Río Celeste Full-Day Tour: Is It Worth It?

Río Celeste (“sky-blue river” in English) is a person of Costa Rica’s most stunning spots and absolutely truly worth a stop by if you’re in the La Fortuna area. Though it is achievable to go on your personal, it can be difficult to get to without the need of a rental motor vehicle, which I did not have.

As an alternative of getting to determine out all the transportation particulars, I opted to go on a whole-day tour from La Fortuna. Adhere all over to locate out: is the Rio Celeste tour really worth it?

My Expertise

I booked a complete-working day tour of Río Celeste and Tenorio Volcano Nationwide Park, not seriously realizing what to anticipate. I experienced heard about Río Celeste and it was certainly on my mind when I received to La Fortuna, but it is a 90-moment generate from wherever I was remaining, and I hadn’t rented a car. A spur-of-the-second decision led me to reserve the tour, specially after I did the math on how much it would price to get there on my very own, factoring in the admission fee to the countrywide park, snacks, and foods.

The $85 rate tag appeared a small significant at initially, but at the time, I was not particularly positive how to get to Río Celeste by means of general public transportation, and shelling out a taxi to choose me would have been about $50 each individual way, so that was a large no for me.

Looking at that the tour incorporates transportation, lunch, the entrance price to the countrywide park, and a naturalist guide, I assumed it was really worth the value, and so I booked it the working day in advance of. The van arrived about to decide on me up early, about 6am, and I was greeted by my guide, Carlos.

The push to Tenorio Volcano Nationwide Park, in which Río Celeste lies, was about 90 minutes but took a bit lengthier mainly because the tutorial spotted a sloth in a tree on the side of the road. How he was capable to see it from so far absent is a thriller to me continue to, but I was grateful for the halt, because I’m constantly down to see all those minor men munching on leaves way up in the trees.

At the time we bought to the park, the foggy environment was a little bit complicated. I questioned aloud if we would be equipped to see Río Celeste’s brilliant blue colour, and our guide reassured us that there was time to look at it out ahead of the rains arrived and built the h2o murky. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for disappointment.

As we hiked by the jungle, checking out the different crops and animals alongside the way, I was acquiring fired up about our to start with halt: the Catarata Río Celeste waterfall. As we approached, I could hear the thunderous roar of the thousands of gallons of h2o pouring into a pool under.

There are hundreds of measures top down to the waterfall, and the route was crowded with other website visitors, but the see on the way down was magnificent the full way. Compared with the Fortuna waterfall, you just cannot swim at the foundation of the Río Celeste waterfall, but you can admire its natural beauty and namesake blue coloration from a platform in close proximity to the base.

Immediately after climbing again up the ways (and acquiring a excellent exercise in the approach), we ongoing together the trail and stopped at different factors on the river to get the scoop on how it receives its blue colour, as effectively as the geothermal activity underneath it. Two notable stops were being Los Teñideros, where we observed exactly where the river adjustments shade from apparent to blue, and Los Borbollones, in which sulfuric bubbles increase to the surface, emitting an eggy scent.

Immediately after traversing as a result of the national park (more on that right here), our guide brought us to a “secret” scorching river just a kilometer absent. It was just starting to rain, so I determined to go for a quick soak. It was a blast to just take a dip in a warm river whilst emotion the chilly, misty rain occur down.

We then experienced lunch at a regional soda (a small open-air cafe), which was filling and scrumptious. The other tour individuals and I experienced a probability to decide our guide’s mind, asking all varieties of thoughts about Costa Rica’s geography, wildlife, and additional. Moreover having a knack for recognizing wildlife and being aware of the science guiding Río Celeste, I located that our manual experienced a whole treasure trove of information on the nationwide park and beyond.

Is the Río Celeste Tour Well worth It?

As a traveler who did not have a rental car, the Río Celeste tour was well worth it for me. Not only did it choose the tension off of hoping to get there by means of general public transportation, but possessing a guidebook was amazing. There are so a lot of things you can master about the river by itself that could otherwise go unnoticed if you check out on your possess. I loved obtaining the prospect to question questions about it, as nicely as the wildlife and flora.

Also, the incredibly hot river we also frequented could have flown less than my radar, as I hadn’t heard about it ahead of. It came as a pleasurable shock!

If you’re questioning if the tour will be well worth it for you, there are a number of matters to think about. Initially, transportation. Auto rentals and fuel charges in Costa Rica are rather costly, so it is not really worth it to hire a car just for the day, as it’ll finish up costing around the similar as the tour, just for transportation alone. If you’ve presently rented a vehicle and want to include Río Celeste to your itinerary, go for it with no the tour. You are going to just be lacking out on obtaining a guideline unless you retain the services of 1 at the park which is an extra $30-50 on major of the $12 admission cost.

If you are touring through community transportation by way of Costa Rica, as I did, this tour is unquestionably worthy of the selling price. Due to the fact it consists of lunch, the entrance price, transportation, and a tutorial, it works out to be about the same price as if you were to go on your individual from La Fortuna by means of community transportation. I assumed it was an extraordinary bang for my buck and would do it once again if presented the selection.

The only downside of visiting Río Celeste on a tour is that you really don’t have the flexibility to choose when to go. Considering that the waterfall and other vital web sites along the river can get fairly packed in the late early morning and early afternoon, I was not equipped to discover some solo time to delight in them. By the time we arrived at the waterfall, there ended up so numerous men and women there that it was tricky to snap a excellent photo or just dangle out unbothered. If you are hoping to get an epic shot of the waterfall or traverse the trails on your very own time, a tour like this a person likely isn’t for you.

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Río Celeste surely warrants a place on any Costa Rica itinerary, as it was 1 of the highlights of my time there.

Are you heading to La Fortuna shortly? Permit us know what else you’re fired up to do there!