10 BEST Things to Do in La Fortuna, Costa Rica: Hot Springs, Rafting & More!

Epic things to do in La Fortuna, Costa Rica! La Fortuna is such a good place for first-time Costa Rica visitors because it has such a wide variety of things to do!

With the nearby Arenal Volcano, there are very unique things to do as well! Aside from hiking around a perfectly shaped volcano, you can swim in hot springs that run from under the volcano. As if that isn’t cool enough, you can encounter wildlife, white water raft, rappel waterfalls and more!

So here are a few of my favorite things we did in La Fortuna plus a few that I wish we had done if we had more time in the La Fortuna area!

• La Fortuna, Costa Rica: Location & Mini Guide
• Best Things to Do in La Fortuna Summary
• 1. Go White Water Rafting
• 2. Hike to La Fortuna Waterfall
• 3. Visit Tabacon Hot Springs
• 4. Soak in the Free Hot Springs
• 5. Hike Arenal Volcano at Arenal 1968
• 6. Day Trip to Rio Celeste Waterfall
• 7. Go Zip Lining
• 8. Go Canyoning & Waterfall Rappelling
• 9. Chocolate and Coffee Tour
• 10. See Sloths with a Guide
• Honorable Mentions for Things to Do in La Fortuna
• Final Thoughts on the Things to Do in La Fortuna

La Fortuna is located about 3 hours north of Costa Rica’s large airport in San Jose. About 30 minutes north of La Fortuna is Arenal, home of the Arenal Volcano and national park. These two are often clumped together due to the close proximity.

La Fortuna is a bigger town with more restaurant and hotel options (that aren’t hot springs resorts) and makes for a good home base.

However, even if you base yourself in La Fortuna, many of the best things to do in La Fortuna are actually in closer to the Arenal Volcano. So be prepared to navigate between the two areas!

I don’t often start with one of the BEST, but white water rafting really is one of the best things to do in La Fortuna and shouldn’t be missed!

Costa Rica has epic white water rafting and the Balsa River near La Fortuna is a great river to do it on!

Balsa River offers tours that are either class II and III or class III and IV, providing rapids for different experience levels.

White water rafting was one of our FAVORITE things we did in Costa Rica! It was SO fun. Arenal Rafting Company made the experience safe and so memorable!

Costa Rica has no shortage of beautiful waterfalls. However, La Fortuna waterfall is high on the list! It stands out due to the height and power of the waterfall and the BEAUTIFUL gorge it is located in!

Though it does take a few hundred stairs to get to (😅) it is worth it!

One of the best things about this waterfall is that it has incredibly clear water and great swimming holes. In addition to the large pool at the bottom of the waterfall, the creek that runs from the waterfall also has great pools of water to soak in.

Entry Fee: ~$18 USD. Book entry tickets to La Fortuna Waterfall.

Everything you need to know about visiting La Fortuna Waterfall!

Tabacon Resort is one of the only resorts that has hot springs that come directly from under Arenal Volcano and run straight through the property.

The collection of springs at Tabacon is incredible too. They have a variety of depths of pools, temperature of pools, some that look more like a swimming pool and some that look more like a creek bed. One has a swim-up bar and they have a Shangri-La area that is adult only as well.

Now, this can end up being on the higher-priced list of things to do in La Fortuna.

You can opt to either buy a day pass or you can stay a night at the resort and gain access to the pools this way.

Day passes are about $99 USD now and a night at Tabacon Resort is expensive.

However, with a night at the Tabacon, everyone in the room gains access to the hot springs, so for us it made sense to stay a night because we split the room 3 ways.

You will have to do some calculations on the best bang for your buck depending on your group size. But, either way, the springs are amazing to visit!

Everything you need to know about visiting the Tabacon Hot Springs (including help with determining if you should stay a night or do the day pass!)

Soaking in the free hot springs is a core memory for me!

While visiting the beautiful springs of Tabacon was so fun, climbing into the all natural free river was vastly different than the luxury of Tabacon and one of the more unique things to do in La Fortuna!

Plus, its FREE, and there aren’t a lot of things to do in La Fortuna (and Costa Rica in general) that won’t cost some sore of fee!

Obviously, the opening hours of the creek are 24/7, so you can visit both during the day and at night. We opted to soak at night and it was so cool!

When we arrived, some locals were leaving their pool they were soaking in. They had brought a candle and left it for us while we soaked and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. It provides light (where there typically is NONE) and made for an awesome ambiance!

Just be sure to be responsible; don’t leave the candle unattended and take it with you when you go (unless someone else wants to use it 🙂.)

Everything you need to know about visiting the free hot springs!

