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NORTHERN COSTA RICACosta Rica Travel in the Northern Zone |
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Costa Rica Hot Springs Comparison
Tabacón vs. Baldí vs. Eco Termales
First of all, this page is not to recommend one hot springs resort over the others, but to inform the savvy tourist of the differences between these three great hot spings paradises. So, let me just say right off the bat—I've been to all three and recommend them all. However, I understand that most tourists have neither the time nor the cash to patronize all three hot springs establishments. So, if you must partake in a process of elimination, read our comparisons to make it an informed one. A hot springs resort that excels in a category over the other two has its description marked in bold.
Hot Springs Comparison Chart
| Tabacón Hot Springs | Baldí Hot Springs | Eco Termales | |
| Price | Entrance Fee: $45 | Entrance Fee: $25 (Hotels and tour agencies often offer a reduced rate of $17) | Entrance Fee: $21 ($10 for Costa Rican citizens and residents) |
| Location | Located 12 km away. Taxi costs $10 in 2007. | Located 5 km away. Taxi costs $5 in 2007. | Located 5 km away. Taxi costs $5 in 2007. | Services Offered | Lunch and dinner offered, as well as full-service spa and hotel resort. A tour scheduled in La Fortuna will get you a hike through El Silencio forest reserve with a guide and views of Arenal Volcano, two hours in the hot springs, buffet dinner (EXCELLENT!), and all transportation included. In 2007 this tour runs about $70, depending on the travel agency and the commission that your hotel charges. | Lunch and dinner served. The same tour with forest hike, views of the volcano, hot springs, and dinner is offered with Baldí, but will cost you about $50. | Lunch or dinner offered. You need to reserve a spot at the hot springs for a four-hour time slot, during which you can arrange a time to have lunch or dinner served. Only 100 people are allowed in these hot springs at any given time. There are no tour operators who offer special packages to Eco Termales. You need to provide your own transportation. |
| Pools | Offers a huge variety of hot springs baths of varying temperatures, from steaming hot, to lukewarm. | Like Tabacón offers a large number of baths of varying temperatures. | Offers only five hot spring pools, and one cold pool. This is why they only allow 100 visitors at a time |
| Presentation | Tabacón gets the highest grade possible for presentation. They invested a lot of time and effort (and cash!) in making this resort as close as possible to paradise on earth. The pools are set in a natural fashion along the piping-hot Tabacón River. The buildings are also top notch, especially the dining room that lets you eat in opulent fashion. | Baldí is also an amazing set of hot springs pools, but is not quite as natural-looking as Tabacón. The presentation is certainly extravagant, but everything seems more man-made. Also, the greater distance between the hot springs pools makes for more walking, giving it more of a U.S. waterpark feel | Eco Termales gets good marks for presentation. The pools are cozily tucked within a corner of tropical jungle with big green trees towering over them. In this sense, it takes on a more natural feel than Baldí. |
| Views | Although you can see the Arenal Volcano from Tabacón, the resort is more closed off within the confines of its natural-looking atmosphere. Baldí offers better views. | Baldí has excellent nighttime views of lava flows (when skies are clear). Also, there is a huge pyramid from which you get a great view of the entire area from the foot of the Arenal Volcano. The views here are top-notch. | This is a major setback for Eco Termales. Even though the ambience is one of tranquil privacy, there are no views of the Arenal Volcano |
| Atmosphere | Tabacón for all of its natural beauty, is often flooded with tourists. Whether good or bad, this is definitely a high-traffic area, so you may not get the kind of privacy you had expected. | Since Baldí is very big, you can experience a greater deal of privacy here than at Tabacón. The areas are much more wide open, so neither do you get the feel so confined like you do in Tabacón (this by no means is a weakness of Tabacón's). | The atmosphere is one of privacy and exclusivity, if only the illusion of these things. This is no mistake of the places owners. Eco Termales does not advertise, requires reservations, and limits the number of patrons to 100 at a time. These things produce the feeling of a more exclusive, yet personable, establishment, a more peaceful vibe that the other hot springs don't offer. |
| Service | Tabacón is a very professional establishment and its staff is no different. The workers were very helpful and respectful. The only complaint I have is that it took me over twenty minutes to be seated for dinner due to high volume. This was less a matter of service and more of the sheer popularity of the locale. | The service was not very personable or helpful. It took a while for bartenders to make their way over to us, even at an empty bar. | The service here is excellent. I have to give the service at Eco Termales the nod over Tabacón because the more personal attention you get at this more exclusive hot springs resort. |
| Food and Drink | The food here is excellent. The buffet offers a great main course (Spanish paella when I was there), a variety of quality meats and cheeses, and a dessert table chock-full of sinful gluttony. Mmm. Drinks are good, but a bit expensive. | I didn't have dinner here, but the drinks were expensive and not that impressive. Also, as stated before, the service was not very attentive. | The food and drink at Eco Termales is excellent. Here you are served a set menu with your choice of either beef of chicken. I chose the beef and was pleased. There was also rice, refried beans, corn tortillas, and a salad with fresh avocado. Getting seated was no problem here like it was at the busier Tabacón. This place is not as easy on the taste buds as Tabacón, but the ambience is a bit easier on your nerves. The drinks are also very reasonably priced. $1.50 for beers and $4 for all alcoholic cocktails. I like it when a place doesn't try to gouge you. This is why I give Eco Termales the slight advantage in this category. |
The Hot Springs Bottom Line
Tabacón Hot Springs
If you're looking for the best, this is it. Just remember that you have to pay for it. Since the entrance fee is a whopping $45 (2007), you might as well do the tour that includes transportation, a guided tropical forest hike, and transportation. With my hotel in La Fortuna, Posada Roca Virgen, I got the tour for a cheap $64 in February of 2007.
Baldí Hot Springs
Baldí could only be considered second-best when compared to a place like Tabacón. The place really is a high quality establishment with impressive construction and even more impressive views. It is also a little easier on your pocket book than Tabacón, so with Baldí you really can't go wrong.
Eco Termales Hot Springs
This place is purposely a little out-of-the-mainstream, thus offering something that the other places do not: privacy. Privacy from what, you ask? Privacy from the noisy cruise-ship feeling of Tabacón and Baldí. The hot spring baths are equally relaxing here, so you really don't sacrifice much of the experience. Also, since a visit here is relatively economical, you will feel good about your time invested at Eco Termales.
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