Arenal Volcano National Park is the second most visited national park in Costa Rica with several hiking trails and view points, making it a great day trip from La Fortuna.
The 29,692-acre park is one of the best national parks for first timers and one of the must do things in Costa Rica. Majority of travelers stop by Arenal at one point of their trip so check out our guide to Arenal Volcano.
This post has been updated March 2018.
Click the section to skip to it.
- Facts
- Location
- Directions
- Entrance Fee and Hours
- Activities
- Wildlife
- Weather
- Where to stay
- Tips for visiting
Arenal Volcano Facts
There are 2 volcanoes in this national park – Arenal and Cerro Chato. Arenal used to be Costa Rica’s most active volcano whereas Cerro Chato is completely dormant.
In 1968,the Arenal Volcano eruption destroyed the towns of Tabacon and Pueblo Nuevo. It was one of the worst natural catastrophes in Costa Rica and locals remember it to this day.
Arenal Volcano is currently active. It used to spew lava and throw rocks before 2010 but after 2010, it has been quiet and only smoking. However, Arenal Volcano is still very active and people from all over the world visit to see this majestic volcano in the rainforest.
Location
Arenal Volcano National Park is in the northern lowlands of Costa Rica. The main town near the park is La Fortuna which is the main tourism hub where all the tour companies, restaurants, hostels and other businesses are.
Map of Arenal Volcano National Park
How to Get to La Fortuna
Driving
From San José: The shortest way from San Jose to Arenal is through Inter-Americana highway passing through San Ramon and La Tigra. This route takes about 3 and a half hours.
From Liberia: Take InterAmericana highway south, turning left to Cañas and pass through Tilarán. Drive all the way around Lake Arenal to reach the national park, turn right This route takes roughly 3 hours.
You do not need a 4×4 for this route, all the roads are completely paved. It does get quite curvy and windy however so make sure to take anti-nausea medicine if you easily get car sick. Click here to get our Costa Rica car rental discount!
Shuttles
There are many shuttle companies that service from San José/Liberia to La Fortuna. The cost of a one way ticket per person is around $54. Private shuttles are also available and cost around $180-200.
We have a partnership with Interbus to give our readers 10% off their shared shuttle. Click here to request a quote or book your shuttle.
Bus
There are direct public buses from San Jose to La Fortuna. Public buses cost around $5, takes about 4-5 hours and leave 3 times a day: 615 AM, 840 AM and 1130AM from San Jose.
From Liberia, you need to first take a bus to Canas, then Tilaran and then to La Fortuna. I suggest taking the 10 AM bus from Liberia to Canas, there are tons of buses about every half hour from Canas to Tilaran and then take the 12:30 PM bus to Fortuna. Tilaran to Fortuna runs at 7 AM, 12:30 PM and 3:30 PM and costs 2,690 colones.
Flights
La Fortuna has its own airport. Domestic flights are available via Nature Air and Sansa and cost around $150 one way depending on where you are coming from.
Taxi Boat
If you are coming from Monteverde, there are companies that have taxi/water taxi services between Monteverde and Arenal. This takes around 3 hours and costs around $25 per person.
Arenal Volcano National Park Directions from La Fortuna
The national park entrance is on main road from La Fortuna to Tilaran. The entrance will be on your left hand side coming from Fortuna and it turns into an unpaved road. There are plenty of signs so you can’t miss it. Drive about 10 minutes on this road and you will see the parking lot and entrance on your left hand side. You don’t need a 4×4.
Unfortunately there isn’t a bus that goes all the way to the park entrance, the closest the bus can take you is at the intersection off the main road and then you will need to walk or hitch a ride the rest of the way.
If you don’t have a car, you can take a taxi or book a tour to the park with a tour company that includes transportation. Last time I checked, a taxi ride from La Fortuna to the national park costs around $20 one way.
Entrance Fee and Hours
The Arenal Volcano National Park entrance fee is $15 for adult foreigners. The park is open daily 8 AM to 4 PM.
Arenal Volcano National Park Hiking Trails
The national park is best for hiking and seeing the volcano and lava trails. The trails, Sendero Colada 1968 and Tucanes are relatively short at 3.4 and 2 kilometers, going through secondary forest and lava fields.
