Arenal Volcano National Park in Puntarenas

We didnt hike, so I thought the price was high for just going in to take pictures. But it was a good view of the volcano, and informative boards of information about it.

Happy to visit another national park outside of USA!Park wasnt far from our hotel, great daytrip. See online for cost, my entry was part of a group tour. They dont have maps, due to being eco friendly. You can bring water but must bring anything empty with you, no trash cans. All the restrooms where very clean.Walkway thru Park is paved and in good condition. We had a relaxing approx 3 mile walk round-trip. Didnt see many animals, but no guarantees that you will, mother nature.I would recommend if you like outdoors and nature, great way to get your daily steps.

A “MUST VISIT” !!! Her amazing natural beauty is seen throughout our visit. My photos do not begin to capture the raw beauty available to the human eye. Seeing the waterfalls first from a far distance to eventually up close is a incredible memory. Remember when you take the 500 steps down that you must take the steps back up. Fortunately for me many levels of Resting areas. Also refreshments available along with multiple gift centers. A sign Warning yo use the bathroom services before you begin your journey down is a wise thought. Overall breathtaking experience!!

Very nice hiking around the volcano, the peninsula was beautiful too. Lots of interesting insects and plants along the way. (Slight run in with black bees, I advise viewing from a distance 😬)

Amazing place, wonderful experience of the rainforest, rivers, scary hanging bridges, fantastic views. Definitely a MUST visit for any nature lover who visits Costa Rica.

Beatiful park. Trails are not too difficult but youll get a workout. You also get access to the lake arenal side of the park about a 10 min drive from the main park.

Beautiful park and the Ceibu tree is really like something straight out of a movie. It is really moving to see this tree. To be honest, the best view of the volcano was from the roadside and the Mystico hanging bridges park

Probably one of the most beautiful places on earth. Absolutely breathtaking and I’m so lucky to visit and spend a few days in this paradise surrounded by nature, birds, sloths, and the Arenal Volcano. So many species of birds you see here are just unbelievable! Truly one of my favourite holidays ever.

If I could rate it with cero, I would do it.We paid like $18USD per person for nothing really interesting. The park was supposed to open at 8am and the person who opened arrive 10min late.The walkways are completely horrible, muddy and without any kind of maintenance. I do not recommend this place at all, dont waste you money and time.

Beautiful views, the volcano has activities like hiking and the biodiversity in the place is amazing and is on another level.Even if its a excellent experience the bugs and the mud are annoying and if you dont have a physical condition you can get tired and ruin the experience.Some recommendations are: get a repellent, sunscreen, and water, and if you dont have physical condition try to be prepared.

The place itself is amazing, but unfortunately I only got to experience the outskirts of the volcanos. It rains so much in the area, I was there 3 days and I didn’t get to see the volcano once because of the fog. What I did get to see was amazing, so I would definitely visit again during the dry season.

Excellent hike15$ per person5 $ per child3 parking areas. One at the end of round to look at the volcano. 2nd is the main one closer to park entrance. Hike 3 Km one way. Unfortunately cloudy so views at the end were ok.Red trail is tough, mud and narrow at placesBig tree location is on the red trail.DONOT leave the trail, risk of snakes.Wear full leg cover and hiking shoes.3rd parking is drive, rocky road, better to have 4x4. It is hike DOWN 1 km to the observation tower and the lake

Nice park to hike and see the Arenal volcano up close and the beautiful nature surrounding it.

It was a nice hike but not a lot to see, At the top of path 4 you have a view of the Arenal volcano, but theres not a lot of wildlife, we did see Lizards and monkeys. The 400 year old tree is cool to see due to its size and is a good place for selfies.

Go to Mirador El Silenco instead and do their trail! Much cheaper $7 entrance, and I assume much quieter, we were on our own. Incredible views of the volcano, the green lake, Arenal lake, and went to the 1968 lava. Lovely guys who work there too!

With the amount of money you pay for walking in this area, it is not worth it. Path is completely missing in some parts and mud puddles are so big that your shoes get swallowed in it. There are also lack of directions once you are on the path. Especially with kids its tough not to know how much ground is pending to be covered. You have no clue if you are going in circles or end is anywhere near.

We hiked trail 4, took about an hour round trip some stairs at the end to the old lava flow and then tricky terrain. Path had some mud. I recommend and would do again! If you drive to the volcano viewing area, #6, walk the few steps up from the parking lot to the picnic tables its a better view above the treeline.

This is a nice park with super easy trails to walk and lots of wildlifeto see. Make sure to checkout the peninsula trail.There is a big difference in the entrance free for locals to non-locals. This place is clearly overcharging the tourists.

Worth seeing for sure. Hike is relatively easy. Bring an umbrella or raincoat and sturdy shoes. Can get muddy and definitely rocky at the end.

