Rio Celeste Full-Day Hike: Blue Waterfall & Tenorio Volcano
Recommended by 96% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
La Fortuna, Costa Rica
- 8 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Lace up your hiking boots for this full-day immersion in the wild beauty of Tenorio Volcano National Park. Look for wildlife on the drive from La Fortuna, and feel like a jungle explorer on the trek to Rio Celeste, known for its mystical aquamarine waters. Take a dip in warm volcanic river pools, admire a cascading waterfall, and reward your efforts with a typical Costa Rican lunch.
- Full-day hiking tour to Rio Celeste from La Fortuna
- Spot native Costa Rican wildlife with the help of a guide
- Hike to the beautiful Rio Celeste in Tenorio Volcano National Park
- See where the bright-blue river changes color due to a reaction of volcanic minerals
- Soak in naturally warm river pools and see a tropical waterfall
- Savor a fresh Costa Rican lunch
- Hotel pickup and drop-off included
What's Included
- Lunch in local restaurant
- Professional guide
- Pickup and drop-off from hotels in La Fortuna area
- Dinner
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Operating hours.8:00 am
Itinerary
The adventure begins with pickup at your La Fortuna hotel and a scenic drive through landscapes rich with tropical beauty and wildlife habitats. After arriving at Tenorio Volcano National Park, embark on a moderately challenging hike through the park’s protected habitat. Along the way, your guide helps scout for animal sightings and points out highlights of passing flora and fauna.
The effort is well worth it when you reach the beautiful, bright-blue waters of Rio Celeste (Blue River). The otherworldly hue is thanks to converging volcanic minerals from two different rivers, resulting in a rare and photogenic chemical reaction. Snap pictures from a lookout point, admire a tropical waterfall, and see the point where the river changes color. You also have a chance to soak in natural warm-water river pools if you like.
After exploring this fairytale-like landscape, replenish your energy with a delicious lunch of typical Costa Rican cuisine. Relax on the return drive to La Fortuna, where the full-day tour concludes with drop-off back at your hotel.
The effort is well worth it when you reach the beautiful, bright-blue waters of Rio Celeste (Blue River). The otherworldly hue is thanks to converging volcanic minerals from two different rivers, resulting in a rare and photogenic chemical reaction. Snap pictures from a lookout point, admire a tropical waterfall, and see the point where the river changes color. You also have a chance to soak in natural warm-water river pools if you like.
After exploring this fairytale-like landscape, replenish your energy with a delicious lunch of typical Costa Rican cuisine. Relax on the return drive to La Fortuna, where the full-day tour concludes with drop-off back at your hotel.
1
Rio Celeste
4 hours • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Vegetarian option is available
- Not wheelchair accessible
- 4-hour medium-tough hike is involved
- Near public transportation
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Emona_H
You can never go wrong with this tour!!! Santiago is just the very best! He has so much knowledge, energy and passion for what he does and is just a lot of fun to be around! Not only we enjoyed the hike and the gorgeous scenery, but we were also happy to learn about different species he helped us look for while exploring!
Reviews
4.8
based on 530 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Angela_A, Jul 2026
We had the best time today on our tour with Santiago. There was a little mix up in the beginning with bus assignments, but the company made it right immediately and Santiago ended up giving our family our own tour. The views of the waterfall were lovely and Santiago made it a point to include all of our kids in the fun animal sightseeing on the way (both on the side of the road and in the park). We split up for the more challenging half of the hike. The littles and their older sister (ages 4, 6, and 14) enjoyed fresh fruit and a little shopping with dad across the street while Santiago brought my older son (age 11) and I on the more challenging loop after the waterfall. Lunch was fantastic with fresh juices followed by a very tasty Casado (or hamburger/chicken fingers for the kids). I would absolutely recommend this tour to anyone visiting the La Fortuna area!
