After the Maratón de San José: Arenal Volcano

The Route: San José → La Fortuna (1 night) → San José Logistics: Around 3.5 hours by road each way. Shared tourist shuttles run daily and cost roughly US$25 to US$40 one way, with hotel pickup at both ends. Public buses are cheaper and slower. A hire car is unnecessary unless you are continuing elsewhere. Marathon Month: December Duration: 1 night

San José ──(≈3.5 hrs by shuttle)──> La Fortuna
                                         │
                            Arenal Volcano (1,670 m) above
                            Thermal pools along the road west

Arenal spent forty-two years in continuous eruption, from 1968 until 2010, and is now quiet. What has not stopped is the geothermal system underneath it, which feeds a series of hot rivers and pools along the road west of La Fortuna. Sitting in 39°C mineral water the day after a marathon is difficult to improve on, and it is the entire reason this trip is on the list.

December is the start of the dry season and the best month to see the cone. The summit spends a lot of the year in cloud, and there is no arrangement you can make about that; if it clears, it clears, usually first thing in the morning.

The hot springs

Tabacón and Baldi are the two largest operations, both on the road between La Fortuna and the lake, and both run as resorts with day passes. Tabacón is built around a natural thermal river running through landscaped forest, with pools at different temperatures along its length, and is the more expensive and the quieter. Baldi has more pools, more slides and more people.

There are cheaper options. Several smaller hotels along the same road have thermal pools and sell day access, and the Río Chollín, a free public stretch of hot river under a road bridge near Tabacón, is where locals go. It has no facilities whatsoever and is exactly what it sounds like.

Book the resort day passes in advance in December. Evening slots, which are the good ones, sell out.

La Fortuna and the waterfall

The town itself is a few streets around a park with the volcano at the end of it, given over almost entirely to tour operators and restaurants. It is easy to get around and easy to organise the next thing from.

La Fortuna waterfall, a few kilometres south, drops around 70 m into a pool you can swim in. The catch is the access: it is roughly 500 steps down and the same back up. Two days after a marathon that is a serious proposition and the climb out is the part to think about. If the legs are not ready, skip it without regret.

The hanging bridges near the lake are the low-impact alternative, a walking circuit through rainforest canopy on suspension bridges with very little climb.

Where to Stay and Eat

Where to stay: Hotels in La Fortuna town are cheaper and put you next to the restaurants; hotels on the road west are quieter, have volcano views and often have their own thermal pools, which saves the day-pass cost.

Where to eat: The town has plenty of choice at tourist prices. For a casado at local prices, walk a block or two off the main street. Fresh fruit here is worth going out of your way for.

Getting Home

Shuttles back to San José leave in the morning and early afternoon and take the same 3.5 hours. If you are flying out, take the morning one: the road crosses high ground and afternoon rain slows it. Shuttles also run direct from La Fortuna to Monteverde and to the Pacific coast if you are continuing.