Tenorio Volcano National Park: Our most recommended tours and activities

From La Fortuna: Rio Celeste Full-Day Tour

1. From La Fortuna: Rio Celeste Full-Day Tour

Start your full-day tour with a scenic drive from La Fortuna to the Tenorio Volcano National Park. Head out on a 4-hour hike that will take some effort but is definitely worth it. At the end of the hike you’ll have reached the Rio Celeste. The river’s blue color is the result of a chemical reaction between 2 merging rivers having different volcanic minerals. This rare phenomenon creates a fairy tale-like beauty. Visit a waterfall and a lookout point for great views and see the place where the river changes color. Your guide will point out local wildlife on this adventure as well. After your hike, enjoy a delicious lunch before the drive back to La Fortuna.

Monteverde: Sky Walk, Sky Tram & Sky Trek Ziplining Tour

2. Monteverde: Sky Walk, Sky Tram & Sky Trek Ziplining Tour

Explore Monteverde in a new way by getting a new perspective on the forest through the Sky Walk, SKy Tram, and the Sky Trek system of zip lines to admire the forest from the air. Spot different flora and fauna from the air, and admire the cloud forest, Arenal Volcano, Miravelles, and Orosi Volcanoes. Begin the tour with the Sky Walk guided tour, which combines trails and suspension bridges of varying lengths and heights above the canopy of the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Enjoy the flora and fauna of the area while being immersed in the forest's canopy, and learn from a guide specializing in the forest. Next, enjoy the Sky Tram portion of the tour, and have the opportunity to ride through the forest with short stops to observe the forest's biodiversity, and spot Arenal, Tenorio, Miravilles, and Orosi Volcanoes, and admire the Nicoya Gulf and Guanacaste Plain if the weather permits. For the final portion of the tour, enjoy the Sky Trek system of zip lines, which combined cover over 2.5 miles of distance through the forest. Enjoy a unique experience of adventure and adrenaline with speeds up to 40 miles per hour and distances ranging up to 2500 feet and heights of 524 feet. Absorb the views from five different observation towers over the cloud forest's treetops offering a panoramic view of the surroundings. Try the Sky Trek Vertigo drop, perfect for anyone looking for an adrenaline-filled activity.

Rio Celeste: Tubing Tour with Snacks and Drinks

3. Rio Celeste: Tubing Tour with Snacks and Drinks

Expereince the rush of spilling over the rapids of the turquoise Celeste River on this tubing tour in Katira. Spot colorful birds, monkeys, and frogs as you float safely along with the provided safety helmet and life vest. Refuel with some delicious fruit and drinks that are included in the tour.  Meet your guide and get set up with your well-maintained tubing gear. Set off down the river through dense jungle over the blue water. Keep an eye out for local birds like toucans, bear-necked umbrella birds, woodpeckers, and hummingbirds.  Awaken your inner adrenaline junkie as you glide over rapids on this family-friendly adventure. Relax and get some incredible photos of this area that is just outside the Tenorio National Park. 

La Fortuna: Rio Celeste Hike and Don Alexis Farm

4. La Fortuna: Rio Celeste Hike and Don Alexis Farm

Discover one of the hidden mysteries of Costa Rica tucked away, close to Tenorio Volcano National Park. Go on a 4-hour hike through the beautiful rainforest. Along the way, visit the lagoon and Los Teñideros, where two streams with different minerals and chemical compositions meet and change color to form a heavenly turquoise blue. The last stop of the day is at the magnificent Rio Celeste Waterfall. A short hike will bring you back for lunch at the Don Alexis Farm, where you can swim in the river and refresh after this great day.

La Fortuna: Rio Celeste Full Day Tour

5. La Fortuna: Rio Celeste Full Day Tour

Discover one of the hidden mysteries of Costa Rica tucked next to the Tenorio´s Volcano. We will take a 4 hours hike through the beautiful rainforest. Along the way, we will visit the Los Teñideros, a magical place where two streams with different minerals and chemical composition meet and change the water to a heavenly turquoise blue color. At the last stop we will enjoy the magnificent Rio Celeste Waterfall. After the national park we will stop for a picture with our giant ARBOL DE LA PAZ. Once on the way we will have a delicious costarican lunch, after we will hike trought the farm to check cacao, pineaple, corn, banana and many more plantations to finish enjoing a pristine pool in the Rio Celeste to swim. After this relaxing time we are ready to come back to La Fortuna.

Sloth Tour and Rain Forest hike to see Rio Celeste Waterfall

6. Sloth Tour and Rain Forest hike to see Rio Celeste Waterfall

This tour is the best way to see the rain forest, sloths and more wildlife. The waterfall is a sky blue color waterfall which you can access by walking through the rainforest. In addition to the hike through the rainforest to see the Rio Celeste waterfall, we will also have access to a butterfly farm that is included with the typical lunch that we will have at the end of the tour. Morpho butterflies will surprise you with their beautiful blue color. Sloths, butterflies, toucans, frogs, monkeys and other wildlife as well as hike through the rainforest to see the Rio Celeste Waterfall will make this tour one of the best experiences you can have.

