Costa Rica Volcano Tours

SEE ALL OF THE FOLLOWING IN ONE SPECTACULAR DAY:
·  POAS VOLCANO CRATER and cloud forest.
·  COFFEE FARM STOP.
· SCENIC DRIVES though quaint colorful towns on either the sightseeing route through the town of Grecia with the steel church, then the oxcart factory and souvenir shopping town of Sarchi followed by Zarcero with topiary gardens of sculptured shrubs; or the direct route for maximum time at Arenal.
·  ARENAL VOLCANO WITH RED HOT LAVA at night.
·  Arenal Lake & Volcano views by day.
·  TABACON HOT SPRINGS RESORT or other springs (optional) at the base of Arenal Volcano.
·  TROPICAL RAINFOREST at Arenal and CLOUD FOREST at Poás.
·  SCENIC DRIVES through farmland and rainforest.
·  WILDLIFE; MONKEYS, TOUCANS, COATI are possible to see at Arenal.
·  LUNCH included. as are REFRESHMENTS ALL DAY; from BEER to bottled water, sodas and fruit

From San José we’ll turn off the Pan-American Highway through the provincial capital city of
Alajuela where we’ll stop to see 2 points of interest your knowledgeable guide will tell you about. From here our drive towards the Poás Volcano Cloud Forest National Park will take us up the slopes of the Central Volcanic Mountain Range by way of a scenic drive through beautiful landscape adorned with coffee, dairy, strawberry, flower and fern farms in addition to typical small towns with well kept homes. At one of these many coffee farms you will have the opportunity to sample and purchase top quality roasted coffee (ground or whole bean) straight from the farmer's roadside shop that also has beautiful views of the rolling landscape of coffee plantations and of the Central Valley below.

POAS VOLCANO: At approximately 9:00 a.m. we’ll enter the cloud forest of the Poás Volcano National Park where we'll walk 500 scenic yards on a flat paved pathway to the crater, located at a cool 8,900 ft. above sea level. On the way your guide will show you the beautiful giant leaves of the “Poor Man’s Umbrella” plant, epiphytes (air plants) and other plant species unique to the lush tropical cloud forest ecosystem that lines the walk to the crater. From the crater’s rim you’ll have the unique experience of looking down 1,000 ft. into an active volcano crater that's nearly 1 mile in diameter and constantly emitting sulfur fumes and steam. The crater's colorful array of rock strata and aqua green colored acid lake together with the barren old lava floe rock formations all surrounded by tropical cloud forest gives your experienced professional guide plenty to tell you about.

VIEW & FRUIT STOPS: After leaving Poás around 10:30 a.m. we'll make brief stops with a fantastic high view of the central valley below, and later further down the mountain at a roadside fruit stand to sample delicious fresh strawberries, other local fruit and snacks safe to eat.

The “Direct Scenic Route” gets you to Arenal Volcano sooner and takes you through a more rural scenic non-stop route climbing up through beautiful rolling landscape of dairy and fern farms, cloud forests, in addition to typical small towns with well kept homes. We’ll stop in the town of La Fortuna near Arenal Volcano for a delicious typical lunch before continuing on to Arenal Volcano, Arenal Lake and then the Tabacon Hot Springs Resort. Continue reading the “Common description of Arenal for all routes” below.

The optional “Scenic Sightseeing Route” to Arenal turns off the Pan-American Highway for a brief stop in the town of Grecia (Greece) to visit its unique double steeple metal church imported from Belgium in 1894 that your knowledgeable guide will tell more about. You’ll then travel another 20 minutes to the town of Sarchi to visit its 1903 oxcart factory and many souvenir shops. (See the blue colored text section in the “Poas Volcano & Sarchi ” tour description for more details on Sarchí.) You’ll then climb higher on a scenic drive for another ½ hour to have a delicious Costa Rican lunch at a nice restaurant with a impressive view of the Central Valley down below. After lunch we’ll continue another ½ hour through dairy and vegetable farms to the lovely town of Zarcero, with its cool mountain air, & unusual topiary gardens of juniper shrubs sculptured into wonderful enchanting figures, all in the beautiful Central Park in front of the town’s church. We'll then continue on a scenic drive for about 1.5 hrs, at first through more highland dairy and vegetable farms, then as we descend into the Northern Plains we’ll see more diverse agricultural land for beef cattle, sugar cane and other crops. By 4:00 p.m., as we get closer to the small tourism boom town of La Fortuna the imposing view of Arenal Volcano begins to dominate the landscape.

