Arenal Volcano and Hot Springs Day Trip from San Jose

San Jose, Costa Rica

Experience Costa Rica's world-renowned Arenal Volcano on this exciting full-day trip from San Jose. Feel the rush of adrenaline in the morning as you witness lava erupt from one of the most active volcanoes in the Western Hemisphere! Enjoy a complimentary lunch and spend the afternoon relaxing in the volcano's rejuvenating hot springs. Then, indulge in a gourmet dinner as you continue admiring the stunning, red-hot lava explosions against the night sky - a truly unforgettable experience!

Combine adrenaline and relaxation as you explore Costa Rica's world-renowned Arenal Volcano on this exciting day trip from San Jose! Your expert local guide will take you to the safe viewing area to experience the thundering volcano - one of the most active in the world! Feel the earth rumbling as the lava erupts and admire magnificent views of glowing lava exploding into the sky.

After your thrilling morning show, enjoy a complimentary lunch and spend the afternoon relaxing in the volcano's rejuvenating hot springs and mineral pools. Then, enjoy a gourmet dinner under the stars and continue admiring the volcano's stunning fiery eruption.

USD $98.99

Review by: William B	April 2012
Breath taking views ...Several georgeous hot springs...this place is beautiful and the views from the volcano are awe inspiring..If you go toCosta rica you must visit Arenal!

Review by: Stacy R	January 2012
This tour is not marketed well at all. If your goal is to sit on a bus for 7-8 hours and see the hot springs for 2-3, you'll be pleased. But if you are going to see a volcano, skip over this one.

Review by: Jie S	January 2012
well worth the $, recommend!

Review by: jorge j	November 2011
Good trip se los recomiendo a todos la van a pasar muy bien .La naturaleza increible.

Review by: Luis	November 2011
Lunch was poor

Review by: Vinh P	September 2011
It is quite good overall, especially about the 3 hours we spent at the hot springs. But the drive from San Jose to the volcano is too long (about 3.5 hours). It is a scenic drive, but on the way back to San Jose, it's all dark, you won't be able to see anything.

Review by: Mistie J	June 2011
The hot springs they took us to was Baldi. It was under going renovations in a very small area. The place was still amazing and very clean!!! A wonderful place to end our time in Costa Rica. Pura Vida!

Review by: Maria H R	April 2011
It was a great trip! The tour guide was very informative and knowledgeable. The hot springs were fun but the visit to the Arenal Volcano outlook was the highlight. We got there just before sunset and took some amazing pictures. The food was very good as well. It is a long trip but worth it. Just don't expect the volcano to spew lava and throw a show. It is on a "calm" period and it is just smoking at the top but it is still spectacular.

Review by: Alissa H	March 2011
It was a nice day trip. Although, I wish that the group didn't have to split up to go to 2 different hot springs and restaurant locations. Also, we were the first picked up and the last dropped off. It was a lot of time just sitting in the bus....kind of a drag

Review by: Monika M	February 2011
Unfortunately they were going to take us to Baldi and not Tabacon who is the most beautiful one to visit and a must. Deal 93.99 is no deal it is just the rate charged by every tour company. You have to pay 116.00 to see the Tabacon and Viator makes it look like you are going there for 93.99. Luckily we upgraded with an additional fee.

Review by: Carla G	February 2011
Extremely disappointing for time spent and price. Over a three hour drive from San Jose. We did not get to see or hear anything about the Arenal, the excuse being cloud cover. If we had known that all we would do was go to hot springs for several hours we would not have booked the trip and wasted six plus hours on a horrible van ride. By the time the driver picked us up the van was full. I sat on a seat over the wheel well with my legs cramped up for the whole day! The whole day was spoiled because of the discomfort of that van.

Review by: Aikaterini O	January 2011
I booked this tour anticipating that at least part of our day would be spent touring the Arenal volcano itself, and National Park (the day trip was misleadingly advertised as 'Arenal Volcano and Hot Springs'). Instead, we were taken directly to a thermal spa, after an unnecessarily long (2-hour!) buffet lunch stop at a nearby restaurant. The spa itself was nice, if a little too touristy. After spending more than 3 hours there (it was well after sunset when we departed), we were driven around the Arenal lake reservoir, completely pointlessly, as by then it was dark and we could not see any of the surrounding area. Equally pointless was a later stop at a viewing point, which supposedly provided an optimal view of the Arenal volcano (perhaps it would have, if our visit there had been scheduled to take place when there was still daylight!). The tour concluded with another long stop for dinner, at the same restaurant where we had lunch. The service was hopelessly slow this second time, and the food mediocre quality. _br/_ To make matters worse, throughout the trip the tour guide's commentary was frustratingly dumbed-down, providing no useful, or substantial information on local history, or the volcano itself. He also kept addressing our group as if it consisted of schoolchildren on an excursion. _br/_ In conclusion, I found this tour to be a huge disappointment. It was certainly not worth its price (over £50 per person). I would discourage any tourist interested in seeing and learning about Arenal itself and the National Park from booking it.

