As a couple of the best destinations in Costa Rica, Arenal and Monteverde are a must for those looking for outdoor adventure and nature during their Costa Rica trip. Although many people assume they are similar, they are very different. For one thing, Arenal is the rain forest and volcano and Monteverde is the cloud forest!
We highly recommend visiting both if you have the time as they both have so much to offer and they are excellent destinations for every type of traveler.
You don’t need to spend a more than a few days in each place to get a well rounded experience so if you’re looking for ideas of things to do in Arenal and Monteverde, check out this sample itinerary. Perfect for the nature and adventure lover!
What to Know About This 5 Day Arenal and Monteverde Itinerary
Doesn’t matter which one you visit first
Whether you’re flying into San Jose Airport or Liberia Airport, driving times are very similar. San Jose and Liberia to La Fortuna is about 3.5 hours and about 4 hours to Monteverde. For the purpose of this itinerary, I’m going to start with La Fortuna since most people visit there first.
Arenal is hot, Monteverde is cooler
The average temperature in the La Fortuna/Arenal area is around high 80s F (~31 C). Monteverde is considerably cooler as it’s around 1500 meters (~5000 feet) in elevation. The average temperature is low 80s F (27 C) during the day and gets as cold as the 60s F (15) at night. Make sure to pack appropriately. If you’re visiting in rainy season, you need to pack a rain jacket and a waterproof backpack. Read our Costa Rica rainy season packing list for more tips.
Arenal and La Fortuna, Monteverde and Santa Elena
Some people get mixed up on what is what. La Fortuna is the town near Arenal Volcano but a lot of people call the whole area around the volcano and La Fortuna “Arenal”. Monteverde is the name of the entire area consisting of the cloud forests, Santa Elena (the tourism hub and town) and the small community of Cerro Plano.
How to get to Arenal and Monteverde
Driving
If you’re renting a car, we do recommend a high car as the roads to Monteverde are not in good condition (check Monteverde road conditions here). A 4×4 is highly recommended in rainy season but you can also rent a Hyundai Creta if the car isn’t super loaded. All the roads to La Fortuna and in the area are in good shape. Also remember there are no car rental agencies in Monteverde, if you want a car you will have to pay to have one delivered from La Fortuna which can cost around $200.
Renting a car? Check out our Costa Rica car rental discount!
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From San Jose: The quickest way to La Fortuna is via San Ramon by way of Route 702 passing the small towns of Chachagua and a few others. You can also go through Naranjo and Ciudad Quesada but it’s a little longer. See what the San Jose to Arenal drive is like.
From Liberia: You will have to get onto the Interamericana highway 1 heading south, exit at Canas, continue to Tilaran and go around Lake Arenal to reach La Fortuna. See what this drive from Guanacaste to Arenal is like here.
Bus
From San Jose
To Monteverde: 6:30 AM and 2:30 PM. Takes 5 hours. To La Fortuna: 6:15 AM, 8:40 AM and 11:30 PM. Takes 4 hours.
From Liberia
To Monteverde: You need to take a bus from Liberia to Canas, Canas to Tilaran, Tilaran to Monteverde. The bus from Liberia to Canas takes 2 hours and there is one every half an hour from 8:30 – 3 PM. Canas to Tilaran buses are at 6, 730, 815, 9, 1030, 12, 1 PM, 1:50 PM, 2:35 PM, 3:15 PM, 4PM and 6 PM. From Tilaran to Monteverde there are 4 buses: 4 AM, 8:30 AM, 12:30 PM and 5 PM.
To La Fortuna: Take the same buses as above except at Tilaran, take the bus to La Fortuna. There are buses at 7 AM and 12:30 PM.
Shuttle
There are plenty of shared shuttles from both San Jose and Liberia. There is usually one in the morning and one in the afternoon and costs around $55 per person. Read more about Costa Rica shuttles here.
Days 1-3: Arenal
For the first day, I recommend arriving at Arenal and La Fortuna as early as possible. That way you can spend the rest of the day exploring La Fortuna town and you can spend two full days doing activities. You can read our La Fortuna guide for more information on the town.
Where to stay in Arenal
There are over 100 hotels to choose from in the Arenal area so it depends on your budget. If you’re renting a car, you have the freedom to stay anywhere. If you’re not, I recommend staying in La Fortuna for convenience. Here are hotels we’ve stayed at and recommend but there are many more for all budgets and travelers.
- Selina La Fortuna
- Arenal Container Hostel
- Hotel Las Colinas
- Arenal History Inn
- Hotel Montana de Fuego
- Hotel Magic Mountain
- Arenal Springs
- Springs Resort & Spa
- Arenal Observatory Lodge
- Arenal Kioro
- Nayara
- Los Lagos
If budget is not much of an issue, you can find some of the nicest hotels in the Arenal area. Check our list of luxury hotels in Arenal for recommendations.
