Some of the hot springs La Fortuna Costa Rica is known for are a flowing volcanic river, others are built pools filled with the same geothermal water, and a few play like a water park with slides. The right pass depends on which water you want, what the ticket includes and how far the gate sits from town. Below, each bookable pass sits next to its water, its hours and what it leaves out.
Bookable day passes for the hot springs in La Fortuna run from $29 at Hot Springs Pura Vida to $180 at Tabacón, and the El Choyín river is free. The best known springs are Tabacón, Baldi, Paradise, EcoTermales, The Springs, Los Lagos, Kalambu, Titoku, Los Laureles and Hot Springs Pura Vida. A few let the water run as a river, most fill built pools with it, and Baldi, Kalambu and Los Lagos add slides.
Key takeaways
Each card below is a bookable listing. The price shown is the lowest adult rate on the listing, written as the from price, and some passes add a meal as an optional extra at checkout rather than bundling one in. Payment and cancellation run through the booking platform, so the free cancellation terms on most cards come from the platform and not from the hot spring itself. Two listings, the Tabacón day pass and the private ATV combo, are final sale with no refund.
This full day trip combines a rainforest hike to La Fortuna Waterfall, a Maleku village lunch and an Arenal Volcano viewpoint before ending at a natural hot spring with a complimentary cocktail. The soak itself is only about an hour at the end of a 10 hour day, so it suits travelers who want the volcano and waterfall as the main event rather than a long springs visit.
This pass covers Baldi's 25 thermal pools, a 60-person jacuzzi and extreme waterslides, with lunch or dinner as an optional add-on. Several travelers rate the included buffet as the weak point, so skipping the meal option and eating elsewhere is a reasonable way to save money.
$29 for the natural thermal river plus a pool, with towels and lockers free, the lowest pass price here
This ticket covers a natural thermal river and pool at Hot Springs Pura Vida, cradled by rainforest near La Fortuna. The riverbed is rocky and fast flowing in parts, so water shoes help and it is not the easiest spot for young kids or non-swimmers.
Ecotermales' day pass runs 10am to 4pm with therapeutic waters at 99-106°F, paved rainforest trails and a poolside bar for cocktails at extra cost. Photos are banned inside the thermal area itself, so leave the camera in the locker if that matters to you.
A guided roughly 2.5 hour hike around Arenal Volcano's base and lava fields ends with about 40 minutes soaking in the natural Río Choyin hot springs river. Lunch and a drink come only with the AM option, so book the morning slot if a meal matters to you.
Paradise Hot Springs caps its visitor capacity to keep the pools uncrowded, with reclinable loungers, a spa and a swim-up bar. The ticket alone does not include food, so add a meal option at booking if you plan to eat on-site.
Tabacón is Costa Rica's largest network of natural thermal springs, with five spring-fed pools and waterfalls inside a private rainforest reserve near Arenal Volcano. At $180 it is the priciest ticket here, and the operator allows no refund for any cancellation, so confirm your dates before booking.
This pass covers two separate days at The Springs Resort & Spa, arriving any time after 8am and staying until the 10pm closing, with in-and-out access both days. Food and drinks at the five on-site restaurants and bars are not included, so budget separately for meals.
Los Lagos' hot springs are heated by groundwater in contact with magma from the active Arenal Volcano, inside the Los Lagos Hotel, Spa & Resort grounds. Only your ID is needed at the gate, no printed voucher, and private transportation is the one thing this ticket leaves out.
This private, 1-person-per-ATV tour rides 500cc automatic quads to a rustic, non-commercial hot spring tucked in the rainforest rather than one of La Fortuna's resort pools. Bookings are final with no refund for cancellation, so be sure of your dates before paying.
This zip line tour runs 13 platforms and 9 cables over the Arenal River canyon with a 50 meter rappel, then ends with a hot springs soak at Montaña de Fuego Resort. Flip flops are not allowed on the course, so wear closed shoes or backstrap sandals that can get wet.
This full day trip drives from San Jose through Grecia and Sarchi before ending at Baldi Hot Springs, with lunch, dinner and hotel pickup included. Reviewers note the bus ride runs long with several town stops before the springs, so this suits travelers based in San Jose rather than already staying in La Fortuna.
