Arenal Oasis Eco Lodge & Wildlife Refuge, La Fortuna

Arenal Oasis is a family-owned lodge and small wildlife refuge outside La Fortuna, built on an old cattle pasture that the Rojas Bonilla family farmed organically and then let return to forest. Today its ponds, gardens and second-growth woods are best known for a guided night walk among dozens of frog species, plus a large butterfly dome with Arenal Volcano behind it. It suits families and wildlife watchers who want a simple cabin and easy nature right outside the door.

At a glance

Where it is

La Fortuna is the busy gateway town for Arenal Volcano National Park, with its hot springs, waterfall and endless tour desks. Arenal Oasis gives its address as 800 meters south of the main entrance of Z-13 in La Fortuna, close enough for restaurants and tours but quiet once the day visitors leave. The rooms look over forest and garden, and some have a partial view of the volcano.

From cattle pasture to refuge

The lodge’s About us page tells a story typical of how much of Costa Rica’s forest came back. In 1986 the Rojas Bonilla family bought a piece of a cattle ranch with large pastures and very few trees. For about a decade they farmed it organically, raising animals and crops for their own community, and say they were among the first families in La Fortuna to drop agrochemicals. At the end of the 1990s they stopped farming and let the forest regrow, and wildlife soon followed. In 2003, as tourism grew around the volcano, they opened the lodge, one of the first eco-lodges in the area by their account. Recordings of the family matriarch, Doña Rosa, talking to visiting environmental-studies students are posted on the site.

Cabins

According to the lodge’s rooms page, there are 14 rustic wooden cabins: 12 bungalows and 2 larger villa-style cabins for families and small groups. Room types range from a double bungalow (one double and one single bed) to a family villa with two doubles and a single. Rooms have private bathrooms with hot water, ceiling fans, a safe, Wi-Fi and private parking. Check-in is at 2 p.m. and check-out at noon. This is comfortable, plain lodging, not a boutique hotel.

Food

Mi Tierrita, the on-site restaurant and bar, serves Costa Rican home cooking with some organic ingredients, plus a few international dishes. Breakfast comes with a show at the bird feeders, and the restaurant is where the early-morning tours finish.

Frogs, birds, sloths and butterflies

The refuge is small, under 6 hectares, but the family has made the most of it. Its four signature tours are open to outside visitors as well as guests, so expect some day visitors on the trails at tour times. The tours page describes them:

• Frog watching night walk. A 2-hour guided walk starting around dusk to the frog ponds, which the lodge calls the only wild frog sanctuary in Arenal. At least 38 frog species have made the ponds their home, according to the lodge, along with snakes, insects, glowing fungi and nocturnal mammals such as armadillos and kinkajous. This is the tour reviewers rave about.
• Bird watching. A 3-hour dawn walk through gardens, fruit trees and forest edge, ending with breakfast beside the feeders. The lodge reports more than 352 species recorded on the property.
• Sloth tour. A guided walk on the refuge trails, followed by a short drive to sloth spots around La Fortuna. The lodge describes itself as the company that pioneered sloth tours in Costa Rica.
• Butterfly garden. The butterfly dome is a geodesic structure 14 meters tall and 24 meters across, which the lodge says is the largest butterfly dome in the country. Inside are a waterfall fountain, streams feeding a plant-filtered natural pool, four small bridges and a raised viewing platform. A puparium lets you watch butterflies emerge, and the outdoor gardens include medicinal plants, orchids and hives of native stingless bees.

All the tours are led by certified naturalist guides in English and Spanish. As always, sightings depend on the night, the weather and luck.

Around Arenal

The lodge books the usual menu of Arenal adventures. Within Arenal Volcano National Park, created in 1991, SINAC highlights the trails over the 1992 lava flows, a ceiba tree more than 400 years old and lookouts toward the volcano’s cone and Lake Arenal. Other options from the lodge include La Fortuna Waterfall, hanging bridges, horseback rides, kayaking on Lake Arenal, safari floats on the Peñas Blancas River, rafting, a chocolate and coffee tour, a day trip to Río Celeste, and the Caño Negro wetlands, a refuge famous for waterbirds near the Nicaraguan border. Our Arenal and Río Celeste ecotourism guide has more on planning days here.

Sustainability: claims and evidence

The family’s real conservation story is the land itself: an old pasture regenerated into forest that now supports frogs, sloths and hundreds of bird species. The lodge says it recycles, uses eco-friendly products, applies no agrochemicals and builds in harmony with the environment, and its sustainability page mentions renewable energy without details. The butterfly dome’s plant-filtered, recirculating water is a nice touch. Arenal Oasis isn’t listed in the official CST directory, so these remain the lodge’s own claims.

Who it suits

Arenal Oasis is a good match for families with children old enough for a night walk, budget-minded nature lovers and anyone who wants frogs and birds without driving to a tour. Staying here means you can do the night walk and still be back in your cabin in minutes.

Guests who want hot springs on site, a spa or a large private reserve will be happier elsewhere. For a bigger forest with volcano views, compare Arenal Observatory Lodge, or for a farm-style stay with more trails, Leaves and Lizards. Catarata Eco Lodge is another La Fortuna option near the waterfall road. See all our Arenal and La Fortuna eco-lodges.