About La Fortuna (Arenol Volcano Area), Costa Rica
La Fortuna is a wonderful little town in the middle of Costa Rica that nestled against Arenol National Park. This section of Costa Rica is full of wonderful scenery, a variety of fabulous animals, and friendly people. This area is a popular tourist spot for good reason. Vacations range from the super all inclusive luxury vacation to ones like ours – with a little of this and a little of that merging to make a lovely family trip. We stayed about a week. Next time we hope to stay longer.
Costa Rica and the La Fortuna/Arenol Volcano make wonderfully affordable stops for both family vacations and long term family travel.
Our trip was in 2017. This post was updated 2021.
The Budget and Plan
This trip we were travelling while the hubby still worked full remotely full time. Because we hoped to keep travelling without draining our savings, we have a much stricter budget than if this was our one week to get out and explore. Each location we generally choose a few good adventures and the rest of the time we enjoyed the atmosphere. This part of the trip the hubby worked online most days and I was outnumbered – so no tricky stairs or big adventures on work days (A and B are fast and they climb and run … and fall … a lot). Our hotel had a pool and downtown was not far away so the kids were plenty entertained even when we did not leave our hotel. We “slow travel.”
For La Fortuna I had about 6 things on our to do list. We did 2 (3 if you count exploring the down town). I went with the kids on a nature tour with a guide. We learned all about snakes, lizards, frogs and butterflies. The taxi dropped us off up front and handed us straight to the guide. It was very low stress.
How to get there – Driver Hire
Flying and traveling with young kids can be stressful. This trip we flew from Canada, and made several stops prior to arriving in Costa Rica the next morning. We were exhausted. Luckily we hired a driver. It was definitely worth it. He stopped several places along the way (that we would have not had the bravery to visit on our own). He was pleasant and very informative. The roads seemed tricky and I’m so grateful we did not try them on our own. If you are driving yourself I highly recommend staying in a hotel near the airport so that you can start the drive rested and acclimated. For us, the money for the private drive was worth a notch out of our budget.
The Hotel – Hotel Vista Del Cerro
We found this lovely hotel on AirBnB and it was such a great experience. We did not know what we were getting in to at the time. We just picked a random place and went for it. The hotel hosts were so helpful with every question we asked. There were hummingbirds everywhere. We saw a pair of toucans and so much wildlife without even leaving the hotel. The little pool was delightful. The kids were happy just swimming around. Our view from the room was the perfectly framed Arenol Volcano.
The hotel hosts help us choose what to do and helped us get there safely. On the day we were leaving there was a storm along our route. The hosts gave us information and called someone that they new in our next destination in order to get weather to make sure we would get there safely.
I would consider this to be a very nice budget hotel. The rooms were simple but totally adequate for what we needed. The hotel is along the main road and there are several restaurants and activities that you can walk to. The internet worked well for my husband.
We loved the soda next door and ate there most meals. We occasionally ventured down the road for a different experience but the soda next to our hotel was my favorite. Especially when they handed out enchilada samples that they were working on for us to taste test. I miss those breakfasts.
La Fortuna/Arenol has a multitude of options for stays. There are many budget friendly hotels like ours (I’m sure even cheaper) but there are also many all inclusive high end resorts as well as bungalows and private homes.
How to get Around Town
We just ordered a taxi to get around town. It worked out well. The Taxi drivers were on time and prompt. We know very little Spanish (as in none) but it was not a problem. The hotels arranged many of the taxi’s for us.
I liked using the taxi locally but it can at times make you feel a little stranded when you’re use to always having a car nearby. Plus there were 5 of us, we seemed to be able to get larger taxi’s without much of an issue or you can take 2 cabs. Our younger two were car seat age to we used Bubble-Bums, not perfect but it’s better than nothing. If you choose to drive then you’ll have different concerns. Driving in Costa Rica can be tricky but would also give you more freedom to explore.
Bubble Bum
What to Pack
We went to Costa Rica early October. It’s rainy season (and it did rain – especially in the mountains) but we wanted to choose a time that was not as crowded. I recommend packing
- Swimsuits
- Some shorts for around town and tank tops or short sleeves
- Light hiking pants and thin long sleeves. There are bugs and all kinds of critters that love to feast on open skin while hiking.
