Free Hot Springs in La Fortuna

The answer is yes, but it is a short list. La Fortuna has one free hot spring, and it is a river, not a pool complex. Río Chollín, also spelled Choyin, carries volcanic water that runs above 100 F through a stretch of open riverbank on Road 142.

Locals call it Mini Tabacon or Tabaconcito because the same mineral water that fills the famous resort next door flows through the public stretch too.

Everything else in the area costs money. The big resorts pipe real volcanic water into engineered pools, and even the managed section of Chollín itself now charges, since a paid entrance called Choyin Rio Termal opened on the river bank. What remains free is the public stretch beside the road, and that is a genuine hot spring, not a rumor.

Access is customary rather than official. There is no ticket booth, no gate staff and no signage explaining rules. Treat it as wild water: beautiful, hot and completely unsupervised.

That character is exactly why some travelers love it and others would rather pay for a towel and a locker.

Río Chollín sits beside Road 142 about a 15-minute drive west of downtown La Fortuna, directly across the road from the Tabacon hot springs entrance. You cannot miss the neighborhood, since the resort's gates and parked tour buses mark the spot. The river itself collects volcanic water that emerges hot on one side and mixes with a cooler stream on the other.

The temperature difference is the river's best feature. The left side of the main pool holds the hotter volcanic water, while the right side blends in cool stream water. You can move between the two until you find your comfort level, which is something no fixed-temperature resort pool offers.

Getting there and getting in

From La Fortuna, drive west on Road 142 for about 15 minutes and look for the stretch across from the Tabacon entrance. Access is a short gravel path beyond a small gate, and the walk to the water takes under a minute. Parking is informal street parking with no marked spaces and no attendant.

What to bring

There are no facilities at all: no restrooms, showers, lockers or lifeguards. Bring your own towel, water shoes for the rocky and slippery bottom, drinking water and a bag you can leave with a companion on the bank. The site is unofficial, so visit at your own discretion, ideally with company and in daylight, and carry out all trash.

The name confuses everyone at first, and it is worth two sentences. The river's older spelling is Chollín, pronounced cho-yeen, and the newer spelling Choyin came from visitors writing the sound the way they heard it. The ticketed entrance, the maps pins and the local signage mostly say Choyin these days, longtime locals and guidebooks mostly say Chollín, and both name the same water.

You will also see it called Tabaconcito or Mini Tabacon, for the obvious reason that it runs off the resort's western edge.

The water itself is the genuine article, the same volcanic heating that fills the resort's pools upstream, cooling as the river runs. The main pool below the path holds the hotter water on its upstream side, where the spring flow enters, and the downstream end mixes with cooler stream water. Regulars move between the two ends the way resort guests move between pools, except here the thermometer is wherever you choose to sit.

The soaking is free. The logistics are not, and it helps to compare honestly. A parking donation of roughly $2-4 in colones is commonly asked by local trackers near the informal parking area.

Add water shoes, a towel you do not mind carrying, and the absence of restrooms or lockers, and the price gap to a paid option narrows.

The paid entrance on the same river is Choyin Rio Termal. For its fee you get lockers, towels, food and drink service and a pool, all on water identical to the free public stretch. The catalog's cheapest way in is the Pura Vida Thermal River & Thermal Pool Pass at $29, valid for 1 day from first activation, with towels, lockers and parking included.

Here is how the free river compares with the paid ways to soak in the same water and the area's resort options. Figures current for Q3 2026.

If you are weighing free against paid in depth, read Are the Arenal Hot Springs Worth It? The Honest Verdict. For packing, see What to Bring to the Arenal Hot Springs: Packing List.

Set expectations against the resorts honestly and the trade makes sense. There are no changing rooms, so swimwear goes on under your clothes and dry clothes wait in the car. There are no lockers, so anything valuable either stays behind or stays on your person in a dry bag.

There is no food or drink service, so bring water. And the parking is informal roadside ground, where a local attendant watching the cars may ask a small donation, a few dollars at most, which is the closest thing to a ticket the place has.

The other cost is timing. Because the river is free and famous, the good pools fill on weekend afternoons and stay busy until dusk. The quiet windows are early morning and after the day-trippers leave.

