Yesterday we visited Tabacon in Costa Rica. We’ve been there several times before and it never disappoints.
Tabacon has a number of natural pools heated by the volcano Arenal. It sits at the foot of the volcano catches the water run-off that comes down that very active volcano.
As you sit in the hot springs (average 40.4 degrees celsius), you might hear some rumbling as the volcano erupts. From my favorite pool, you can even see the puffs of steam and smoke that are spewed into the air whenever it erupts.
There is a swim up bar and an excellent spa. A deep tissue massage is $130.
The entire area is covered in typical Costa Rican foilage and lots of wild life can be seen. Don’t be surprised to see a howler monkey in the trees above you or a basilisk lizard running across the water. Both are very common. Toucans and other birds are even more common.
Tabacon is my favorite place on earth. I’ll have a page up with pictures soon. I highly recommend a visit to Tabacon whenever you visit Costa Rica.
-James D. Brausch
1 response so far ↓
1 Joan // Mar 23, 2008 at 12:39 am
This site is a wealth of information though I must admit, I had a very different experience at Tabacon.
Having been to other hot springs in my travels, I found Tabacon overly commercialized, very noisy and the spa services where the most generic and overpriced I and my travel companions had every experienced.
I tried everything from Watsu Massage, a massage in warm water. Normally a very freeing experience with the right therapist but it felt like the therapist was not fully tuned in. The 2 regular massages I had were very generic, like they had attended the same massage school, learning the same generic techniques and not tapping intuitively into what my body was asking for and watching the clock to boot. The pedicure and manicure, again, given by workers that were not into their job and below average, yet, like all of their services I indulged in, more expensive than I have paid in Chicago, San Francisco and even Hawaii.
I receive pedicures, manicures and massages on a monthly basis so I have a lot of experience to draw from.
The food was also geared towards the tourist so nothing special yet tourist rates.
I also do not understand why there is no sulpheric smell like in the volcanic hot springs I have visited in Germany and California? No one has been able to tell me why. Do you know?
I did see some howler monkeys though they were quite high in the trees so binoculars would have helped.
Has anyone experienced Baldi or other hot springs around CR? Are there any where one can just pull over and jump in the water where they are not filtered?
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