• Lake ArenalThe north shore is wind and a view of the cone, not a swimming beach. Walk the edge. Trees stand under the water. Do not just drive past.
  • Arenal Volcano viewpointThe cone sits across the water. If cloud is on it, wait: it moves. The light is better early or late. This is a view. It is not a swim.
  • Windsurf shoreThe working wind is on the western shore, and in the dry months it often builds as the day goes. Ask which launch is on. The town dock is not it.
  • Nuevo Arenal townThe town was rebuilt above the one the dam drowned. A square, cooler air at this height, an hour on foot. Stay longer only if you are eating.
  • Arenal hanging bridgesA drive along the lake, then you are up in the trees. The first group sees more birds. Fog is normal. Stay on the walkway. Boards can be slick.
  • Río Celeste day tripA long morning from here. The blue water is a hike, not a photo from the lot, and it needs sun. Leave early so the drive back is not in the dark.
  • Waterfall trailsCold pools, and the way down is the way back up. After rain the rock is slick. Go in the morning, before you are tired and still at the bottom.
  • Tilapia fishingThe lake holds them. Fish from shore or a small boat, and let the wind decide if you stay out. Ask locally that morning. This is not a surf trip.
  • Lake sunsetThe hour to be on the shore, facing the cone. Come with time left, not after the light is gone. It is a lake sunset, not a beach one with a swim.
  • Tilarán wind gapThe pass west of the lake funnels the wind the turbines and sailors use. It gets windier as you leave town. A gap, not a place to swim.

The landscape is lake, rainforest, and volcano views. You are likely to see howler monkeys, toucans, sloths, oropendolas and freshwater fish. The plants around them are rainforest, ferns, heliconia and pasture trees around the lake.

Around Nuevo Arenal, howlers and toucans are in the lakeside trees at first light. The volcano across the water is the view all day. The forest goes quiet once the road heats up.

Arenal Volcano National Park and lakeside reforestation, with wind power on the Tilarán ridge.

In Nuevo Arenal, 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, cooled by the lake breeze. Temperatures are about 21–28°C. Rain falls most of the year, with strong winds from December to April. Nuevo Arenal sits at 640 m (2,100 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.

You can come through Daniel Oduber in Liberia or Juan Santamaría in Alajuela. The last stretch is a mountain and lake road, slower than it looks on a map.

The drive is simple until the last kilometers. Arrive in daylight if you do not know the road. Buses, shuttles, and rental cars are compared in getting around Costa Rica.