Katira: Adventure Tubing and Zipline Tour in Rio Celeste

7. Katira: Adventure Tubing and Zipline Tour in Rio Celeste

The best combo tour in Costa Rica, fantastic zip line adventure in Rio Celeste, the only adventure of its kind in the area. It is a special tour, with 7 lines and from the heights you can observe the majestic river, fauna such as birds, sloths and endemic trees of Costa Rica, our guided tour is incredible, fun together with our famous tubing tour, an adventure through the river with rapids, adrenaline, pools of water for swimming. It is an adventure that you cannot miss when you visit Costa Rica.

Rio Celeste Hike & Sloths Wild Life

8. Rio Celeste Hike & Sloths Wild Life

Hike through the tropical rain forest and discover many picture-perfect sights along the way. Visit “Los Teñideros”, see the volcano's furnace vents, the magnificent Rio Celeste waterfall, and 2 species of sloths at the Sloth Sanctuary. Once at Tenorio Volcano National Park, your guide will give a short introduction, and then the hike starts going through the tropical rain forest, where fauna and flora are plentiful. During the hike, visit “Los Teñideros”, where two streams of crystalline water come together and form the astonishing blue color that gives the river its name. Come by the volcano’s furnace vents that expel gases of extremely high temperatures, and get the chance to take a dip in the natural hot springs. See the spectacular Rio Celeste waterfall. Head to the Sloths Sanctuary, where you will see 2 different species of sloths and wildlife in their natural habitat. The final reward will be an exquisite traditional meal at the end of your journey.

Tamarindo: Celeste River and Llanos de Cortez Waterfall

9. Tamarindo: Celeste River and Llanos de Cortez Waterfall

Embark on an adventure and discover sloths, beautiful waterfalls, and a true bluewater river. Start off with a hike through Tenorio Volcano National Park and discover the rainforest in a 2 hour easy to moderate hike.  Marvel at the Celeste River, one of the most popular rivers in Costa Rica, well known around the world by its particular natural color from light blue to turquoise.  In addition to the stunning beauty of the water, the river also has several thermal hot springs and boiling mud pots. Plumes of volcanic gases are expelled and in some places give the appearance of boiling water. Visit a 98-foot waterfall and take in the stunning atmosphere.  After your swim, a small hike leads you to the place where sloths are at a very low height in their natural environment, as well as toucans and red-eyed leaf frogs.  Enjoy a country-style Costa Rican lunch with salad, rice, beans, and options for meat, chicken, or fish. On your way to one of Costa Rica's most beautiful waterfalls, the Llanos de Cortez waterfalls with a 65-foot height and 49-foot width drop into a tranquil pond with a white sandy beach, that's perfect for swimming and sunbathing.

Katira: Adventure Zipline Tour in Rio Celeste

10. Katira: Adventure Zipline Tour in Rio Celeste

The best combo tour in Costa Rica, fantastic zip line adventure in Rio Celeste, the only adventure of its kind in the area. It is a special tour, with 7 lines and from the heights you can observe the majestic river, fauna such as birds, sloths and endemic trees of Costa Rica. The best combo tour in Costa Rica, fantastic zip line adventure in Rio Celeste, the only adventure of its kind in the area. It is a special tour, with 7 lines and from the heights you can observe the majestic river, fauna such as birds, sloths and endemic trees of Costa Rica

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Things to do in
Tenorio Volcano National Park

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What people are saying about Tenorio Volcano National Park

Overall rating

4.6 / 5

based on 108 reviews

Had a wonderful time exploring Rio Celeste on this tour! The hike was a good workout (3.5+ mi with a lot of stairs down/up to the waterfall), which I really enjoyed. Mario was an awesome, energetic guide who made the experience fun. Rio Celeste is a must-see in Costa Rica - would highly recommend this tour esp if you’re a solo traveler!

Our guide, Christian, was excellent! He was extremely knowledgeable and could spot hidden wildlife easily. He was funny and made our hike bearable, as it heavily rained midway through our tour. He showed us the best spots for photographs, and served as our photographer! We also ate a delicious local lunch! I highly recommend this tour.

I definitely recommend this trip. Santiago was super nice, knowledgeable and made sure everyone had a great time. Rio Celeste was very beautiful. Swimming in the river was great and even the food was very tasty. All in all a perfect tour.

It was a really nice tour! The water was not so blue because of the rain and clouds but it was still very enjoyable. Our guide showed us two snakes, a frog, caterpillar, monkeys and many plants that smelled and tasted amazing!

La caminata por el bosque es increíble. Y las tirolesas wooooow si eres fan de la adrenalina y aventura obvio debes hacerlas