Every pass and tour on this page by listing price, the hot spring it covers, the kind of water and the platform rating. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on all but the Tabacón pass and the ATV combo. Figures current in Q3 2026.
| Tour | Price | Hot springs | Water | Rating | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterfall, Volcano, Springs | $95 | Resort hot springs | Pools | 4.8 (3,859) | Check Availability Details |
| Baldi Day Pass | $60 | Baldi | Pools and slides | 4.5 (219) | Check Availability Details |
| Our pick Pura Vida River Pass | $29 | Hot Springs Pura Vida | River and pool | 4.8 (134) | Check Availability Details |
| Ecotermales Day Pass | $81 | EcoTermales | Pools | 4.8 (78) | Check Availability Details |
| Volcano Hike + River | $54 | Río Choyin | River | 4.5 (56) | Check Availability Details |
| Paradise Full Day | $47 | Paradise | Pools | 4.3 (149) | Check Availability Details |
| Tabacón Day Pass | $180 | Tabacón | River and pool | 4.4 (23) | Check Availability Details |
| Springs 2-Day Pass | $124 | The Springs | Pools | 4.0 (13) | Check Availability Details |
| Los Lagos Ticket | $65 | Los Lagos | Pools and slides | 4.1 (14) | Check Availability Details |
| ATV + Hot Spring | $160 | Rustic rainforest spring | Natural spring | 5.0 (162) | Check Availability Details |
| Canopy, Rappel, Springs | $70 | Montaña de Fuego | Pools | 4.8 (113) | Check Availability Details |
| San Jose to Baldi | $175 | Baldi | Pools and slides | 4.2 (57) | Check Availability Details |
Live dates and spots for the cheapest pass on the page, the $29 river and pool ticket at Hot Springs Pura Vida.
Looking at one of the others? La Fortuna: Waterfall, Arenal Volcano and Hot Springs Tour · Costa Rica: Baldi Hot Springs Day Pass with Optional Meals · La Fortuna: Ecotermales Rainforest Hot Spring Day Pass · La Fortuna: Arenal Volcano Hike + Hot Springs River (AM/PM) · La Fortuna: Mineral Hot Springs Full Day Ticket · Tabacon Hot Springs Day Pass · Hot Springs 2-Day Pass at The Springs Resort & Spa · Los Lagos Hot Springs Admission Ticket · Private ATV and Hot Springs Combo Tour in La Fortuna, Arenal · Arenal Volcano Canopy Tour, 50 meters Rappeling and Hot Springs · San Jose: Arenal Volcano and Baldi Hot Springs Day Trip
The hot springs around Arenal Volcano are not one product but eleven very different ones, and the pass you book should match the water, the budget and the crowd you want. This table lines up every venue with its water type and its cheapest bookable pass, with prices taken from the linked listings or, where no tour sells the venue, from the figures reported in our research.
The pools at Baldi Hot Springs on the slope of Arenal Volcano. Photo: Radcr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The hot springs are not one product. The table puts each one next to its water and its pass. Where a listing on this page sells the pass, the price is that listing's rate and links its card.
Where none does, the figure is the one travel writers report, labelled as reported. The free river costs nothing at the gate and asks more of you, which is why it has its own safety guide.
| Hot spring | Water | Pass | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tabacón | River and pools | $180 day pass | The thermal river itself, gardens and waterfalls |
| Baldi | Pools and slides | $60 day pass | Families: 25 pools, slides, swim-up bar |
| Paradise | Pools | $47 full day | A quieter resort day on a mid budget |
| EcoTermales | Pools | $81 day pass | Capped numbers, rainforest setting |
| The Springs | Pools | $124 for two days | Two days of pools and a swim-up bar |
| Los Lagos | Pools and slides | $65 ticket | Slides, a butterfly garden, a turtle pond |
| Hot Springs Pura Vida | River and pool | $29 pass | The river on a budget, towels and lockers free |
| Kalambu | Pools and slides | Walk-up, no booking needed | A water-park day with kids |
| Titoku | Pools | Reported $33 | Eight small pools, 80 people at most |
| Los Laureles | Pools | Reported $10-$12 | A local pool day with your own picnic |
| El Choyín river | River | Free | Daylight soak with company, nothing valuable |
Tabacón, Baldi, Paradise, EcoTermales, The Springs and Los Lagos sit on the road west of La Fortuna toward Arenal Volcano, most of them an 8 to 16 minute drive from town. Tabacón is the only venue pairing constructed pools with a true natural thermal river, and its $180 pass reflects it. Baldi counters with 25 pools, extreme waterslides and a 60-person jacuzzi from $60, which is why families fill it.