San Fernando Falls &
Hummingbird Gallery

HUMMINGBIRDS: A few miles down the scenic road with forest lined canyons and farm land we'll stop at a former typical country restaurant with a breathtaking view of the San Fernando Falls and enjoy a hummingbird gallery. A 300 ft. high spout of pristine water spilling out of an impressive rainforest lined canyon in the near distance, provides a spectacular background to a wide variety of hummingbirds feeding from feeders giving you an excellent opportunity to admire and photograph these amazing birds. Complimentary coffee and clean restrooms are available here.

LUNCH: At approx. 1:00 p.m., by way of an always scenic drive; we'll stop for lunch at a clean, modern & typical Costa Rican restaurant with a variety of delicious local food and refreshments in addition to popular American dishes. .

ARENAL VOLCANO and lake: Following Lunch we'll continue 1.5 hrs down the road to be at Arenal Volcano by 4:30 p.m. and then at the Arenal Lake and Tabacón Hot Springs Resort located at the base of the volcano. All are surrounded by dense tropical rainforest where it's possible to spot wild howler monkeys, coatis and toucans among other birds and wildlife. At the earthen dam of the large Arenal Lake Reservoir (largest in Central American) we'll stop and get out of the vehicle to take in the views of the impressive lake scenery and surrounding rainforest in addition to the panoramic view of the volcano in the near distance. After some refreshments we'll continue on around the lake for a few miles into the dense tropical rainforest that borders the lake on the lookout for wildlife such as coati, birds, monkeys and more spectacular views of the lake and of the volcano in the distance.

HOT SPRINGS RESORT: We then turn back the few miles to the hot springs resort to decide if you want to pay the optional $60 entrance fee (always changing price) to bath in naturally hot spring water that flows from the base of this spectacular volcano into several swimming pools. This resort has excellent views of the volcano, beautiful tropical flower gardens with pathways through it, several large concrete swimming pools of ever-flowing hot mineral water in addition to more natural rock-lined pools in the hot mineral streams that transverse the resort. It also has a waterfall you can sit under for a wonderful water massage, a water slide toboggan, 2 restaurants and a wet bar in the largest pool, all set in a tropical garden surrounded by tropical rainforest within view of the volcano. It also has showers & dressing rooms with lockers for your belongings and for the towels they provide for a deposit. An optional 1 hr. hike towards the volcano is possible from the springs. From the springs (or from other vantage points if you choose not to enter the hot springs) it's possible to SEE RED HOT LAVA coming down the slopes of this classic cone-shaped volcano mountain and experience its explosions that can often be heard, and sometimes seen, from far away.

An optional dinner by 7 p.m. at any of the many restaurants in the area or on the 2.5 hour drive back to San José will have us back by aprox. 10 :30 p.m. We can tailor the tour times to your needs for an earlier return. Also available as an optional 2 day overnight excursion. Price depends on the hotel chosen. Call for details.

Price 2 Volcanoes in 1 day tour: From $95*/person. Includes Poás Volcano entrance fee, Arenal Volcano and Lake visit with Lunch. Add optional $60 Tabacón springs entrance $85 with dinner or an optional $10-$15 dinner elsewhere. Children under 9 are ½ price with 2 accompanying adults. Other hot springs with lower entrance fees available. * All Prices are subject to change without notice and are based on the tour operating with 4 persons or more.

Price 2 day Overnight Arenal Tour; From $105/person for our 2 days tour services only. Depending on hotel add aprox.$45/pp. for double room occupancy in Hotel without views of the lava in the town of La Fortuna and add from $60 to $100/person for lava view hotels in double room occupancy.
As in the 1 day tour, lunch on the first day & Poás Volcano fee is included. Other meals are not included. Many hotels include breakfast. Prices are based on double room occupancy. Add $25 to $60/adult for the optional hot springs entrance depending on which springs. For our tour services children under 9 are ½ price with 2 accompanying adults. * All Prices are subject to change without notice and are based on the tour operating with 4 persons or more.

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