our How to Get Around Costa Rica guide to find the best transportation method for you.
- Click the link to get our detailed Costa Rica Packing List so you know what essential items to bring.
- Do not forget to purchase Travel Insurance for your trip to Costa Rica.
- Stay connected by purchasing a prepaid SIM Card in Costa Rica.
- Save money with Mytanfeet Deals for tours and hotels. Save more money with our Costa Rica Car Rental Discount.
Marianne Rotert says
I’m still planning my trip details, and plan on using your shared shuttles on our trip in 2 months. Do your arrangements from La Fortuna to Monteverde use the boat to go across Lake Arenal? As I get motion sickness, and much prefer less time in the van anyway, I’m hoping they do. If not, do you suggest any other company. And thanks again for all your useful advice on your blog!
Also, how soon do I need to reserve those shuttles? I’m still working out exactly what we’re doing and when.
Lori says
We are flying into Liberia in a couple of weeks, planning 2-3 days in the La Fortuna area then heading west to El Coco for 2-3 days. We have always vacationed in the Dominical/ Quepos area, never been north. What would you say are must do’s for our group? Two 50 year olds and two 30 year olds. Should we rent a car or just use hotel transportation (staying at The Springs and El Mangroove)? Hiking, hot springs, boating, fishing are all on our list! We have a chef in the group so are looking for great local cuisine as well. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Sammi says
You can read our posts on things to do in La Fortuna here: Things to do in Arenal and La Fortuna and things to do in Coco here: day trips from Playas del Coco
In Coco, our favorite and must do activity is boating around the Gulf, which you can read more about here: Boating in Playas del Coco
We also have a 10% discount for tours in La Fortuna here: Arenal and La Fortuna tours discount. For just a couple days in La Fortuna, I’d recommend doing a combo tour like the 4 in 1 with hot springs, or the three main hikes (hanging bridges, fortuna waterfall and volcano hike).
For just 2-3 days in both areas, you don’t necessarily need a car because you don’t have a lot of time to explore. All tours in La Fortuna include transportation so that makes it super easy and in Coco, you can book tours if you like or just spend a day relaxing in town and the beach, and the other boating around the Gulf (this is a must, it’d be a huge shame if you didn’t because Coco is not a very nice beach and you have to take a boating tour to get to the beautiful white sand boat access only beaches and snorkel spots in the Gulf of Papagayo).
jeri mckeeken says
Sammi,
My husband and I will be traveling to CR for the first time this month. We will be staying in Tamarindo from Jan 10-20. My husband and I would like to see La Fortuna/Arenal. We will have a car for a few days and are thinking of driving to LF, and staying in a hotel for one night. We would leave early morning then come back in the afternoon the following day. Obviously, staying for such a short time doesnt give us much time to see and do everything we would otherwise like to do. The hotel im looking at has hot springs, so we can do those in the evening. I would love to hear your idea of the best activity for our limited time (ie, the river float). Would it be better to just take a one day tour with multi activities that includes transportation from Tamarindo? Thank you for your blog. It has been extremely helpful.
Sammi says
Hi Jeri, if you stay just for one night, you could get a couple activities in. So for example if you arrive by noon or something, you could straight away go to the national park and go for a hike, or go to the Bogarin Trail downtown and do a guided walk. Then that night, check out Fortuna town and enjoy the hot springs at your hotel. The next morning, you can do a half day morning activity like the safari float and just check out early and leave your luggage with your hotel and then drive back to Tamarindo that night.
I’d definitely recommend staying overnight in La Fortuna. The day trip is nice because you don’t have to drive but you really don’t get to experience as much, compared to even if you stay just one night. A typical one day trip is lunch in La Fortuna, a short hike in the national park or a reserve, hot springs and then go home. You don’t really even get to see La Fortuna town and if it’s cloudy, Arenal Volcano. If you stay one night, you can drive to La Fortuna town that night, have more chance to see the volcano and pick more activities.
Sammi says
You can definitely do it! The hike is not too long (7 kilometers total, 4.3 miles) and it’s a beautiful hike, no elevation gain or anything so the kids can definitely do it. Here is our post on things to do in Guanacaste and our favorite activity in the Papagayo Gulf is beach hopping/snorkeling on a private boat tour. We work with a private tour operator who runs boat tours and it’s our favorite thing to do to see beautiful white sand beaches and nice snorkel spots.
