Cascata di La Fortuna, Vulcano Arenal e sorgenti termali

I would not recommend this experience if you are solo traveling, a woman, seeking true nature, or a POC. They do not create the groups taking in your background or age into consideration. I ended up being the only solo, young, American traveler in my group. At one point, I experienced micro aggressions about my ethnicity and nationality from an Italian in the group (no fault of the tour operators). For a 12 hour tour, they should put SOME effort into how they form the groups to prevent such racism/aggression. Also, this experience is not as advertised. The “hike” to La Fortuna is a highly commercialized, pre-paved pathway. It feels more like a theme park than truly enjoying nature. There is A LOT of time wasted. We spent more than 1-2 hours just randomly getting on and off shuttles to look at animals through the telescope and have every family take photos with their phone instead of just 1 phone airdropping to all. Not only was this wasteful of time, it eliminated any culture of cooperation or friendliness within the group. After the guide takes you to the waterfall, you are left to walk back up on your own. It’s very strange to me to not walk back together as a tour group, especially since they emphasize how there are snakes and venomous spiders on the trail sometimes. I walked back alone as a solo traveler in the jungle and it felt eerie and creepy. To make matters worse, when we finished the hike, I was looking forward to eating the pineapple they cut up. But since I was solo, the guide made me wait for an odd number group to also finish so that I could share my pineapple. It was so humiliating to be waiting in the corner after a tough hike like a dog just so I could eat some fruit. I had to go to the bathroom to cry briefly. I paid over $100 for this experience, they could give me a whole slide of pineapple without acting like I’m asking for an organ. Then came the macro aggressions from the Europeans in the group. My guide mentioned how some people can’t finish the hike and the Italian of the group says “I bet it was an American woman.” The guide says, “no guess again.” And the Italian says, “ok Indian woman.” Keep in mind I am right behind them as an Indian-American. Then they took us to a cheap vegas motel style hot springs. At this point, my mood is so low from the constant unloading and reloading of the van, the racist comments, the unfriendly vibes etc that I just ubered home. I would NOT recommend this tour. It felt unwelcoming, hostile, and theme-park esque. Everything we did in the 8 hours I was there for could easily fit into 3 hours if they were more efficient and not wasting time. Honestly such a waste of my time in La Fortuna.

Awesome adventure, huge thanks to our guides Diego and Christian. They made the whole experience unforgettable for my family

Trip was well organized. Great guides nice lunch but it was more challenging then in description of TripAdvisor. It was also very long. We did not do the last activity.

A truly amazing experience Diego and Christian made this whole day tour meaningful and memorable. 1000% worth the price of admission.

wear closed toes shoes and rain jackets if you are going during rain season! You will prob not be able to swim in the water fall or see the volcano. (we went in august)

This was a once in a lifetime experience. Having the knowledge of experienced local guides instead of figuring it out on our own made the process so much easier and felt safer. Our guides were knowledgeable, funny, kind, and professional.

This was a really great tour. The guide really wanted to make sure we got the most out of our experience. He kept his eyes open for wildlife to see on the way, and shared a lot of really interesting and important history about Costa Rica with us. The hikes are relatively short, but there are a lot of steps up and down to the waterfall and the volcano path is fairly steep, so be prepared. The lunch was really good, and the hot springs at the end was a nice way to relax after a long day in the sun.

This tour is a great option for those who want to get the most value for their time in La Fortuna. The tour bus will pick you up right at your hotel. The guide is very knowledgable and funny. It is also a great opportunity to socialize and meet other travelers If you have your own rental car and plan to spend a long time in la fortuna then you may be better off doing individual day trips. However, i felt we had more than enough time to fully appreciate each location. Do get ready to put in effort though because the waterfall and arenal hikes are steep but fun. The one exception is the hot springs visit which is about an hour ish visit. But if you wish to stay longer you can and arrange your own transport home. Or you can use this quick trip to rest and recover so you are ready to spend more time at the springs another day. I liked the quick visit because I was too tired to stay too long because of the hikes.

Was fantastic trip with Vega! Very knowledgeable and kind, always attentive on our necessities and doubts.

We loved this day trip with Red Lava! Every detail was well planned and thought out — from the order of activities, to being provided a delicious pineapple snack after the steep ascent back from La Fortuna Waterfall. Highly recommend!