Lava Flow Trail
Follow the Coladas de Lava (Lava flow) trail and you will walk out of the forest and through some lava fields. You will come to a clearing of lava rocks where you will get a spectacular view of the volcano. If it’s a clear day, you can see it in all its glory!
Tip: If the volcano is covered in clouds, wait at least 15-20 minutes. Right before this photo was taken, the volcano was nowhere to be seen so we waited for 30 minutes and the clouds went away for a few minutes, allowing us to see Volcan Arenal.
At the lava rocks, you can see Arenal Volcano on one side and Lake Arenal on the other. If it’s a sunny day, you can see all of the rolling hills surrounding the lake and it is simply breathtaking.
You don’t need to be in super great shape to hike the national park as the trails aren’t very long or steep. There is a short section up to the lava rocks where it is a little steep and you need to be careful walking around the rocks so if you have bad ankles/knees or have a lot of trouble walking on rocks or on uneven surfaces, we don’t recommend it.
The rest of the hiking trails are fairly flat through the forest and tall grass.
El Ceibo Trail
There is also a short trail to a large Ceiba tree, Sendero El Ceibo. This tree is huge!
You can easily spend a couple of hours walking through the park and enjoying the scenery. The best time to go is as soon as it opens in the morning so you have more chances to see birds and not run into as many people.
Self Guided or Guided Hike
You can hike on your own in Arenal Volcano National Park or you can book a tour that includes transportation and a guide. It’s nice to go with a guide who can explain more about the volcano, the eruptions and landscapes so you can appreciate the importance of the volcano. A guided tour costs around $70 per person.
There are no guides at the ranger station to hire so if you want a guide, you will need to find one beforehand. If you have a car and want to hire a guide (not book a full tour), you can hire a guide from any of the tour companies in La Fortuna. They will ride with you in your car and costs around $40-50 for the day.
Word of caution: It is illegal to hike up Arenal Volcano. If anyone offers you a tour up the volcano, they are illegal tour operators offering an illegal tour. There have been situations where tourists have gone with a non-certified guide and got injured or lost and had to be rescued. Please do not take up any offer to go up the volcano, there are no trails and is very dangerous.
Other Arenal Volcano National Park activities
Outside the national park are a ton of fun activities including hot springs, La Fortuna waterfall, ziplining, white water rafting, canyoning, hanging bridges and horseback riding. There are also other private reserves for hiking, such as Arenal 1968 which is next to the park. This reserve also has great hiking and viewpoints of the volcano and is open until 6 PM.
Check out our top picks for things to do in La Fortuna and Arenal!
Wildlife
Though the La Fortuna and Arenal area is a great place for wildlife, the national park isn’t the best. There is not as much wildlife due to the forests of the side the volcano erupted on being destroyed but you can see some birds like toucans, parrots and oropendolas.
You will need to go to the primary rainforests around La Fortuna and near the lake to see more wildlife.
Arenal Volcano National Park Weather
This area experiences typical tropical weather with a consistent rainy and dry season pattern. The weather can be quite unpredictable in rainy season with sunny mornings and rainy afternoons. Temperatures are usually in the high 80’s to low 60’s at night.
When it comes to seeing the volcano clearly, it’s a bit of luck. Dry season doesn’t bring as much clouds but even if it looks completely cloudy, keep an eye out. When we visited last July, it rained almost 3 days straight but we got a few minutes of the volcano 100% clear! Early mornings are the best times to see the volcano completely clear, around 6 AM.
Dry season (December through end of April) can reach up to the 90’s Fahrenheit, especially if you are staying down in the La Fortuna town area. The Nuevo Arenal area (around Arenal Lake) is cooler and can get quite chilly during rainy season which is from May to November.
We usually visit in July and it always rains when we’re there but we still get some moments of sun. We have also visited during November where it poured down rain all day long so pack properly for rainy season if you come during those months!
Arenal Hotels
Here are our hotel recommendations.
- Arenal Observatory Lodge: Closest hotel to the volcano and only one actually in the national park.
- Arenal Kioro – Luxury hotel with a spa, private springs and a jacuzzi in each room.
- Hotel Las Colinas – Eco friendly budget to mid range hotel in La Fortuna.
- Baldi Hot Springs Hotel and Spa – Went to their hot springs which was so much fun. They have water slides and excellent food.
- Hotel Magic Mountain – Great breakfast, great pool area and comfortable rooms. A standard mid to high range hotel.
