For this trip to Poas & La Paz Waterfall Gardens, we recommend the pick-up at Los Sueños or Jaco at 6:00 am, in hopes of arriving at the volcano at around 9:00 am. After spending around 1-2 hours there, your driver will head towards La Paz, located around 40 minutes away. The usual is to spend around 2-4 hours at La Paz (the exact duration of the visit varies a lot depending on how much walking you can do or want to do). For lunch, you can eat at La Paz or the driver can stop at a local restaurant. Once you are done with the visit to La Paz, the driver will start heading back to Los Sueños.
Poas is a volcano that rises to 2,708 metres above sea level. At the top there are two craters, the principal of 1.5 km in diameter and 300 deep, and the Botos cold water lagoon source purely by rain. Today, the volcano emits a large amount of gas and water vapor from the different fumaroles that are located in the inner cone of the crater.
La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park & Wildlife Refuge is the most popular ecological attraction in Costa Rica. Combining lush tropical rain forest, flowing rivers, spectacular waterfalls, birds, butterflies, monkeys, hummingbirds, snakes, felines, frogs, and much more. When visiting La Paz, you are guaranteed to see a lot in one place.
Please note: This tour is not advised for people who have trouble walking, hiking and/or using stairs/steps. The weather can be very volatile in this area of Costa Rica, so being prepared for various temperatures and conditions is very important. Keep in mind that Poas and La Paz range in altitudes from 9,000 to 4,200 feet, respectively. We recommend lots of patience when visiting Poas, as clouds move constantly and there is always a chance that the crater may not be visible at all. If other trails of the national park are open (like the lagoon), you can explore them at your own pace. Your time at Poas and your time at La Paz will be self-guided, both places are properly designed to be explored without the need to have a tour guide with you.
- Hours of operation: 6:00 am pick-up recommended. Poas is located around 3 hours away from Los Sueños and Jaco.
- Duration: approximately 8+ hours from pick-up to drop-off.
- Difficulty: medium/hard. There is quite a bit of hiking and lots of steps at La Paz. Both Poas and La Paz are located in high altitudes, so these activities are not recommended for pregnant women, children, individuals who have high blood pressure, a heart condition, or recently had surgery.
- Days of operation: everyday. Email us to check availability.
- Includes: entrance tickets to Poas Volcano, private transportation for the day. The entrance tickets to La Paz and/or lunch are not included in the price. The price for the entrance tickets to La Paz is around $52 plus taxes and the price for the lunch they offer is around $14 per person plus taxes.
- Price: 2 people, $190 per person. Email us for pricing for groups of 3+ people.
Poas live cam here
