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World of Volcanoes Tour
One of the most breathtaking natural phenomena is a volcanic eruption. An unforgettable sight when nature shows its elemental power. Rare event which can observed safely even more rarely. Our tour brings you the volcanoes!
Despite the small size of the country, Costa Rica has many volcanoes. Some of them are active even today, like the mighty Volcan Arenal. The volcano erupts almost every night painting reddish the night sky and the clouds around its top. Bright lava flows and the distant rumble of huge falling rocks completes the experience. This tour around volcanoes is a real adventure!
| Level: Moderate |
Type: Eco-Adventure |
Duration: 11 Days |
Group: 6-8 |
| Moderate physical challenge though no special skills needed |
Geographic exploration, visits of historical sites. |
Duration is 11 days |
Small groups for a more personal experience |
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Day 1. San Jose
Arriving to Juan Santamaria Airport and transferring to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. We settle in our downtown hotel and take a rest or leave for exploring the city depending on the time of your arrival. San Jose's highlights include the National Theatre, National and Morazan Parks, Jade Museum in front of the Spain Park, Gold Museum, and the among other churches the Metropolitan Cathedral. We will try to see a few of them, then the rest of it when we return from out trip on the countryside. We dine in a restaurant overlooking the Central Valley with a magnificent view of the city by night.
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Day 2. Poas Volcano, La Paz Waterfall and Gardens, Volcano Arenal
In the early morning we leave for Heredia, a small town in the Meseta Central, which is the name of the region in the capital's vicinty. We stop for a short walk on the town's main square and have a look at the two beautiful churches before continuing our journey to the volcano only about an hours drive from here. Volcano Poas National Park is one of the most visited in Costa Rica, because of its proximity to San Jose and because of the luxuriant forest that surrounds the two craters. The park with its 5600 hectares, and its basaltic volcano stands at an altitude of 2,708 meters (8,200 feet) above sea level.
We pass coffee fields as well as ornamental plantations and you will see sales people at the street offering fresh strawberries and other delicacies. It is important to enter the park before the mist covers Volcano Poas' craters and caldera. Here the summit contains a number of explosion craters, and one of them has a small lake of sulfurous steaming water. It is just a short walk from the visitors center. On our way back we choose the trail leading through the forest instead of the paved one and enjoy the awesome vegetation. This leads us from the main crater to a smaller one, which is filled with the Botos Lagoon. Given we are quiet we can see birds and perhaps small mammals here, among them are: the robin, the hummingbird and the spectacular quetzal while the mammals include coyotes, long-tailed weasels, skunks and the Poas green-yellow squirrel.
After lunch we drive on to the next stop the La Paz Waterfall. Here you can easily approach this great cataract which is the last step of the La Paz falls and accessible from the main road. Later we continue to a small restaurant on the mountain top to marvel at the different hummingbirds sipping nectar from feeders. You can have a distant look at the La Paz fall from the terrace while these small birds return to the feeders from time to time. We continue to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens to take a tour and see their selection of butterflies, hummingbirds, and snakes. We spend some time here on the walking trails while discover the forest and the rest of the falls.
In the Afternoon we head for the Arenal Volcano area where we settle in our hotel and drive to the Tabacon Hot Springs to have a hot spa after the wearying day. From here we can occasionally hear the roar of the nearby volcano. If lucky we will see an eruption afterward from a close viewpoint.
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Day 3. Arenal Volcano
After breakfast we drive to the La Fortuna waterfall where we do a short walk to reach the lake and the fall.
After driving to the other side of the volcano we continue to the Arenal Volcano National Park. Before entering the park we go for an hour boat trip on the Arenal lake to have a complete view of the volcanic cone from the surface of the water. In continuation we drive on to visit a viewpoint to observe the volcano in the daylight and to hear the roaming eruptions. The 1,633 meters (5,358 feet) high Arenal Volcano is a picture-perfect cone. Unfortunately it is most often covered in clouds and getting to see an eruption is a matter of luck. It is regarded as one of the world's most active volcanoes. Its lava flows and activity have been constant, and on virtually any day you can see smoking cinder blocks tumbling down the steep slope from the crater, or at night watch a fiery cascade of lava spewing from the crater.
After leaving the viewpoint our van leaves us at the beginning of short trail that leads through the national park. If you are not tired enough you can go to an ATV tour or horseback riding as an option or if exhausted return to the hot spa or simply relax to gain energy for the night volcano observation which will take place after darkness falls and the gleaming lava reveals itself.
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Day 4. Arenal Volcano - Tenorio Volcano
In the morning we pack up and leave for Tenorio Volcano through Upala and Bijagua. The lushly forested Tenorio Volcano rises to 1,916 meters (6,286 feet). The surrounding rainforest is protected by the Tenorio Volcano National Park. After lunch we go for a walk with our local guide in the park to see the Rio Celeste, a unique blue river with a waterfall, fumaroles and boiling mud-pools nearby. Close to the Rio Celeste waterfall you can swim in a teal-blue lagoon. You can also enjoy the near thermal springs and see the birth of the blue river, where the color of the water abruptly changes from green to white then blue due to the volcanic activity. Another arduous and slippery trail leads through cloud forest to Tapir Lake, where it is common to see tapirs drinking at dusk in the waters that fill the volcanic crater. Cougars and jaguars tread the forests. And monkeys abound.
