Miravalles Hot Springs: Every Venue, Price and the Bookable Day Trip

A Live Geothermal Field, Not Just Warm Pools

Miravalles is an active volcanic massif in the Guanacaste cordillera, and the heat under it is strong enough that the valley between Miravalles and Rincón de la Vieja hosts one of the world's larger geothermal electricity-generation projects. Costa Rica as a whole has more than 200 volcanic formations on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the heat from these systems warms underground water that surfaces mineral-rich, carrying sulfur and magnesium picked up in volcanic rock. At Miravalles that heat is visible at ground level in the bubbling mud pots, called pailas, that you can walk around at Las Hornillas.

For travellers the practical point is this: Miravalles sits inland, roughly a drive from Liberia rather than from the beach. None of the research files for this page publishes an exact drive time from Liberia airport to the venues, so treat any figure you see elsewhere with caution. What is certain is that the cluster is a day trip from the Guanacaste coast, not a walk from your hotel in Tamarindo.

Five Venues, Three Characters

The Miravalles hot springs split into three styles. There are the low-key local complexes: Yökö Termales, with four thermal pools and a wood-fired pizzeria, and the rustic Termales Miravalles retreat near Guayabo, where volcanic spring water is piped from the volcano's base at 4.6 litres per second into four pools on a roughly 6,000 square metre property. There is the budget family park Thermomania, which adds waterslides and a small hotel in front of the volcano. And there are the two distinctive ones: Las Hornillas, a family-run rural lodge where you walk among active mud pots and take a mud bath, and Río Perdido, a hotel and adventure resort built around a natural thermal river flowing through a canyon rather than built pools.

Only one guided day trip on this site reaches the area. It is the Miravalles Volcano, Waterfalls, and Hot Springs tour, and it does not name the spring it uses, which matters if you want a specific venue.

Side by Side

This table compares the five Miravalles-area venues on water type, setting and price. The figures shown are reported third-party or blog figures, not official rates, because none of these five venues prints a walk-up price on its own website. Where a figure looked stale we left it out rather than print it.

No tour on this site sells these venues directly, so the one bookable way in is the Miravalles day trip.

Reading the Price Column Honestly

None of the venues publishes a confirmed walk-up rate. The $10 (₡5,000) at Yökö Termales and the $6 (₡3,000) child rate come from a travel guide aggregation, not from the venue's own pages. The $40 at Las Hornillas is the newer of two conflicting third-party figures and sits next to a $7.50 figure from a 2021-era source that is almost certainly dead. At Thermomania the reported $10 excludes lockers, tax and tip, so the real cost at the gate runs higher, and the same source positions it against La Fortuna prices of $30 to $60 as the budget choice.

That honesty has a cost: if you want a Miravalles soak you should phone or message the venue before driving out, because the published numbers may have moved. If you would rather have a listed, reviewable price today, the guided day trip below is the only option on this site, or you can look at the Rincón de la Vieja hot springs cluster instead, where several passes carry firm listed prices.

Yökö Termales: the Local Institution

Yökö Termales near Bagaces is a long-running, low-key thermal complex on the Miravalles side of the geothermal belt. It offers four thermal pools at different temperatures, two jacuzzis and a Turkish-style steam bath fed by Miravalles volcano water. There is a camping area, a restaurant with more than 25 years behind it, and a wood-fired pizzeria, which makes it one of the few venues here where dinner is part of the visit rather than an afterthought.

It fits travellers who want a simple soak at a local price rather than a resort, and families with young children, given the reported $6 (₡3,000) rate for under-10s. The caveats: the venue's own pages describe the facilities but print no pricing, hours are not published, and reservation requirements are not stated. Go with the reported $10 (₡5,000) adult figure as a planning number, not a promise.

Las Hornillas: Mud Pots You Can Walk

Las Hornillas, a family-run rural-tourism lodge on the volcano's southern slope near Bagaces, is the most geological of the five. Its draw is the active pailas, the bubbling mud pots and fumaroles of Miravalles, which you walk through on site, followed by a volcanic mud bath and thermal pool facilities. It is more rustic and more earthy than the resort venues, and the geothermal walking area is the reason geology-minded travellers pick it over a plain pool complex.

The reported price is $40 for adults and $30 for children aged 4-10. The conflict matters: an older figure of $7.50 (₡4,500) from a 2021-era source circulates online, and neither can be confirmed because the venue's own Rates page could not be read. Posted trail boundaries at the mud pots exist for a reason and should not be crossed, and wet volcanic rock and mud underfoot make water shoes or secure sandals sensible.