MARIE_H, Jul 2026
This hike was overall a nice scenery and wildlife experience. We took a trail through a national park in the middle of the woods, and we passed much wildlife like snakes and spiders. We also got to see the huge waterfall and some cool sulfur deposits, and our tour guide was friendly and knew a lot about the animals. Most of all it was some much needed exercise! The only thing was that the hike is tiring and gets repetitive, and it rained the whole time, so we couldn’t really see the blue lagoon at the end. Of course you can’t really control this, but be aware that it’s for the physically fit and strong minded.
Eileen_C, Jul 2026
A beautiful and exciting way to spend the day! We loved our day with Santiago, Ani and Roberto. They were amazing wildlife spotters and educators, extremely clear communicators, and excellent planners. What a special day!!! We saw so many creatures that we would never have spotted on our own, and we learned so much. Mahalo nui loa to our amazing guides and driver. Pura vida!!!
Natalia_S, Jul 2026
Santiago was an amazing guide! Every informative, went the extra mile. Our group was about 8 people which was nice, as my other tours felt a bit crowded. Unfortunately the water was not blue when we went due to the heavy rain the day before. but Santiago did his best to make the experience worth it, and it was! We saw many different snakes, spiders, and a family of sloths close enough to see without binoculars! The lunch was very tasty.
Tracey_M, Jul 2026
The tour guides - Santiago and Ani were knowledgeable, funny, and kind. The flexed the tour based on the weather. They told stories. We tried termites. We stopped for howler monkeys and sloths. We had a wonderful time!
Christina_J, Jun 2026
Can’t say enough about Santiago’s expertise and patience. Our family of 5 (daughters 13, 11, 6) had a great hike, learned a ton, saw so much wildlife, and had a delicious Casado lunch. 1000/10 experience all around. I would listen to Santiago share his knowledge every day!
The only thing that I would share is that the portions of the drive without Santiago in the car were a bit terrifying. We are used to Costa Rica roads and driving (having been here the past 4 weeks), but it was next level nerve-wracking. My daughter got sick and even my hearty husband (who is fearless) was surprised at the speed and recklessness, especially on the speed bumps (topes). Maybe it was just an off day for us and the driver?! However, he did drive much safer when Santiago was aboard the van.
Overall, I wouldn’t negatively judge this tour off of one experience and I’d wholeheartedly do this tour again, even with an interesting driving situation.
Susan_H, Jun 2026
We enjoyed our Rio Celeste Full-Day Hike of the Blue Waterfall & Tenorio Volcano despite having to hike tough trails in the rain. Our guide, Annie, was amazing and kept everyone on track, but also helped those of us who needed assistance getting up and down some of the steeper areas. The lunch at a nearby restaurant was delicious, and we enjoyed a quick swim in the river as well.
Karina_G, May 2026
Did the volcano, waterfall and hot springs tour with Red Lava and we just had to book with them again for our Rio Celeste tour. Our guide, Juan Carlos, was informative and patient, always allowing us time to look at animals and explain ro us some super cool biology! We started off bright and early with a 1h30 min bus ride, until we stopped at one of the oldest trees in CR (el Árbol de la Paz). We then continued and started the tour where we got to see the lagoon, the top of Volcano Tenorio, and finally the Rio Celeste waterfall. We came during rainy season but it was still so worth it due to the wild life we got to see (many frogs, snakes, lizards. geckos, butterflies and even a sleeping owl!) As for the water, it wasn’t as Celeste as it could be due to the cloudiness and rain showers from the night before, but it was still super pretty and clear and definitely a fun hike overall! (The whole hike was about 4 hours). We then went for a delicious Costa Rican lunch and then finally were brought to a lower part of the rio Celeste where we could swim. At this point the sun came out and we saw the Celeste colour even more. Overall an amazing and fulfilling day, 10/10!
Ray_S, May 2026
This experience was incredible and very informative Santiago was one of my favourite guides to have show us around and explain all the incredible things around us in Costa Rica 10/10 I would come back and do it again. Ray and Emily.
Neeraj_S, May 2026
Santiago, our guide, made the hectic trip fun, informative and memorable. He was patient and helpful all the way.
Holly_D, May 2026
This tour was the highlight of my entire trip and I could not possibly recommend it more. The guides Santiago, Annie, and William were hands down the kindest, most passionate, and most authentic tour guides I have ever met.
