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Rio Celeste Waterfall Hike from Arenal: Explore the Magic of Tenorio Volcano National Park
4.8
27 Ratings
La Fortuna
Embark on a thrilling hike to Rio Celeste Waterfall in Tenorio Volcano National Park. Discover the mesmerizing celestial blue waters, learn about the rainforest’s biodiversity, and witness the magical transformation of the rivers. Enjoy a delicious lunch and convenient hotel transport.
Duration:
6 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio - Rio Celeste located within the Tenorio Volcano National Park is located about 1.5 hours from La Fortuna. We can pick you up at your hotel or rental home and take you on a guided excursion to one of Costa Rica’s Top Ten Natural Wonders. The celestial color of the waters that flow from the impressive waterfall are a true sight to behold.
Once your guide picks you up, you’ll be taken on back roads to the park entrance. There are restrooms and changing facilities located there. There is an approximately 1-hour hike to do to see the waterfall. Along the way enjoy the deep rainforest that surrounds you on the trail.
The trail circles back to the starting point where you’ll rest up and then enjoy a pack lunch.
What's Included
- Local guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Lunch
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Embark on a day journey to the crystal blue waters of Tenorio Volcano National Park, starting from La Fortuna. Navigate your way through a dense forest, gain knowledge about the rainforest’s flora and fauna from a knowledgeable guide and witness the celestial blue RÃo Celeste waterfall and its shimmering azure lagoon. Experience further enchantment at Los Teñideros, a location where two rivers unite and marvel as the water turns into a brilliant turquoise. Understand the reason for this color shift and, after your exploration, feast on a sumptuous meal at a local eatery. Comfortable transportation from your hotel, with air conditioning, is provided.
- A moderate amount of walking is required
- It is recommended that you wear comfortable walking shoes
- Please bring a change of clothes, sunglasses, insect repellent and water
- Tour departs from La Fortuna
- A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
Location
Desafio Adventure Company
We are located behind the Central Church in Downtown La Fortuna.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(27 Ratings)
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Kerrim848
Jul 9, 2024
No need for a tour guide - So beautiful! We didn't hire a tour guide and were glad we didn't. It definitely wasn't necessary here. Some of our group saw howler monkeys.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lara
Jun 3, 2024
Beautiful and interesting-lots of wildlife! Our guide Helvin was amazing! - Helvin was so knowledgeable and could spot the wildlife, hook up his scope and camera so we could see them. Beautiful waterfalls but couldn't get in them. 2 colors of rivers meet here-super cool!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Vickie_p
May 6, 2024
Rio Celeste waterfall is breathtaking - This waterfall was worth the drive to see. It was breathtaking! Roy was our tour guide and was very knowledgeable. It was an 1 1/2 hour from La fortuna. We hiked about 2 hours total to see waterfall. It’s about 250 steps down to waterfall. Roy talked about all the foilage in the park. He also showed us a free. Snake, baby viper, and toucan birds. We ate a wonderful Costa Rican lunch on the way back. Roy also stopped when he spotted a sloth in the tree to show us. Totally worth it to see this waterfall.
Review provided by Viator
Jane_n
Apr 2, 2024
fantastic trip - Really enjoyed the day, the Rio celeste really does look as blue as the pics. Kenia our guide was great and knowledgeable. We had a fabulous swim at a great swim spot later too.
Review provided by Viator
Peter_s
Mar 10, 2024
Great experience - Very enjoyable experiance which was made even better by our guide Cathys. She was very knowledgeable about the area, answered all of our questions and just had a really nice vibe.
Would recommend
Review provided by Viator
Janinep40
Nov 18, 2023
Rio Celeste Tour - We had a very knowledgeable guide-Crystal- take us to the NP, and her driver was willing to stop to see interesting points along the way (toucan, peace tree, poisonous dart frog).
You can not take food, single use plastics, cigarettes or drones into the park, and bags are checked before entering.
Fruit (pineapple and lychee) snack before our hike.
Crystal was thorough in sharing her knowledge, answering questions, taking photos while hiking over varied terrain. Wear solid well soled footwear as paths are natural (roots, rocks, debris) and can be slippery. Lots of steps down and back from waterfall.
Be prepared with bug spray, sunscreen, hat, rain gear.
Typical CR meal after the hike. 1 1/2-2 hr drive back to La Fortuna.
We learned so much today!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ypc5znkvpb
Aug 25, 2023
Great tour! 100% recommendations - Thanks to Samantha, our tour guide, we had a great tour!
We saw a sloth just 10 mins after leave the hotel. She is so knowledgeable and looking out for wildlife for us all the time. We saw a lot animals!
The tour itself it’s great as well. The tour only have 2 of us so end up been a private tour! The whole tour is followed by our own pace.
Review provided by Viator
Karina
Apr 8, 2023
Beautiful Hike & Awesome Guide! - We had an amazing time on this tour! Our guide went above and beyond to point out wildlife and help take pictures, and we even stopped at a few wildlife hotspots on the ride back to La Fortuna after the hike! He warned us in advance that the river wouldn't be bright blue because of the rain, but it was still a beautiful turquoise color and a really fun hike. There was a miscommunication about our pickup location in the morning, but we contacted Desafio and they helped us resolve the issue quickly. We really appreciate their flexibility and communication, and we're so glad we were able to join the tour despite the mishap in the morning! I'd rate this experience more than 5 stars if I could!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kathleen_l
Mar 6, 2024
Wrong pick up time - Unfortunately Viator did not give us the right pick up time and we missed our pick up. Our tour guide JP came back to get us which was very much appreciated. It was a long drive to Rio Celeste but well worth it. There were some in the group that was having a hard to
E with the hike and JP was very in tune to that. They did not go all the way to the end but instead stopped after the waterfall. We kept going with JP. For those that don’t normally hike, it was a tough hike
Review provided by Viator
Richard_h
Feb 23, 2024
Not informed about pickup in a timely manner - It was our first day in Costa Rica after arriving late. The pickup destination was entered weeks ago. At 11:00 a.m. the day before, while we were in the air, they messaged they could not pick up at 7:30 a.m. at our location. They said we had to leave at 6:20 a.m. . I asked for a refund and they refused. We could not be ready at that time after arriving late, so we we're not able to go. Very disappointing.
Review provided by Viator
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