How to Spend a Weekend in La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Arenal Volcano 

If you are looking for adventure on your trip to Costa Rica, look no further than La Fortuna, Costa Rica...

La Fortuna is a small town at the base of Arenal Volcano, located just 2 and a half hours north of San Jose, Costa Rica. It is rumored that it received its name for its fertile flat lands and more interestingly, that it was spared from the 1968 eruption that destroyed many surrounding cities, making it "fortunate" or "La Fortuna." This picturesque town is an adventure junkie's paradise as it is home to waterfalls, hiking, rafting, horseback riding and so much more. 

How to Get There:

Unless you have prearranged a tour that will take you to La Fortuna, the most efficient way is to rent a car and drive. We had been warned before coming to Costa Rica that the roads were bad, which made us nervous, but we had no problems with the quality of the road from San Jose to La Fortuna. 

Side Story Time, very IMPORTANT: 

Our problem, however, was with renting the car itself. Costa Rica has rental car companies just like the U.S. such as Budget, Alamo, and Avis. We found our car on Rentalcars.com for only $45 USD dollars for three days. SCORE! right...? WRONG. Caroline and I both have credit cards that cover insurance on rental cars and we knew that it was common for rental car agencies to "pressure" you into getting insurance in Costa Rica, so we were prepared to deny the insurance they were offering. However, the man at the counter insisted that we had to get insurance and that the credit card company only covers a certain kind of insurance. Surely that sounded fishy to us but after speaking to a few other people in the lobby they said the exact same thing happened to them and one even had the same credit card that Caroline does that provided us with insurance coverage. We asked if we could deny the insurance and take the risk but he stated that we could not get the car without it. Unfortunately, we had already paid an Uber to get to the car rental agency and were unsure on how to get to La Fortuna any other way so we had to pay another $120 USD in insurance AND put a $1,000 dollar deposit down on a card. In the bigger picture, I understand that $165 dollars for a rental car is not the worst thing in the world, we were just upset that it was not clearly presented on Rentalcars.com and the cost was unexpected to two girls that are supposed to be backpacking on a budget.

Moving on... Waze and Google Maps are both helpful in getting around here and I believe both of them have a downloadable offline version so if you chose not to get a data plan while here, it is very easy to get there. 

Where We Stayed:

We stayed at the Selina Hostel La Fortuna for around $14 USD per night. This hostel chain is actually very common in Central and South America and is opening new locations around the world. Unlike most hostels, Selina is a co-work space, which means that it is built for digital nomads that work while traveling. They have a space reserved for guests needing an office environment with super reliable internet. So for any other digital nomads out there, I highly recommend checking them out! Even if you are just traveling for fun, the beds are super comfortable, there is a private locker in each bed to put your stuff, wifi in the rooms, and (super important to this sweaty traveler) air conditioning.

Activities:

1. Free Natural Hot Spring:

Friday was a half-day, so we decided to start our weekend off by relaxing in the free hot springs we found. To find it on Google, type in "Free Natural Hot Springs River" and it is located right next to Tabacon Thermal Resort and Spa. There is a tiny parking lot but it is usually full so we pulled off on the side of the street. However, there were a few guys standing there collecting $5 for it. As much as I hate to admit it, I think we were scammed on this because none of our research had mentioned a parking fee but we were scared that we may come back to a damaged rental car so we paid the fee. The entrance is pretty easy to find and is not extremely difficult to get to. Just follow the flow of others headed there.

The river has small pools that have formed for you to sit in and relax. 

The higher up the river, the warmer the water.

2. Catarata Rio Fortuna (waterfall):

Saturday morning we woke up to catch the early morning views of the most popular waterfall in the area, Catarata Rio Fortuna. I would HIGHLY recommend going right when they open at 8 a.m. to get the best views and uninterrupted photos. Even by the time we were leaving at 9:30 a.m., the crowds were pretty heavy. The entry fee was $18 USD per person and make sure to bring a bathing suit since you can swim in the lake! Also please make sure to bring appropriate shoes, the rocks are slippery and can be dangerous.

Look at that dreamy view. This is the lookout deck before descending the 250 steps down. 

We were even lucky enough to catch a rainbow. 

The bottom of the steps. You can swim but I chose not to since being wet and climbing steps didn't seem ideal. 

3. Catarata Celeste: 

We made friends with some lovely girls at our hostel Friday night and once talking, they asked if we had heard about a waterfall an hour drive from La Fortuna named Catarata Celeste. We hadn't, but we all decided to take a trip there Saturday afternoon. The waterfall is part of the Tenorio Volcano National Park and costs $12 USD per person to enter. The special thing about Catarata Celeste is that the water is a strikingly vibrant blue. It is due to the minerals in the water and the sunlight reflection which creates a pretty magical effect. We entered the park around 2 p.m. and found that this was perfect timing. The National Park closes at 4 p.m. in July due to the sun setting at 6 p.m., so we essentially had the place to ourselves on the hike back. 

The view from the top of the stairs.

There is a hike to the waterfall and then steps to get to it. Once you are done at the waterfall you can continue on to the end of the trail where you will see a lagoon, amazing views, and where the two rivers meet, blending the colors together.

4. Arenal Volcano, Arenal 1968 Trail

Sunday was another half day as we wanted to get back before the sunset so we headed out early to conquer the main event, the Arenal Volcano. We chose to hike the Arenal 1968 Trail named after the eruption and it costs $16 USD to enter. After a full day of hiking and stair climbing on Saturday, we were both feeling a little achy so we decided to do the smaller trail of the two that they offered. Essentially they both start off the same and the shorter one simply veers off back to the start sooner. Honestly, the short trail was perfect because we had some incredible views of the volcano, volcanic rock formation and tropical plants. 

 

Here are some of the plants we came across

About halfway up there is a perfect shot of the volcano.

As seen earlier, there is a lookout about a three-fourths of the way through the trail that gives incredible 360 views of the volcano and nearby lake.

Once you finish the hike there is a cafe that you can stop to grab a drink and take in the volcano one last time. 

NOTE: If you can't hike but still want to see the volcano, there is an option to pay for a visit to the cafe only.

Here are some pictures of the view from the cafe.

While there is so much more to do in La Fortuna, we felt that three days there were more than enough for us. If you are headed to Costa Rica soon, put this place on your list! Which activities would you try?