We start visiting the hanging bridges of Mistico park. The guide is with you to help you learn about the ecosystem. Hiking over the bridges and trails you enjoy panoramic views of the surrounding forest, Arenal volcano and lake.
From here we take a short drive to the park that's right at the foot of the volcano. We hike a trail through the big lava rocks from the '68 eruption
Here we reach a viewpoint with amazing views of the Arenal volcano, the surrounding lava fields and the Northern valley.
We then stop at a restaurant where they serve a wide variety of local-style dishes.
Now it's time to get wet. A 20minuts hike through a jungle staircase takes you into a deep canyon to the immense la Fortuna waterfall. You can swim in the refreshing pool of the waterfall and hang around on the big rocks to relax for a while.
Having experienced all of this you can choose if you want to join us on a visit to a small hot springs resort. To add to the fun we pour some typical style cocktails.
Posted By : Taylor_S
Do not book this tour if you are looking to be active and ACTUALLY hike. This excursion was a huge disappointment. My boyfriend and I ended up leaving early because we were so disappointed. I also preface this with, I have done a lot of traveling and a lot of excursions in many countries. The description stated that we would spend our day on a "private hiking adventure" and would experience an "extreme hike through Arenal Volcano National Park." Both were a lie. First, despite the description also stating that round-trip hotel transportation was included, it was not. Our hotel, despite being one that was available in the drop-down selection, was not one that the company would pick up from. We were forced to provide our own transportation to the Red Lava Office. So I would recommend calling before booking. Next, we were told to arrive at 7. Despite arriving at 7, the bus to pick up other passengers did not even leave the Red Lava Office until nearly 7:30. The bus did not return to pick us up and go to the hanging bridges until nearly 8. That brings me to the second issue: this was not a private tour. We were sardined in the bus with nearly 30 other passengers. One girl on the bus did not have a seat and had to use a folding aisle seat that she had to struggle to fold up and remove at each stop. Once we got to the hanging bridges, we were separated into two groups of about 15. Many of the individuals in our group were elderly and moved extremely slow. My boyfriend and I were forced to constantly wait on other members of our group. This was the entire reason that we wanted to book a private tour. We are both extremely active and were looking forward to exploring the Arenal forest at our own pace. The path was paved the entire time....so much for extreme hike. Next, we stopped at the Arenal forest. We had a pineapple snack while our guide took a break to watch the soccer game. All of the group was a little annoyed that our guide was wasting our time. Next, we went on a very short "hike" in the lava fields. It was less than 900 meters and the 70-year-old couple was able to make the "climb." There was nothing "extreme" about this hike, after that, the bus was who knows where so we walked around on ROAD looking for wildlife. At this point, my boyfriend and I were so annoyed at the blatant false description of this excursion. After having lunch, we headed to the waterfall. This was the best part of the trip, but we left early and ended up not doing the hot springs because everything took twice as long as it was supposed to and it was such a disappointment. The most physically demanding part of the whole excursion was the stairs down to the waterfall. I would not recommend it if you actually want to hike. The excursion is completely overpriced for it not being an actual private tour. I would recommend just buying these passes to the parks yourself and then going at your own pace. I will not be booking through Red Lava Tours ever again.
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Posted On : 2024-05-07 15:00:50 
Posted By : Omar-elassi
My girlfriend and I did the full day tour with Chris MQ on our first day in Costa Rica and it was hands down one of our favourite day trips that we’ve taken, all thanks to our amazing tour guide Chris MQ. He made sure everyone had a good time, spotted animals that we had 0 chance of seeing on our own, took pictures of the animals through his telescope, had an amazing sense of humour to keep everyone engaged and laughing, and overall just made sure he made this experience a memorable one.
If you’re going to go on a day trip in La Fortuna, i highly recommend going with Chris MQ for a guaranteed great trip whether it’s raining or shining in La Fortuna (or both :))
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Posted On : 2024-05-05 19:40:47 
Posted By : Vicens-Amaya
We had a really good time in this activity. We took so many great pictures. The final stop was lots of fun. I have never seen so many pools in one place.
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Posted On : 2024-04-23 14:44:01
Posted By : DAVID_B
This was an amazing family experience. The highlight of our trip. This is a very well run trip and at every stop we felt like we got to spend enough time to really enjoy it. Our guide Chris was amazing!! We saw tons of wildlife including monkey, sloths, pit viper and all kids of birds. If we come back we will be sure to find a way to have him be our guide again. I would come back to CR just to do this exact trip again. Our kids loved it despite it being a full day with lots of activity. It's great that the hiking is in the am and then you get to relax later in the day.
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Posted On : 2024-04-07 16:48:30
Posted By : April_G
Guides were very passionate about their work, helpful and professional. Everything went smoothly, lunch wait was longer than needed (but that could have been on the restaurant). The volcano hike was a bit underwhelming as you just walk up some lava rock to a picture spot and then walk back down. The waterfall and hot springs part of the day were amazing and worth every penny!
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Posted On : 2024-03-29 20:36:59
Posted By : teachingmommy2
It was a super busy day with so much to do and see! Pack lots of water and get ready for steps. Swimming in the waterfall was amazing! Would recommend if you're looking for active tours!
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Posted On : 2024-03-28 19:19:22
Posted By : Maia_Z
Every part of this tour was amazing, highly recommend it. It makes a very busy day, but it was so worth it. We did the hanging bridges first, then the Arenal Volcano, by then we were starving and the lunch was delicious. We also purchased a tasty cake for desert to share. The second part of the day was the waterfalls, walk down a long way, but the view and experience is once in a lifetime. Then we climbed all the way up that was some workout. The last part was the thermal natural pools that felt soooo good after the long day.
Our guide were Julian (Chino), Cathleen, and Christian (not sure of the spelling), all of them were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. We do birding and natural walks, but we never would have spotted the birds that the guides did because of their knowledge. One more important things is the care that these guys had for their nature - Chino picked up every little trash piece he saw while we walked in the parks. Thank you for the work you do guys!
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Posted On : 2024-03-24 21:15:25
Posted By : Heather_W
Great time! It did rain the entire day but we made the best of it. Couldn’t see the volcano but had fun all day!
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Posted On : 2024-03-21 23:23:47
Posted By : Trystan_H
For those on a limited time frame this tour takes in all 4 major sights around La Fortuna in 1 day. We ended at the Termalitas Hot Springs which were nice with several different temperature pools. You feel you have enough time at each place to enjoy.
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Posted On : 2024-03-11 22:56:12
Posted By : Sophia_M
Full day's worth of adventure. There were multiple hanging bridges and we stopped to see animals here and there. We hiked up a bit to see a view of the Arenal Volcano. Fortuna waterfall is ~500 steps down. The water is cold and be warned, the water current is strong so this isn't recommended for weak swimmers. Rocks are slippery due to algae/moss, so water shoes may offer some grip. It was great to end the day at the hot springs. Didn't get to see any sloths but was a great value overall.
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Posted On : 2024-03-07 01:19:44
