The Arenal Volcano is one of the most amazing places to see in Costa Rica. I traveled there this weekend to check out what everyone says is a must see for anyone that visits Costa Rica.

Arenal is Costa Rica’s most active volcano…and those that are lucky (not me unfortunately) witness a nightly show of lava spewing out of the massive mountain. But lava or not…the Arenal volcano is definitely a sight to be seen.

The town itself is a charming small town. There are plenty of sodas (restaurants with traditional Costa Rican cuisine) and stores selling overpriced tourist souvenirs. There is not much of a nightlife downtown, however a short cab ride away there is a big club that is half filled with Ticos, and the other half with tourists studying Spanish or on exchange programs with plenty of bumpin music and sometimes live bands.

The highlight of the trip however was my visit to the Baldi hot springs nearby. Since Arenal is an active volcano (one of the few in the world), there are natural thermal waters heated by the Volcano that have been constructed to flow into an awe-inspiring resort. The resort is massive and VERY impressively constructed. There are several pools filled with heavenly hot water and surrounded by palm trees and some with cascading waterfalls and swim up bars (with very overpriced drinks). The best part is that the volcano is visible from almost everywhere and towers over the entire resort. One of the pools has a huge tower that can be climbed for a better view of the Volcano from up above and a huge waterslide. The waterslide seemed to be the most popular pastime for all the kids- although some of them looked like they would leave with some bruises on their backsides from the bumpy ride. The hot springs made for an amazing day of just relaxing in the water and enjoying the spectacular volcano views

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Filed under: Travel on July 3rd, 2007