Arenal Volcano View and Lava Trails — Attraction in La Fortuna

If you're like me you'll probably want to know as much as possible beforehand to be best prepared for the experience.

So I'll try to give you a few details, which hopefully help a bit.

First of all the entrance area offers plenty of parking space. We arrived there mid of August 2025 at around 8:30 and were the 2nd car at the parking lot plus one guided tour entering the trail ahead of us, which we overtook pretty quickly.

The good thing about the round-trip trails is that you don't have to make a decision in advance. All three trails (red, yellow and green) start at the same point and then divide some time later. So you can make the decision at each bifurcation depending on how you feel at that point of your hike.

The green trail is more like a stroll and avoiding any of the lore difficult lava area. Which also means you're missing the vista platform, which the red and the yellow trail offer.

We originally planned to do the Red trail, but after going up and down through a lot of lava, my 19 y/o daughter and I decided at the fork between the red and yellow trail to take the yellow trail instead. The best parts were already behind us (going through the lava and the jungle) and we also had had our share of steep steps and loose rocks.

We weren't sure if the yellow trail was really the easier way (surely it's the shorter way with only 3 km vs. 5 km for the Red trail), because right at the fork the yellow trail continues to go down steeply. But that fortunately ended pretty quickly and the rest of the yellow trail was quite pleasant.

I can't say what you're getting to see extra taking the red way, but it looked to us like more of the same and definitely some additional up and down. Since we had covered a lot of jungle already during our days in Monteverde, I don't think we missed something that we hadn't seen before.

I will add a map of the park for your convenience and also a few photos of the trail itself showing the worst parts you'll encounter so that you can make a good decision.

We covered the yellow trail in roughly 1 hour. We were slowed down by the many steps up and especially the steps down, since you have to watch your step to not end up putting your foot on loose rocks and pumice stone. We also took plenty of photos.

All in all it's a great walk, but even in the morning with only 25 degrees Celsius you'll be sweating profoundly due to the height differences you need to cover. I'll give the yellow trail a medium difficulty rating. It's not an easy stroll and you have to watch your steps, but it is doable if this is not your first 5 km walk. Bring solid footwear and don't even think of bringing a stroller. You will definitely regret it unless you choose the green trail.

Even without a guide, we got to see a single (male) coati right at the beginning of the trail, plenty of different birds, a big frog, a few butterflies, a small dragon fly, plenty of ants and lots of lava rocks and jungle.

We've had enough guided tours in Monteverde, so we didn't want to spend too much time listening to detailed explanations here again. But if this is your first tour in the jungle, you might want to consider taking a guide to get to see more of the animal life, which you'll otherwise most...

I went on a guided tour of the 1968 Trail near the Arenal Volcano with Jacamar Naturalist Tours during my stay in La Fortuna. We started at 8 AM and spent the morning exploring this trail.

The trailhead was about a 20 minute drive from La Fortuna. I was promptly picked up at my hostel by a shuttle and driven to the private reserve. We had a small group of around 7 people.

The hike began by following through the forest at the base of the volcano. My guide's name was Jairo and we walked at a leisurely pace as he explained the history of the Arenal Volcano and pointed out various plants and trees along the way. Eventually, the trail led out of the forest and into the open where we walked on old lava flows from the last major eruption in 1968. It was amazing to see how the vegetation had grown back and was so lush and mature after only 50 years. After we got out of the forest section at the beginning, there were some fantastic views of the volcano along the trail. I hiked this trail on a beautiful, sunny and clear day with few clouds in the sky so it was great to be able to see the entire volcano not covered by clouds!

The hike was enjoyable and pleasant. There were some ups and downs but overall, it was an easy to moderate hike. For most of the hike, we did not encounter any other people. The only exception was at the main viewpoint of the Arenal Volcano where there were some other groups. The viewpoint was on top of a built-up lava flow and offered amazing views of the volcano. It was the highlight of the hike and was a great place for photo opportunities.

We then hiked back to the beginning of the trail where we were provided with a snack of fresh fruit (mmm pineapple and cantaloupe melon) and then shuttled back to our accommodations.

Jairo was a great guide - very knowledgeable about the area and plant life and a friendly and personable personality. Unfortunately, I didn't see any wildlife on this hike aside from a bunch of leafcutter ants.

As I was traveling solo and did not have a car rental, I was glad that I had booked a guided tour. It was a good way to learn more about the history and area and plant life while hiking and the price of the tour would have been cheaper than taking a taxi there and back to La Fortuna and paying the entrance fee. If you do come on your own though and have a car, there are a number of other trails in this private reserve that you can hike as well and may be nice.

I thoroughly enjoyed my morning spent exploring...

I COMPLETELY understand how confusing it is to book a walking tour around Arenal. There are MANY different companies in different sections all with the same name. So here’s the breakdown:

Arenal Volcano Lodge has a $12 SMALL museum, a few walking trails, and a restaurant with a view. The drive is about 45 minutes from La Fortuna. To be honest during the month of March it is very cloudy. Therefore the view was slightly obstructed for the volcano and we never saw past the bottom half. It will be up to you in your trip if the “view” from the lodge is worth the drive. Arenal National Park. $15 to enter, no guide, multiple trails based on your ability and your preferences. Some walk to the lava rocks, other focus more on the flora. Arenal 1968 Private Company. It is $15 per person to enter with no guide. If you would like a guide (which I highly suggest) it is $30 per person INCLUDING the entrance fee but no transportation included. We had a guide named Issac who was absolutely INCREDIBLE. He was very knowledgeable about birds, insects, reptiles, snakes, lizards and everything to do with biodiversity. He was also willing to talk with us about Costa Rica and it’s history. We saw many other couples and groups walking this trail without a guide and they seemed very bored or lost. As you can see many of the other reviews say “it’s $15 to see rocks” which I completely understand. Therefore I would not suggest doing any of these walks without a guide because the information is truly beneficial. Issac pointes out countless plants, birds, animals, and even snakes! I also completely understand budget travel as I have been a backpacker for 2 years but again if this is something you would like to do, this is not something I would skip the guide on. The hike is decently steep, however my father-in-law at 52 could clim it, he was just a bit out of breath. They also encourage the use of drones around their sector of the park!

So now that you understand your options, I cannot say enough how much we recommend...