Hello we did the same amount of time there without a car. We used taxis. Our hotel helped arrange them and it worked out great. It was cheaper that the hop on shuttle. Try to group places that are near each other together to save money. We did zip line then our taxi picked us up and took us to the bridges. The people in CR are very friendly and helpful.

Ales, You should go on the sites of the attractions you are considering and contact them directly re reservations, entry fees, advance online bookings, etc. E.g., Mistico hanging bridges (https://www.misticopark.com/) has this on their Home page and on the ticket booking pages - whether you want to do a self-guided entrance [which would be my choice] or one of their own guided tours: “Important: It is mandatory for all our activities a previous reservation in our website, you will need to present your web ticket at our reception desk”. You might want to go either very early in AM (there are 12 entrance times for self-guided visits - https://www.misticopark.com/tours/self-guided-hanging-bridges) or in the afternoon, hoping for less crowds. Your entrance time decision might also depend on the immediate weather forecast, once you are in the area.

SkyAdventure Arenal Park shows the times for each of the experiences they offer - https://skyadventures.travel/ . Read the section “ Best Prices Available” at the very bottom of the page. You might save a bit, if you book a pkg.

Both the above attractions offer to add the cost of transportation to the price of the tickets. It will be added per person, and there might be other travellers sharing the pick up and return trips with you, so you would need to decide if this makes more sense than Easy Hop, if applicable, or taxis, Ubers, etc. When you go to check out the booking of your tickets to SkyAdventure or to Mstico, you can select Yes to the Transportation and see the price from your hotel, then decide.

If you decide to hike the trails of Arenal Observatory Lodge near the volcano, their site explains which of their 2 types of passes needs to be reserved in advance - https://www.arenalobservatorylodge.com/day-passes/ . You don’t need a guide there. We saw various birds, sometimes monkeys, coatis, insects, frogs, etc without a guide. If you are birders and want to take advantage of visiting this Costa Rica’s birding hot spot, you could arrange for a guided birding tour. Property/trails map - https://www.arenalobservatorylodge.com/property-map/ , description of each trail - https://www.arenalobservatorylodge.com/free-activities/ . Their restaurant’s Lunch If you read recent trip report reports, you will see that some visitors used Ubers to visit this lodge for a day.

Unlike some other commercial hot springs offering full day or even 2-day passes with in/out privileges, Ecotermales passes are for half a day, within specific hours - a day time or in the evening. “DAY PASS from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. NIGHT PASS from 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm”.

The local shared shuttle in Arenal/La Fortuna area is Easy Hop https://www.easyhop.co/rutas/la-fortuna-en . It operates during day time.

For Rio Celeste, there are lots of choices, tours with transportation, which won’t be inexpensive. E.g., with Desafio, it is currently US100+tax pp - https://www.desafiocostarica.com/tour-detail/rio-celeste-national-park-blue-waterfall-costa-rica-guided-hike-rainforest-celestial-blue-color-adventure-tenorio-national-park-miravalles-volcanoes-rural-villages-hiking-nature-guide-la-fortuna . You might be interested to read the tips available at https://casitastenorio.com/rio-celeste-and-the-volcano-tenorio-national-park/ about visiting that attraction.

In Post 3, there was a typo- Their restaurant’s Lunch hrs end at 4:30 pm, which is convenient, if you need a meal after the hike - https://www.arenalobservatorylodge.com/restaurant-el-jilguero/ .

I was told by the concierge at our hotel that taxi is cheaper than adding transportation to activity when you book. But we had 5 of us. Just FYI.

Ales, There have been some replies on your last month’s Rio Celeste thread - https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g17484635-i48808-k14691967-Rio_Celeste_from_La_Fortuna_without_rent_a_car-La_Fortuna_La_Fortuna_de_San_Carlos_Aren.html .

My understanding is that you have a total of 2 adults travelling together. Your transportation decision will likely vary from someone travelling in a large group of 5, for ex. As mentioned in Post 3, “Both the above attractions [SkyAdventure and Mistico] offer to add the cost of transportation to the price of the tickets. It will be added per person, and there might be other travellers sharing the pick up and return trips with you, so you would need to decide if this makes more sense than Easy Hop, if applicable, or taxis, Ubers, etc. When you go to check out the booking of your tickets to SkyAdventure or to Mstico, you can select Yes to the Transportation and see the price from your hotel, then decide.”

Hello.

Thank you for a lot of useful information. We are only 2 adults and stay in a hotel in downtown La Fortuna. Just a question how much does cost a taxi or Uber per 2 adults in each of those locations one way or return? On return, there are some taxis or Uber or we must call them?

Kind regards.Ales