What to do in Arenal
With 2 full days in Arenal, you can do a lot. Since many of the activities take only a couple hours, you can do a combo tour to do multiple things in one day. Here are our recommendations.
Combo Tour (Hanging bridges, La Fortuna waterfall, Arenal Volcano hike and hot springs)
This is the best way to experience the highlights of Arenal. First is a visit to the Arenal Hanging Bridges, then La Fortuna waterfall, lunch, a hike around Arenal Volcano and you end the day at the hot springs. Best tour to hit all of the main attractions of Arenal!
Read more about the Arenal combo tour.
If that sounds like a bit too much for you, you can do other combo tours like Arenal hanging bridges + La Fortuna waterfall, Arenal Volcano Hike and hot springs, or La Fortuna waterfall, volcano hike and hot springs.
Hot Springs
Hot springs are a must in Arenal as this area is famous for them. They are best at night when the temperature is cooler and it’s a great way to end a fun day. You can book hot springs as part of a tour like the combo tour above or go on your own. Some popular ones are Tabacon, Ecotermales, Baldi or Termalitos.
Horseback Riding
We love the horseback riding tours in Arenal because the views are spectacular and the horses are very well taken care of. Trot through the valleys and around Arenal Volcano on your trusty steed. Read more about horseback riding in Arenal.
White Water Rafting
Near La Fortuna/Arenal are a couple of excellent rivers for white water rafting. Some are Balsa (great for families and first time rafters), Sarapiqui (Class 3 and 4 rapids) and Pacuare (Class 3, 4 and 4+ rapids).
Safari Floats
For leisurely wildlife watching, the safari floats are the best. All you have to do is relax and enjoy as you float down a calm river surrounded by a lush rain forest. See monkeys, caimans, iguanas, sloths and other animals. Plus your guide does all the paddling! The most popular river for the safari float is Penas Blancas.
Rio Celeste
The magical sky blue river in Costa Rica is an incredible sight to see and only about a 1 hour drive from La Fortuna. Hike through the Tenorio Volcano National Park to see a stunning blue waterfall and learn how Rio Celeste gets its astonishing color.
Canyoning
Jump down 200 foot waterfalls deep in the rainforest on this canyoning tour right outside La Fortuna. Perfect for thrill seekers and families looking for some excitement. Read more about canyoning in Arenal.
Recommendations
To decide what to do, first I advise setting a budget as tours are costly. The all day combination tour is around $180-240 per person, Rio Celeste is around $140 per person, canyoning is around $100 per person and the safari floats are $60-75 per person so you will be spending a good chunk if you want to do several tours.
If you have a limited budget, I recommend doing at least one or two activities you really want to do. For cheap activities, you can do a self guided hike at Arenal Volcano National Park ($15 entrance fee), visit one of the cheap hot springs ($25for Hotel Los Lagos adult day pass) or go to the free area of Tabacon river or La Fortuna waterfall.
When we did this my itinerary with my brother, we did canyoning + hot springs one day and hiked the Arenal Volcano the other.
We have a partnership with Jacamar Naturalist tours to give 10-15% off tours in Arenal. Please check here for more information!
Should I go ziplining in Arenal or Monteverde?
You’re probably wondering why I didn’t include ziplining in the list. Even though ziplining in both Arenal and Monteverde are excellent, they are very different. Here is why you should:
Go ziplining in Monteverde – If you’re looking for an extreme zipline. Even though Monteverde doesn’t have as many canopy tours as Arenal, it makes up for it in excitement. You will find the longest ziplines and craziest canopy tours in Monteverde (bungee jumping, tarzan swing).
Go ziplining in Arenal – If you’re not looking for an extreme zipline. Arenal has over 10 canopy tours, most of which are perfect for first timers, families with little kids, those scared of heights or not looking for intense ziplines. The most exciting one is Sky Trek in Arenal which has magnificent views of Arenal Volcano and the lake.
Additionally, since you only have 1 full day in Monteverde, you may want to spend that day hiking the cloud forest instead. If so, then I do recommend going ziplining in Arenal and saving your day in Monteverde for hiking.
Day 4: Travel to Monteverde
Drive or take the taxi-boat-taxi to Monteverde. The taxi boat across Lake Arenal is the most fun way since you get to see the lake and enjoy a nice boat ride instead of sitting on a bus or shuttle for 3 hours.
I recommend leaving early in the morning since it’s usually sunnier in the morning and you’ll have more time to enjoy Monteverde.
