Duration: Full Day · Price: From $300 USD per group of 1–4 · Difficulty: Easy
About this tour
Rincón de la Vieja is Guanacaste's most active volcano and one of the few places in Costa Rica where you walk straight through a live geothermal field. You start early, while the air is still cool, on the Las Pailas loop inside the national park — "the cooking pots" — a 3-kilometer trail past grey-clay mud pots boiling at the surface, sulphurous steam vents hissing through the rock, and acidic pools stained orange and green by minerals, all under dry tropical forest where howler monkeys and coatis are part of the morning.
At midday you move to neighboring Hacienda Guachipelín — a working ranch and adventure lodge on the volcano's flank — for the second half of the day. A short trail (on foot or by horseback) drops to the Oropéndola Waterfall, where a powerful fall pours into a deep turquoise pool ringed by jungle, and you can swim. From there it's on to the Río Negro hot springs and the hacienda's volcanic mud baths: you coat yourself in warm mineral mud, let it dry in the sun, then rinse off in a chain of natural thermal pools fed by the volcano — the ideal counterpoint to the morning's hike.
This is a long, full day. From San José, pickup is early — around 6 am — for the roughly 4-hour drive to the Rincón de la Vieja sector, returning by evening. It also runs as a relaxed add-on from any of our Guanacaste tours (Beach Hopping, Ostional, Ponderosa), with the park about 1.5 hours from the Tamarindo area. Your private transport and a bilingual naturalist guide are included. The national park entrance (~$18 per adult) and the Hacienda Guachipelín entrance and activity passes — Oropéndola Waterfall, hot springs and mud baths — are paid on site and are not included. Bring a swimsuit, towel, water shoes, closed walking shoes and a change of clothes.
What's included
- Private round-trip transport from San José (or pickup from your Guanacaste hotel as an add-on)
- Certified bilingual naturalist guide
- Bottled water and seasonal fresh fruit
Not included
- Rincón de la Vieja National Park entrance (~$18 per adult, paid at the gate)
- Hacienda Guachipelín entrance & activity passes — Oropéndola Waterfall, hot springs and mud baths (paid on site)
- Lunch and meals
- Gratuities
- Personal travel insurance
Good to know
- From San José: departure ~6 am, return by evening — long but rewarding; far more relaxed as a Guanacaste add-on (park ~1.5h from Tamarindo)
- Morning: the Las Pailas volcano loop is ~3 km, easy terrain, 1.5–2 hours; the national park is closed Mondays
- Afternoon at Hacienda Guachipelín: Oropéndola Waterfall, hot springs and volcanic mud baths
- National park entrance (~$18 pp) and Hacienda Guachipelín entrance + activity passes are paid on site and not included
- Bring a swimsuit, towel, water shoes and a change of clothes for the waterfall, hot springs and mud baths
- Wear closed shoes for the volcano trail; do not step off marked paths near the mud pots
- First photo courtesy of Hacienda Guachipelín
- Minimum age 5 · Free cancellation 48 hours prior