- Hotel La Fortuna – Budget friendly hotel in the middle of town. Good breakfast, convenient location.
- Arenal Backpackers Resort – Big pool, tents and shared dorms and on-site restaurant. Not right in town, but close.
- Selina La Fortuna: Fun hostel in La Fortuna town.
- Hotel Montana de Fuego: Close to the national park entrance and has a great view of the volcano. Has their own hot springs, spa, hiking trails, tubing, horseback riding tour and cultural tour on property.
- Nayara Hotel: Gorgeous hotel with nice pools, spa and lots of wildlife on the property. Stay at the adult only Nayara Springs for a romantic getaway.
- Princesa de la Luna Lodge: If you want something more rustic, check out this eco-lodge that has its own hiking trails, river and mud baths.
If you’re looking for a luxury stay, check out our list of luxury hotels in Arenal.
You can also check out Airbnb. Read about our Arenal Airbnb here.
Tips for Visiting Arenal Volcano
- Hiking: You don’t need to wear hiking boots or shoes. You can wear running shoes, trainers or hiking sandals as the trails are well laid out. You do need to have closed toed shoes as you will be walking on rocks.
- If you’re visiting in rainy season, I highly recommend bringing a rain jacket and waterproof backpack.
- We highly recommend visiting the national park with a guide but if you’re on a budget or would rather do it yourself, that’s perfectly fine too. You can get a map at the entrance and signage is very clear so you can’t get lost.
- Don’t walk off the trails or touch the trees/bushes. There can be snakes or frogs living there!
More Costa Rica national park guides here!
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Travis says
Hi Im thinking about going on a hike without a guide. Will it be easy to get a taxi to pick me up at the park?
Sammi says
Hi Travis, there aren’t any taxis just waiting there so my recommendation is if you take a taxi, get the phone number of the driver so you can call him or coordinate with him a time for hi to pick you up. You can also see if the park office rangers can call you a taxi too.
Harvey Tait says
Thanks Sammi. Makes sense now.Thanks for explaining. Your site is awesome.It was a great reference for my first Costa Rica trip, using it now for my upcoming second one.
Sammi says
You’re welcome, yeah it is pretty confusing since all the trails and names are so similar. Glad the blog has been helpful for your trip and that you’re visiting again!
Sammi says
Hi Harvey, the name of the trail in the national park is called “Sendero Las Colada 1968.” Sendero in Spanish means trail. Then there is a private reserve right next to the national park called “Arenal 1968.” They are not the same thing. I actually wrote a post about the Arenal 1968 private reserve here: https://mytanfeet.com/activities/hiking-arenal-1968/ and they also have a trail called “Sendero Colada 1968.” I know that is confusing because they all have the same trail names but Arenal 1968 and Arenal Volcano National Park are two separate places but both have trails called “Sendero Colada 1968”.
Harvey Tait says
You mention here that the National Park is best for best for hiking and seeing the volcano and lava trails, and that Sendero Colada 1968 is in the national park. Elsewhere you say that Sendero Colada 1968 is a in separate private park and you prefer that trail to those in the national park. Kind of confusing.
Sammi says
Hi Nicky, it is open on Christmas, same hours.
Nicky says
Hi Please can you tell me the opening times of the park over Christmas. Is it open on Christmas day? Thanks Nicky
Kendra says
Hello, thanks so much for your informative blog. I was wondering if the trails through the national park are considered to be through the rain forest? My husband would really like to experience the rain forest while we are in costa rica and we were thinking about taking a day trip to Arenal. Also, do you have any companies that you would recommend for a day trip to Arenal from Liberia? We are having trouble finding one that includes transportation to and from. Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Kendra! The trails through the national park go through some rain forest and lava fields. It doesn’t go deep into the rain forest in the national park though because it goes through the side where the lava from the 1968 eruption came down so the forest is just growing back. If you want to see more of the rainforest, the Mistico hanging bridges park is a great place to hike through the rainforest and get good views of the area. You can read about the tour here: Mistico Arenal hanging bridges
From Liberia, we work with a tour company called Shaman Tours. It is owned by a local Costa Rican and he does operate the one day Arenal tours from Liberia and that part of Guanacaste with round trip transportation included. I’ll email you the info!