We walked the 1968 lava trail which is a flat and easy hike until the viewing platform where you need to climb stairs and walk on the rocks. No need for a guide if you want to save money. The park can be reached by taxi or Uber from La Fortuna but the cell reception is very weak at the entrance so it might be difficult to book Uber. We were lucky that a passing Uber driver saw us and asked if we were looking for a ride.The trail is flanked by lush vegetation and the view is beautiful but if you just want a photo of the volcano, you can get an equally nice view from the center of La Fortuna.The trail also leads to a ceiba tree if you choose. It is definitely worth seeing.

Although is a rainy forest but sometimes you can get really lucky and get this view of Arenal...

My husband and I were underwhelmed by this walk to Arenal Volcano. You can see the volcano from the parking lot or other areas in Fortuna and there’s really no need to pay to do this walk. But, we didn’t know and we did it and it was fine. Easy walk in the jungle, do take waterproof closed toed shoes, it’s in the jungle, it will most likely rain. We had a poncho and I’m so glad we did. If you really want to do it, do it quick so you have time to do other activities. No need to spend half or full day here.

Absolutely gorgeous hiking trails and views from up top. Bring a jacket or hat as it might start raining but wont be bad due to the tree coverage. Youll see many different types of wildlife along your hike. 100% worth it.

Amazing areas. Feelings. Life at its fullest.Great Ceiba tree and a lot of diverse fauna.

Gorgeous views and beautiful hike. Multiple trails to walk through with wildlife to watch along the way. Walked through all the trails and it was well worth it. Ticket included the Arenal lake trail with outlook tower.

It’s just ok many trails the only attraction is to see the volcano closer from the viewpoint, no animals around maybe couple birds, a local guy told me about a better place called 1968, but I couldn’t go because my bus left the same day that I visited the volcano.

We hiked Parque National on our own and had a phenomenal time! There are two main portions to the park - a hike closer to the lava fields and the volcano (also, there’s a massive tree amidst this hikeand a second half closer to the lake. What an incredible experience. Would highly recommend. Wear solid hiking shoes please - we saw some ladies wearing sandals and those would not do well after a trudge in the mud.

Pepe with Ecoterra tours took us on a private guided hike for breathtaking views. He knew so much about the volcano history, local flora and fauna and was an amazing guide. He was patient with us when we needed to rest and at the end of our hike he had cold beers/water/soda, fresh pineapple and cookies waiting for us in the shade.The walking sticks he had were a lifesaver. Great tour guide - friendly, fun and knowledgeable

Did the ATV tour of the park, was a great way to see the area, you could also hike it if you like so you could spend more time at places of interest to you.

If you have a chance, just do an independent hike. $70 tours do not offer much. Extremely commercialized, and guides we got in La Fortuna were not engaging or knowledgeable, not able to answer questions or give a lot of history context, etc.But independent morning hikes are must! Views are impressive.

A good hike. No major changes in elevation unless you go up to the observation point. Bring water and decent shoes - sandals wont cut it here. Long but mild uphill sections, and some with a lot of roots and a bit more technical. Definitely worth the admission price.

Once again nature did not disappoint. I see people leaving bad reviews that are not justified. How can you give a volcano a bad review? Really beautiful and glorious views. The tour guide we had was very knowledgeable and easy going. I just wish there was a tour to the top.

The Arenal 1968 Lava Trail is fairly easy. Theres lots of different greenery to make the trail interesting. Seeing the lava rocks felt unreal. Unfortunately we did not have clear visibility of the peak of the volcano during our stay in Fortuna. During our hike we almost had it. The park accepts card payments, however they run on WiFi which can get spotty at times. Pro-tip: bring cash! It costs $17 per person. Even though looking up at the trees was beautiful, we also enjoyed looking down on the ground. We saw lines of ants moving leaves, it looks like a line or dancing leaves. It was a sweet surprise to see.

This place is great. Definitely a must to go on the hike and make sure you take the route to the tree. Great natural beauty. Love this area and me encanta Costa Rica.

The ticketing office is located right at the gate. Upon purchase of the ticket, you will be introduced to the trails and will be asked to take a photo of the map. Keep the ticket if you plan to visit Sector Peninsula. Restrooms are located right after the gate. There are two parking lots close to the trails. The first parking is close to the trailhead leading to the lava flows and 400-year-old ceiba tree and the second parking is right at the viewpoint in front of the volcano.The trail is unpaved but flat towards the mirador. There are seating areas where you can take pictures of the perfectly conical Arenal volcano.From the first parking area, the trailhead for the longer hikes is at the right side. This trail is flat and unpaved. From the sign showing directions to the coladas (lava flowsand the ceiba tree, the trail is a loop. It is just a matter of which one you will see first.The hike to the coladas and the old tree is a combination of stairs, steep steps, tree roots and rocks. Aside from the view of the volcano the viewpoints also offer a view of Arenal Lake.

