Anyone know where the Rio Celeste is? Its not in my guidebook, and I can't seem to pick it out on the map. We are staying in Arenal. Anywhere near there? Worth seeing? One of the travelers in our party want to see it.

Yes, it is worth seeing, and not so far from Arenal. It is in/near the Volcan Tenorio park. Even though just one of you are interested, I don't think any of you would be disappointed. Pretty sure it is offered as a day trip from Arenal.

We left Arenal last July and drove 1.5 hour to stay at La Carolina, a very small and rustic (no electricity) lodge near Bijagua. While there, the guide drove with us about 7km over to the entrance to Tenorio Parque Nacional and he hiked with us through the park to the Rio Celeste. Very nice hiking, if that appeals to you.

The Rio Celeste contains minerals that give it a gorgeous blue color--more so in the dry season, I think. And there were some nice waterfalls as well. It's something that most people don't choose to do (they go with the more popular activities such as Hanging Bridges and ziplines), so that makes it all the better!

I'm going to have a rental car, so planning to just drive over. I'm not into the tour thing.

That's cool. It would be helpful, though, if you had a guide with you (a private one perhaps?) as you hike through the park. It's a matter of gaining so much more information and seeing so much more than most of us can see or know without a local expert. If you are interested in that, I'm sure your hotel could help you make some kind of arrangement with someone. Also, if you are interested, you might shoot off an e-mail to La Carolina. They might be able to offer a suggestion. Have fun--few people post a report on Rio Celeste. . .I'm hoping that you will. I'm curious to know what others think of it. We really enjoyed hiking Tenorio--and seeing the river.

how much was the guide? We are kind of on a budget, and thought by renting a car we could do things on our own to save $$. Is it better / cheaper to hire out a driver? Do you know anywhere I can get driving directions to the Park where the Rio Celeste is? I see Bijagua on my map, but don't see any roads going to tenorio. Do I need to go through Bijagua on my drive from Libneria to Arenal?

Thanks!

Our guided tour of Rio Celeste/Tenorio was included in the price of our stay at La Carolina. I think you could find someone out of Arenal without a lot of expense. You could probably do it yourselves, but the guides are just so knowledgeable, it is usually well worth the extra $$.

You don't go through Bijagua from Liberia to Arenal. Bijagua is north of Las Canas a fair distance. We made the mistake (my mistake) of driving from Arenal around the lake to Canas, then north to Bijagua and the lodge (and park). The owner of La Carolina had e-mailed us directions, but I didn't read them carefully enough and navigated us the LONG way around. If we had gone north out of Arenal (I don't have a map with me right now), it would have been much shorter.
That is what you should do.

You could e-mail La Carolina and Bill Harwell will respond. I know he would be happy to give you advice regarding the area. When we drove from La Carolina over to the park entrance, my husband was driving and our guide was navigating. I was looking for sloths (paying no attention to the road)--saw two! Good luck!

brollend,
Had some spare time this a.m., so I revisited the La Carolina website.

www.lacarolinalodge.com

It shows some nice photos of the Rio Celeste. Also a bit of a map--enough for you to be able to see roughly how you would go north out of Arenal up to Upala, then loop back down south to Bijagua. You can reach Bill Harwell for more info regarding Rio Celeste at:

[email protected]