Where to stay in Monteverde
Monteverde has more rustic lodges and inns, you won’t find super luxury hotels here but that is the cloud forest charm. Our favorite hotels are Hotel El Establo, Monteverde Country Lodge and Hotel Poco a Poco. Another very nice one is Hotel Belmar.
For budget options, there are plenty of hostels in town such as Pension, Santa Elena Backpackers and Hotel Sloth Backpackers.
Day 5: Monteverde
Monteverde is famous for the cloud forests and ziplining and most people only spend 1-2 full days there. Santa Elena is very small and you can easily explore the whole town on day 4 after you arrive. You can read our Monteverde travel guide for more information on the area.
What to do in Monteverde
Ziplining
If exciting ziplines are what you’re looking for, then you must do it in Monteverde. Selvatura Park and Sky Trek are the only two canopy tours that actually go over the cloud forest so those two have amazing views. But for excitement, 100% Aventura takes the cake with a rappel, superman ziplines and a 45 meter tarzan swing. They also have a 600 meter and 2 km zipline! These cost around $45-75 per adult.
Hiking cloud forest reserves
The other option is to hike the cloud forests. We recommend either Monteverde or Santa Elena but you can read our guide to the 3 cloud forest reserves in Monteverde. The cloud forests are an extremely vulnerable ecosystem and can only be found in a few places in the world, Costa Rica being one of them. The trails in the cloud forest reserves lead to beautiful view points and you can see hundreds of unique trees and plants.
Bird watching at Curi-Cancha
If you want to see birds like hummingbirds, toucans or Resplendant Quetzals, take an early morning bird watching tour at Curi-Cancha Wildlife Reserve. When we visited in March, we saw 5 Quetzals in a tree! Tours are 2 hours and the walk is very easy so you can even do it the morning you leave Monteverde.
Combo tours
You can also do an all day combo tour in Monteverde. Selvatura Park also has hanging bridges, a hummingbird garden and insect & reptile exhibit. Sky Trek has hanging bridges and an aerial tram. 100% Aventura also has hanging bridges, ATV’s and horseback riding. These cost anywhere from $100-180 depending on what activities you do.
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And there you have it, the perfect 5 day Arenal and Monteverde itinerary. With these suggestions, you’ll be able to experience the best of both destinations in Costa Rica. You get some volcano, rain forest and cloud forest and a ton of fun outdoor adventure! On day 6, you can head to the beach, find another rain forest or even volcano!
I have an itinerary that includes Arenal and Monteverde if you want more ideas for places to visit. Read the 2 week Costa Rica itinerary here.
Or you can check out these other itineraries.
1 week: Jaco, Manuel Antonio and Uvita
Penny says
April 10, 2019 at 11:11 AMHi Sammi, we are landing in LIR (mid-May) and leaving from SJO airport. Staying in Guanacaste area for 3 days (1 day boating/snorkeling in the gulf, 1 day beach (which beach do you recommend in the area Playa Conchal or Playa Del Coco or Tamarindo) and one day Tour to Rio Celeste and Arenal.
After that, we are checking out from the hotel in Guanacaste and driving towards SJO. We will have a whole day and we leave the following day afternoon. Which place do you recommend to stay and visit for the day we are driving from Guanacaste towards SJO. We need to spend the night as well. I was thinking Monteverde. We can switch Arenal with Monteverde tour instead, take a tour to Monteverede when in Guanacaste and go to Arenal the day we are driving to SJO.
I definitely want to visit Manuel Antonia but I know its so far and will save it for next time. Please suggest. Thanks in advance!
Sammi says
April 10, 2019 at 12:23 PMHi Penny, you can read our post Guanacaste itinerary to read more about where to stay in Guanacaste.
On the exact route from Guanacaste to San Jose, to be honest there isn’t too much. You could do Arenal or Monteverde since it’s about 4 hours driving from Guanacaste and from San Jose. Either one is fine, but if you aren’t renting a high car or 4wd/4×4, then Arenal would be much easier as MOnteverde requires a high car and takes a bit longer to drive to since it’s up in the mountains on bad roads. You could do the Monteverde day tour from Guanacaste and stay in La Fortuna for a night.
Grant says
March 20, 2019 at 7:09 AMWe will be traveling in these areas the 1st two weeks of August. Is it possible to find hotel vacant rooms as we travel through this area or should we book rooms before we arrive?
Thanks!
Sammi says
March 20, 2019 at 8:38 AMHi Grant, I would prebook because August is a high season month (summer vacation in North America), especially if you want to stay at nicer hotels as those book up fast.
