After a week in Tamarindo, I was ready to move on. Once the surf camp was done, I asked my friend if he wanted to see more of the country. After all, we had a couple of days left before our flight back to the States. He said he’d rather stay in Tamarindo to surf and chill. I thought it would be a shame to fly all the way to Costa Rica and only see San Jose and Tamarindo, so we agreed to part ways for a couple of days. I had about 4 days left, and I figured that’s enough time to check out one more place. I already had a destination in mind. At the airport in San Jose, you can’t miss this huge welcome poster with Arenal Volcano in the background. It’s no surprise that they keep showing this Volcano in their tourism ads. With that almost perfect cone, it really is beautiful. So I decided to head to La Fortuna, the gateway to Arenal Volcano.

Since La Fortuna is a very popular spot for tourists, I thought that heading there from Tamarindo would be easy. After all, both places are very popular tourist destinations. Turns out I was wrong. There were no direct public buses connecting these two places. I’d have to book a shared shuttle or hire a private transport service if I want to head there directly. I asked one local why this is the case. One would think there’d be a huge demand for transportation between these two popular destinations. Turns out the overall demand is not huge. There is a huge demand from tourists, but there’s very little demand from locals. And majority of tourists in Costa Rica aren’t backpackers traveling on a very tight budget. They can afford to hire private transportation, thus a public bus route from Tamarindo to La Fortuna is not very profitable. On hindsight, i realized that this was true. On that bus I took from San Jose to Tamarindo, most of the passengers were locals. I could sense that the person I was talking to was looking at me with slight disdain, but whatever. lol. I often travel on a tight budget and I wear that on my sleeve.

So anyway, if you’re on a tight budget, traveling from Tamarindo to La Fortuna would only cost less than 15 USD. The catch is, you’d have to make a couple of transfer.

• First, you have to head to the Pacific Park Bus Station in Tamarindo and catch the bus heading to Cañas. The first bus leaves at 8AM.
• Once you’re in Cañas, you need to head to the “Parada de Buses de Cañas” or “Terminal Reina Del Campo“. You can search for the exact spot on Google Maps, and it’s a little less than a mile away from where the bus from Tamarindo drops you off. You can either walk all the way there, or take a cab. I was told there would be lots of cabs waiting by the bus stop and it only costs 3-4 USD. Once you arrive at this Terminal, hop on a bus heading to Tilaran. This should cost about $1.
• Once you arrive in Tilaran, you don’t have to transfer to different bus terminal. Just look for a bus heading to La Fortuna. This last bus would cost about 5 USD.

It’s advisable to take the first bus Leaving Tamarindo because this trip would take an entire day. If you take the buses leaving later, you might miss last bus leaving Tilaran. If you plan on checking out either Cañas or Tilaran though, then by all means take a bus later in the morning or in the afternoon. I’ve been told these are quaint little towns with only a few tourists. However, If you want to arrive in La Fortuna before the end of the day, you should take the first bus leaving from Tamarindo.

Now, I was pretty sure I’d be hungover the next morning (I was right. lol), so taking public buses could be troublesome. i wasn’t traveling on a very tight budget anyway, so i looked at other options. Obviously, hiring a private shuttle would be too expensive, so I searched for shared shuttles online. Almost everyone was recommending Interbus, because it was the most reliable. However, they were charging 74 USD (including taxes), and i thought that was overpriced. I did more searching and found two other companies that were only charging 49 USD. I made reservations with them first, and both of them sent emails a few hours later saying they were canceling the trip for the next day since there weren’t enough passengers. Bummer. That’s why Interbus had the reputation of being reliable. I was told that other companies would cancel scheduled trips if they did get enough passengers. Interbus does not do this… at least that’s what I’ve been told. Good thing I was still able to book with Interbus late that night, so i was able to leave the next morning. If you’re quite flexible, you can try making a reservation with companies offering cheaper rates. During peak tourist season, cancellations may occur less frequently. If you’re on a tight schedule, just go with Interbus.

The journey to La Fortuna took about 6 hours. It wasn’t actually direct, we had to make a stop somewhere for 30 minutes to have lunch and to make a transfer to another shuttle. What’s good about taking a shared shuttle is they drop you off at your accommodation. I chose to stay at Palacios Arenal because they offered the cheapest rate, and also because they have a gym. lol. I mean, how often do you see a hostel that has a gym???

