48 Hour La Fortuna Travel Guide – Costa Rica

La Fortuna is a small town in the heart of Costa Rica surrounded by stunning natural beauty. Located on the outskirts of the Arenal Volcano National Park, it offers incredible activities to keep you busy during your trip. If you only have 24-48 hours in La Fortuna then read on to learn how to maximize your time!

In my case I had already been exploring the south side of the country like Tamarindo, Playa Hermosa and the general Liberia area. It had been 7 days of non stop activities by the time I made it to La Fortuna so I knew I had to make my last couple of days in the country count.

I stumbled across an experience on Airbnb hosted by a local tour company called “seven tours” for a full day activities packed tour, a 14 hour tour to be precise. It included all of the big ticket items I wanted to see like La Fortuna waterfalls, Hanging Bridges in a rainforest & Arenal Volcano.

Transportation, lunch & dinner are provided, all you have to do is show up and that’s exactly what I needed.

Mistico Park Hanging Bridges

This will be the first stop on the tour schedule, where you get to hike through a beautiful tropical rainforest. Learn about the animals that call it home and see them up close. We saw howler monkeys, different species of birds, snakes, bees, frogs and sloths!

The two mile hike is very easy, suitable for all ages and will only take about two and half hours. You will stop to observe the animals and the tour guide will give a detailed description of each sighting.

The hanging bridges came towards the end of the tour and varied in height, the tallest being around 145-148 feet high!

La Fortuna Waterfall

The next stop is La Fortuna waterfall, sitting at 246 feet tall. It was formed by the old lava flow from the extinct volcano Cerro Chato. This was my favorite part of the tour! It is fed by La fortuna river and runs through the rainforest in the Arenal mountain range.

The turquoise colored pool was a delight and although a bit chilly, I had zero regrets of plunging right in! It was the most refreshing I had felt in a long time and was sad to leave, I felt like I could have easily spent all day there. We swam and explored the falls for 45 minutes.

The hike is relatively easy as long as you take your time on the 500 step staircase. It took us 15 minutes to get down and 20 minutes to get back. up where a delicious local meal awaited us.

Arenal Volcano

Arenal Volcano is about 7000 years old. It erupted from 1968 to 2010 making it the tenth longest duration volcanic eruption on earth since 1750. Surprisingly, it has remained dormant since 2010 and hiking is only allowed on the base of the volcano.

The hike goes through the 1968 lava flow trail. It is about 3 miles long and takes an hour and a half to complete. The experience is like walking through history because the guide breaks down the timeline, highlights, past & current events.

You will have the option to end the day at Baldi hot springs and trust me you’ll want to. There are many pools to soak in which range from hot to super hot, buyer beware.

Additionally, they include built in waterfalls, swim up bars and sitting areas. It’s quite the perfect end to a long day of exploring and sightseeing.

The next 24 hours

Now you’ve seen most of the top attractions in La Fortuna, it’s time to explore locally! Here are a few things you can do to immerse yourself in the local culture and connect with people.

• Local cuisine self guided walking tour
  • Soda La Hormiga
  • Panaderia Ramirez Fortuna
  • Soda Viquez
  • Soda Sabores Lulu
• Find the natural hot springs
  • El Choyin
• Watch live music
  • La Fortuna Pub
• Shop for souvenirs
  • Original Grand Gallery
• Ice cream, chocolate & gelato tasting
  • Chocolate Fusion
  • Noa Rolls Heladeria

Where to stay in La Fortuna

There are a lot of options to choose from in La Fortuna, I stayed in Selina hostel to socialize and meet new people. As a solo traveler, that might be important to you. However, if you are traveling as a duo, a couple or family then hotels will be better suited to your travel needs. Below are recommendations for all travel situations and scenarios.

• Hotel Secreto La Fortuna
• Hotel Sierra Arenal
• Villas Vistas Arenal
• The Springs Resort & Spa at Arenal
• Casa Del Rio
• La Fortuna Lodge
• Arenal Rooms
• Downtown Boutique Hotel
• Rancho Cerro Azul
• Arenal Backpackers Resort

I hope you have the most wonderful experience in La Fortuna! If you are unsure of what to pack for this trip check out my Adventure Travel Packing List blog post. It includes different combinations of items to pack for different types of trips (hiking, backpacking, diving, snorkeling, etc.)