Joe says
March 16, 2019 at 4:12 PMI am going to Arenal with my wife and 8 year old son for last week of March. We were hoping to do this package activity: https://skyadventures.travel/arenal/skylimit/ – However, its not for kids. Good thing I did not book it! Please guide me as to what would be a good alternative to do such adventures which includes zip lining, rafting, rappelling, etc with 8 year old. Any recommend packages for two days worth of activities that is good for both adults and a child? Please provide direct links to some options if you can — Alternatively are there supervised children activities offered by hotels like Tabacon or the Spring Resorts for 8 year old so that my wife and I can at least do one of the activities where an 8 year old can not? Thank you for your help.
Sammi says
March 16, 2019 at 4:43 PMHi Joe, here are our articles on the activities you asked about:
Canyoning in la Fortuna
La Fortuna river rafting Class 2 and 3 (minimum age is 8)
For ziplining, you can do the Sky Trek at Sky Adventures Park, minimum age is 8.
The Springs Resort & Spa and Club Rio has a multi adventure package where you can choose activities like horseback riding, rock wall, tubing, and inflatable kayaking.
We have a discount for La Fortuna tours you can get here: Arenal and La Fortuna tours discount and a Club Rio discount here: Club Rio discount
Basil says
February 2, 2019 at 2:29 AMHi Sammi. Great blog! Thank you for such a helpful resource. We need some help planning our 5 day trip (we’re a family of four with two tweens). We’re flying into San Jose this month and renting a car at the airport. This is the planned itinerary:
Day 1 and 2: Leave early morning from San Jose. Make a short stop at Poas Volcano National Park. Reach Arenal by afternoon. In Arenal, per your suggestion, thinking about doing the Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna waterfall, Arenal Volcano hike, ziplining and hot springs. Spend two nights in Arenal.
Day 3: Leave early morning for Monteverde. Short hikes in Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve (and Curi Cancha Reserve if time permits). Spend night in Santa Elena.
Day 4: Drive to Jaco or Punta Leona or Manuel Antonio (or any other nice beach town close to San Jose that you would recommend??). Don’t plan on doing any sightseeing for this part…just relaxing at the beach. Spend night at beach town.
Day 5: Head back to San Jose in the afternoon. Our flight leaves very late at night.
Do you think this is doable? Thanks for your advise!
Sammi says
February 2, 2019 at 9:30 AMHi Basil, It is doable, but it’s a lot of driving so make sure to plan accordingly because if you leave too late, you won’t really be able to enjoy your time in Monteverde or your beach day on day 4 because La FOrtuna to Monteverde is around a 3.5 hour drive and Monteverde to Jaco/Manuel Antonio is around 5 hours, probably more since you’ll be stopping. I’d go to Punta Leona, since it’s more north and not as far as Manuel Antonio and you can enjoy a nice resort and a beautiful white sand beach. Santa Elena reserve closes at 4 PM so you can only do a very short hike since you need time to eat lunch, check in, etc.
Basil says
February 2, 2019 at 2:37 PMThank you for the prompt response! Like your idea about staying in Punta Leona due to the limited time we have. We’re now debating if we should go to Monteverde at all, or instead go to Rio Celeste. Which one is more unique and fun in your opinion – cloud forests in Santa Elena or Rio Celeste? If we leave early from La Fortuna, we could get to Santa Elena by noon, giving us about 4 hours to cover a couple of trails. Kids are not too interested in bird watching but are intrigued by a hike in a cloud forest and seeing some wild life. Rio Celeste would take a day but the blue river looks gorgeous…hoping that trails don’t get too muddy this time of the year!
Sammi says
February 2, 2019 at 3:21 PMPersonally I’d go to Rio celeste, you can read our post on it here: Rio Celeste
Basil says
February 2, 2019 at 4:11 PMThank you for the excellent and timely advice!!
Deanna says
January 30, 2019 at 7:18 AMDear Yeison and Samantha –
We will have 7 days (two days of those are arrival and departure at San Jose) at the end of March. We would like to go to the Neuvo Arenal for a day or 2. Other than that, do you have suggestions for a beach/rainforest area? We don’t mind driving for distances to see the country (if navigable in a small car). Is Manuel Antonio a good area to think about? We’re trying to get the most we can in a short time. Also, I know it can be difficult entering San Jose in the morning of our flight from a certain direction, which is the best way to come back into town. Thank you very much for your car rental advice and service. We were pleased on our last trip!
Sammi says
January 30, 2019 at 7:40 AMManuel Antonio is an excellent destination about a 3.5 hour drive from San Jose. It’s a bit of a far drive though so you’ll have to set aside one travel day between Nuevo Arenal and Manuel Antonio but you can leave very early in the morning. That route is all on paved roads (most of it on a highway) so a sedan is perfectly fine to Manuel Antonio.
