There is so much to say about the hotsprings and having worked in tourism for years we have had mixed reviews on it. So as a company we plan on trying to give you an idea of what to expect.  No matter how you look at it the hotsprings are always a great activity if you are looking to fill some space in the evening.

Many people when visiting hotsprings think of hiking through the jungle and out of nowhere appears a bubble bath surrounded by tropical trees while monkeys give you massages as the steam risings from the water. We have yet to find this area. The only place we know of that is somewhat close to this type of feeling is called Rio Celeste which is about a 1 ½ hour drive and a one hour hike from the Arenal area. Rio Celeste is a full day trip and unless you want to add an extra day to your itin it might not be worth it but if you have the time and you want the “real” hotspring experience then this is the best choice for you. The other hotsprings in the Arenal area are in fact thermal waters although some believe it is just heated by the hotels. We investigated a little bit and found out that “yes” it is really thermal water from the volcano.  It seemed for awhile that every hotel was getting hotsprings and it turns out that all they had to do was hire a drill to dig down until they found warm water and then pumped it up. So in many of the hotels that say they have thermal waters this is why. Not to say there is anything wrong with that it is still 100% water heated by the volcano which is very impressive.

The many different hot springs in the Arenal area such as Baldi, Tabacon, Eco-termal, The Springs, just to name a few. These are places that basically have very fancy pools with hot water in them. The Springs is a beautiful place and we often take clients there just for a nice meal and a chance to relax in thermal waters but it is about as un-natural looking “springs” as you can imagine. The Baldi Springs are very commercial and again, fancy pools (lots of concrete), music and alcohol, and more of a party vibe than being lost in the mist of the tropical thermal waters. Tabacon is the only place that we know of that has an actual river that passes through. They sort of took a section of the river and built their pools in and around the river to feed into their pools and then back out on the other end. This is the only place that does not pull water up from the bottom, the only place that does not have to drill for water.

We often put hotsprings on the itinerary of our clients and it is still a place to enjoy and relax we just like our clients to know what to expect. We don’t want to take you there and then tell us you were expecting something else. With this said the hotsprings make for a great evening and meal and almost a must do for any honeymooners. There also happen to be some great slides for the kids at some of the hotsprings.