Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [129]
Desafío Adventure Company (Map; 2479-9464; www.desafiocostarica.com; Calle 2; 6:30am-9pm) This highly recommended company offers a variety of tours including rafting, lava-viewing hikes, horseback riding, mountain biking, spelunking and more. Look for the castle-like building.
Eagle Tours (Map; 2479-9091; www.eagletours.net; 6:30am-9pm) Budget travelers rave about this professionally run tour agency. It’s located on the premises of La Choza Inn, about 150m west of the church.
Jacamar Tours (Map; 2479-9767; www.arenaltours.com; 7am-9pm) Recommended for its incredible variety of naturalist hikes. It’s located on the ground level of Hotel Arenal Carmela.
Pura Vida Tours (Map; 2479-9045; www.puravidatrips.com; cnr Calle 1 & Av Central; 7am-10pm)
Sunset Tours (Map; 2479-9800; www.sunsettourcr.com; Calle 2; 6:30am-9pm) This is La Fortuna’s most established tour company, recommended for high-quality tours with bilingual guides.
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Sleeping
Costa Rican holidays call for merrymaking and explosions, and what better fireworks show is there than the famous lava of La Fortuna? Visitors both foreign and domestic are drawn to La Fortuna for the chance to see the volcano spit some magma, particularly on weekends and holidays, so for those times try to make advance reservations.
There are a bazillion places to stay in town, and we’ve only listed a handful. The great thing about La Fortuna is the number of small, family-run places, usually a few simple rooms with electric showers and maybe a private bathroom, offering meals by arrangement and good conversation. You may hear about them through word of mouth or just by roaming around for a few minutes. These places will help arrange local tours and are a good way to help locals cash in on the tourism boom. Hotel touts meet the buses and can be more strong-armed than in most of Costa Rica; not all are trustworthy (see boxed text).
If you’re driving, consider staying on the pastoral road to Cerro Chato, a few kilometers south of town, where several appealing hotels have cropped up. Note that hotels west and south of town are listed separately.
Rates given are high-season prices, but low-season rates plummet by as much as 40%.
IN TOWN
Hostels
Gringo Pete’s (Map; 2479-8521; gringopetes2003@yahoo.com; camping per person US$2, dm US$3, r per person with/without bathroom US$5/4; ) With a clean and cozy vibe, it’s hard to believe that this purple hostel, 100m south of the school, is so cheap! Whether you’re in the comfy dorms sleeping four or your own private room with sink and shower, you’ll flock to the breezy covered common areas, which are great spots to chat with other backpackers. Pete, from the USA, can point you toward cut-rate tours and store your bags for you while you’re on them. Amenities include a communal kitchen, BBQ and laundry service. If it’s full, stroll about 750m along the river toward Arenal and see if there’s room at Gringo Pete’s Too.
Arenal Backpackers Resort (Map; 2479-7000; www.arenalbackpackersresort.com; Av Central; dm US$14, tents s/d US$14/20; d/tr/q US$45/75/84; ) This self-proclaimed ‘five-star hostel’ with volcano views is among the cushier hostels in Costa Rica. Dorm rooms have private hot-water bathroom, and you’ll sleep easy on the thick, orthopedic mattresses. Private rooms definitely cater to midrange travelers, though with cable TV, two superior double beds and tiled bathrooms, they’re worth the splurge. The newest budget accommodations option is the covered tent city; each raised tent contains a double air mattress, sheets, pillows and electricity. But the real draw is the landscaped pool with swim-up bar, where backpackers spend lazy days lounging with a cold beer. Other amenities include hammocks, free internet and wi-fi, lockers in every room, 24-hour security and a decent but pricey restaurant and bar with great happy-hour specials. To top it off, manager Diego (a former Costa Rican professional footballer) and his