Abbyo

Tabacon is very expensive, especially since we are a family of 5. Is it worth it or are some of the other, less expensive ones almost as good? If it is great, I don't mind spending the money as we're not going all that way to cheap out and not see things. What do you think?

50Lori

I have the same question, along with one other: I have read that if the volcano blows it will give no notice, and flow towards Tabacon. Is that true? Is there another nice hot springs place that isn't in the lava line? Thanks! lori

dhswor

We went to Tabacon. It was very nice. We went after 7pm when the price drops to $19 and the kids were a little less. Depending the the age of your children, we found most of the pools were quite hot for them. Also, the ones with lava rock in them were dark and scarey looking for them after dark. We found ourselves running around a lot, looking for just the right pool, but we had fun doing it. As for the volcano, I have read that there is no warning, and I believe they were evacuated in January for a short time. They also have you park by backing in just in case there was an "emergency". We enjoyed it and are glad we went. I don't know where the other hot springs are, but from what others have said, they sound like they are near by. I know Baldi is very close. Hope that helps.

shillmac

To me, Tabacon is a "don't miss". We have never found it overly crowded as some have said, but I believe that has changed some in recent months. The landscaping and design is beautiful. The temps vary, but the hottest is, I believe, 102. We've been daytime and nighttime. Both were fun, but I prefer daytime when all that beauty is more visible. The warm swim up pool bar and water slide are fun as well.

Yes, Tabacon is in the line of fire and things can happen very quickly--worst case scenario, too quickly. Could be tomorrow, could be 1000 years from now. There has been a lot of discussion regarding Tabacon's location, but how do you relocate something like that?! Several articles have been written, and perhaps someone will have a link to them for you. At least one was in the Tico Times last summer.

Haven't been to other springs, but posters on this board are favorable toward them. People I have spoken with personally indicate the surrounding beauty at Tabacon is unmatched, but the springs themselves (Baldi) are nice.

I think the price is a bit too high (we too, have taken a family of 5 there). The last time we were there, the $29 allowed us to re-enter at night, but I don't know if that is still the case. There has even been talk of reservations being necessary now (at times), so again, Tabacon is definitely receiving more visitors.

Much depends on your family. So many would say, "Gee, that was high but I'm so glad we did it once". There are a few who would think, "nice, but not worth $150 plus bucks".

I'm thinking you should "go for it"!

If interested in an alternative, check out the Hildago family farm on this board.

petite1

We just returned & loved the Tabacon. We're a family of 6 & once I calculated the admission price I realized it would cost less if we just stayed at the hotel as opposed to staying at a cheaper hotel & paying the admission. They also have a great breakfast buffet..one of the few places on our itinerary where my kids found something they liked to eat. One last note..my 8 yr old was sick while there & they had Dr. to our room within 2 hrs & medicine was delivered 20 minutes after that. No charge. The staff there is really great!! Worth the price!

Bluesmoke2

We just returned from our second trip to CR (family of 4)and agree Tabacon is a must see, but this trip the weather was rainy and you could barely see Arenal.In La Fortuna, I happened to walk by the Tampa Bay Tours office and the offered me a brochure of the tours they offer and they had vouchers for Baldi Hot Springs for $9US, (normally $18 per person) I thought it must be a scam but it was the real deal! There are 8 pools, beautifully landscaped, swim up bar at the entrance, a restaurant, the pools get hotter as you go up the hill. There are no lockers per se just a coat check stand that will hold your gear,with towel rental for a $5 deposit. It may look crowded at the entrance because thats were all the action seems to be but we had the upper pools all to ourselves and this was the weekend! Having been to Tabacon on our last trip when the weather was clear and Arenal was puffing its stuff it was something I will never forget,but this time we found ourselves sitting in the pools at Baldi in the evening with rain coming down, thinking "we left Seattle for this?" but when you got lemons you make lemonade and we had great weather during the days! We saw other tour companies offering vouchers also but $9 is a great deal and we went twice so ask around.

wayfarer

We went to Tabacon on a Saturday a few weeks ago. We were only going to go at night for the cheaper night rate but it was pouring rain so we decided we might as well go during the day. Price is a bit steep - $29 adults / $17 for kids 8 and under - $92 for our family. It is very beautiful, something you can better appreciate during the day. We tried a lot of the pools - a couple were very hot but we didn't have any problems with finding comfortable spots.

