Road trip to Volcano Arenal National Park, Costa Rica

Table of Contents

• 1. Introduction to National Parks

• 2. Small waterfall - Cataratas Llanos de Cortés

• 3. Town with good view (and food!) - Nuevo Arenal

• 4. Town close to Volcano Arenal - La Fortuna

• 5. Volcano Arenal National Park

• 6. Pocosol Biological Station

1. Introduction to National Parks

According to Costa Rica’s official website, Costa Rica has 30 national parks, 19 wildlife refuges and 8 biological reserves, which shows its richness in biodiversity. If you have a chance to visit, definitely don’t miss these treasures. I personally aimed for National Parks first, so here are some tips about National Parks that I can share:

1. If you are not sure which Park to visit, check out this official page for detailed introduction for each National Park.

2. If you are worried about daily quota for entering a National Park (it doesn’t mention quota limitation on official website though), you can reserve on this page. Note that not every Park can be reserved online. Currently tickets of these 9 Parks can only be purchased onsite with credit/debit card only (source)

• Parque Nacional Marino Ballena

• Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal

• Parque Nacional Cahuita

• Parque Nacional Los Quetzales

• Parque Nacional Palo Verde

• Parque Internacional La Amistad

• Parque Nacional Barbilla

• Parque Nacional La Cangreja

• Monumento Nacional Guayabo

2. Small waterfall - Cataratas Llanos de Cortés

1h55m drive from Tamarindo. It’s a place that I decided to go for 2 reasons:

1. I was attracted to a photo on Google map

2. It’s on the way to La Fortuna so it makes sense to check out (yes I always think about if it’s on the way since going back and forth consumes a lot of my energy)

I honestly didn’t find it attractive when I was there (because the scenery is very much like some mountain areas of Taiwan 😂), but I still had a good time there. Bathing in the water in a hot day of late April really makes me feel better. I still recommend you to go since it’s better to get out of the car and walk a bit after the 1h55m drive. And also, it’s just on the way, so why not 😉.

ℹ Some info good to check in advance: (source)

• 4000 Colones for non-citizen

• Open from 8am-4pm

3. Town with good view (and food!) - Nuevo Arenal

1h15m drive from Cataratas Llanos de Cortés, a town that you can appreciate Lake Arenal from an altitude! Initially, I was just looking for a restroom, but end up discovering a good view point and a yummy restaurant called Restaurante la Casa de Doña Celina. I didn’t expect much at the beginning honestly. I just didn’t want to go to places that look too modern and don’t fit in the environment. It turned out to be a hidden gem! The food is so good that I had nothing to complain and the papaya juice was so fresh that it healed my burning soul.

ℹ️ Highly recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4. Town close to Volcano Arenal - La Fortuna

50 minute drive from Nuevo Arenal, an area that people usually stay if planning to go to Volcano Arenal National Park. The downtown is definitely more vibrant than Tamarindo. Note that you don’t have to stay exactly in downtown, place around Tropical Ice cream (where I had good mango smoothie after coming back from the Park at noon. Such a refreshing drink 😍) is also ideal if you aim at visiting Volcano Arenal National Park.

5. Volcano Arenal National Park

30 minute drive from La Fortuna downtown. Actually once you are in La Fortuna, you can see Volcano Arenal almost everywhere. I still remember while driving towards the town, I saw it right on my right side, which was my first time getting so close to a volcano. I looked at it quietly, imagining how disruptive it could be. And all of a sudden, I just felt a sense of awe.

Even though you can see Volcano Arenal in town, getting to the National Park enables you to walk trails and explore some unique creatures along the way. Even though I don’t recognize all of them, I found it fun to discover new creatures that I hadn’t seen before.

6. Pocosol Biological Station

50 minute drive from La Fortuna downtown, personally think going there is not a right decision 🥲. I was worried of getting flat tires half of the journey because of the road situation. It’s not well-paved road but stone one, which is fine if the stone size is as big as human toes. But it’s not! Many of the stones are as big as feet! And even sharp! You definitely need a SUV if you want to go, even though I personally don’t recommend.

When I got there, unfortunately it’s about to close. So I wasn’t able to explore any trails there but walk around the entrance. Out of curiosity I looked up what people said on Google map, and found out people generally described the view as amazing, which I hold a different perspective here. I found many of the photos people share are so familiar with the view that I could see in some mountains in Taiwan.

I guess if you are from tropical, you won’t find the view particularly attractive. But if you aim for birdwatching, it seems there are many unique bird that will catch your eyes.