La Pequeña Helvecia & Baldi

Join us for this delightful tour to the Arenal/San Carlos area to experience La Pequeña Helvecia, a small Swiss-style village with a hotel and dairy farm complete with an authentic Swiss mountain train nestled in the northern mountains above Lake Arenal. Our tour begins in San José and departs for the scenic highway connecting La Fortuna to San Ramón. We pass various farms and agricultural facilities, the beautiful Church of San Ramón, and continue into the agricultural areas and rainforest preserves of San Ramón and La Fortuna. You will enjoy a light and nutritious snack aboard our luxury bus and will be granted many photo opportunities along the breathtaking scenic route through some of Costa Rica´s highest and most beautiful areas in the Central Volcanic Mountains. As we approach La Fortuna, you will be afforded impressive views of the Arenal Volcano.

La Pequeña Helvecia is defined by its beautiful Alpine-style buildings including the Hotel Los Heroes, which is the nucleus of operations for the village. We will tour the interfaith chapel filled with beautiful paintings of Biblical events and serenaded by its bells which chime every fifteen minutes. After viewing the ¨lechera,¨ the heart of the dairy farm, we will gather in the train station and begin our journey to the top of the mountains in an authentic Swiss mountain train, which climbs over 656 feet and crosses many arched stone bridges, three tunnels, and climbs a switchback in the last section of the journey.

At the upper train station, you will be treated to a small cultural exhibit with a grand view over Lake Arenal and the Arenal Volcano. Our group will take a delicious Swiss-style lunch appropriate for all appetites in the revolving restaurant, where your table will traverse a complete 360° panorama of the mountains of San Carlos and Monteverde. After lunch, you may enjoy complimentary coffee and you may exit the restaurant to enjoy bird-watching from the outdoor patio.

After returning to La Pequeña Helvecia in the train, we bid goodbye to this delightful piece of Switzerland in Costa Rica and depart for the unparalleled Hot Springs at Baldi. Here, you will enjoy a selection of 25 thermal pools, water slides, and water bars where additional bar beverages and snacks are available for additional cost.

Tour Highlights

• Luxury bus transportation to and from San José
• Snack on-board
• Scenic rainforest route via San Ramón with photo opportunities
• Admission to La Pequeña Helvecia
• Interfaith Chapel of San Judas Tadeo
• Swiss dairy farm with Swiss-breed cows
• 7km ride aboard the authentic Swiss mountain train with many stone bridges, 3
   tunnels, and a switchback, climbing more than 650 feet
• Rotating restaurant and cultural exhibit above Lake Arenal with a volcano-view
• Swiss-style lunch as you enjoy the rotating restaurant
   (alcoholic beverages available at additional cost)
• Many bird-watching opportunities
• Admission to Baldi Hot Springs and Spa
   (bar and spa services available at additional cost)
• 3.5 hectares of tropical gardens with walking trails

Tour Pricing

$79 National/Resident Adults • $74 National Children 3-6 & Ciudadanos de Oro
$109 Foreign Adults • $94 Foreign Children 3-6 • All Children 0-3 FREE