You can’t go to the La Fortuna/Arenal area and not get up close and personal with the Arenal Volcano. I recommend hiking at the Arenal 1968 trails to get views of the volcano.

Now, when I say “hike Arenal volcano” I mean hike AROUND it. You can’t actually hike UP it. It is illegal to actually try to summit the volcano.

However, there are trails that get close to the base of the volcano and through lava fields created by Arenal Volcano.

There are two main trails at the Arenal 1968 trails, the Lave Field Trail and Forest Trail. The Lava Field trail is much better than the Forest trail. Not only is it cooler to hike through the lava fields, it also has better views of the volcano.

I recommend hiking the Lava Field trail and then visit the cafe to get one of the BEST, unobstructed views of Arenal Volcano!

Cost: ~$25 per person

Rio Celeste waterfall is one of the most unique waterfalls in central Costa Rica. While many of the waterfalls have nice, clear water, Rio Celeste has BRIGHT BLUE water (hence the name.) And, it really is THAT blue in person.

However, Rio Celeste is a bit of a trek from La Fortuna. It is located about 1.5 to 2 hours north of the La Fortuna/Arenal area.

If you are renting a car (which, again, is the best way to get around Costa Rica!), the drive is pretty easy from La Fortuna to Rio Celeste waterfall.

Or, if you are wanting to just base yourself in La Fortuna and take day tours, you can book a tour with Go Arenal Adventure Park, which will include pickup and drop off in La Fortuna!

So, if you plan to just stay in the La Fortuna it may be best to find zip lining closer!

A top-rated zip lining excursion in La Fortuna is the 12 Canopy Zip Lines and Forest Walk provided by Arenal Mundo Aventura Ecological Park!

It actually zips over waterfalls and provides views of the Arenal Volcano as well!

If you want to know more about zip lining in Costa Rica in general, here is everything about our experience with zip lining in Monteverde including how safe it felt, why we loved it and more!

If I were back in Costa Rica right now, I would book a tour with ABC Canyoning. They have 4.8/5 star ratings on Get Your Guide, 4.9/5 star ratings on Google, and even 5 stars on TripAdvisor, where people like to go to complain!

I think in addition to the white water rafting and zip lining (which we checked off the list!), rappelling/canyoning is a must on the list of things to do in La Fortuna!

This is one of the most popular activities in the area, though, and is likely to sell out quick!

The Don Juan Arenal Chocolate and Coffee tour has incredible ratings and so many positive reviews!

See the ins and outs of the production of both chocolate and coffee, from the seed and bean to the final product. Plus, taste the delicious products at the end!

One of the best things about Costa Rica is its wildlife. We opted to visit Manuel Antonio, which is a wildlife gold mine! Here, we were able to see MULTIPLE sloths in their natural habitat and it was the coolest thing! Its something that you can’t just see anywhere.

Sloth sighting in Manuel Antonio is much easier due to the density of the sloths. It can be a little harder to do in La Fortuna.

We actually even tried to go down the Bogarin Sloth trail to see more sloths (because we loved them.) However, without a guide we saw ZERO sloths.

Therefore, if you want to see sloths in La Fortuna, I recommend having a guide.

Book a tour through La Fortuna Hikes and Trails and join a local family who will help you find sloths in their natural habitat and provide a scope for seeing them up closer (they can be hard to see in the trees!)

Plus, at the end of the tour, learn how to cook a local tortilla snack!

There are really LOADS of things to do in La Fortuna, which is part of the great appeal of visiting the area. So here are a few things that are still worth mentioning (but probably not in my top 10!)

Mìstico Arenal Hanging Bridges: This is another popular thing to do in La Fortuna. Costa Rica has a lot of hanging bridges thrown into their jungle canopies, and the Mistico Hanging Bridges are some of the best. Just be sure to get there early to beat the crowds that will no doubt swarm later in the day. Book tickets to the bridges.

Bogarin Sloth Trail: This trail is conveniently located 5 minutes from downtown La Fortuna! It has one of the thickest populations of sloths in this area. However, when we visited it was raining and we saw NO sloths. However, they do have guides that can take you through the trails, and this is probably your best bet on guaranteeing to see a sloth (but, again, costs money.)

El Salto Rope Swing: The El Salto swing is located on the same river that comes from the La Fortuna waterfall. This can be a good addition to or replacement of the La Fortuna waterfall. A perk is that it is free to visit also!

As you have probably realized, activities in Costa Rica ADD UP. Even things like hiking to a waterfall can cost you $20 a person. So you really have to be strategic and prioritize what you want to see and do or you can spend a million dollars in Costa Rica!

Here is how to spend 5 days in Monteverde and La Fortuna areas or 8 days in Costa Rica if you have more time!

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