Paradise sells its full-day ticket at $47, keeps visitor numbers capped and closes the pools during electrical storms. EcoTermales limits daily visitors and bans photos inside the thermal area, with its 10am to 4pm session at $81. The Springs sells a two-day pass at $124 covering any two days of your stay from 8am to 10pm.
Los Lagos adds waterslides and a butterfly garden at $65. For the small family-run pools at Titoku, Los Laureles and Termalitas, see the budget hot springs guide.
Away from the resort strip, three small venues charge a fraction of the resort rates. Titoku, run by Hotel Arenal Kioro, has 8 small pools, caps entry at 80 people and charges a reported $33, rising to a reported $52 with a meal. Los Laureles is the smallest commercial facility in the area with 7 pools, a large cool pool with a waterslide and two hot spring pools, at a reported $10 to $12 for the entire day, and you may bring your own food because there is no restaurant.
Termalitas del Arenal charges cash in colones, a reported 4,000 to 5,000 colones, roughly $7 to $10, and asks you to bring your own towel. All three are covered in the budget hot springs guide, alongside the $29 river and pool ticket at Hot Springs Pura Vida, which is the cheapest pass a tour actually sells.
El Choyín, also called Río Chollín or mini-Tabacón, is the free continuation of the same thermal river that feeds the Tabacón resort upstream. It has no gate, no ticket and no staff, and it sits near the Tabacón entrance on Route 142, roughly the same 16-minute drive from La Fortuna. What it lacks is everything a paid venue provides: no lockers, no lifeguards, no lighting and no one to call for help.
Theft from unattended bags is a recurring report, and in the rainy season flash floods can surge down the channel. Read the free hot springs guide before you go, or book the Pura Vida river pass at $29 for the same kind of river water with facilities attached, or the volcano hike plus river tour at $54 with transport included.
Every hot spring around La Fortuna draws on the same source, Arenal's geothermal heat, but what reaches your body can be a flowing river or a constructed pool, and the word natural on a resort brochure covers both.
The Tabacón river, warmed by Arenal Volcano, flowing through the resort gardens. Photo: Central Intelligence Agency, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
All of the La Fortuna and Arenal hot springs are fed by geothermal heat from the Arenal volcano system. Rainwater seeps underground, meets hot rock near the magma, and surfaces as natural springs and rivers, most famously the Tabacón river. What differs is what happens at the surface.
Tabacón, El Choyín and Hot Springs Pura Vida let the water run as a river, with gravel and rock underfoot and the temperature set by the spring itself. Baldi, EcoTermales, Paradise, Los Lagos, The Springs and the rest pump that same geothermally heated water into constructed pools, where it is filtered, sometimes blended and often chlorinated.
Most temperatures below are reported by travel writers rather than printed by the resorts, so treat them as a guide. EcoTermales advertises therapeutic waters at 99 to 106°F on its own listing. Paradise reports pools from 95 to 104°F. The Springs reports 83 to 104°F across its 19 pools, 12 in the Las Lagunas section and 7 in Los Perdidos.
Baldi's site confirms 25 thermal pools. Titoku has 8 small pools of varying temperature, Los Laureles has 7 including two hot spring pools, and Hot Springs Pura Vida has one constructed pool at 96 to 100°F next to its river channel. Tabacón's river section runs from a reported 72 to 105°F depending on where you sit in the channel, a figure not confirmed on the resort's own site.
Tabacón describes itself as Costa Rica's only natural hot springs river at Arenal Volcano, which is the resort's own claim and worth reading carefully. The river is natural, the pools around it are built, and the $180 pass covers both. At the other end, Baldi and Kalambu add waterslides and function more like water parks than thermal baths, and one Costa Rica travel blog describes Kalambu as more of a water park than hot springs pools.
Los Lagos sits in between, thermal pools heated by groundwater in contact with magma, plus slides and a butterfly garden. None of this makes one better than another, but it does mean the word natural in a brochure can describe a free-flowing river, a landscaped concrete pool or a water park, so check which one you are buying.
