dmcnama

We will be in Arenal area in a few weeks and was wondering if anyone had any eyewitness updates as to eruption details. Was anything affected by the earthquake? Is the caldera usually shrouded in clouds/fog this time of year? Thanks!

Pat_Hewitt

The Arenal volcano was not affected by the recent earthquake. This is a completely different part of the country.

This is the driest time of the year, so you should have a good shot at unobstructed views. Your best chances are late at night, and early in the morning.

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer any more advice.

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
Travel Professional

Keith

Be sure to stay at a hotel on the active side of the mountain and increase your chances of seeing activity.

I and the people in the next room at my hotel promised to wake the other room if it was clear and active in the middle of the nights.

Keith

sessa

We just returned from 6 nights in Arenal - they were not affected by the earthquake. We spent 4 nights at Arenal Observatory Lodge which we LOVED. The views of the volcano are spectacular...when it is not clouded in. It was clouded in for most of our visit, but we got to see some lava flowing, heard some rumbling and saw lots of red hot rocks tumbling down. It rained almost every morning so there were no views at that time of day, but it cleared up nicely in the afternoons. I think we got to see the top of the volcano twice. I would definitely stay at AOL again. We had a junior suite and the room was huge. I hope to post a trip report with more info soon.

dmcnama

Thank you all for your responses! It sounds like the flow remains on the southwest side of the mountain. We are staying at Montana de Fuego and realize this is not that side.

Pat, does it usually rain in the morning around Arenal? I ask because we are scheduled to go on a volcano hike in the a.m. Our stay is the first week of February. Thanks.

tkmg23

Hi we just returned on Sunday. We stayed near Arenal from 1/9-1/13. We waited and booked our evening "hike" and lava viewing for the clearest day. Every morning we woke up the volcano was shrouded in clouds, but as the day went on they would start to clear. We never got a full top to bottom view, but we did get to see some lava on the evening we chose with clouds covering just the crater.

It only sprinkled one morning near where we stayed (El Silencio del Campo), but a little bit harder the same morning closer to Rio Celeste.

Have fun! It's really wonderful.