Travellers with one afternoon in town and no car should weigh the taxi fare against the $29 ticketed river, which buys the same water with towels, lockers, bathrooms and a bar attached.

The free stretch is unsupervised and unofficial. There are no lifeguards, and the site carries no staff at all. Visit at your own discretion, ideally with company and in daylight.

Carry out all trash, since nobody comes to collect it.

Rocks and current

Rocks are slippery when wet, and the riverbed is rocky throughout. Move slowly, wear water shoes and use your hands to steady yourself. The right side of the pool mixes in cooler stream water, which also means a mild current where the stream feeds in.

Timing and belongings

Go in daylight. There is no lighting, no staff and nowhere secure to leave valuables, so keep bags with someone on the bank or leave valuables at your accommodation. The informal parking area is unmarked street parking, so do not leave anything visible in the car.

• Go with at least one other person and stay in daylight hours
• Wear water shoes, the rocks are slippery when wet
• Bring your own towel, water and dry clothes, there are no rentals
• Take a small donation in colones for parking, roughly $2-4 equivalent
• Carry out every piece of trash, there is no service here

Go with the same caution you would take to any wild swimming hole, because that is what it is. Rocks are slick and ankle-turning, the current picks up after rain, and the site has no lifeguards or lighting worth trusting after dark. Keep valuables out of sight, keep the group together, and carry out every wrapper and bottle you carry in, since the site's beauty depends entirely on visitors treating it like a living place rather than an attraction with staff behind it.

El Salto is the second free water spot near La Fortuna, and the one closest to town. It sits on the river below La Fortuna waterfall. This matters for expectations: it is fresh water, not thermal.

You come to El Salto to swim in a cool jungle river, not to soak in volcanic heat.

The setting is dramatic, since the river drops out of the waterfall system above. To get near the waterfall itself you enter the paid park, where entry runs about $15 per adult foreign visitor per current visitor reports, and the park's official SINAC page lists current rates. El Salto sits below on the river, reachable without that ticket.

If you want the waterfall and a guaranteed hot soak in one plan, the La Fortuna Waterfall, Volcano & Hot Springs Day Tour stacks both in 10 hours for $95, with lunch, drinks, park entry and the hot spring resort fee included. It holds a 4.8 rating across 3848 reviews. For timing your visit around weather, see Best Time to Visit the La Fortuna Hot Springs: Season Guide.

Free is free, but it is not always the better day. The case for paying $29 for the Pura Vida Thermal River & Thermal Pool Pass comes down to what the managed entrance adds on the very same water: lockers, towels, food and drink service, a pool, and on-site parking. Reviewers on that listing recommend water shoes because the river is rocky with a current, which the paid entrance does not change, but it does give you a dry base camp.

Choose free when

• You have your own towels, water shoes and transport
• You are traveling light and comfortable without restrooms nearby
• You want the wild, unsupervised riverbank experience at zero cost
• Daylight soaking with a small group suits your plans

Choose the $29 pass when

• You want lockers and a secure base for valuables
• Towel and food service on site matters to you
• You are traveling alone and prefer a managed setting
• You want the same thermal water without the informal parking hassle

If you would rather step up to full resort pools, the Baldi Hot Springs Day Pass starts from $60 for 25 pools and slides, while the Ecotermales Rainforest Hot Springs Day Pass at $81 buys capped-entry garden pools between 99 and 106 F. For adrenaline plus heat, the Zip Line & Thermal Pools Combo runs $65 for seven lines over the Arenal River canyon and pools until 5 PM. A 4.5-rated middle ground is the Arenal Volcano Hike & Thermal River Tour at $54, which ends in a guided volcano walk followed by a thermal river soak. For a side-by-side of the two big resorts, see Tabacon vs Baldi Hot Springs: Which to Book, and for non-guest access at a resort property, Arenal Manoa Day Pass: What the Resort Offers Non-Guests.

A last framing for the decision. Free is the right price when the trip has slack in it, when the weather is kind and when nobody in the group needs facilities. The ticket starts winning the moment any of those flips: rain plus no bathrooms, a parking scramble plus tired kids, or a one-afternoon window that cannot afford a wasted hour.

At $29, the ticketed river is not a luxury version of the free river, it is the same water with the friction removed, and the honest budget plan uses each where it fits.