Arenal Volcano Full-Day Combo Tour with Lunch and Dinner

Juan Manuel was fantastic. Great English skills and very easy to understand. He was extremely informative throughout our journey with interesting details and impressive command of facts/dates of Costa Rican history, sprinkled with some humor. He was informative but not overly intrusive during the long drives, allowing you time to rest and nap, if you prefer. We were lucky as we spotted several sloths along the way (Juan was fantastic at this), as well as our travel companion Rolandito Cubano. The weather was good and we were able to see all of Arenal volcano and two of the waterfalls fully, as the fog dissapated for a bit. Wrapping up the day at the resort hot springs was great and the two hours they provided was just right, more than adequate time. Lunch and dinner at local roadside Sodas were authentic and quite tasty. Do yourself a favor: BOOK THIS TRIP AND REQUEST JUAN (And don't get him started on Uber's world domination) ;-)

The tour started a bit late due to the infamous Costa Rica traffic. Our driver, Juan did a good job keeping in touch with us and soon we were on our way. The "Full Day" excursion had several stops that made it enjoyable. Our favorites were the coffee tasting, zip lining and the hot spas. Juan did a great job of navigation around the traffic and gave us some interesting facts along the way. Be prepared for a long day due to the long traffic jams along the way from one experience to the other. My wife and I did thoroughly enjoyed this tour and would highly recommend it to anyone who is crunched for time in Costa Rica and is willing to cram in as many things in one day to see it all. Thank you Juan for your great hospitality and great driving!

Juan our tour guide was superb...very informative and patient..he knows the spot where the sloths can be spotted..maybe the highlight of our trip...the food was very good

Most tourists will single out the Arenal/La Fortuna area as its own overnight visit. If your schedule doesn't permit that, AND you're OK spending most of your day in a van, this is a great option to visit that part of the country from San Jose. We were fortunate to have good weather which didn't interfere with the activities - all of which are outdoors -- and the guides/service providers did a nice job. Nothing about it is "luxury:" you'll be in the same kind of uncomfortable van/minibus that all other small-group tours use, and meals are "traditional" but basic. For perspective, we were picked up around 5:30am and were returned to our hotel around 9:30 or 10pm. About two-thirds or three-quarters of that time window was spent driving, so you need to be OK with that. Once you're at a given location - ziplining, volcano, etc. - it's great.

This tour was excellent. Alex, our driver and guide, was absolutely phenomenal! His kindness, sense of humor, and knowledge of the area were fantastic. Alex even pulled over on the side of the rode to let our 10 year old get out of the van cause he was getting car sick (normal for him). He also pulled over to show us a sloth and a coati. I'd definitely ask to have him if you can. We were a family of 5 that included 3 children aged, 10, 17, and 17. We chose this tour in part because there were several stops along the way from San Jose to the Arenal Volcano. We didn't feel that driving the 3 hours straight to the volcano would be much fun. Thus, having a few other stops along the way made the drive to the volcano much easier and more pleasing. By the time we got to the volcano, we felt like we had already done so much just in the morning. Everything was great. We especially enjoyed the views of the volcano, the waterfall (La Paz), and the hot springs to cap off the day. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone.

Juan is great guide. The tour is a complete tour of what the Arenal Volcano area can offer--from ziplining through the forest canopy to a soak in the hot springs. This tour is highly recommended!

Alex was our tour guide. It was only my friend the birthday girl any I on this tour. Alex picked us up early and the adventure began right away and didn't stop until he pulled back into the hotel garage to drop us back off about 12 hours later. It was a long fun filled packed day. We had breakfast, a tour of a coffee plantation, tour of the city, stopped and took pictures, fed some animals sorry I really don't remember the name of them, had lunch with the best banana/pineapple drinks, zipped lined, lunch and then the hot springs my skin felt like silk. Alex was the MOST amazing tour guide. We talked and joked. He was so informative. We learned so much from him regarding the culture and different cities/towns. I recommend this tour and ask for Alex 100.