A pass is more than a price. Meal, towel, locker, session hours and cancellation terms change the real cost of the day, and they differ more between venues than the ticket prices do.
These are the passes sold through the listings on this page, with figures from each listing. Meal means a meal is included in the ticket price, and where food is available on site at extra cost that is stated separately. Towel and locker notes come from the listing or the venue's own rules.
| Pass | Hours | Meal | Towel and locker | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baldi, $60 | Until 10pm close | Optional add-on | Locker $20 extra per person | Free up to 24 hours before |
| Pura Vida, $29 | Valid 1 day from first activation | None, restaurant on site | Both free | Free up to 24 hours before |
| EcoTermales, $81 | 10am to 4pm session | Buffet or à la carte on site, extra | Not stated | Free up to 24 hours before |
| Paradise, $47 | 11am to 9pm | Optional add-on at booking | $10 towel deposit, $5 locker deposit | Free up to 24 hours before |
| Tabacón, $180 | 10am to 10pm | None included | Not stated | No refund, all sales final |
| The Springs, $124 | 8am to 10pm, two days | Not included, 5 restaurants on site | Not stated | Free up to 24 hours before |
| Los Lagos, $65 | 2 to 4 hour window | None stated | Towel $2 rental, locker included | Free up to 24 hours before |
Baldi allows no outside food, drinks or pets, so the picnic idea ends at the gate, and it charges a $10 towel deposit plus a $6.78 locker rental on top of the entrance fee. Tabacón requires children under 16 to be accompanied by an adult at all times, requires advance reservations with limited capacity and a maximum group of 15. EcoTermales deliberately caps visitors per session, bans photographs inside the thermal area, and runs two timed sessions so arriving without a reservation in high season can mean waiting or missing the slot.
Paradise closes the pools during electrical storms and holds a $10 towel deposit and a $5 locker deposit. None of these rules appear in the headline price, which is exactly why they are worth reading before you book.
Sources: Tabacón hot springs, Baldi day pass, Paradise day passes
Yes, La Fortuna has genuinely free hot springs. The El Choyín river, also called Río Chollín or mini-Tabacón, runs warm near the Tabacón entrance and costs nothing at all, but free here means no staff, no facilities and real risks you manage yourself.
El Choyín sits on Route 142 near the Tabacón resort entrance, roughly the same 16-minute drive west from La Fortuna as Tabacón itself. It is the free continuation of the same thermal river that feeds the paid resort upstream, which is why locals call it mini-Tabacón or Tabaconcito. There is no gate, no ticket and no posted hours because it is a public riverbank, open access around the clock.
The water is entirely natural, warmed by runoff from Tabacón's geothermal source, with no constructed pools, no filtration and no staff. You find a gravelly stretch, sit down and the river does the rest, which is exactly the experience people pay $180 for upstream, minus the waterfalls and the towel service. Part of the bank at this spot is now a paid, staffed site with lockers and food, sold as Hot Springs Pura Vida (the Choyín Río Termal entrance), while the open sections along the river stay free.
The riverbed rocks used to reach the warm pools are described as incredibly slippery, and the current can be rough, so wear water shoes and enter slowly. In the rainy season flash floods and surges happen, and the warning sign is the water turning brown or murky, so if it does, leave immediately. There are no lifeguards, no staff, no police presence and no public phone, so go with company and tell someone where you are.
Theft from bags left on the rocks is reported as not uncommon, and a posted sign warns against leaving valuables out, so bring only what fits in a waterproof pouch and leave the rest at your hotel. Unofficial attendants in high-visibility vests sometimes ask for a fee to watch your car, which is not an authorized service, so parking there and any payment is at your own discretion. There is no lighting, staff or security after dark, so visit in daylight only.
If the risks feel like too much for the saving, two bookable options give you the same kind of river water with someone in charge. The Hot Springs Pura Vida pass at $29 adds a built pool, free towels, lockers and parking, and a restaurant beside its river channel. The Arenal Volcano hike and hot springs river tour at $54 pairs a guided hike with about 40 minutes in the Río Choyín, with transport from La Fortuna included.
For access notes, see the free hot springs guide.
