Birdsong Villa Arenal had incredible views of Arenal Volcano, Lake Arenal, and the forest, but the volcano has been inactive for a few years so there was no lava to be seen.

The b&b was a bit remote, so we probably should have rented our own car – our host Allan was nice enough to give us a ride when needed though.

If you go to Costa Rica, ziplining is a must. We zipped at Sky Trek, who have one cable that is nearly 1/2 a mile long. The basic layout of their course has you going back-and-forth over a valley that overlooks the lake and volcano.

We also took a guided hike in the National Park, which was definitely worth the fees as our guide pointed out spiders, birds, trees, plants, and everything else we would have otherwise walked past unknowingly. It also took us across a couple of the old lava flows and to a much closer view of the volcano.