La Fortuna Free Hot Springs: What you Need to Know Before Visiting!
If you haven’t gathered yet, when you find something amazing to do in Costa Rica that is free, you better jump on it! And the La Fortuna free hot springs is one of the BEST free things you can do in Costa Rica!
What is often referred to as just the “free hot springs” of La Fortuna is technically Rio Choyin (or Rio Chollin), which is a naturally heated spring that comes from under Arenal Volcano.
It stems from the same springs that feed the famous Tabacon Hot Springs; you can experience the same thermal waters without the price tag here!
Here is everything you will need to know about visiting the free hot springs including where its located, how to get there, parking, what you should (and shouldn’t) take with you, visiting during the night and more!
- Getting to the La Fortuna Free Hot Springs
- What to Expect at the Springs!
- What to Wear, Pack and Leave Behind
- Final Thoughts on Visiting the La Fortuna Free Hot Springs
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Getting to the La Fortuna Free Hot Springs
Misleading as it is, the “La Fortuna free hot springs” are technically in Arenal. However, these two are so close together they are often interchanged.
But, if you are staying in the city center of La Fortuna, the free hot springs will be about a 15 minute drive toward Arenal National Park.
The best entry to the free hot springs is located JUST across from the Tabacon Thermal Resort and Spa.
How to Get to the La Fortuna Free Hot Springs
By far, the best way to get to the hot springs (and explore Costa Rica in general) is by hiring (or renting) a car! We rented a car in Costa Rica and there was a lot of confusion about the price of the rental car, the insurance required (and what wasn’t required) and more.
To avoid so much confusion, book your car with Adobe Car Rentals, which is a local company. Here is everything you need to know about hiring a car in Costa Rica!
Where to Rent a Car!
Use Adobe rental cars, a LOCAL Costa Rican company!
You will get a TOTAL, upfront price and know exactly what you will be paying without hidden fees!
However, if you aren’t too keen on renting a car, you can get there a couple of other ways.
Bus: You can take a bus from La Fortuna and get off near Tabacon. Look for the Transpisa bus that runs from La Fortuna to Arenal. Here is the official site for the bus schedule, but its a little hard to follow.
Taxi: You can flag a taxi down in La Fortuna that can drop you off at the hot springs. This will probably cost around $20 dollars one-way according to Rome2Rio. To flag a taxi to get back to La Fortuna, it’ll probably be easiest to catch one from Tabacon or a nearby resort.
Parking Situation
Typically people park on the side of the road, just across from Tabacon Thermal Resort and Spa. This is SUPPOSED to be free.
However, if you start looking at Google reviews on the free hot springs, you will see that if you try to park during the day there are often men in vests trying to get you to pay money for them to “watch you vehicle.”
We visited in the evening and then early morning, so we didn’t run into this and I don’t have first-hand experience with it.
However, it has been said more than once that this was the biggest downfall to visiting the free hot springs.
So, if you opt to visit during the day, I would be prepared for this. You can either opt to tell them “no thanks,” give them a little cash or choose to find parking further away and walk to the springs.
How to Access to the La Fortuna Free Hot Springs
Once you find your perfect parking spot, the walk to the free hot springs is quite short (unless you opt to park further away.)
After you park, you will be on the lookout for a little cobblestone-looking path. You will pass what, I’ll admit, is a sketchy looking gate until you come to some rock steps that lead down to the river.
These steps are located to the right of the bridge that lies between Tabacon and the free hot springs.
Considering visiting the Tabacon Thermal Resort and Spa? Here is everything you need to know about visiting!
What to Expect at the Springs!
Once you reach the rock steps you will step down onto a concrete surface with shallow water that runs below the bridge.
You can walk under the bridge to the left and access hot springs on that side of the bridge or you can take an immediate right and you can climb over rocks and access some pools on this side of the hot springs.
Remember, this is just a natural spring so there are no pre-made pools. You will just start rock climbing until you find a good pool to sit down in.
There are several pools along the creek, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find a spot.
Visiting the La Fortuna Free Hot Springs at Night
In my humble opinion, night just might be the best time to visit! Thought there might be a little bit of a freaky fear factor to it, the experience at night was really cool!
But, there are a few things to know about visiting at night.
The visibility is slim-to-none. There is a BIT of light on the street where you are going to park, but beyond that you are in the glory of full darkness!
With that being said, you will want to have some form of light. Either the light on your phone, a flashlight or, what we didn’t even think about, a candle!
When we were arriving, a group was leaving that had brought a candle to the hot springs. It was SUPER convenient for lighting and REALLY added to the ambiance of the experience.
However, if you do this, be responsible! It is an open flame after all. So make sure it is contained (though it should be plenty wet enough) and be sure to pack it out when you leave.
Storage?
Nur. Remember, again, this is just walking up to a creek in its naturally occurring habitat. There are VERY few options for setting your things down and where you CAN set your stuff down will just be in the open.
The best place to leave anything you don’t want to take to the creek will be beside the rock steps at the entrance to the river.
But this is more like where you would leave a towel and clothes; not your vacation money and passport.
Want an Affordable Hotel Near the Free Hot Springs?
Stay at Hotel Lavas Tacotal! This is where we stayed for a night before splurging on one night at the Tabacon Thermal Resort and Spa!
It is nothing special, but it was clean and did the job for us!
What to Wear, Pack and Leave Behind
You should access your inner minimalist when it comes to bringing things to the free hot springs.
What to Wear ⬇️
Swimsuit: Wear your swimsuit TO the springs (there will be nowhere to change privately.)
Waterproof Sandals: You will be climbing over wet rocks so you are going to want STURDY, waterproof sandals with good grip! Teva Hurricanes are my go-to for outdoor water adventures!
What to Pack/Bring⬇️
Waterproof phone case or pouch: You can get a set of two waterproof phone pouches on Amazon for super affordable. These pouches have a space for your phone plus a space for a credit card or cash.
Towel: Bring a towel that you can set on the rocks and leave behind while you are in the river. I’ve been using the Sun’y travel towel and like it!
Source of Light: You can use your phone, but the light probably will not work well in your waterproof case. So pack a waterproof flashlight or have a candle!
What to Leave Behind⬇️
Anything you don’t want stolen! Don’t bring anything you wouldn’t be comfortable leaving out of sight while you are soaking in the spring. While it may be completely okay, it is a risk.
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Final Thoughts on Visiting the La Fortuna Free Hot Springs
As much as we liked visiting the Tabacon hot springs, we really thought the free hot springs was a super unique experience on our Costa Rica itinerary (especially at night!) Plus, it was SO NICE to find something that was FREE since everything was adding up so quickly in Costa Rica!
Here is how to spend an epic 8 days in Costa Rica! (or 5 days in Costa Rica if you don’t have quite a week 😉)
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