From Manuel Antonio, you can use Waze to help you with traffic in San Jose in the morning because from around 5-8 AM, it’s very bad traffic. Normally you take the exit for Radial Coyol to the airport but Waze will help you navigate since during that time of day, pretty much all entrance/exits are congested.
Stephanie Stubblefield says
December 13, 2018 at 11:06 AMLove your blog! We would like to Canyoning. We have 3 days in Monteverde and two in Arenal. Do you have a recommendation on which is best for canyoning? Our Arenal itinerary is pretty packed but I am sure we could fit more in if you recommend Arenal over Monteverde. Only thing we have booked in Monteverde is a night tour.
Thanks a ton!!
Sammi says
December 13, 2018 at 11:13 AMHi Stephanie! Definitely ARenal. Monteverde doesn’t have as many waterfalls but they do have one canyoning tour by Finca Modelo but the waterfalls aren’t as tall. The Pure Trek canyoning in Arenal is definitely the best one we’ve done, it’s a ton of fun and a half day trip.
Wynn says
July 23, 2018 at 4:33 PMHi Sammi,
Loving this blog so far – it’s been so easy to research and navigate through your blog! We are going the first week of September. Do you think we would be able to do all of the activities above even during the rainy season in Arenal and Monteverde? We are trying to see if it’s worth pushing through the rain. We are also considering the possibility of cutting out Monteverde and just going straight to Manuel Antonio from Arenal (we are flying into San Jose and have only 6 days). Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks for maintaining such a great blog!
Sammi says
July 24, 2018 at 11:22 AMHi Wynn, in rainy season we recommend doing all activities early in the morning. For only 6 days, I would pick just two destinations. Three would be way too many and you’d be spending more time traveling than enjoying. Arenal and Manuel Antonio will be great places, Monteverde is nice too but it rains more up there and it won’t be worth it if you barely have one full day.
Wynn says
July 25, 2018 at 5:36 PMThank you so much Sammi! That really helps us determine our plans – we will probably only do two then in our 6 days. We are definitely planning to go to Arenal and possibly doing a combo tour (saw your link!). Given the potential rainy weather, do you have any insight on whether Monteverde or Manuel Antonio would be the better option? I’ve been to Manuel Antonio before, but my girlfriend has not. I’m leaning towards Monteverde (we would do at least a day and a half there), but am worried about the rain plus the potential redundancy of activities from Arenal? Or are the cloud forest hikes/activities a vastly difference experience? Thanks in advance!
Sammi says
July 26, 2018 at 4:53 PMIf you guys want beach, I’d go to Manuel Antonio since you’ll be doing rainforest and volcano at Arenal and if you go to Monteverde you won’t have other chances to go to the beach. The rain forest and cloud forest are different but they offer similar activities: hiking, ziplining, etc. I’d personally recommend Manuel Antonio since that will be very different so you can get rainforest, volcano and beach whereas if you go to Monteverde and Arenal, you’d have just volcano, rainforest and cloud forest. And since Monteverde tends to rain quite a bit more, the cloud forest isn’t as nice to experience since you can’t see or do as much.
You have a better chance of having nice weather in Manuel ANtonio and enjoying the beach.
Jenna says
March 26, 2018 at 1:53 PMDo you have recommendations for specific public transport to take from Monteverde back to San Jose? I was looking at interbus but it costs $53. Do you have any other cheaper recommendations that are also safe given the road conditions? We are not planning to rent a car.
Thanks!
Sammi says
March 26, 2018 at 1:58 PMHi Jenna, you can also take the public bus. There is a bus from Monteverde to San Jose at 6:30 AM and 2:30 PM every day. It costs 2810 colones (about $5) and takes about 4.5 hours. It will take you to the terminal 7-10 in downtown San Jose.
Karen says
January 26, 2018 at 4:32 PMThanks for the great advice! We would like to do a split trip between Arenal and Monteverde in 5 days as well. If we want to take the taxi boat taxi from Arenal to Monteverde, do you recommend that we rent separate cars in both areas to get around and to get to/from the airport? Or would it better to plan for public transportation the entire trip instead? Thanks in advcance!
Sammi says
January 26, 2018 at 4:42 PMHi Karen, there are no car rentals in Monteverde so you will have to take public transportation or shuttles. There are car rentals in Arenal though so you can rent one there to go to the airport. But usually car rental companies require a minimum of 3 days rental or they’ll charge the full 3 days if you have different pick up and drop off locations so you’ll have to see what works better for your schedule – to rent a car or use shuttles/buses.