From start to finish this tour was filled with extra details that just enriched the experience in every way. From stopping at a bakery in Santiago's home town, to seeing one of Costa Rica's oldest trees, hiking the entire trail at Tenorio, the guides spotting wildlife with ease and taking the time to make sure everyone saw them too, swimming in a locally known spot, to stopping whenever more wildlife was spotted along the way; this tour truly had it all. If Pura Vida could be personified into an experience, this would be that experience. I loved how it never felt rushed, there was always time for pictures, breaks, or to just soak up the views. Seriously I cannot recommend this company enough.
In fact, the only regret of my entire trip was not booking every tour through Red Lava Tours, that's how good this tour was. If you are looking for an authentic, emersive Costa Rican experience then this is your tour.
Mark_F, May 2026
Over 1 hr 20 min ride to the rio celeste. Driver was driving quite fast on curvy mountain roads, started to make us motion sick. Van could use a little TLC as well. Our guide, Anne was awesome, very informative and overall pleasant experience on the hike. Swimming and lunch was great, good trip and highly recommended minus the gran turismo driving.
Audrey_M, May 2026
Santiago is the best!!! So knowledgable of all the animals and making our trip so fun. The hike was beautiful and we got to swim in the river after. Lunch at the soda was fantastic too. Cannot recommend this enough for anyone visiting La Fortuna / Rio Celeste!!
Nerissa_G, May 2026
Great experience great guides pick up and drop off was a breeze definitely book with this company. Santiago and Annie were very knowledgeable.
juan_M, May 2026
It was an amazing experience. Thanks to Santiago and Ana everything was perfect. Both are very knowledgeable about the place the tail and very expertise spotting every animal. Thanks to them we were able to take pictures of a lot of different species. Highly recommended!!
andrew_c, Apr 2026
It was a very intense hike but well worth it
10/10 would recommend to everyone. Ariel was the best guide ever. Today was are last day in Costa Rica and out of all the hikes this one was the best!!!
Sharon_N, Mar 2026
Trip was delayed because they had no tickets for the hour we were supposed to arrive, It was pouring rain in the day of the tour, and apparently the water will never be blue when it rains, the acidity makes it green. Plus, the trail to the hike and waterfall is not graveled and gets super muddy when it rains. We were soaked in pouring mud water while hiking back. When we got to the waterfall it was so disappointing not to see the blue color (drove 1.5 hours each way for this!) and it was just another waterfall, that you don’t even get to go in, just see it from a distance, I didn’t even bother to take a picture.
For some reason, the first activity of swimming , that was switched to the afternoon, was just canceled all together with zero explanation. But at this point I only wanted to go back to my hotel and take a shower.
I was in Arenal hanging bridges hike a day earlier and even when it’s raining you don’t get to walk in mud.
Lunch was HORRIBLE!!!!!!! First time that I don’t enjoy Costa Rican’s food, the so called beef steak was thin and hard as a shoe sole, rice was super dry, horrible.
The guide was not to blame and he was nice, but I believe that, unlike me, the company knows exactly that in such a pouring rain days, Rio Celeste will be super disappointing and so different than the pictures you see for that tour, never blue, and they needed to cancel in the morning and refund our money, or at least explain that and give me the option to cancel and enjoy my last day there differently! It was a waste of time and money!
Zuyi_W, Mar 2026
Santiago was awesome!!! super efficient and brought a telescope so he found a bunch of amazing wildlife for us to see including sloths, toucans, snakes, monkeys, etc. really enjoyed the tour overall and would highly recommend!
Vincent_R, Mar 2026
A good experience that is worth doing! Our guide, Annie, had eagle eyes for spotting animals on the drive to the park and on the walk within it, and great knowledge to answer all our questions. The park itself is wonderful - super interesting learning about the science behind what makes the water it's famous blue, and getting lots of photos. Not 5*s as we got collected before 8am but then didn't enter the park until 11am despite it being a 90 min drive - felt somewhat inefficient and we had to wait around a bit at various stops. That late entry also contributed to only getting lunch by 3pm and back by 6pm, so a long day.
wade_b, Mar 2026
This was one for the books amazing views a real hike not a stroll and the guide was top tier she was super patient had to repeat everything twice and she catered to the older couple I mean she was very knowledgeable 😉 just all around fantastic women and the owner took me back to my hotel it's a must do!!!!
