For many years, the lava covering pictures of the Arenal Volcano startled the minds and expectations of many travelers. And when you got to the region, the volcano, if clear would give a great show… Now it is dormed… Is it worth it to pay a visit?
Arenal Volcano and Hot Springs
Absolutely and totally YES! And let me tell you why…
When tourism started in Costa Rica, we used to go into the area of Arenal and simply stand at the bottom of the mountain to watch it spew red hot rocks and lava.
Without a doubt, it was a magnificent sight and a great experience to live. But, there was, literally nowhere to sit, and if it was raining nowhere to get a roof.
And then, in the old days, we would simply hop back in the bus and come back to San José. And the people of La Fortuna simply looked at us, coming and going as fast as we came.
Little by little, they started to build places to sit… in hot springs, with a piña colada on your hand. And a roof, in a luxurious room with a great balcony, Jacuzzi included. And, as well started to build things to do, before and after the eruptions (That only lasted a few seconds).
They realized something else in the area… There was a rainforest. In Costa Rica for many years, people referred to the forest as “montaña” (Montaña=mountain… because all mountains were covered with it) And the “montaña” had to be cleared and cut to create pastures.
But… Tourists seemed to like the “montaña”. Actually they seemed to love it. And tourism definitely provided more jobs, money and progress to the area than cattle…
And so, they created great hanging bridges in the nearby rainforest, thrilling canopy tours, exciting rafting and unbelievably exhilarating waterfalls rappelling.
And Arenal became in throughout the years in the biggest adventure area in all Costa Rica!
It is like a huge amusement park in nature. And all of it at the bottom of this splendid volcano.
So! To answer the question! Oh yeah!
Arenal is definitely worth a visit, worth a stay, worth the time to enjoy at least some of the dozens of options that there are in the area.
Let us give you some advice about what is there, what to see, what to do and how to find it!
We’ll take you there!