Río Perdido: the Thermal River Canyon

Río Perdido is a hotel and adventure resort built around something most Costa Rican hot spring venues cannot offer: a natural thermal river running through a canyon, rather than constructed pools. Third-party listings add canyoning and aerial adventure options on top. If your image of a hot spring is a manicured pool deck, this is the opposite, and that is exactly its appeal.

The pricing picture is the weakest on this page. No current official or third-party figure was confirmed. Expect to enquire directly, and expect a resort-level rate when you do. If a canyon river soak is your priority and you also want adventure add-ons in the same canyon country, compare it with the La Leona Waterfall, Lazy River Tubing, Cliff Jumps & Hot Springs private tour, which finishes at Cañón de la Vieja Lodge's natural springs on the Rincón side.

Thermomania and Termales Miravalles: the Budget and Rustic Pair

Thermomania in Mogote de Bagaces is the budget tier. It fronts the volcano with constructed pools, waterslides, a volcanic spa area, coffee tours and hotel rooms. The reported $10 entry excludes lockers, tax and tip, so budget beyond the headline. The bigger caveat belongs in the open: Traveller reviews are notably mixed, with several citing poor pool and facility maintenance. If pristine upkeep matters to you, this is not your venue.

Termales Miravalles near Guayabo, about 3 km from the town, is a rustic retreat where mineral-rich volcanic spring water is piped directly from the base of the volcano at 4.6 litres per second into four pools of varying temperature. The roughly 6,000 square metre property has washrooms, change rooms, a small bar, covered seating and parking. No price was found for this venue itself. A $7.15 figure found in the same research pass belongs to Termales El Guayacán, a separate nearby venue with a hanging bridge and mud-pot tour, and quoting it here would be wrong. Consider this venue a find-it-and-ask-it option.

What the $190 Buys

The Miravalles Volcano, Waterfalls, and Hot Springs tour from Costa Rica Unique Transfers and Tours costs $190 per person and runs 7-9 hours. It pairs a walkable live crater at Miravalles Volcano with a swim at a rainforest waterfall and a thermal springs stop, with lunch included. It carries a 4.9 rating from 111 reviews. Pickup is included by air-conditioned vehicle from three meeting points: the operator's office in Playas del Coco, Plaza Santa Rosa in Liberia in front of Sucre Pharmacy, or El Jardin in Nacascolo.

Two honest gaps. First, the listing does not name the hot springs venue it uses, so you cannot check the spring's own reviews before booking. Travellers who want a named, reviewable resort should prefer a listing that states one, or visit a venue from the table above on their own. Second, the listing does not break out a hot springs entry fee line item, so what the spring charges at the gate is not published in the listing.

Extras and Who It Fits

The mandatory extra is a $20 car seat per child if one is needed. Gratuities are not addressed in the listing. Age bands run infant 0-3, child 4-9, youth 10-17, adult 18-99, and free cancellation applies up to 24 hours ahead.

Remember the shape of any guided spring day: most of it is road, activities and lunch, and the soak is one slice of a 7-9 hour day. This trip suits coast-based travellers without a car who want the volcano, the waterfall and the spring handled in one booking. Travellers with a rental car who already know which venue they want from the table above will usually do better driving to that venue directly. For a wider view of how this trip compares across the country, browse the other Costa Rica hot springs tours on the homepage.

One Paragraph on the Neighbour

Rincón de la Vieja, about 32 km from Liberia or 30-48 minutes by car, is the better-documented neighbour: more venues, more listed tour prices, and its own cluster of thermal parks and mud baths. If firm, bookable prices matter more to you than the wilder geothermal landscape at Miravalles, read the guide to Rincón de la Vieja hot springs instead. Both clusters share the same volcanic heat engine, and the valley between them generates geothermal electricity at one of the larger projects of its kind in the world.

Practical Safety on Miravalles Ground

Three things matter here. First, footing: the mud-bath and mud-pot venues, Las Hornillas above all, involve wet volcanic rock and mud underfoot, so water shoes or secure sandals are commonly advised. Second, heat: Guanacaste's springs sit in a hotter, sunnier, more exposed climate than the Arenal side, so sun protection and hydration between pools are a more pressing concern. Third, geothermal boundaries: sites like Las Hornillas and Termales Miravalles sit near active fumaroles and mud pots, and posted trail boundaries exist for a reason and should not be crossed.

On swimwear etiquette, swimsuits are required at all of Costa Rica's commercial hot springs. Nudity is not customary or permitted at any venue covered here, and dressing rooms and lockers are provided for changing. As for whether the volcano itself is safe to hike, the day trip's crater walk is described as walkable and guided,, and the listing states no fitness warning beyond moderate fitness.