After a few active days in Monteverde hiking through cloud forests and waterfalls, we were excited to spoil ourselves with some modern amenities at the luxurious Tabacon Thermal Resort.

Tabacon Resort is on the pricier end but does indeed deliver its worth with its amazing collection of outdoor thermal spa pools. But did you know that just across the street from Tabacon’s thermal spa area lives a “free” and unedited natural experience offering the same mineral waters warmed by the same volcano? Which is the experience to go for?

We discovered there are three options to experience the natural volcanic thermal waters in this area:

1. Book a room to stay overnight at the Tabacon Thermal Resort. Hotel guests are granted access to the thermal pools. Cost: $600-$800 USD per night for the cheapest room option
2. Reserve a One Day Pass to access Tabacon’s thermal pools from 10am – 10pm. Cost: $99 USD per person
3. Visit the “free” thermal river across the street from Tabacon’s thermal spas. “Free” is in quotations because you are expected to pay a few dollars to park your car.

We ended up exploring both the “luxurious” side of Tabacon’s thermal spas as well as the “wild” thermal waters of Costa Rica’s unedited volcanic thermal springs across the street. Read on to see which we liked better!

Tabacon Thermal Resort & Spa

Tabacon Thermal Resort is home to not only a beautiful hotel but also a vast number of thermal pools and waterfalls that beckon you to soak, swim, and explore. The pools were envisioned and designed by Costa Rican born architect Jaime Mikowski who developed a previously marshy area through which hot mineral springs ran into a wellness spa. Tabacon’s thermal pool area is so picturesque I was suspicious that the pools might be filled with normal or even chlorinated water, but we were assured that all of the thermal pools were filled with 100% thermal mineral waters sourced from underground and heated by the Arenal Volcano. The path through which the hot waters flowed was shaped to create the steamy soaking pools and warm cascading waterfalls that make up Tabacon’s Thermal Resort today.

Hotel guests are granted access to the thermal pools on both the day of check-in and check-out, and the pools are open from 10am to 10pm. We planned to arrive in the early afternoon and enjoy the pools as much as we could that day and evening. We found the service to be immaculate, with staff greeting us warmly around every corner.

Upon arrival, we were welcomed with a lemonade and a moist towel to relieve us from the heat of the day. Our luggage was escorted to our room with us via golf cart, offering a fun view of the lush tropical landscaping throughout the resort. A waterproof silicone wristband serves as the room key and method of payment at the resort. We changed into our bathrobes and headed off to the thermal spas, which are located at a separate spot down the road from the rest of the resort. Shuttles run every few minutes between the two properties and the ride is about 3 minutes long, or guests can opt for a 10 minute walk.

Tabacon Resort encompasses over 900 acres of tropical reserve and is home to the largest network of naturally flowing hot springs in Costa Rica. This thermal spa is a collection of over 20 pools filled with flowing mineral waters originating from the base of the Arenal volcano. The volcano heats the water and sends it down a thermal river, cascading via small waterfalls through the resort supplying the various interconnected soaking pools. Some pools flow gently and others have quite vigorous waterfalls you can use as hydromassage. The volcanic rocks at the bottom of the pools can be sharp so watch your footing or wear water shoes. Pool temperature ranges from 72 to 100 Fahrenheit. The vast majority of the pools had an advertised temperature of 98-100.4 F but some pools definitely felt significantly warmer than others. Pro tip: Head to the upstream pools if you want hotter water.

The thermal pools are open until 10:00pm. The thermal spa is a very romantic area, with lots of hidden soaking spots. It got a little creepy at night as some of these soaking spots were unlit.

In the morning, don’t miss Tabacon’s buffet breakfast. It had a large selection of hot and cold foods, but the fruits stood out the most with their amazing flavor. The passion fruit and papaya were particularly outstanding.

Free Wild Hot Springs

Tabacon’s hot springs wre so well manicured that we initially questioned their authenticity. We were assured that 100% of Tabacon’s thermal spa waters were natural volcanic thermal spring waters, but we still wanted to see the real deal, unaltered, for ourselves for comparison. Luckily, the same thermal mineral waters that feed fancy resorts like Tabacon are also found … in nature. There is an easily accessible area of untamed hot springs just across the street from Tabacon’s pools, likely from the same underground source heated by the same Arenal volcano. Rio Chollin (or El Choyin on TripAdvisor) is a shallow thermal river open to the public. It has no admission fee, but locals will charge a few dollars to allow you to park on the roadside.

Where To Find The Wild Hot Springs

The untamed “wild” hot springs can be found at this link to the Google Maps location.

The Rio Chollin wild hot springs are made up of a gently flowing shallow river with intermittent pools. Most of the pools are quite shallow, not quite enough to be submerged under even when lying down. These wild hot springs felt cooler in temperature (likely due to the shallower depth) than the pools at Tabacon Resort, but otherwise the mineral waters and rocky sediment underfoot felt exactly the same. After a visit to Rio Chollin, we felt doubly reassured of the authenticity of Tabacon’s thermal spa pools.

“Luxurious” Tabacon vs “Wild” Thermal River

If you can, do both! Tabacon’s thermal spa pools and waterfalls were super relaxing and felt extra appreciated after a few days of “roughing it” in more rural lodging. In a direct comparison of the experience between Tabacon’s pools and the natural thermal river, Tabacon wins by a landslide. The pools at Tabacon are deeper and warmer, and the abundance of smaller private pools shielded from others by carefully landscaped vegetation added to the exclusive feel. The natural “wild” hot springs are obviously cheaper to visit, but the pools are quite shallow. If you only have a short time to enjoy the water, go for the natural thermal river but I’d recommend splurging to see Tabacon, even if it’s just a day pass to visit the thermal spa.