Arenal Volcano is one of the most popular attractions in Costa Rica and for good reason! Today you will learn all about it, the wildlife that inhabits the surrounding jungle and then wind down at the amazing Tabacon Hot Springs Resort.
After picking you up at your local hotel, the tour starts off at one of the reserves at the base of the volcano. Your bilingual guide will lead the way telling you all about the history of the iconic volcano including the deadly 1968 eruption. While Arenal is not erupting at the moment, it can start back up at any time. Scientists still consider the sleeping giant to be an active volcano. There are plenty of signs of life including frequent steam and the hot springs that flow from the base.
The tour through the reserve will be on a trail through secondary jungle. With a little luck and cooperation from Mother Nature you may be able to see exotic wildlife such as sloths, monkeys, toucans, iguanas, peccaries and more.
After an hour and a half to two hours of walking and hiking through the reserve, you will be brought to the world famous Tabacon Hot Springs Resort. This beautiful resort is surrounded by jungle and lush tropical gardens that highlight the main attraction, the soothing hot springs. Tabacon offers guests a wide variety of hot springs pools and streams of varying temperatures and sizes, so you will surely find the perfect spot to relax and take in the beauty.
A buffet style dinner is included at the Tabacon Resort, so you will be able to replenish after your day of adventure. After two to three hours at the Tabacon Resort you will be picked up and returned to your area hotel. Note that the El Silencio Trail is normally used, but this is subject to change as are approximate times. This fun filled half day, evening excursion includes guide, transportation, entrance to the private reserve, hot springs admission and dinner.
SUBJECT TO LIMITED AVAILABILITY, REDUCED TICKET CAPACITY. THIS SERVICE WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE AS OF MARCH 31ST,2023 AND UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE ACCORDING TO THE HOTEL MANAGEMENT DUE TO REMODELING.
2 and up
Latitude: N 10° 29' 17.03"
Longitude: W 84° 43' 18.95"
01/21/2023
Our guide was fabulous! The visit to the volcano was very informative, not too strenuous. The hot springs was also great. We wish we had gotten to the hot springs a little earlier in the day. Was dark by the time we got there, but we did spend a lot of time at Arenal volcano. Food and service at the hot springs was excellent.
11/13/2021
The guide was very nice, fun, and knowledgeable. I think we misunderstood the logistics of the tour from the original description though. It was still a good experience, but we thought that it was a hike into a natural hot springs area, so we might have dressed differently for the hike. Tabacon hot springs was beautiful though, a very fun experience, and the dinner was great. The logistics of the new driver picking us up at the end went perfectly. Overall we had a great time but expected something slightly different.
09/03/2021
We ended up having a private tour which was really nice. Our guide was super knowledgeable about the plant life and pointed out a bunch of stuff for us. The hot springs were huge and seemed never ending and the dinner was one of our favorite meals.
01/16/2020
Loved the guide, the hike, and seeing different animals. Definitely would recommend.
12/21/2019
The dinner was not worth the price of the experience. The hot springs were very crowded. The tour started so late in the day that we only had a short amount of time before it got dark.
12/05/2019
It was raining very heavily, unable to really enjoy the hike. Minor was a great guide!
11/19/2019
Not much good for a vegetarian at the dinner ; rest was fantastic
08/01/2019
The dinner was not what was expected but the rest of the excursion was amazing.
04/09/2019
Was disappointed in the quality of the dinner at Tabacon Hot Springs. Was expecting a better meal. Buffet did not have many choices and the food quality was low.
03/27/2019
Guide was good but not much wildlife, didn’t use scope at all. It was dark by the time we got to the tabacon hotel pool, and had to wait until 8:00 to eat dinner. This should be told to the customers ahead of time.
01/26/2019
Buffet dinner at the hot springs was a bit disappointing in quality and content.
01/16/2019
Our guide Carlos (Charlie) was amazing!! Very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Shared a lot of stories and facts, went above and beyond!!
01/06/2019
Exceeded expectations. The guide was amazing!!!!
10/20/2017
Only thing I was disappointed in was the food. It was not worth the cost.
08/10/2017
this was very good. I thought that we should have picked an earlier hour to visit tabacon. it was very dark by the time we got there and it was bit difficult to go around the hot springs in the dark.
06/16/2017
The guide was extremely knowledgeable and you could tell that he loved what he did. The scenery was great and the tour was fantastic. Wasn't as impressed with the Hot Springs, and especially the dinner there. The restaurant was also extremely hot.
06/14/2017
Very friendly your company! Loved them!
05/21/2017
The tour was more rugged than I'd anticipated and it rained like crazy while we were hiking. I was prepared with rain gear so it was OK and I felt like I had truly experienced a rain forest. LOL. This time we swam first, then ate. Dinner was excellent. The hot springs were pleasant. We enjoyed the swim up bar.
03/24/2017
The hiking tour was exceptional. I wish I could have been at the hot springs in the day time. Food at dinner was average.
02/12/2017
The arenal hike was terrific. The guide great. But the Springs bad. Not enough time. Too dark to appreciate the springs. Waited all day while we could have enjoyed the springs during the day and ended with a hike. This was the most chaos of all the tours. It was so late when we returned and we had to give our driver a pick up time. Had no idea how much time it took to dress for the springs then redress and do all the paper work. Spent about 30 min in one spring area. Was not able to enjoy fully the experience. Dinner there was adequate and the service rushed.
