Mirador el Silencio — Attraction in La Fortuna

A private villa at a small resort with thermal pools, a pool bar, a nice restaurant, and even some farm animals - what could be better!

The location is not in walking distance ... to anything, but taxis are only $10 to/from La Fortuna and Uber is just a couple of US dollars. But staying here has many advantages not available within the town. The grounds were beautiful with colorful tiger plants, many trees, and lots of birds gathering near the restaurant.

I think there are only 24 villas, so going from your villa to the pools, restaurant, or farm is just a short walk - not trams needed as is required for some of the very large resorts in the area. The hot baths were very soothing after a day of walking, and not at all crowded. Depending on the wind direction, you could smell some of the farm scents when walking from one place to another, but the slight detraction was more than made up for by seeing the animals, especially the white peacocks, as well their colorful cousins, walking the grounds.

We had dinner at the hotel restaurant both nights of our stay. The dishes were very tasty and quite reasonably priced. One night we shared an entree and the chef divided it into two plates (like Jesus with the fish and loaves, the division seemed to include a multiplication effect). Breakfasts were awesome also with a few options of traditional Costa Rican, pancakes, omelets and other choices. Plus there was a table full of delicious fruits, juices, yogurt, and more.

When we booked our reservation, the only villas available were two bed options. Reception contacted me a week or so before our arrival to see if my wife and I would prefer a villa with a king bed. Exactly what we wanted, and so thoughtful of them to check with us. We arrived just after noon. While our room was not yet available, the folks in reception stored our luggage and called a taxi for us when we were ready to go into town for lunch and our tour.

I can't image a better place to stay for a few nights of sight seeing in the La...

Fantastic hike for a breathtaking view of Volcan Arenal. After you check in at the rangers station, take the first trail on the right. About five minutes on fairly flat trails there are two large troops of spider monkeys jumping from tree to tree, very entertaining. Mirador El Silencio is the best bang for your buck at $8US. Make sure to get a printed map but also take a picture of the big map for just incase. The trails are well maintained. I call it an advanced hike because it's like a huge 31/2 hour leg day. Up and down steps/tree roots with a backpack on. It's a very tropical rainforest with lots of birds and sounds. When you reach the parking lot where the lazy people drive up to, there is a trail to the right corner leading to the 1968 lava field. It's a good trail but watch you don't twist your ankle. We were very fortunate to have a clear view of the volcano. Turn around and keep on following the trail down and keep to the right if you want more rainforest hiking. Through the meadow with grazing cattle and back up toward the road. As you head down towards the rangers station there is a very nice challenging rainforest trail on the right, number two I think. It goes up and down and around through thick vegetation. It eventually comes back out to the road that leads to the rangers. If you decide to do the outer loop like we did, do it on a rain free day. The roots and steps could cause a serious problem for you. We talked about what if it was raining and you sprained your ankle? You would lie there for a while. We were the only morning hikers as it was 90°+ that day.

We walked in running shoes. Our hiking boots were too heavy from hiking the day before. Water, snacks, sweat rags and fancy cameras are all you need. Try to keep your backpack on the light side. Mirador El Silencio was a highlight for sure and we will do the same trails next spring before...

This was recommended to us as we wanted to see the 1968 lava fields and it is both cheaper ($10/person or 5,000 CRC/person) than the main other option and also well suited to small children as you can drive up to a car park closer to the viewpoint and then there's a 1.2km trail to walk (there and back).

This was all true and was ideal for us with a 4 year old (and wearing a baby). There's a lot of steps and some are quite high/uneven but we all managed fine and it wasn't a long walk. We actually came back down via the Lago Verde route instead which was mostly a smoother trail / step free but then had a short flight of even but steeper steps at the end.

There were a lot of tour groups coming up and down the main route and it's not all wide enough for 2 to pass, so it was good to come back down the other way, we didn't see anyone on that route. We did it in the rain and it was a nice walk anyway. Lots of different plants from those you see elsewhere in the area too.

You stop in a car park at the bottom by the information hut to pay for entry then they let you up the track if you want to drive to the next car park for the loop we did, which had...