An easy to mid-level hike around the base of Arenal. Definitely bring some good hiking boots as there are some areas close to the old lava flows with some loose igneous rocks

As others have said, this isnt the most exciting hike that Costa Rica has to offer. Its definitely an easy, mostly flat trail. However, if you are lucky to get a clear view of the volcano its quite stunning. The famous tree was also more interesting than I expected it to be. In total, the combo of the trail to the lookout point plus the loop to see the tree is about 5k. Theres another viewpoint to see the volcano that you can drive to, or its another 1.2km out and back. Thats actually where we had the better sighting of the volcano, but that all depends on luck. There was some construction in a couple of places, looks like they are building a new viewpoint platform that will be interesting when open. We were not able to hike the peninsula section because it is closed for trail maintenance.

The trail is very nice and you can find animals on the way.The view to the mountain is great.But dont expect too much to see volcano rocks, its very small area that you dont get to see a lot.When you buy the tickets you are getting access to another location that the view from there is amazing and you can also see the lake. Very recommend to visit it also.

Not like going to Yosemite or anything, so don’t expect refined services, lodging, shops, etc. The entry fee was approx USD 15 per adult and USD 5 per child. So my family was a little costly at $40 just for some simple hiking trails.We did the Heliconias trail, which continued as the Coladas trail to the base of the 1992 lava flow. We had good weather and nice views. It was an easy trail for kids, even young kids as young as 5.We didn’t see much wildlife beyond butterflies and lizards. Trail was decently maintained with mostly gravel track. Only a few places where it was muddy.

It is recommended to arrive at the place with a 4x4 vehicle. The reserve allows you to walk in several types of terrain, in the dense and moist forest, in the area of ​​basalt stones with a view of the volcano, and in a neat path that leads to a view of Lake Arenal. Along the trails you will encounter a wide variety of birds, insects and reptiles and you will feel part of nature. It is recommended to take the long route.

A must see place whilst visiting Costa Rica just a 3-4 hour drove from Tamarindo and 3 1/2 hours from San José.The local food in La Fortuna us both delicious and fairly affordable. The souvenirs shops were a bit too over price but you can find local selling them on the side of the road and small markets for 4x cheaper the the shops.There’s loads of activities to do both recreational and interactive. Perfect for families, couples and friends looks for some adventure in the jungle or the volcano.

Unfortunately didn’t get to see the volcano in full view as it was very cloudy and rainy. However the hike around the volcano and what we could still see was magnificent.Not wheelchair accessible as there are a lot of rocks and unpaved paths.

Beautiful nature! We were there during the week and only a few hikers were there with us. Note: the 15 $ entrance fee will also allow you to visit the peninsula in the lake Arenal.The 400 years old tree which you will find after walking for approximately 3.5 km was especially impressive.

Beautiful scenery. Waterfall is spectacular, and the walk down the stairs offers many different views. Pools are cool but refreshing after the hike. After you walk back up there is a restaurant and showers too if you need. Secure parking also. Highly recommend.

We went hiking to a beautiful waterfall. Make sure you are in good shape and able to hike up & down some steep trails. We went with Red Lava Tours and our guide Eric was so remarkable! He was incredibly interactive with our group of 11 and he shared so much knowledge of the rainforest with us. The National Park Service is very protective and proud of this lush area. Its living beauty is unsurpassed. This first time trip is best enjoyed with a guide.

Interesting park, great views on the volcano weather permitting.Park has 2 separate parts. One ticket gets you entrance for both.Comming from la Fortuna the first part includes a 2 hour trail and a view point. Lots of birds and some unique orchids. For the second part you need to go through a 2km unpaved road first. Includes access to the lake, another hike and a tower with a great view of both lake and volcano.Recommended

Did this hike with a group of friends.The reserve is well protected and maintained but by all means this is not a hard hike. Its a walk at its best.I also rented a bike and did the biking trail they offer there, fun but easy.A great hike for families and a group of friends looking for an easy stroll for the evening.

Amazing hikes.Excellent views of the volcano.Check our Lake Arenal peninsula as your rocker also includes.Massive huge 400 year old tree to check out as well.Wonderful experience.Admission is only $15US.

Beautiful place to spend a few hours. While the park is nice be sure not to miss the La Fortuna waterfall which is inside the national park but a completely different entrance and entrance fee. Well worth spending an additional $ 15.00 USD. Just be aware that there are around 600 steps to climb back to the parking area where you began.

This hike is great!!!! We visited with our friends and had some the hike prior in 2015. The price is reasonable and the staff speak some English and Spanish. They provide walking sticks; which I highly recommend taking on you hike. You will see a lot of birds, possible snake and bugs. Take you bug spray and water bottle!! You can request a tour guide to point out animals and birds and they will give you the history of the area.