• Arenal VolcanoYou look at the cone from the base. You do not climb it. Morning is clearer, and by afternoon the peak is often wrapped while the trails stay low.
  • 1968 lava trailThe path crosses lava from the 1968 eruption: open rock, little shade. Viewpoints face the cone if it is clear. It is not a route to the summit.
  • Hanging bridgesSuspension bridges loop through wet forest near the base. Go early for birds. After rain the boards are slick; you walk; the car sees nothing.
  • La Fortuna waterfallA long stair drops to a cold pool under the falls. Swim only if the current allows. The hard part is the climb back out, on the same steps.
  • Hot springsAround the base, the springs are built pools of heated water, not a wild soak on a trail. Evening is the usual time. You enter at a gate.
  • Lake ArenalThe reservoir is wind and a view of the cone, not a beach. The shore road is the visit. Do not plan a swim; afternoons are the windy hours.
  • Arenal ObservatoryA lodge on the south flank was built to watch the volcano. Trails face a side the north road misses. You drive in; you still do not climb.
  • Mistico ParkThis bridge park is a fixed loop on the way toward the lake. The spans are the walk, not a roam. Morning has more birds; rain slows you.
  • Río Celeste day tripThe blue river is in Tenorio, near Bijagua, a long drive each way. Minerals color the water, and heavy rain can dull it. Expect a muddy trail.
  • Arenal cone viewpointLake-road viewpoints show the cone and nothing more. You do not start a climb. Come while the slopes are clear; later the peak often vanishes.

The landscape is volcano, rainforest, and lava fields. You are likely to see sloths, toucans, howler monkeys, frogs and hummingbirds. The plants around them are rainforest, ferns, heliconia and pioneer plants on the lava fields.

Around Arenal, sloths and toucans are in the forest on the lava edge at first light. The cone is the view all day, when the cloud allows. Frogs are a night walk, not a midday sight.

Arenal Volcano National Park, recovery on the lava fields, and private reserves around the hanging bridges.

In Arenal Volcano, stay on the trail and do not feed what you came to see. That is the rule that keeps this place the way it is.

The climate is tropical wet at the base, cooler and cloudier toward the summit. Temperatures are about 22–30°C in town. Rain falls most of the year. The summit is 1,670 m (5,480 ft).

If the view is gone when you arrive, wait. Cloud here comes and goes. The countrywide calendar is in the best time to visit Costa Rica.

The airport for this region is Juan Santamaría in Alajuela. Once you are in the valley, San José traffic matters more than the kilometers.

Traffic decides the time, not the kilometers. A short hop can take an hour. Buses, shuttles, and rental cars are compared in getting around Costa Rica.