Poás Volcano, Coffee & La Paz Waterfall from San Jose

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.72 (57 reviews) 88% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/13

Duration11h

GroupUp to 50

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Crater rim, cloud forest trail, five waterfalls and a working coffee farm in one morning and afternoon

This full-day tour from San Jose climbs Poás Volcano, tours a coffee plantation, and explores La Paz Waterfall Gardens with a professional guide, hotel pickup and buffet lunch included. You visit the active 2,708-metre volcano's main crater and hike to Botos Lagoon, learn how Costa Rican coffee is grown and roasted, then walk through rainforest trails past five waterfalls and animal exhibits. Entry lines are skipped at every stop.

11h

Step-by-step itinerary

Poas Volcano, Coffee, and Waterfalls

Visit coffee plantations and learn techniques
Explore Poas Volcano National Park and hike to Botos Lagoon
Enjoy buffet lunch at La Paz Waterfall Gardens
Walk trails and see waterfalls and animal exhibits

The Experience

The day starts at your San Jose hotel and heads to a working coffee plantation where you learn the cultivation, harvesting and roasting techniques that produce some of Costa Rica's best coffee. From there the route climbs into the cloud forest around Poás Volcano National Park, where the temperature drops and the vegetation thickens. The volcano itself is an active stratovolcano that has erupted 40 times since 1828; its crater spans over a mile across and drops 1,050 feet. You walk to the rim to see the sulfur fumaroles and the main crater, then hike a trail through different ecosystems to Botos Lagoon.

After the volcano, the tour continues to La Paz Waterfall Gardens, where a buffet lunch of traditional Costa Rican dishes is served (rated 4 Forks by the Costa Rican Tourism Council). The rest of the afternoon is spent on walking trails through rainforest, passing five waterfalls and stopping at educational animal exhibits—an aviary, butterfly observatory, hummingbird garden, serpentarium, jungle cats and frog exhibits. The trails wind through lush vegetation where you may spot birds, butterflies, monkeys and hummingbirds. Some sections of the waterfall trails involve stairs and hiking; those paths are not wheelchair accessible, though the wildlife area is.

Hotel pickup and drop-off, transport in an air-conditioned vehicle, a professional guide (in English or Spanish), bottled water and all taxes and fees are included. You skip the entry lines at both the volcano and the gardens. Breakfast is provided, and vegetarian or other dietary options can be arranged if you request them at booking. The full day runs 11 hours from pickup to return.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and drop-off in San Jose.
transport in an air-conditioned vehicle.
breakfast and a buffet lunch of traditional Costa Rican dishes.
entry to Poás Volcano National Park and La Paz Waterfall Gardens with skip-the-line access.
a professional guide in English or Spanish.
bottled water.
all taxes, fees and handling charges.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Destiny Travel Costa Rica

Is this one for you?At 11 hours from pickup to return, this tour fills most of a day and leaves the evening free. If you want to see an active volcano, learn how Costa Rican coffee is made, and walk past five waterfalls in rainforest without arranging three separate trips, the fixed itinerary and included transport hold it together.