The location is great. it’s not at the center of town so you’re away from the crowds, but you’re still only a few minutes walk away from where all the action is. Since the town attracts a lot of tourists, many restaurants and bars were unsurprisingly expensive. However, there are lots of sodas in the area. Sodas are small, family run restaurants. These are where the locals eat. One meal costs about 6,000- 8,000 colones. That’s about 12-16 USD. Yeah, that’s not cheap, especially when you compare it to neighboring countries. I thought that was real expensive, until i found out how much the average Costa Rican makes. If their average salary is the same as the average salary in Nicaragua or Guatemala for instance, yeah that’s very expensive. To the average Tico (Costa Rican) though, eating at sodas won’t break the bank.

La Fortuna has such a laidback vibe. it’s one of those places you can spend a week just chilling. It may get a bit crowded at the center of town, but walk a couple of minutes and you’ll be away from all the noise. When it’s not cloudy you can clearly see Arenal Volcano in all its glory. I was told by someone I met while traveling that it’s pointless to visit La Fortuna from July to August if i wanted to see the volcano because the clouds would be covering it the entire time. Fake news. lol. I was able to see the volcano from town everyday when i was there.

It’s easy to visit attractions on your own. There’s no public transport that would take you directly to the famous attractions, but cabs and Ubers are cheap. If you don’t wanna worry about transportation, you can easily book one of those day tours that are offered in the center of town. The most popular day tour costs 95 USD. This tour includes a hike around the volcano, a buffet lunch, a hike to La Fortuna Waterfall, and a stop in one of the hot springs resorts. Yeah 95 USD is pretty pricey, but consider the price you’d pay if you do it on your own.

Entrance to Arenal Volcano National Park costs 15 USD. The waterfall? You have to pay 18 USD. That hot spring they took us? It was Baldi Hot Spring and a day pass costs 47 USD. That’s already 80 bucks. I don’t know how much the lunch buffet costs exactly, but I’m guessing around 10-15 USD. Then add the cost of transportation. And the guide. If you plan on heading to those three places anyway, might as well just book a tour. You’d be spending almost the same amount of money anyway. It was a pretty good tour. We saw sloths, monkeys, and various birds during the hike. Swimming by the waterfall was very refreshing. And drinking beer and cocktails at the hot spring was the perfect way to end the day. There’s a free hot spring by the way— one that is not developed. You don’t have to spend money to relax on a hot spring if you’re on a really tight budget. It’s the river close to the Tabacon hot spring. Some people actually prefer to go to the free one since it makes the experience more “authentic”.

Other attractions of note in the area: The hanging bridges at Mistico Park, which take you through the forest and offers different views of the volcano. This one costs 32 USD. I decided to skip this once since I’ve already seen the volcano from different viewing points. Still, if you have time, I’ve been told it’s worth checking out. Another attraction is Cerro Chato, a small mountain next to Arenal Volcano with a lagoon in the center. You have to pay 12 USD for this one and the hike takes 4-5 hours roundtrip. You could also take a boat trip around Lake Arenal. This would set you back anywhere from 30-90 USD, depending on what you want to do and see.

After spending some time in La Fortuna, I realized something. Sure the sights I’ve seen were beautiful, but something makes em extra special. One thing I loved about Costa Ricans in general? The fact that so many of them absolutely care about the environment. Even in the most touristy areas in Tamarindo and La Fortuna, I barely saw any trash around. They don’t just throw trash anywhere, they pick up trash voluntarily when they see some, and when they see tourists throwing trash indiscriminately, they give gentle reminders. This is in complete contrast with locals in many countries, wherein the locals themselves treat their own environment like sh*t. I can no longer count the number of trails I’ve seen in other countries wherein i saw random trash here and there. And that’s just not in developing countries. Smokers are especially disgusting, with the amount of cigarette butts they leave on trails. And don’t even get me started on how much of a fire hazard this is. So mad applause, Costa Rica. All this talk about sustainability and being eco-friendly is not just lip service.

If you’re heading back to San Jose from La Fortuna, it won’t be a problem. There’s a direct bus heading back to the capital that leaves at 2 PM daily. Just head to the “Terminal de Autobuses La Fortuna” (it can be searched on Google Maps). I got confused at first because it’s not really a bus terminal. I wasn’t sure if i was waiting at the right place. It’s just a spot by the side of Mega Super La Fortuna and Adifort Shopping Center. Look for the entrance to Montaña Magica, the buses stop right in front of it.

After visiting La Fortuna, it’s no surprise why it’s possibly the most popular place to visit in Costa Rica. I just spent three days and two nights here, and I would say that’s too short. This little town is beautiful and there are a lot of things to see and do in the area. It has so much to offer. I’d love to go back in the future and do all the things I’ve missed due to lack of time. If you love nature, this is once place you shouldn’t miss in the country. I feel fortunate to have experienced what La Fortuna has to offer.