01/08/2017
Very good guide on the volcano trip food at the dinner was lots of fun. At night the Hot Springs are a little scary or they were for me T
12/18/2016
The Arenal volcano tour itself was excellent. The Tabacon hot springs and dinner was very disappointing. Our pools were much better than the Tabacon's pools while the food was similar (although quite good). But I felt that we had paid for something that we could have gotten at our resort that would have been better. In the future, I would NOT recommend the hot springs unless the tourist is not staying at a resort with hotsprings. So, big yes to the tour. Very much enjoyed that. Very informational. Guide was pleasant and informative. Big no to the Tabacon.
11/19/2016
Guides were entertaining and very knowledgeable
11/18/2016
Our guide was fantastic and the van driver helped us see some local wildlife that we certainly would have missed without his help. They really went the extra mile. The hot springs were also amazing, and the food was very good.
11/04/2016
Excellent guide (Danny). The best of our trip.
07/01/2016
I found it to be a common hike
06/23/2016
Our tour guide of the Arenal Volcano was exceptional. He was very informative and made the hike and overall experience a great experience. However, Tabacon Hot Springs Hotel and Dinner wasn't worth the trip. We couldn't see/or got lost trying to find all the springs they have and it was dark so we really couldn't enjoy it. Dinner wasn't bad. I just would pass on Tabacon Hot Springs with Dinner and rather of just done the hike.
06/21/2016
I came dressed in a bathing suit because didn't realize we were hiking first. I knew I needed sneakers but just wasn't aware the order of activities. Would have liked a little more info on that
04/17/2016
Only comment is that we did not know to bring money for locker or the bar at Tabacon. Likewise, we wore our swimming gear for the hike because we did not know exactly what order we were hiking and/or going on the hot springs.
03/01/2016
Hot Springs very crowded and the locker rental experience was not pleasant
02/23/2016
Great place to spend the evening at.
01/07/2016
Dinner at the hot springs was pretty mediocre. Some more time in the hot springs might have been nice.
10/08/2015
The volcano tour was fine. We were caught in a lightning storm so just ate at Tabacon, but did not do the hot springs. The transportation was there to pick us up and take us back to Nayara which was good!
09/01/2015
If I did this excursion again I would go to the hot springs during the day it was very difficult to see at night
07/25/2015
This tour was great. We had a private tour because the other people backed out so the guide was there to answer all of our questions on the hike. The Tabacon Hot Springs was AMAZING. My only complaint is that we were not there earlier to enjoy the waters before it got dark. The dinner was the best of our entire trip!!! Just wish we could have been there a full day instead of just a few hours. I would've even skipped the hike to spend more time in the Hot Springs.
06/29/2015
Tabacon was one of our highlights. We loved it. We were not able to eat dinner until 8 which was late for the kids but not sure there was a way to make an earlier reservation. Our tour guide was great but not sure we needed this tour with the hanging bridges the next day, The guides talked about many of the same things on both tours. If I had known, I would have made sure the first tour was more lava and volcano focused so the hanging bridges would be not be repetitive, The guide gave us a choice but we didnt know what the next day was going to include. As it was, very little was said about the volcano which was disappointing.
06/08/2015
The hike was informative, but it took a very long time and we had another couple that was more interested in a leisurely stroll than a hike. Unfortunately, we got to the hot springs too late and it was already dark. In the future, I'd recommend giving people the option of when they want to do the hot springs - we didn't realize the hike would be so long and that it would be dark at the springs. We really couldn't see anything at the springs and the food was the worst of our whole trip.
05/23/2015
We were with people that were quite unfit, so we got a much shortened version of the hike and had to go very slow. Overall awesome experience though and would definitely recommend.
05/07/2015
Excellent experience. The springs are amazing and the ambience at night is wonderful. The buffet was well organized and the selection on offer was most enjoyable. Well organized and a memorable event.
04/13/2015
Carlos was another awesome guide! There were only 4 of us with him on the hike and he was very knowledgeable. We felt like it was a private tour just for us! An fantastic way to end the perfect vacation was at Tabacon. Our sore bodies from all the hiking were able to relax in the beautiful hot springs. It was picture postcard perfect! We also enjoyed the buffet dinner and eating overlooking the springs. Food was good too!
03/13/2015
The sunset from the top of the lava flow was breathtaking. Tabacon Hot Springs was very nice but crowded.
02/27/2015
The hike was fantastic. The guide was a professional birdwatcher who spotted many birds for us. Tried hard to find a tree frog along with our bus driver. The two looked all around with flashlights but we didn't find one but they were persistent. The hot springs were ok. The buffet dinner was adequate but we are not big fans of buffets. this is one activity we could have skipped. Too many tourists.
02/02/2015
The Arenal Volcano was very difficult walk but it said it was an easy walk which it was not. With my bad knees, I found it challenging as did the other couple with us. The guide was not very knowledgeable and repeated the same information. The Hot Springs was wonderful although at night, it was so dark, you had to be very careful walking on the paths and in the water. The dinner was very good with excellent variety.
01/29/2015
Bad weather. Otherwise very good.
01/10/2015
This was probably the low point in an otherwise fantastic tour. The tour of the volcano was excellent and very informative. The hot springs themselves were great but the buffet was lousy. Easily the worst meal we had in Costa Rica. Would have skipped the buffet if we knew it could be so "hit and miss".