San Jose

San Jose trip ideas

Arenal Volcano and Baldi Hot Spring

San Jose, Costa Rica

10 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Offered in: English

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Overview

What's Included

Lunch

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

Type to search

Pickup points

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End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

It will pass through all the hotels

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation

Infant seats available
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Fabienne_R

It was a great trip👍😃😃our guide mario was very nice &funny it is a very long day but it's worth it!! The view to the arenal volcano is stunning and you can take very nice fotos from the viewing point🙂,and the hot springs are amazing we had enough time to enjoy them and dinner was very delicious🙂!so i can absolutly recommend this tour😃😃!!

Reviews

4.0

14 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 14 reviews

Full day of sightseeing

Destinie_H, Jan 2024

Raul and Henry did a great job navigating the tour. We had many stops throughout the day and I really felt immersed in the culture. Good recommendation for a solo traveler

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Thank you for using our services and that you enjoyed the tours. We hope you recommend us to your friends. They are at your service. VIAJES NANA & NANA TOURS

Filander our driver and guide was exceptional. Highly recommend to ask for him.

kersi_e, Nov 2023

The drive to Fortuna and the Baldi hot spring resort. Our guide and driver, Filander was excellent and made our drive very enjoyable.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Hello, thank you for your words for the service I receive, I hope you recommend us to your friends and when you return we are here to serve you at VIAJES NANA & NANA TOURS

Arenal volcano&hot springs

Fabienne_R, Oct 2023

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Hello, I appreciate your words, I hope you come back to see the other tours that the country offers and help us with recommendations to your family and friends. Thank you VIAJES NANA & NANA TOURS

Misleading Tour description - No Arenal Volcano and only a couple of hours at the hot springs

David_Y, Oct 2023

For full transparency: We were looking for a day trip for the next day and it was already almost midnight so we only looked for options on Viator that showed availability for the next morning as most tours did not show availability for the next day as it was so late. After the tour, I did contact the tour operator to ask for a partial refund due to the following issues, but was told because we signed up so late, they had to put this tour together last minute, complied with what we signed up for, so no refund would be issued. I also contacted the booking site Viator; they were sorry to hear about our experience but would not issue a refund. So the day began with the tour operator arriving to pick us up 1.5 hours late for the scheduled 8:30am pickup. Since no one showed up at 8:30, we had to ask our hotel to call them and they needed to look into it since they didn't seem to know about our booking. Once they saw our booking, they called and said that the pickup would be 9:30 which did not happen. At a little past 10am, we were finally on our way. Due to the twisty rough roads and manual transmission of the van, one of my friends got car sick so the guide was kind to stop along the side of the road for a bit. As we continued the drive, we passed through a few towns and then stopped at a wood working workshop for 30 minutes where we got a quick tour and then time to buy souvenirs. We finally made it to the hot springs resort where we quickly changed and were then taken for lunch around 2pm. We were let loose to enjoy the hot springs until 5pm when we returned for dinner at the same place as our lunch. As we walked to the lunch spot, we asked about the volcano part of the tour and were told that it's overcast and can't see the volcano. There was no presentation of the history of the volcano or to drive around to see the base of it or the lava drains which were in the tour description. Instead, we were shown a photo on his phone from a google search, which he offered to email to us so we can see it; why would we want a web photo when we signed up with this tour to see it in person?! After spending a couple hours in the springs, we had dinner and then changed to head back around 6:30pm. The hot springs were very nice, although not natural, and the food was plenty as it was buffet style. We were provided with locks for lockers and a towel. Arthur was our guide and pleasant, but since he was called in last minute to run this tour and not employed by the tour operator, he was definitely rushing us to make what was probably set times for meals and final departure back to our hotel since additional passengers joined us back to San Jose. Although we enjoyed our time at the hot springs, the tour was definitely not as described and we would have liked to spend more time in the water than just a couple of hours. There was no Arenal Volcano component other than the hot springs were located at the base of it. Based on our experience, we would not choose this tour or this tour operator again. For half the price, we could have spent the entire day in the springs with two meals although the transportation to this remote location would be difficult using ride sharing and likely require hiring a driver for the day. In fact, we were turned off by our experience with this tour in Viator that we decided against our plans to do another tour through Viator and instead arranged our own coffee plantation excursion for the next day at 1/3 the price! We hope our experience with this tour on 10/1/2023 will prompt the tour operator to make changes so others do not come away from this tour disappointed and waste valuable vacation time to see the beauty of Costa Rica.

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Hello, it's a shame that our Agency tried to ensure that you enjoy the day of the tours, but after the pandemic we do not work 24 hours a day. When you called or those at the hotel, the help protocol was activated so that the day of the tours could not be resolved as soon as possible. soon possible because we are not magicians, since the hotel is far from the center and our company is on the other side of the city. Regarding the tours, everything that the brochure says was done. If your friend got dizzy, it wasn't because the mineban is a change and not automatic, it has nothing to do with him feeling bad. So that people don't think he was fooled by those hot springs. The water is natural and its purity is certified. The food is first class. You wanted to do the tours and we gave the best. You used all the services. WE ARE VERY REGRET THAT YOU DIDN'T ENJOY IT, but our service was of quality and we responded as soon as possible to Let them do the tours. Thank you.