My main beef against Tabacon is unfriendly/unhelpful front desk staff and a lack of sufficient locker space. They tell you not to leave valuables in your car yet they didn't have any locker space. We kept some of our stuff with us but put the valuables back in the car (and had no problems) we carried the rest around with us (in plastic bags supplied by Tabacon) but since it was pouring rain everything got soaked. For the price they are charging, they should improve the quality of front desk staff and add more lockers. We left for dinner and there were plenty of open lockers but the front desk was still telling new arrivals that there weren't any lockers. We came back around 7 PM and didn't have a problem getting a locker.

As busy as it was, I didn't find it overly crowded except around the bathroom / lockers when a tour bus unloaded.

Night time had a different vibe from the day. I actually saw fewer families & kids at night. We got a little bit of Girls Gone Wild action at the front pool (the one with a slide) with a couple of young women dancing topless on the bar. My son's quote "I'm not going to tell my teacher about this, but I am going to tell my friends!" It didn't bother me (I'd rather have my kids see boobs than violence which is standard American fare) but it may bother some.

We stayed at the Lost Iguana, which I highly recommend, for $110 a night. I think staying there plus paying for admission was still cheaper than staying at Tabacon. We met one family staying at Tabacon - they were a bit peeved that their room was not actually at the hot springs - you need to walk or take a shuttle.

rdp

wayfarer (or others) - how long is the walk/shuttle from the rooms at Tabacon to the hot springs? We are still on the fence about actually staying there.

qwovadis

Have stayed at tabacon.com volcano
view room was amazing at night well worth it for me.service/food poor
but hot springs short walk across
the street with free admission included.massage was good and cheap.

night admission $19
lunch buffet admission $35

Less for kids not bad for me.

Eeither way to me particularly at night with the lava crackling and
monkeys howling and red lava streaks
running down the mountain it was
for me a totally incredible experience.

Ecotermales cute but basic.

Baldi for me frankly is ugly.

have fun,

PuetoViejoAllstar

Tabacon's prices are ridiculous.

volcanogirl

We went to Tabacon at night to get the discounted rate - even without dinner, it cost us $70 for the two of us; I thought that was nuts. I think it's a neat spot, but we felt a bit price gouged.

SiteC_er

For less money and less people, consider Eco Thermales. We did the dinner shift and nearly had the place to ourselves. FYI- the food was surprising good

volcanogirl

SiteCer, we have EcoTermales booked for our upcoming trip; we're doing a volcano hike that ends with dinner and the hot springs. I'm looking forward to seeing how it compares to Tabacon and glad to read your positive review. Actually at Tabacon, when we paid, the guy had a heavy accent, and we thought he said seventeen dollars, so my husband pulls out seventeen, and the man starts laughing and says, "No, 70!" I think it was just his laughing that made it seem even more expensive!

janenicole

vg - Which company offers the tour and the hot springs?

volcanogirl

Hi, jn - we're doing it through Sunset Tours. We used them for Cano Negro, so I know they're a great company. You can go to their website and check out the different options; they have several to choose from including the hike, dinner, and different hot springs. Ours includes hiking, learning about plant and animal life, going to an observatory point, and then dinner at EcoTermales.

janenicole

Thanks, vg. I am gathering lots of ideas for maximizing our time in Arenal.

SiteC_er

Be sure to put La Fortuna waterfall on your list. While we enjoyed the horseback ride/tour to the fall, we didn't feel like we had enough time at the fall (approx 70 minutes). While that may seem like a fair amount of time, it takes 5 -10 minutes to walk down and 15 or so to hike up. Regardless of how you get there, we think it's a great side-trip.