Your Arenal (La Fortuna) CME conference.

Arenal after your study day

Study days finish at 2:00 PM local time. For an easy afternoon, choose one outing near your study setting: the La Fortuna Waterfall, a soak in the River Tabacon hot springs, or a look at the volcano itself. Leave time for getting there and for rain, which the tourism board says falls frequently in the northern plains.

Travel, accommodation and admission are arranged separately. Your conference follows your specialty and interests; the volcano country is the setting you choose for it.

The volcano and the waterfall

Arenal Volcano covers 33 square kilometers and sits 7 kilometers from La Fortuna. It has been active since July 29, 1968, and the tourism board says its activity has decreased significantly since 2011. Around it are two very different landscapes: dense green vegetation, and areas of lava and sand.

La Fortuna Waterfall is about 70 meters high and has pools for cooling off. It is near the road to Chato Hill, an extinct volcano 1,140 meters high with a greenish crater lagoon about 550 meters across.

Hot springs

The mineral-rich volcanic waters feed hot springs around La Fortuna. The River Tabacon springs have an average temperature of 37 degrees Celsius and flow freely into the river. The tourism board lists hot springs among the dry-season activities at Arenal Volcano National Park and adds that you can enjoy them all year round.

Lake Arenal and hanging bridges

Lake Arenal is an artificial lake covering 87.8 square kilometers at 546 meters elevation. Activities there include boat tours, kayaking, fishing, water skiing, windsurfing and stand-up paddleboarding.

Tourism companies in La Fortuna, La Virgen and Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí offer suspension bridges, nature trails and canopy tours. Hanging-bridge walks in La Fortuna are listed for the green season, and the region has about 500 kilometers of waterways to paddle.

Wildlife and rivers beyond the volcano

Black Reed Wildlife Refuge protects a wetland of about 10,171 hectares and is reached by boat on the Frío River. Migratory birds arrive from January to March, and the region’s wetlands and forests also support water birds, reptiles, mammals and the prehistoric Gaspar fish. Tenorio National Park and the Celeste River have a 7-kilometer trail past hot springs, fumaroles and a sky-blue waterfall.

The Toro Amarillo Waterfalls in Bajos del Toro measure 90 meters high, at an elevation of 1,442 meters. The Sarapiquí River is 84 kilometers long, and Vara Blanca, Cinchona and La Paz Waterfall are listed near the town of Sarapiquí. Juan Castro Blanco National Park lies east of Ciudad Quesada. In Sarapiquí, the tourism board lists wildlife dock tours and whitewater rafting, and calls the area a stronghold of the endangered great green macaw and a scientific research site. These are outings of their own, so compare each one’s distance with your plans.

Culture and quieter water

The Maleku Indigenous Reserve is near Guatuso along the Frío River, with villages including El Sol, Margarita and Tonjibe and a population of about 600 people. Cote Lagoon, at roughly 680 meters above sea level and about 1 kilometer across, is used for boat trips and artisanal fishing; it may be an extinct crater.

Local turnos are outdoor festivals with bull riding and livestock auctions. The tourism board also offers cultural guides, in English and Spanish, for La Fortuna, Bijagua, Sarapiquí and Caño Negro, which are worth a look before you decide where to spend an afternoon.

When to visit Arenal

In the northern plains, the tourism board lists wildlife tours at Caño Negro and Arenal Volcano National Park, ATV tours around Arenal and hot springs for the dry season, December to April. The green season, May to November, brings birdwatching around Arenal, white-water rafting on the Sarapiquí River and hanging-bridge walks in La Fortuna and Sarapiquí. The tourism board says frequent rains keep the region’s forests wet and evergreen.

Getting to Arenal and your study setting

Costa Rica’s main international gateway is Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO), in Alajuela, near San José. Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR) in Liberia mainly receives flights for tourists visiting Guanacaste, Monteverde and La Fortuna. La Fortuna is 7 kilometers from the volcano, and tourism services are growing in the region.

The map shows straight-line distances from Shift’s designated center. These are orientation distances, not driving distances or travel-time estimates. Check your exact address against the conference’s check-in area before booking.