Review by: Christopher T	August 2010
The trip was a lot of fun and our guide was great - very knowledgable and friendly. Even thought it was cloudyrainy for much of the day, we were able to get good views of the volacno saw it erupt 3 times. The food was also really good, and the hot springs were amazing! I'd definately recommend this trip. However, participants should be aware that it's more of a 14-15 hour trip as compared to the 11 hours advertised.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	July 2010
This trip was great! The food was fantastic and we really enjoyed the hot springs and watching the volcano erupt. Overall, this trip was stellar!

Review by: Virna G	July 2010
The trip was great but the bus broke down, and they did not notify us until we had waited almost three hours. Everythihg was rescheduled and we went the day after the original schedule.

Review by: William B, United States of America	June 2010
Very nice trip ..our guide Gustavo was very knowledgable and gave us very interesting bits of the history of Costa Rica.The volcano and springs were awe inspiring to say the least.Definitely and experience you have to see with your own eyes to appreciate..Bring plenty of film or a digital camera and video as you will be snapping memorable photos all day long.

Review by: Carol M, United States of America	March 2010
The mist made it very difficult to see the volcano

Review by: Erika K, United States of America	March 2010
This trip is a lot longer than described. The way to the volcano took abot 5-hours since they stopped at a souvenir shop. If you get car sick, it is recommended to take some medication with you since there is a very good chance you will get sick. Other than that this tour was very pleasant, the food was excellent and the facilities at Tabacon resort were very, very good.

Review by: Richard B, United States of America	March 2010
No problems with the tour, but weather was terrible, cold and rainy, so we couldn't see the volcano

Review by: LUIS M	March 2010
The mist made it very difficult to see the volcano

Review by: Anonymous	January 2010
Highly Recommended

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	December 2009
It was organized very well, with nice people and a lot of information about Costa Rica

Review by: Tae In K, South Korea	July 2009
Why was the team divided into two? Some went to Baldi, some went to Maracon. I could not understand the situation. The agency should have collected each group as to where they went.

Review by: Tae in K	July 2009
Why was the team divided into two? Some went to Baldi, some went to Maracon. I could not understand the situation. The agency should have collected each group as to where they went.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	May 2009
My family was very pleased. Great driver and tour guide. Would do again.

Review by: Eleftherios M, United States of America	April 2009
The Arenal volcano is not so active, I just saw smoke on its peak, no thunder, no rolling lava, absolutely quiet, but the hot springs are good. You have to be careful if you are sunburned because the water some times in some pools is too hot.

Review by: Albert N, United States of America	March 2009
Your promotional material does not clearly explain the trip. We were disappointed in how commercial the hot springs were. The bus driver then stopped on the side of a dirt road and told us we could get out to see the volcano. Is this the best place to observe it? We could not see anything.

Review by: Albert W. N	March 2009
Your promotional material does not clearly explain the trip. We were disappointed in how commercial the hot springs were. The bus driver then stopped on the side of a dirt road and told us we could get out to see the volcano. Is this the best place to observe it? We could not see anything.

Review by: Kelly S, United States of America	January 2009
The trip was nice but much longer than described on the website. For example, the website said they would pick us up between 9:30 and 10:30, which is why we chose this trip. We arrived late the night before and that the trip was about 11 hours. In the end, our pick up was at 8 am and we did not arrive back at the hotel until after 11 -- 15 hours.

Review by: Ernest Y L, Canada	January 2009
The most disappointing one.

Review by: E Y	January 2009
The most disappointing one.

Review by: Blanca R, United States of America	November 2008
Unique experience, I will go back and take family members so they can experience it.

Review by: Anonymous	November 2008
Unique experience, I will go back and take family members so they can experience it.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	August 2008
This tour took in many different sites and included 2 delicious meals. However, the tour guide did not keep to the schedule. What was supposed to be an 11 hour tour ended up being 14 hours!

Review by: Lai Chu T	August 2008
Too cloudy...couldn't really see the lava.

Review by: Zeev L, United States of America	May 2008
Nice tour, loved the view and really enjoyed the Baldi hot pools, very friendly and knowledgeable tour guide.

Review by: Tsipora C	May 2008
Nice tour, loved the view and really enjoyed the Baldi hot pools, very friendly and knowledgeable tour guide.

Review by: Donnalynn R	April 2008
Extremely long, tiring day and no options if you don't want to soak in the hot springs part of the tour. So you're left to sit and wait for a few hours with nothing to do. Best to spend the night if you want to see Arenal.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	November 2007
We were able to see the whole volcano, and the hot springs were great. The food was excellent too.

Review by: Monica M, United States of America	March 2007
Too bad it was cloudy and unable to see the top of the volcano. But the warm springs were great.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	March 2007
Highly recommend the volcano and hot springs tour. Easy trip from San Jose.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	December 2006
Pleasant, knowledgeable guide. Excellent food and indescribable beauty.