Tabacon - full day vs. 1/2 day pass
 

A full day pass with lunch AND dinner is only $10 more than a day pass with either lunch OR dinner. ($95 vs. $85 for adults.) But I was wondering if it would be a bit boring to spend a full day at Tabacon in the hot springs? We'd be there with our two boys, who are 8 and 10. If we did go for the whole day, we'd probably do the free morning hike at our hotel (AOL) and then head over to Tabacon. What about mosquitoes at dusk? Is that a problem?

Thanks!

Oops - made a mistake in the title. It's not a 1/2 day pass. It's still a full day pass, but with only one meal.

We just did the evening pass, and that was about right for us. We got a discount for going in the evening. Mosquitoes have never been a big problem for us in that area.

We did the evening pass too. I think a whole day would be boring. Didn't have bug problems.

Ok, thanks for the info. I think we'll just plan on doing that as well and save the day for something else.

Tabacon is quite over priced you can get a 2 day hot spring pass at The Springs 5 star Resort for just $40 and come and go as much as you like. Better if you have a rental car though to not have to depend on their transportation schedules...spend the money you save visiting their wild cats zoo - I am sure the boys would enjoy that!

Really? But it's our first trip to Costa Rica - don't we have to see Tabacon at least once? Also, we aren't planning to rent a car so I doubt we would go two days in a row.

We loved Tabacon. It's not just a couple of hot spring pools, it's virtually the river running thru the grounds, with the water diverted into many different pools & water falls at different depths and temperatures. The grounds are beautiful, tropical flowers everywhere. We bot the full-day pass with both meals. It rained in the morning,so we didn't arrive until @ 11:30 a.m. Lunch is served in the dining room, and you aren't allowed in swimsuits, so we ate lunch first. It was one of the best meals we had in CR. You order from menu - you have a choice from 3 or 4 items in each catagory. Then we spent the afternoon enjoying "the waters" and the lovely grounds. Around dusk the tour buses started to arrive with people who had just evening passes and it got very crowded. Dinner is a buffet - Mexican theme the night we were there. The food was OK, but not something I'd rave about. You can't go to dinner in swimsuits, either, so we had to change. We left after dinner since it had gotten so crowded. -- We are mid-50s and didn't have any children with us. If your boys are real "water babies" they'll have a good time. There is a "regular" pool that is at a very comfortable temperature and it has a waterslide in addition to all the hot pools. I know many people go just for the evening. We were there in February, so it got dark very early. I am certain that I would not have enjoyed it so much if we only went after dark. You wouldn't be able to really see how lovely the place is. And as I said, it was much more crowded in the evening. We didn't visit any of the other hot springs in the area, so I don't have any of those to compare it to. But I'm glad we didn't miss Tabacon. It was one of the highlights of our trip and one of the most beautiful & unique places I've ever been (and we travel a good bit)......Don't know if this helps much with your decision, but I enjoyed going back there in my mind!....We loved CR, the country is beautiful and the people some of the most hospitable I've ever met. We plan to go again this February. Hope you have a wonderful trip!

We loved the full day pass, and fortunately had a full day to devote there. We went early, had prebooked spa time (it's a wonderful spa, fab massages and facials and body treatments), left about 2:00, had dinner in La Fortuna, returned for evening time. It was awesome doing it that way!

Now you two have got me leaning towards the full day pass with lunch at Tabacon and dinner in La Fortuna. I think we would enjoy spending a lot of time there, wading in the pools and exploring the grounds. It sounds simply wonderful and I can't wait!

I think it depends on what you want to see and do in the area. With the Cano Negro tour, ziplines, rafting, waterfall hike, volcano hike, Hanging Bridges and all that, we never felt like we would want to spend an entire day at the hot springs, but if you think it sounds relaxing and fun, then you'd probably enjoy it. Your kids would probably love to spend EVERY day there! It's pretty much like a pretty water park with nice waterfalls and tropical plants.

Don Rufino is a good restaurant in La Fortuna if you want to check it out.

Thanks for the restaurant suggestion, VC! In Arenal, I think we've decided to do the waterfall hike, volcano hike, and Hanging Bridges. And we'll be there four nights so I think we'll have time to devote a full day to Tabacon. I was initially thinking of doing the Cano Negro tour, but I think it's too long of a day for my kids - even though it sounds like a wonderful tour. As for ziplines, I think we're going to wait to do that at MA because it sounds like the ziplines there are a little bit more mellow. We're not the most adventurous family!

Your kids would enjoy the big water slide at Tabacon. We felt we could afford to spend the entire day there since we had visited the area before, had done the other stuff, and just wanted a long relaxing day of massages, cool drinks, and warm water!!

You're welcome, B - hope you guys have fun!

shillmac - Did you enjoy the spa services there? I'm not big on massages, but my husband is.

They were to die for. Honestly. Best deep tissue I've ever had. Once (this is decadent) I went there, all by myself, for a weekend of nothing but spa. I spent all day Saturday at Tabacon, having booked 3 treatments: facial, chocolate scrub, deep tissue. It set me back about $400 (at that time), but oh!

Seriously, Tabacon Grand Spa is ranked in the Top Ten of all spas in Central and South America. Last I heard it was #6.

By the way, entrance to the spa is not the same as entrance to the springs. It is right there in the middle of the springs, but if all you are there for is the spa, you are not at liberty to wander about the springs. I got by with it once, though! They say they are separate entities, but I think it's just price gouging. That said, I love both the hot springs and the spa! As long as there are suckers like me, let the gouging continue. . . . .

Allow time to relax and eat chocolate covered strawberries and the like (hot tea) between treatments. . . . . .

It sounds amazing! I might have to schedule something too - that chocolate scrub sounds intriguing.

The chocolate Scrub was fab. There was a very nice jacuzzi to get in, relax, rinse off. I followed it with a massage. Each little spa cabiina is open, yet private; it's like you ate in the lap of luxury, deep in the jungle!

ARE not "ate"--darned iPhone