Mary Ellen Reimers says
We are planning a trip this month to Mistico Park. Can we pay the entrance fee and tour the park on our own and take the hike to the waterfall? Also thinking of zip lining in Arenal park- do we have to reserve a time or just pay and get in line?
Thanks
Sammi says
Hi Mary, yes if you have your own transportation you can make reservations for Mistico and do your own self guided hike. Then you will need to drive or take a taxi to the waterfall since they are not in the park. For ziplining, we recommend making reservation so you can secure your spots as they only run 1-3 tours a day and if its already full, you will have to wait until later that day when they have space or even the next day if it is super busy.
christine says
Have you ever heard of a national park pass, like in the US? Or a flat fee that allows you into parks for a certain date range?
Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Christine, unfortunately there isn’t a national park pass in Costa Rica. You will have to pay the entrance fee for each park you go to.
Angela says
If Arenal National Park closes at 4 pm, does that mean you have to leave by 4 pm or you have to arrive by 4 pm?
Sammi says
You will need to leave the park by 4 PM so they will start looking for people and having them leave.
Marc says
We would like to drive to Arenal Volcano park by car. Will we be able to find certified tour guides outside the park entrance? Or is that something that has to be booked in advance thru a tour company with transfers from our hotel? We would prefer to use our own transportation, but would like to use a guide. Thanks in advance for your help and all of this invaluable info.
Sammi says
Hi Marc, there aren’t any guides for hire at the national park entrance. What you can do since you have a car is to hire a guide from a tour company who will ride in the car with you so you won’t need to pay for a full tour, just the guide. You can hire one from Jacamar, our partner company in La Fortuna. Their guides are my favorite (ask for Jairo!).
Vanessa says
Hello. We have a zip lining reservation with sky trek at 3pm. Do you think we could still do the short trails here. We would be driving from alajuela too. R we tight on time?
Sammi says
If you leave a lot earlier and arrive at the park around noon you could because the ziplining will take a couple of hours and the hanging bridges will be about 1 hour or so.
Michael says
Hi there!
I keep reading about the hanging bridges but haven’t seen any info on them other than tour packages. Are these only accessible from a tour company or are they apart of the National PArk trails?
Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Michael! The hanging bridges are inside their own private park called Mistico Hanging Bridges Park, they aren’t part of the Arenal Volcano National Park. You can read more about them: https://mytanfeet.com/activities/mistico-arenal-hanging-bridges/ and you don’t need to go on a tour package, you can actually do the hanging bridges on your own. They do require reservations so if you have your own car, you can make reservations, drive yourself and do a self guided hike. You can also book the hike with a guide too if you want.
Leslie says
How much are the books to purchase?
Sammi says
Hi Leslie, which books?
Kelly says
We are debating between the Arenal 1968 trails or hiking the trails in the National Park. Would you choose one over the other? I’m thinking both might be repetitive. We are all adults (20s to 50s) and very athletic.
Sammi says
Hi Kelly! We actually just did the Arenal 1968 trails yesterday, although the national park is nice we do recommend the 1968 trails more because it’s right next to the national park with slightly better views since the trails are more well maintained. You still get awesome views, get to walk over the lava fields and has a very nice parking lot and facilities. I’ll be writing a post about the Arenal 1968 very soon!
Grace says
What would be the best trail if hiking with a 5 and 9-year-old? Thanks!
Sammi says
Either one is great for kids but I do recommend the Coladas trail so you can see the lava fields and go up to the viewpoint 🙂
Sammi says
Booking a shuttle is the best way. That is a very long route (driving 5 hours) and a bus would take way too long and a taxi would be too expensive. If you’d like quotes for shared shuttles, we work with Interbus, a shared shuttle company and give 10% off to our readers. You can email us for quotes here: Contact Mytanfeet
Sandra says
How would you recommend getting to La Fortuna/ Arenal from Manuel Antonio? Public Transportation? Taxi? We won’t have a car so I don’t know if its even possible but would love to see the volcano.
Delilah Guzman says
The current foreigners fee is now $15.00 for the National Park entrance. I thought it was still worth it as we ended up spending about 2 1/2 hrs on the Las Coladas/ceiba tree trails plus got a nice view of the Volcano from the Mirador side trail with only one other person stopping there for pictures.
Sammi says
THanks for the update. National park entrance fees are going up a lot!