See more of the Arenal Volcano region with the convenience of a full-day tour from San Jose. Take a scenic route to Arenal with views of farms, rain forest, and small towns, and stop at a coffee plantation where you can sample coffee and traditional snacks. Stop at a waterfall, look for wildlife, then have the afternoon to soak in hot springs set in a lush garden near the Arenal Volcano.

Includes lunch, dinner, and snacks
Travel in comfort by air-conditioned vehicle
Hear insightful commentary from the guide
Hotel pickup and drop-of provided

What's Included

Transport by air-conditioned vehicle
Hotel pickup and drop-off (most San Jose area hotels)
Professional bilingual guide
Lunch
Dinner
Coffee or Tea with local snacks
Entrance Fees

Gratuities
Services not specified

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

San José
San José Province, San José, Costa Rica
Centrally located San Jose hotels. Hotel pickups commence at 7:00 a.m.approximately; the exact pickup time for your tour will be advised on a reconfirmation message.

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

07:00 am

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for pregnant travellers
May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
This tour includes man-made hot springs pools, filled with natural thermal water

Hotel pickups commence approximately 30 - 60 minutes prior to this time, exact pickup time will be advised on reconfirmation
Not recommended for travellers with back problems
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Times are subject to change due to local traffic conditions
Drop off in the Arenal-La Fortuna centrally located hotels is available. Please note that if you choose this option, dinner will not be included in your tour because it’s done in a restaurant on the way back to San Jose. Also, there is an extra charge for drop offs with luggage, but in the case of this tour it doesn’t apply because the cost of the dinner will cover for the drop off charge. If you wish to take this option, you must let us know at the time of booking.
This tour has being designed for those people who wish to do a lot of sightseeing in the morning without much effort, have lunch, and then relax in the hot springs for most of the afternoon
Most travellers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Traveller Tips

The drive was long, but worth it, we saw many things and enjoyed our time on the tour.

We had an excellent guide, Alex Blanco, both personable and professional who made the tour very enjoyable.

Reviews

5.0

506 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 506 reviews

Great day start to finish

Kyla_D, Mar 2023

A great day from start to finish. Fernando our guide was very knowledgeable and madw it interesting. It was a fun day...highly recommend it! Gracias Fernando!

Would definitely...

Ilene_R, Mar 2023

Would definitely recommend! The waterfall was beautiful! Luis was a great driver. And Harlem was an incredible guide! He was engaging and knowledgeable. The day we went there was a nice view of the volcano. And the hot springs were relaxing.

Great day with Juan!

clare_s, Jan 2023

We had a great day with our tour guide, Juan! We were impressed by his knowledge and friendliness and ability to make our trip smooth and timely. He went out of his way to show animals and create wonderful memories

The tour did not meet our expectations - misleading description and photos

darryl_k, Dec 2022

The tour description and photos are misleading. Despite being in the photos, When we arrived at the zip lines we discovered they were excluded. After declining to pay in addition to the almost $800 already paid, the tour company started to treating us poorly. Talking to the group unprofessionally and basically ignoring us for the rest of the day. To make matter worse, they also took us to a large gift store for 45 minutes to kill time (not in the description and not desired). Further more the tour bus was very cramped, did not have wifi as promised. Overall the tour was described vaguely and in a way that the company could be misleading and squeeze extra money out of the tourists, would not recommend this company for tours.

HORRIBLE!

Carmen_S, Nov 2022

This trip was not good at all and terribly overpriced. The van was small - very little leg room and the seats were small - worse than flying and that is bad. The only space for belongings was narrow and dirty. The stop at the Coffee plantation was nice but there was no entry/admission as you state on the ticket. We spent about 30 minutes there. The stop for local snacks was enjoyable and also about 30 minutes. We stopped for lunch which was lukewarm and bland. Some people in the van were going ziplining - we did not know that was an option but it is listed as including an entry/admission fee. After dropping them off the rest of us were taken to a "presentation" by Indigenous people - what a joke, actually an insult. The "presentation" was about 2 minutes ong and they rushed through that. Obviously the only intent of the presentation was to sell their items which no one bought. We were then dropped off at the Paradise Hot Springs for about 3.5 hours - which is a lot of time to soak in hot water. We were then picked up, drove for a while and stopped for dinner, which was better than lunch. So - a 15 hour day that consisted of about 5 hours of actual activities (not even counting the Indigenous "presentation") - for $145. I will never use Viator or Go Tours Cost Rica again and will let people know that they should not waste their money.