Five listings on this page pair Arenal Volcano or an adventure activity with a hot spring soak, and they differ sharply in how much of the day you actually spend in the water versus how long you spend getting there.
The figures below come straight from each listing. Time in the water is what the listing states, and where it gives no fixed soak figure that is recorded as not stated rather than guessed. Pickup means transport is included, and the two no-refund listings are flagged in the cancellation column of their cards.
| Tour | Whole day | Time in the water | Pickup | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterfall, Volcano, Springs | 10 hours | About 1 hour soak, optional 1.5 hour block | La Fortuna hotels | $95 |
| Volcano Hike + River | 4 hours | About 40 minutes | La Fortuna zone | $54 |
| ATV + Hot Spring | 4 hours | Not stated | Not stated | $160 |
| Canopy, Rappel, Springs | 2 hours | Not stated | Hotels, 30 to 60 minutes before | $70 |
| San Jose to Baldi | 1 day | Not stated | 41 San Jose locations | $175 |
The $95 waterfall and volcano tour is the most reviewed listing here at 4.8 from 3,859 reviews, but the soak is one hour at the end of a 10-hour day, so it suits travelers who want the volcano as the main event. The $54 hike and river tour is the tightest package, a 2.5-hour hike then about 40 minutes in Río Choyin, and lunch comes only with the morning option. The $160 private ATV combo rides to a rustic non-commercial spring and carries a 5.0 rating from 162 reviews, but one person per ATV and all sales final.
The $70 canopy tour packs 13 zip line platforms, a 50-meter rappel and a soak at Montaña de Fuego Resort into 2 hours, with a minimum age of 6 and a maximum weight of 225 lbs. The $175 San Jose day trip is for travelers based in San Jose, not La Fortuna, and reviewers note the bus runs long through Grecia and Sarchi before Baldi.
Almost every hot spring sits on the road west of La Fortuna toward Arenal Volcano, and none of the plain day passes include transport, so the drive is on you unless you book a tour.
Baldi, Paradise and Titoku are the closest at about 8 minutes by road. EcoTermales and Los Lagos sit about 9 minutes out. Tabacón and the free El Choyín river are the farthest at roughly 16 minutes along Route 142, the road toward the volcano and Nuevo Arenal.
The Springs' drive time is not confirmed in the sources we hold, so we do not print a figure. Taxis exist but no fare appears in our research, so we do not price them here. Hot Springs Pura Vida has free parking on site.
None of the plain day passes include hotel pickup, which is the biggest practical difference between a pass and a tour. On the tour side, the waterfall, volcano and springs tour, the volcano hike and river tour, the canopy and rappel tour and the San José day trip all collect you, as the table above shows. The Tabacón pass has a middle path: a shared shuttle from La Fortuna, arranged in advance by email or WhatsApp with the seller.
Without a car, shortlist those.
Several venues split the day, and the split matters. EcoTermales runs two timed sessions, 10am to 4pm and 5pm to 9:30pm per blog sources, with the night pass described as the popular one and days quieter, plus a Moon Thermal session from 8:15 to 10:45pm that includes a cocktail. Baldi runs one long window from 9am to 10pm so you choose your own slot.
Paradise opens 11am to 9pm. Los Lagos runs 10am to 10pm and Titoku closes earliest at 8pm. The free river is open access but should only be visited in daylight.
Evening sessions are the popular ones, so book those first.
Weather shapes a hot springs day more than season, because rain is frequent, the volcano hides in cloud and electrical storms close pools outright.
The rainy season runs May through November, with the heaviest rain from June to October and September and October typically the wettest months. Hot springs are one of the few activities where that matters less than you would think, because you are going to be wet anyway and the water stays hot. Air temperatures average 75°F or 22°C annually, with daytime highs from 73 to 88°F in the dry months and 66 to 82°F through the rainy season.
A warm pool in light rain is a normal La Fortuna afternoon, and the resorts keep the pools open through it. What stops them is lightning.
Evening is the popular slot for two reasons. First, the air cools toward the 60s and 70s, which makes a 100°F pool feel better than it does at midday, and EcoTermales' night session is described as the popular one while days are quieter. Second, a soak is the natural end to a day of hiking or rafting.