Yana Kondak says
Such great info here! We will be in La Fortuna in February for 4 days with an almost 11 year old & 8 1/2 year old. On our hit list is hanging bridges, volcano hike, La Fortuna waterfall and I would love to do the rio Celeste hike! Do you think that hike is too ambitious for those age children? We missed it last time due to lack of time and would hate to miss it again. We will also then be in papagayo bay for 3 days. Any must dos there? Ty!
Sammi says
Hi Michelle and fellow Washingtonian! Our partner, Jacamar, actually offers sunset cruises on Lake Arenal! W
As for renting kayaks without a tour, I don’t know of any personally since we haven’t done it but I have seen signs around the lake that have lake activities available so there may be some locals or people renting kayaks on the lake. You can go down to the lake entrance where the hydroelectric dam, bridge and entrance to the Mistico hanging bridges is and talk to the locals there, or I can ask Jacamar but they do guided tours on the lake.
Michelle says
Thank you for your response and sharing your discount for a sunset cruise on Lake Arenal!
I have one more question…to make the most of our one full day in Arenal I’m hoping to go ziplining with SkyTrek and do the Mistico Hanging Bridges. We will be in Costa Rica mid-November and from what I’ve read this season often brings rain in the afternoon. What time does it usually begin raining?
If we want to do both activities in the morning (or one before lunch and one after lunch) so that we have most of the afternoon open (3:00pm and later) for hot springs or just relaxing or hiking around Arenal Volcano – is there a recommended order? I see that both places offer tickets starting at 8:00am. Given that both ziplining and the hanging bridges are about 2.5 hours each, it may be too much to do both before lunch. I’m just wondering which one would best to do first, especially if it does start raining.
It looks like both of these activities take place west of La Fortuna. Is there a place you’d recommend to eat between ziplining and hanging bridges without driving into town?
Thanks again!
Sammi says
When it comes to weather, it’s hard to say… November is the start of our transition time to dry season so I can’t say when it will start raining since transition months are more sporadic, it may rain in the morning, it may rain a bit at night, it might rain all day or might not rain at all. Generally it will rain in the afternoon/evenings but La Fortuna is the rainforest so it could rain during the day. We visited once in November and had some pretty nice clear mornings so you could do either activity first… I’d do the ziplining first though personally to take my chances on no rain in the morning so you have the chance for a better view.
Michelle says
Hi Sammi, I’ve really appreciated your blog as we are preparing for our first trip to Costa Rica (from your home state of Washington!). We will be in Arenal for only a day and half. We’re planning on doing the ziplining with Sky Trek and a guided tour of the Mistico Hanging Bridges.
I’d like to do something on Lake Arenal in the late afternoon/early evening and wondering if you have recommendations for dinner cruises on the lake or places to rent kayaks (without participating in a group tour)? Since our morning will be adventure packed, I’d like to spend the evening more leisurely, yet still enjoying the views of the volcano. Would love to hear what you recommend!
Thank you!
Caroline Lewis says
Hello
Loving the blog it’s a life saver for Costa Rica!! We are just in San Jose right now and planning to go to monteverde and la fortuna in the next few days. But I’m confused on public transport between the 2 as it seems a long bus ride. It’s almost easier to go back to San Jose in between?? Can you advise at all?
Thanks
Caroline
Sammi says
Hi Caroline, to get from Monteverde to La Fortuna, the most popular way is actually taxi-boat-taxi if you don’t have a car. By bus, the best way is to bus from Monteverde to Tilaran, then Tilaran to La Fortuna but the taxi boat taxi across Lake Arenal is the most popular. It’s around $25 per person and you can book it at your hotel or any tour company in Monteverde/La Fortuna.
Prin says
Hello Sammi, is it true there are taxi boats to take you and your car across Arenal Lake?
Sammi says
Hola! No there isn’t sadly. You have to drive around the Lake if you want to get to Monteverde.
Sammi says
Hi Amy! I’m glad the blog has been helpful. You can read our guide to La Fortuna for more information for nightlife and things like that: La Fortuna
La Fortuna is the biggest and main city near Arenal Volcano and is the main tourism hub. Arenal volcano is I think about 20 kilometers from La Fortuna.
I highly recommend canyoning it’s super fun! We have discounts for tours in La Fortuna including canyoning in case you’re interested! You can check this page: Arenal and La Fortuna tours discount
Amy says
Your website is saving my life! We land in San Jose on a Thursday. I was thinking about driving to Arenal that day. I want to wake up Friday and do one of the tours, (probably canoying). Is there any night life in Arenal? I want to go to dinner, but just wondering if there are any bars around? Arenal is close to La Fortuna right?