Susan_G, Mar 2026
Lots of impromptu stops to see wildlife on the way there made the trip amazing. Great coffee stop also! The hike was challenging and fun. Beautiful blue falls! Santiago was great and spotted snakes and sloths along the way. Fun day with a small enough group that everyone got to be friendly. Pura Vida
DRee_C, Mar 2026
A great day-long trip to take! The staff at the agency were well organized which made check-in easy. Our guide was super knowledgeable and always looking out for any wildlife for us to see on the way to and from the park. Stops at a local bakery and soda for lunch added to the experience. The park itself was a great hike and had plenty of good sites to see.
Lena_G, Mar 2026
This was a great hike to Rio Celeste. Our guide Santiago knew lots about the nature and wildlife. The guides and driver even made sure to stop for sloths and birds at the side of the road and really took their time with making sure everyone got a good look and picture.
The hike itself wasn't too hard, everyone was able to easily follow, we took enough breaks and though you need to be physically in good condition, it wasn't fast or uncommonly steep.
We also got to swim in the river outside the national park, had a look at landmarks along the way and got traditional dinner with vegan options available.
The tour is very pricey and the drive rather long but I'd pay the money again as the tour took a whole day and was managed very nicely.
McKenna_L, Mar 2026
This tour was amazing! On the way to Rio Celeste we stopped to see sloths, Iguanas, and toucans! The hike in Rio Celeste was a good pace with stops for our guide, Franklin, to explain different plants and show us animals that we wouldn’t have been able to see without him. Franklin knew all the good photo spots and stopped to take our pictures. After the hike we swam in the Rio Celeste at a different entry point. The water was cold but refreshing. The lunch was a traditional Casado that was amazing with a cute cat to play with. Before leaving Franklin showed us some very small pineapple plants growing nearby.
Franklin was our favorite guide and we highly recommend him and this tour!
Xinyi_Z, Feb 2026
We had a great experience. We got lucky since the day we were there was the first sunny day in almost a month, and we were able to see a lot of animals: sloth, ant eater, snake, etc. The tour guide is very knowledgeable and friendly. We enjoyed the tour, and the hike doesn't feel hard.
Dimitar_S, Feb 2026
We had a great hike at Rio Celeste. The weather wasn’t perfect, so we didn’t get to see the blue pools in their full glory, but the experience was still fantastic.
Our guide, Wesler, was incredibly friendly, helpful, and clearly passionate about his work. He pointed out tons of wildlife - frogs, birds, snakes - that we would have completely missed on our own. We also made several stops along the way to explore and learn more about the area, which made the tour even more special.
I highly recommend!
Andrew_S, Feb 2026
This was a great experience, particularly as we had Antonio who was much more interested in finding us wildlife to see, rather than sticking to a rigid timetable. We therefore saw everything we wished to see, Antonio and his colleague, were both very informative. We got to the falls slightly later to avoid the crowds (and the water had a chance to settle after the rain) and all in all it was a great day out with a very good lunch included.
JeanCarlo_D, Feb 2026
Our guide was the best. Very accommodating & cheerful. He stopped so many times just to show us animals. I wish him a happy wedding day today!!
Emona_H, Feb 2026
You can never go wrong with this tour!!! Santiago is just the very best! He has so much knowledge, energy and passion for what he does and is just a lot of fun to be around! Not only we enjoyed the hike and the gorgeous scenery, but we were also happy to learn about different species he helped us look for while exploring!
Nick_B, Jan 2026
Santiago was amazing! Even though it rained most of the day, he made the trip so much fun! Between wildlife spotting, monkey noises, great jokes and a lot of knowledge, Santiago is a must for the tours!
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