If you want the pools nearly empty, the daytime session at EcoTermales from 10am to 4pm is the quiet window, and the listing recommends arriving by noon to use it fully.
Arenal sits in cloud much of the time, so no listing on this page promises a volcano view from the water and you should not plan the day around one. Paradise's adults-only Cedro infinity pool markets volcano views, and Termalitas has a volcano-view observation tower, but cloud cover decides what you actually see on any given afternoon. The practical reading is to treat any volcano sighting as a bonus and choose the spring for the water and the pass, not the postcard.
Resort photos are shot at golden hour with nobody in the pool. These three show the water, the crowds and the free river as visitors filmed them.
The free river and several paid springs side by side, with prices and tips for a budget visit.
Video: Emma TerraWhat the free river looks like on the ground: the access, the rocks and the depth of the warm pools.
Video: Murphy TravelsThe pools, the slides and the swim-up bar at the biggest of the pool resorts.
Video: Where Next TravelThird-party videos, embedded from YouTube. We did not shoot them and have no relationship with the creators.
Honest answer, with the caveats attached.
Who it's NOT for: If you want a quiet, staffed, lockable soak on a zero budget, the free river will disappoint you and the resorts will stretch you, so pick a mid-range pass or skip the springs.
If You want the cheapest bookable pass and a natural river.
Book the Hot Springs Pura Vida river and pool pass at $29 with free towels, lockers and parking.
If You want the famous flagship river and accept no refunds.
Take the Tabacón day pass at $180 and confirm your dates before paying.
If You are traveling with kids who need slides, not silence.
Choose the Baldi day pass from $60 for 25 pools, waterslides and a 60-person jacuzzi.
If You have no car and want the volcano and the water together.
Book the volcano hike plus hot springs river tour at $54 with round-trip La Fortuna pickup.
If You want the free option but not the risks.
Read the free hot springs guide first, or compare every La Fortuna hot springs pass above.
We loved it. Well organized, with showers, towels and parking included. We went at night and it was very romantic.
Very nice hot springs pool. River was very fast flowing and rocky, not good for young kids.
The hotel was beautiful and they have several hot springs of different sizes.
Loved the place. Quiet and relaxing, not crowded at all, with spacious changing rooms and lockers. Staff is very kind and professional.
Lovely and quiet. An attractive, well maintained setting and the staff were very pleasant.
The guides are knowledgeable and friendly, and ending the day at the thermal spas is super relaxing after a day of hiking.
Yes. All the area's springs are fed by geothermal heat from the Arenal volcano system, and a few let the water run as an actual river, Tabacón's river section, the free El Choyín river and the river channel at Hot Springs Pura Vida. Most other venues pump that same water into constructed pools. See the full river versus pool breakdown.
Yes, the El Choyín river near the Tabacón entrance is free, public and open access, with no gate or ticket. It has no staff, no lockers, slippery rocks and reported theft from unattended bags, and it should only be visited in daylight. The free hot springs guide covers the risks and the fixes.
At staffed venues yes, with the normal heat precautions, and Paradise closes its pools during electrical storms. At the free river the hazards are real, including incredibly slippery rocks, flash floods in the rainy season and no lifeguards or phone on site, so wear water shoes, leave if the water turns brown and never go alone at night. Details in the El Choyín safety guide.
For most visitors yes, because the water is genuinely volcanic and the price ladder runs from free to $180 so you can match the spend to the day. The honest caveats are that natural does not always mean a river, extras like Baldi's $10 towel deposit add up, and the pass comparison table exists because inclusions differ more than prices.
Baldi and Los Lagos are the family picks, with waterslides at both, and Baldi's 25 pools include a 60-person jacuzzi, and children under 5 enter Baldi free with advance notice. The Baldi day pass from $60 is the bookable route, and the Los Lagos ticket at $65 is the slides-plus-butterfly-garden alternative.
For Tabacón, EcoTermales and Titoku, yes, advance reservations are required or strongly recommended because capacity is limited. Baldi and Kalambu accept walk-ups, and booking ahead on platforms like the Pura Vida pass at $29 adds free cancellation up to 24 hours before, which walk-up tickets do not give you.
Hot spring guides
Each spring on its own page: what the water is, what the pass covers, the hours and the rules.
Hot Springs La Fortuna Costa Rica
