Day 1. San Jose
First, you arrive at Juan Santa Maria Airport and then transfer to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. Upon arrival, you can decide to settle into your downtown hotel and rest for a bit or go out and explore the city, depending on the time. San Jose's highlights include the National Theatre, National and Morazan Parks, Jade Museum in front of the Spain Park, Gold Museum, and many other unique sites to see such as other churches like the Metropolitan Cathedral. We will try to see a few of them, before visiting the countryside and the rest when we get back. We dine in a restaurant overlooking the Central Valley with a magnificent view of the city by night.
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 vicinity. 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, which is 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, which 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 l 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 visitor’s 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. If we remain 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 the great cataract, which is the last step of the La Paz falls and is easily accessible from the main road. After a short break, we continue to a small restaurant on the mountaintop 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 watching 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 a bit of time here enjoying walking along the trails while discovering the forest and the rest of the falls.
In the Afternoon, we head for the Arenal Volcano area where we freshen up and rest a bit before driving to the Tabacon Hot Springs to enjoy the hot spa after the exciting but tiring day. From here, we can occasionally hear the roar of the nearby volcano. If we are lucky, we will see an eruption up close and personally.
Day 3: Arenal Volcano
After breakfast on our third day, we drive to the La Fortuna waterfall where we do a short walk to the lake and the waterfall.
Next we off again, driving to the other side of the volcano where we continue to the Arenal Volcano National Park. Before entering the park, we go for an hour boat trip on the Arenal Lake to see the complete and majestic view of the volcanic cone from the surface of the water. Continuing, we drive on to a viewpoint to observe the volcano in the daylight and to hear the roaming eruptions. The viewpoint is 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 only a matter of luck. It is regarded, as one of the world's most active volcanoes. Its lava flows and activities 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 drops us at the beginning of short trail that leads us through the national park. If you are not too tired you can go on an ATV tour or horseback riding as an option or if exhausted you can always return to the hot spa or simply relax to save your energy for the night volcano observation which will take place after darkness falls and the gleaming lava reveals itself.
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 close by. 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. After browsing the park’s laboratory, we return to our jungle lodge where our dinner is served.
Day 5: Tenorio Volcano
Early in the morning, we reach Bijagua Heliconia, which is 2 kms from town. This is an eco-tourist lodge and biological station that was started by local farmers with the intent of saving what remained of the forest 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 on a well-maintained trail to the summit. While our expert guide leads the way, we try spotting animals and learn about the vegetation. Optional horseback rides are also offered here for those who would rather explore the environment in this way.
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 bungalows on the Garza Bay. On the way to the sea, we stop for a canopy ride in a lush forest area. In our seaside cottage, we spend 3 nights relaxing and waiting for the next great volcano. You can enjoy the waves of the ocean or soak up the sunshine as we did.
Day 7: Garza Beach
Enjoy your free time in Garza, Nosara and Guiones Beaches by horseback riding, enjoying ATV tours, snorkeling, scuba diving, surfing or even accompanying the fishermen for their evening shift at sea, which lasts a few hours. In the evening, you can enjoy what the local nightlife and restaurants has to offer.
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 bird watching and trekking opportunities. The diverse conditions foster a variety of wildlife species. More than 300 species of birds including 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 neighboring volcanic craters, from which the main crater still steams. There is also a lagoon in between two of the craters.
After arriving here in the late afternoon or evening hours, we settle in our hotel and enjoy our dinner.
Day 9: Volcano Rincon de La Vieja
Bright and early in the morning of the ninth day, 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 clear, we have a splendid view of the wide Guanacaste plains shimmering in the heat and beyond the mountains of Nicoya. We take enough water and snacks with us and have a fine dinner when return to our hotel.
Day 10: Volcano Rincon de La Vieja - San Jose
In the morning, we go bird watching 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 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 unique opportunity to soak in a perfect bathing hole at the base of one of the falls.
After a late lunch, we leave the Gaunacaste Mountain Range for the capital city and arrive in the evening and sleep in our friendly downtown hotel.
Day 11: San Jose
After breakfast, we go for an optional sightseeing and shopping walk in Central San Jose. Depending on the time of your departure, you can visit the Central Market, the crafts market that is close to the National Museum and some souvenir shops if desired. Alternatively, you can explore the city on your own if you are not into shopping. When it is time, we leave for the airport for our departure.
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Airport to airport service