Tabacon Hot Springs, Costa Rica

Our trip to Costa Rica this summer was packed full of adventure. We swam in the splash pool of a waterfall, hiked in the cloud forest and rode horses through the rainforest down to a bright blue river. Every holiday needs relaxation though and a visit to a hot springs provided exactly that.

On the outskirts of La Fortuna, there is a road lined with hot spring hotels. While some hotels have a few smaller pools, the biggest complex of pools is at Tabacon. Guests staying at Tabacon have full access to the hot springs as part of their stay. We were able to visit using the day pass system. Full details here:  https://www.tabacon.com/product-category/one-day-pass/ 

The staff at Tabacon gave my whole family a brilliant welcome with cold towels and cool fruity drinks. My hot and bothered children immediately relaxed. In fact, so did I. We changed into our swimming suits and started to explore. There are many, many heated pools filled by cascading waterfalls all surrounded by over 200 species of plants. The grounds are exquisite and all the pools are heated naturally by geothermal energy linked to Arenal Volcano which can be seen from the resort.

My children loved their day at Tabacon. They didn’t need water slides and splash pads because they spent the day exploring and enjoying the water. The pools vary in temperature and are all clearly marked so you know what to expect. Some the children paddled in and others they floated in. The coldest hexagonal pool was a favourite. My girls weren’t the only children there. They made friends with children who were guests at the resort and played in the swimming pool whilst the grown ups exchanged holidays stories.

Tabacon is a luxury resort and everything is perfect from food in the restaurant to the smiling staff. The hot springs really are the ultimate in relaxation and we found it hard to drag ourselves away. Within this though, Tabacon has a warm heart staying true to its founding principles of developing the community around La Fortuna.

I had heard that Tabacon worked with local schools and, as a UK headteacher, jumped at the chance to visit one of the school that Tabacon has been working with over a number of years. My family were able to visit with me too and it was a real highlight of our trip to Costa Rica away from tourist attractions and trips. We got to see people serving the local community of La Fortuna.

Escuela La Fortuna is right in the centre of town. Over 600 children are on roll between the ages of 4 and 12. The children were well behaved and working hard despite the sweltering temperatures in the tropical climate. Costa Rica’s central  government department oversees what happens in schools at local level. I was very surprised to hear that teaching staff are employed by the government department and deployed to individual schools. This means, the headteacher being given staff without little, if any, say.

The director of the school was a brilliant smiling but astute lady who offered me good advice. She also has incredible vision for the school to build a new library and create an English immersion programme where children are taught a range of subjects in English. She was extremely proud of the new music classroom which Tabacon had funded. We were able to visit and join in, even teaching the children an English song.

Tabacon have been working with the local community for over 30 years. They have annual events that are regularly supported  such as providing bouncy castles for children’s day in September. As well as this, they look at the needs of local schools and each year plan how to allocate funding. Their new program of Educational Excellence which recognises individual teachers sounds a great addition to their outreach.

Special thanks to Tabacon and Escuela La Fortuna for having us as guests.