My 21 year old daughter and I returned from Costa Rica just over a week ago. We very much enjoyed our full-day combo tour. The tour company nicely agreed to pick us up at our hostel which was not one of the usual pick-up locations. We appreciated this very much. They arrived almost one hour late but it was supposedly due to traffic and an accident. I did appreciate, however, that the driver telephoned our hostel twice to keep us updated. I was only worried about whether we would get everything in due to our late start but we did get most everything in fortunately. Our driver, Juan, was very kind and friendly and did a great job at driving the twisty, difficult roads. On our way back to San Jose at night it was dark and foggy and he did a great job. I felt in capable hands and he seemed to be a safe driver. The transport van was comfortable and air conditioned. We had a lengthy ride but it was wonderful, beautiful and interesting. The scenery was fantastic. We enjoyed seeing the plantations, the lush fauna and seeing the 'real' Costa Rica that was off the beaten path. We stopped at a little coffee plantation and for some reason didn't get the coffee degustation tasting as described in the tour information but we did get to walk down into the plantation and Juan explained about the coffee growing process. We had a chance to purchase some coffee and see a traditional ox-cart and take pictures with the farmer for one dollar. It was a picturesque stop. We only wish we had been able to taste the good Costa Rican coffee. We stopped at the La Paz Waterfall and had time to get out and walk around and take photos. It was lovely. My favorite stop was at the next waterfall. I believe it is named the San Fernando waterfall. There we received a delicious snack and drinks and there was an observation deck with a wonderful view of the waterfall and there were several bird feeders hung up with numerous birds at the feeders. We san many interesting and colorful hummingbirds, other tropical birds and even an emerald toucan! Believe it or not, a tropical bird that we believe to be a parrot landed on my shoulder. I could have stayed there much longer as we were having so much fun. I wish I knew the name of the little restaurant because I would love to go back there when I get back to Costa Rica again. We saw the Poas Volcano from the distance and were very lucky to see it blowing ash that day. In fact there was a huge plume of ash coming out which was amazing. I wish we would have stopped for just a few minutes to get out and take photos but we didn't. Luckily, my daughter got one quick picture out of the van window but that is not something we see in the states ever day so we would have liked to take a minute to look at it and snap a photo. We stopped in a little town and saw iguanas hanging out near the road side. It was fun to look into the trees and under the bridge to find them as they can blend in very well. Juan also drove us into a little neighborhood and to some trees where we were lucky to see three sloths! We drove on later stopping for lunch near the base of the Arenal Volcano. It was in the clouds so we couldn't see it just then but later we did and it was wonderful. Lunch was delicious. In fact, I also wish I knew the name of that restaurant as it was one of the best meals I have ever had and the fresh pineapple juice with the foam on the top is probably the very best drink I have ever had. I had the pork and my mouth is watering just remembering it. It was a pretty restaurant, too. We then went to the zip-lining place and we had a blast. They gave us lockers, which was great. The guides were safety-conscious and fun. I'd recommend wearing a poncho even if there is no rain as the cable oil gets on you. The rappelling down to the river at the end was an added bonus. I absolutely loved every minutes we spent zip-lining. We also learned a bit about the Malaca tribe as well. In fact, on of our zip lining guides was Malaca. When we returned to the office, right out back was the majestic Arenal Volcano....out of the clouds. We took photos and just enjoyed the sight, the quiet, the horses in the fields at the base of the volcano, etc. It was a sight I will never forget. After zip lining we went to the Paradise hot springs. What a luxury. We received towels and a key to a locker and there were spotless changing rooms and showers...and enough of them to accommodate everyone. What a wonderful experience to go from pool to pool all of varying temperatures and just soak and relax surrounded by beautiful flowers, waterfalls and looking up at the conical Arenal Volcano. What a perfect way to wrap up the day. We had a long drive back to San Jose but, again, I loved seeing the scenery. We stopped for dinner at a traditional restaurant and the food was delicious again. I enjoyed every stop we made and one thing I loved was the ease of the day. Everything was taken care of for us

This tour is awesome! Our tour guide and driver Juan and Juan were really friendly and knowledgeable. Highly recommended!

It was an amazing tour, highly recommend, our guide was the best... knowledgeable and very fun. A long day get your rest the night before.