La Fortuna · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
A one-street town under a volcano, where the hot spring everyone recommends is a free river under a bridge.
Streets behind the church
Hostels sit within three blocks of the central park and the church, all walkable. Beds out by the road to El Castillo are cheaper but stranded.
What a day costs
Around 25,000–45,000 colones, roughly $48–86: a dorm 7,000–11,000, a casado lunch 4,000–6,000, and one paid activity swallowing the rest.
Jeep-boat-jeep and buses
The jeep-boat-jeep across Lake Arenal to Monteverde takes three hours and costs a fraction of the road route. Public buses run to San José and Ciudad Quesada.
Free by day
The Chollín thermal river runs free under the road bridge near the resorts, and the volcano lookouts along the El Castillo road cost nothing.
Parque Central at dusk
The town square fills at sunset with hostel groups, tour touts and ice-cream sellers; the bars on the north side take over from there.