AN EXCURSION I’LL NEVER FORGET!

Christina_N, Nov 2022

This was one of the most memorable excursions I have ever experienced- and I’ve been on MANY! Oscar was an excellent guide. He picked my friend and I up right on time and we drove off to pick up the others, while having great conversation. The vehicle had Wi-Fi the entire time, even deep into the mountains which was a plus. We first stopped at a beautiful coffee plantation where we learned about the production of coffee and growing of the crops. Got some great pics. We then ventured off where Oscar found us THREE sloths! One was a mommy with her baby- so adorable! We worked our way up the mountain getting amazing views of the Arenal Volcano. We had a delicious, authentic group lunch then went to see some iguanas (and got to feed them cabbage). The highlight was doing the most breathtaking zip lining, 8 lines to be exact with the most amazing views. The staff were really fun and engaging. At the end we rappled ourselves down which is something I’d never done before and was really cool! Lastly, we ended at Paradise Hotel, where we got to enjoy an array of hot springs, naturally heated by the Arenal Volcano, for 2 hours. My friends and I got delicious drinks from the swim up bar and soaked up the hot springs after the vigorous zip lining. SOOO RELAXING. We then worked our way down the mountain, did a little shopping and had another authentic, delicious Costa Rican dinner. The rest of the group members were really fun! We laughed and bonded the entire time. Oscar was very knowledgeable about Costa Rica, the agriculture, wildlife and overall culture. He took photos for us and was very personable. This is a true ALL DAY excursion but it was worth every minute!

Juan was amazing and very...

Theresa_B, Oct 2022

Juan was amazing and very informative. Didn’t hurt that we had a great group of people that joined us.

It was a very interesting...

Alena_D, Oct 2022

It was a very interesting trip Arenal Volcano Experience Full-Day Tour from San Jose and Juan is the best guide. I recommend this trip to my friends.

Great Day

LYNZE_T, July 2022

The trip was amazing, and Fernando was the best tour guide we could have asked for! He is full of knowledge and so charismatic. I had a great time.

Fun and relaxing

Kandy_S, June 2022

Oscar was a wonderful guide. This tour was fun and relaxing. My whole family enjoyed it. Strongly recommended.

Not great at all...

Crystal_J, June 2022

Sadly the tour wasn't very fun. We were rushed through all the markets and stands and we didn't really learn much about the architecture of history. The coffee house was cool, we got to see an old machine. Besides that, it was rushy and time was wasted standing outside markets and then finally rushed through. In order to talk to anyone or buy anything, we fell behind and had to catch up. Finally we left the tour early as it was not very good at all. Would only recommend to people who may not go out anywhere alone. Other than that, you will save $ and have a much better time just ubering and enjoying your own day.

Waterfall, Volcano and Hot Springs Escape :)

Daniel_D, June 2022

This trip was was very refreshing and an absolute pleasure of an experience. Juan was absolutely amazing, truly grateful to him for his knowledge and hospitality.

Amazing experience

Shawndra_W, Apr 2022

Our guide Fernando was excellent! Very knowledgeable and kind. Safe driver. Lots of Cost Rica history. Would definitely recommend!

Arenal with Francisco

Rashid_T, Mar 2022

Francisco is an incredibly gracious and knowledgeable guide. He made the day long excursion so fun and memorable. I would highly recommend him to anyone that wants to get a wonderful tour of Costa Rica.

Perfect last day in Costa Rica

Brenda_L, Mar 2022

This tour was the perfect way to end our trip. Visited some amazing waterfalls, viewed wildlife, ate delicious food and relaxed in the hotspringS. FRANCISCO is the best, he made the trip fun!!