After the tour we visit the park laboratory where local insects are collected and inspected. We return to our jungle lodge where our dinner is served.
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Day 5. Tenorio Volcano
Early in the morning we reach Bijagua Heliconia 2 kms from town. This is an ecotourist lodge and biological station that was started by local farmers intent on saving what forest remained on their property. From 700 meters (2,296 feet) elevation on the slopes of Tenorio trails lead into prime rainforest and cloud forest. From here we go for a walk by well-maintained trail to the summit. We go along the way with our expert guide trying to spot animals and learning about the vegetation. Optional horseback rides are also offered here for those who would rather explore the environment in a different way.
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Day 6. Volcano Tenorio - Garza Beach
After a short visit to the local farmer's area we leave the Tilaran Mountain Range to take a nap in our beach bungaloos in the Garza Bay. On the way to the sea we stop for a canopy ride in a lush forest area. In our seaside residency we spend 3 nights relaxing in waiting for the next great volcano. You can enjoy the waves of the ocean or soak up the sunshine.
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Day 7. Garza Beach
Freetime activity in Garza, Nosara and Guiones Beaches. You can enjoy horseback riding, ATV tours, snorkeling, scuba diving, surfing or even we can accompany the fishermen for their evening shift on see which lasts a few hours. In the evening you can enjoy what the local nightlife and restaurants has to offer.
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Day 8. Garza Beach - Volcano Rincon
de La Vieja
In the early afternoon after lunch we leave for the next exiting Volcano, the magnificent Rincon de La Vieja with excellent birding opportunities and trekking opportunities. The diverse conditions foster a variety of wildlife species here. More than 300 species of birds include quetzals, toucanets, the elegant trogon, eagles, three-wattled bellbirds, and the curassow. Mammals include cougars, howler, spider, and white-faced monkeys, kinkajous, sloths, tapirs, tayras, and even jaguars.
Rincon de la Vieja with its 1,895 meters altitude (6,217 feet) is an active volcano in a period of relative calm. It is the largest of five volcanoes that make up the Cordillera de Guanacaste and is composed of nine separate but contiguous volcanic craters, from which the main crater still steams. There is also a lagoon in between two craters.
After arriving here in the late afternoon evening hours we settle in hour hotel and enjoy our dinner.
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Day 9. Volcano Rincon de La Vieja
Early morning we begin our straightforward hike from the Ranger Station to the summit. Our trail begins at the Ranger Station and leads up the steep, scrubby mountainside through elephant grass and dense groves of twisted, stunted copel clusia, a perfumed tree species common near mountain summits. En route we cross a bleak expanse of fossilized purple lava rivers. If the weather is clean we have a splendid view of the wide Guanacaste plain shimmering in the heat and beyond, the mountains of Nicoya. We take enough water and snacks with us and we have a fine dinner when return to our hotel.
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Day 10. Volcano Rincon de La Vieja - San Jose
In the morning we go for birding on a path that leads through cloud forest full of orchids and links to an area of bubbling mud volcanoes, boiling thermal waters, vapor geysers, and the so-called Hornillas (Ovens) geyser of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. Close to the cloud forest area our trail leads to soothing, hot sulfur springs called Los Azufrales (Sulfurs). The thermal waters form small pools where we may bathe and then use the cold-water stream nearby for a cooling off after a good soak. On another short trail we can visit the Hidden Waterfalls system where three steps exceed 70 meters. Here is another cooler opportunity to soak in a perfect bathing hole at the base of one of the falls.
After late lunch we leave the Gaunacaste Mountain Range for the capital to arrive in the evening and sleep in our friendly downtown hotel.
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Day 11. San Jose
After breakfast we go for an optional sightseeing shopping walk in Central San Jose. Depending on the time of your departure we visit the Central Market, the carfts market close to the National Museum and some souvenir shops if needed. Alternatively, you can explore the city on your own if you are not into shopping. When it is due we leave for the airport for your departure.
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Alternative extensions
- Irazu Volcano, Cartago and Orosi Valley: 1 day
- Turrialba Volcano Hike: 1 day
- Turrialba Volcanolcano Hike and Horsback Riding: 2 day
- Central Pacific Beach with Carara and Manuel Antonio National Parks: 3 days
- Tortuguero Canal Trip: 3 days
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Highlights of this trip:
 Airport to airport service
All inclusive except international flights
Exploration of the volcaoes in Costa Rica;
Flexible and adaptable program, many extensions available
Local cuisine -- fresh and healty dishes
Small groups for more personal experiences
Expert and nature enthusiast tour guides
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The description of this program is provided as a general indication of the tour's route. Your program could be slightly different according to weather conditions, availabilities or changes in the accessibility of a site or a region.
| What is included? |
What is not included? |
- Transportation in a modern and private minibus
- Expert tour guide
- All breakfasts plus one complete meal per day
- Lodgings in nice and comfortable hotels
- All activities and park entrance fees included
- Museum and park entrance fees included
- Canopy tour
- Boat trip fares
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- International flights and taxes
- Personal insurance
- Tips, drinks and personal expenses.
- Admission fees for alternative activities
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