Not a fun experience

Donna_L, May 2023

Terrible experience Tiny car with a guide that didn’t realize we didn’t want lectures so for hours we were stuck pretending to laugh at terrible jokes. The locations of the tour were all terrible.

Response from Host, May 2023

HELLO We are sorry that you did not like the tours, we believe that you did not see what the tours had and what was visited and the time on the way and that because they are tours, the Guide is giving you the explanation of the tours with their attractions such as tour tours in any Country we hope you enjoyed our country thanks for your comments

I’d definitely recommend and repeat

Debbie_A, Mar 2023

This tour was perfect! Mauricio was on time, very polite, considerate and nice. Although it was a long drive, he made it interesting and the van was clean & comfortable

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Thank you for your comments the tour is a bit long or but they have their stops of interest that are attractive on the tour to make it more interesting about transportation is a new unit that was assigned to Mauricio who is one of our guides at VIAJES MANA & NANA TOURS it is a pleasure to serve tourism we are waiting for you again

Excellent Tour for all ages

Veronica_G, Feb 2023

This tour is excellent for couples or older people. Our Tour guide Antonio was very attentive and tooks us to some beautiful towns and shopping. The restaurants they picked for us were excellent.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Hello, thank you for your words for this tour, we try to make tourists feel great with this tour and with all of us who make it ours. Guia is our greatest pride because tourists know our country through them. We ask you to recommend us to your family and friends. when you visit Costa Rica travel with us VIAJES NANA & NANA TOURS

Book This Tour!

MEL_W, Dec 2022

Baldi Hot Springs was worth every penny. Ricardo was the best guide to have and kept us entertained the whole time. We also made a few stops along the way to eat and sight see which was really nice! Highly recommend!

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Thank you for your word, we do not prepare for you to enjoy our country and we hope you come back again or recommend Viajes Nana / Nana Tours as your friend in Costa Rica we are waiting for you again

The tour is beautiful and...

Maria_T, Aug 2022

The tour is beautiful and the guide is super nice totally recommend when visiting Costa Rica. You cannot mis Bali Hot Springs

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Gracias por sus comentarios, eso nos ayuda a mejor cada día más, espero que tomen más tours estando en nuestro País y le pondremos al mismo Guía Eduardo Gracias por usar VIAJES NANA & NANA TOURS Thank you for your comments, that helps us to improve every day more, I hope you take more tours while in our country and we will put the same Guide Eduardo Thank you for using VIAJES NANA & NANA TOURS

Hotspring are very nice and the guide helpfull and sympatic

Victor_H, Jan 2022

Ricardo, the guide is very nice, helpfull, clever and he drives well. And it's not easy because the van was not such we could expect (old, insecure and tired). The only aim of this tour is to spend 4 hours in Baldi hotspring : this ressort is very nice and relaxing but you have to know this. You have to be aware that some part of the program could be forgotten. Thus, lunch under the volcano have be replaced by a lunch at 70 km without any view.

Response from Host, Jan 2022

Hello Víctor, I tell you that the restaurant is typical and the food is very typical, we look for the most typical restaurants of the place of view and I see that you like lunch and dinner in both places, we seek the well-being of our clients' comfort. We try to make our transports the best and we have all types of transport, we believe they are the best, we greatly appreciate your comments and they will be taken into account. Thank you for using our services as many clients have used them. Thank you.

Absolute highlight of our trip!

Mario_R, Mar 2021

Antonio, our tour guide, was phenomenal. He was very thorough and detailed in knowing all things: cultural, geographical, and environmental. Imagine going on a trip with your grandpa and listening to the pride and excitement in everything from food stands, small towns, and volcanic history. Definite highlight of our trip! Some helpful tips: 1. Bring entertainment for the lengthy journey back to San Jose. The departure journey was full of sights and stops for snacks but the return journey is once the sun has set so its just a straight 3 hour drive back. 2. Snacks were available to buy along the way and are highly recommended if you don't have snacks of your own. There's only one meal provided. Local currency mainly. If you can, recommend Antonio! He was a pure delight!

Response from Host, Mar 2021

Hello, thank you for your words for us, it is a pride that you enjoy this tours. Antonio is one of our star Guides since he knows a lot about Costa Rica, we are waiting for you on your next visit and that you recommend us to your friends and family.

El lugar genial

Karen_M, Jan 2023

Los lugares, muy bonitos, las termales son un sitio espectacular, el volcán estaba muy tapado así que no se vio muy bien, pero los dos sitios son muy lindos, es un viaje largo, el regreso a San José real en el hotel fue sobre las 10 pm . Y salida fue sobre las 7:30 am. Las comidas estuvieron bien. Fue un trasporte seguro y confiable.

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Hello, thank you for your words, if there are days that the Volcano gets a little cloudy, we try to make you enjoy the day of tours on the return, it may be that we had more traffic than normal, but thank you for your word for VIAJES NANA & NANA TOURS it was a pleasure attend to it please I hope you recommend us to your friends and family in all our tours that we always do at your service Hola gracias por su palabras, si hay días que el Volcan se nubla un poco tratamos que disfruten del día de tours sobre el regreso puede ser que tuviéramos más tránsito de lo normal, pero gracias por su palabra par VIAJES NANA & NANA TOURS fue un placer atenderla por favor espero nos recomiende con sus amigos y familiares en todo nuestros tours que hacemos siempre a sus órdenes