- Hiking shoes (no open toe shoes hiking) – if the frogs are poisonous, what do you think about the snakes.
- Close toed water shoes
- Bug Spray
We’ve learned that when we pack light we have a better experience.
What to Do in Arenol / La Fortuna Area
The Volcano
Arenol Volcano can be seen from most areas of the surrounding cities. The volcano is considered active and used to give off regular puffs of smoke but last erupted in 2010. Arenol National Park and the surrounding areas including the lake are great places to explore. Several hot springs are also nearby. This area has a plethora of adventure activities of all ranges including zip-lines, hiking, spelunking in caves, white water rafting, waterfall repelling, ATV tours, horseback riding and mountain biking. We choose the Hanging Bridges, a nature tour at Natura Park and a visit to the town. The kids would have been totally happy just staying at the pool all day but they also really enjoyed these tours.
Our next time visiting we want to stay longer. There is just so much to do and explore and we did not want to rush.
Mystico Park Hanging Bridges
The hanging bridges at Mystico Park are a popular attraction in the Arenal Volcano area for good reason. I loved this place. The hike was the perfect length for us and the 3 kids. The bridges were beautiful and eventually the kids learned to walk on the bridges without making then swing. I’m not a big fan of heights but I can make it though unless there is swinging then I would not rule out a panic attack. We did not get a guide so we could take our time but we were able to see a lot of must see animals anyway. It helps if the guys right in front of you find them and stare at them until you get there.
We saw blue jean frogs and other smaller animals. On the very last bridge we hit the mother load – A Sloth!! – a fast one (3 toed) climbing over the bridge. Then we saw 5 howler monkeys in the trees behind him. Those guys earn their name. We were prepared for rain but it only drizzled – until we were on a hanging bridge staring at sloths and monkeys. Then it rained. We were wet and stuck on a bridge and having a blast. We watched for about 10 minutes on our own until someone else hiked in behind us and we pointed out the animals to them. It was such a great day.
La Fortuna Waterfall
We had planned to go to the La Fortuna Waterfall next but the weather looked like it was going to bad so we just hung around the pool. It looks amazing but has about 400-500 stairs so carrying 3 kids down the stairs in the rain did not sound like a great idea. We’ll get this one next time.
Natura Park Costa Rica
The older kids and I did a private guided tour here. We counted it at our “homeschool” for the day. The kids and I learned a lot and really enjoyed the unique experience especially since the kids were able to ask a lot of questions. They loved the butterflies.
La Fortuna
The town of La Fortuna has wonderful little square, fun small shopping areas and several soda’s and restaurants. Visiting small town squares is one of our favorite activities and helps us get orientated in new towns.
This is definitely a town I want to go back to.
What I would do different?
Every time we visit a new area I like to think about what I would do different or better for the next trip. In this trip I would
- Stay Longer: When you are slow travelling with family while working there is not a lot of time for exploring. We needed down days, we were on a tight budget and the hubby needed to work most week days. We planned a week here. Next trip I would plan at least 2 may be even 3. If we had our own house this would even make a good stop for a month.
- I’d work more on our Spanish. It’s really easy to get around without it but people in Costa Rica are generally so nice that it was a great opportunity to practice language skills.
- I would try to be brave enough to visit more local springs and places. There are several in the area. I worry about crowding in to locals spots but part of the reason we travel is to immerse ourselves in other cultures.
Would you like more information on Cost Rica? Here’s the guide book that we used and Recommend (these are affiliate links – see below for more information).
and don’t forget the bug spray …
For more information on our Costa RicaTrip Click Here
We’re a family of 5 taking a gap year from normal life to travel. For blog posts, locations, and more information on how we did it and how you can to click here.
Take a look – Travel Shopping Lists:
Luggage,Kids Travel Accessories, Mother’s Day Gifts, Electronics, Car Seats and Boosters, Kids Clothing,Travel Supplies, For the Beach, Gifts for Travelers, Home School Books, Home School Supplies
