La Fortuna may be the ‘Adventure Capital’ of Costa Rica, but with that title comes great cost (literally…). Everywhere we turned we saw expensive activities – $80 rafting or visiting waterfalls for $40. But it is possible to enjoy La Fortuna on a budget…
If you are anything like us, you’ll be caught off-guard by how expensive Costa Rica is compared to the rest of Central America. La Fortuna is no exception to this, with many hot-spring resorts, adventure activies like rafting, and expensive restaurants. We’ve written a guide to La Fortuna below on what our favourite ‘cheap’ things were to do in La Fortuna.
Travelling to Costa Rica? Read more on our guide here.
1. El Choyin
Our favourite activity in La Fortuna was easily El Choyin – the free public hot springs. Located next to one of the most expensive resorts in La Fortuna lies the natural hot spring river, easily accessible to the public. It is completely free to enter (although car-parking does cost if you’re renting a car).
To get there you can catch an uber or taxi to the site as it is quite far from the main town (the driver will know where it is). Once there, just go down under the bridge – you can ask locals for directions – you can swim either side of the bridge. Its a great (and cheap) way to enjoy the hot thermal waters of the volcano.
You can also bring your own food and beers, and a common activity for the locals is to bring candles at night time and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere.
2. El Salto
A close second is El Salto, the free rope swing jump. This is actually walkable from the main town, a walk of approximately 20-30 minutes along the main road to the south. The area is stunning for relaxing, and you can locate yourself on the rocks above the waterfall where the rope swing is located.
Again, you can also bring your own food and drinks, but there is sometimes food available to purchase here. It’s a great destination for a free thrill and relax in the afternoon.
3. Parque Ecologico Arenal
The main attraction of La Fortuna is without a doubt the active Volcan Arenal which looms over the town. We wanted to visit one of the many parks near the volcano and do a hike or two, but we weren’t sure which one was the best value. After talking with our hostel owner we got recommended the Parque Ecologico Arenal.
Entrance to the park is $25 AUD each, and you have to catch an uber/taxi as it is out of the main town. The park has multiple hikes, but the best one is a 5km return to the dried lava river at the base of the volcano. The hike was relatively easy and very scenic – you can also swim in the lake within the parque, or use their rope swing (although El Salto is a much better swing). Added to this, the entrance is only 5-10 minutes walk from El Choyin, so you could combine the two activities!
Additional Information…
When researching for activities, we were shocked by how expensive some are (rafting for $80 USD, visiting waterfalls for $40 USD etc). During our research, we found a few other activities that we came close to doing – but in reality, we just went back to El Choyin to relax as it was free!
An alternative to El Choyin is to day-visit one of the many hot-spring resorts. Most resorts offer day passes with varying prices and inclusions (food, number/quality of pools etc). We got quotes via Whatsapp for Termalitas del Arenal ($9 USD), Laureles ($10 USD), and Los Lagos ($25 USD) after reading reviews and recommendations from internet – however we just decided on the free option instead!
Another activity you can do is the Bogarin Trail, which is a sloth sanctuary. You can purchase a guide for $15 USD, or go without a guide for $8 (this is the only place that offers and option without a guide in La Fortuna). People have suggested to purchase the cheaper unguided version and then follow a guided group to get the best experience, but you still run the risk of sloths hiding up in the trees.
We decided not to visit as we were hoping to see some sloths for free/cheaper in one of the many national parks in Costa Rica. We’re glad we didn’t because as soon as we got to Cahuita, we saw one near the beach with a baby within 30 minutes of arriving!
That’s all for our “budget” guide to La Fortuna. Unfortunately La Fortuna isn’t a very cost-friendly place for backpackers! However, we did find ourselves revisiting the places listed above multiple times as they are quite relaxing destinations. We hope you enjoyed our guide!