BEST BIRTHDAY EVERRRRRRR

Lazarvius_F, Mar 2022

THIS WAS THE BESTTTTTT TRIP EVERRR! We stayed in San Jose at the AC Hotel and it wasn’t even listed but Juan our tour guide made an exception and still came to get us. We started off going to a very beautiful coffee farm. Then we headed to La Paz waterfall. On the way there we stopped to see several sloths 🦥 only one came to say hi tho. The waterfalls was breathe taking ! We stopped by a hot spot for beautiful birds and saw several hummingbirds & Tuscans ! So beautiful. After that we headed to get our first meal which was AMAZING! I had the traditional costa-rican dish chicken fajitas with rice and beans, and other sides. The lunch was directly in front of Arenal Volcano 🌋 Once we left lunch we went to Go Adventure zip lines which was apart of everything. We didn’t initially book the zip lines but most of our crew had it so they were VERY understanding and allowed us to pay an additional $28 per person to be apart of that AMAZING FUN! It also included rock repelling down to this beautiful river! SO WORTH IT but not mandatory. If you’re not interested in the zip line tour Paradise Hot Springs would be the next destination . May I say BEAUTIFUL place to visit. I really wanted to go to Tabacon Hot Springs but because it’s so popular we wasn’t able to go. Paradise Hot Springs is just as AMAZING! Perfect place for pictures, cocktails, and enjoying the volcanic mineral hot springs! That’s where we went of course after zip lining. Once we left the hot springs we had a long ride back to our destinations. We stopped by the biggest souvenir shop and bought amazing things. The crew I was with was soooo AMAZING! I’m in the store buying my stuff and walk out and they randomly started singing happy birthday to me!! I was sooooo SURPRISED! and Juan our tour guide gave me a free gift for my birthday! Not only that but when we left we headed to get dinner and that was AMAZING but they also surprised me with a delicious piece of carrot cake and sung HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me again! JUAN WAS HANDS DOWN AMAZING, INFORMATIONAL, AND NICE! It was a LONGGGG DAY but filled with SO MUCH ADVENTURES!! And the crew I did it with made every part of my day special. THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVERRRRRRRRRRRR! ILL NEVER FORGET SUCH AN AMAZING TIME! BOOK ASAP

SJO great day trip.

Matt_B, Mar 2022

All went great and we had a great time. As it was late, Frisch drove us the 2-blocks to our condo, instead of dropping us off at the hotel where we were picked up.

Amazing full day trip !

Somayah_L, Mar 2022

Our tour guide and driver Juan did an amazing job guiding us through our full day adventure. We had several stops along the way for food, souvenirs, and pictures. He was so patient in answering any questions and accommodating our needs. If you’re going to do any tour, this is the one to get that full Costa Rican experience.

Wowwwwww! Francisco is the besttttt!

Tiffany_R, Feb 2022

Let’s start out with “WOWWWWW”!!! From the pick up to the drop off was such a fun and pleasured experienced! Francisco is such a bright and beautiful soul with the passion to share his beautiful country with anyone and everyone he comes across! He shared so much knowledge, was so helpful (even opening and closing the doors every time - and sharing a hand to get in and out of the van, a true gentleman) and he is accommodating to our limitations to make sure we didn’t miss a moment of enjoyment on the trip! Even though the ride was long - he filled it with sooooo many surprises on the way that it did not feel like 14 hours! I will definitely come back and recommend Francisco as a tour guide to everyone I know coming to Costa Rica!!!!

This trip was OK but not...

Peter_T, Feb 2022

This trip was OK but not great. Francisco was the guide and he was fantastic. This is a 14 hour day with probably 8 hours of driving. We were in a 14 passenger van with 6 other people and we all got along great. Don't be fooled you will only see the volcano from the ground level. It does NOT drive you to the top. We stopped at a zipline and it was very cool. And Hot springs, OK. The iguanas were on the side of a restaurant. We saw one sloth along the road way up in a tree. Lunch and dinner was good at local restaurants.

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Arenal Volcano Experience Full-Day Tour from San Jose

From USD 149.00

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