Volcano Tours in Costa Rica
Six active volcanoes, 112 experiences, and the fact nobody leads with: nothing here has produced watchable lava since October 2010.
Six volcanoes in Costa Rica are classified as active, and not one of them has produced lava a visitor could stand and watch since Arenal stopped in October 2010. That single fact explains the shape of the whole market. What the country sells is not eruption viewing. It is a set of national parks where the volcano heats the rivers, feeds the soil and holds up the forest, and where the day you book turns out to be a rainforest day with a crater somewhere inside it. Arriving with the other expectation is the most common way to be disappointed here, and it is entirely avoidable.
The three areas do not substitute for each other. Arenal is a small town with a mountain behind it and sixty-four things to do in the rain. The Central Valley volcanoes are craters you drive up to and look into, half a day from San José, usually with a coffee estate attached. Guanacaste is dry forest, boiling mud and the one volcano currently misbehaving. They sit three to five hours apart by road, which is more than most two-week itineraries allow for. What follows is what each costs, how far apart they really are, and how to choose between them.
Choose a destination in Costa Rica
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Arenal Volcano
Arenal Volcano tours from La Fortuna: hanging bridges, hot springs, waterfalls, rafting and rainforest hikes. The cone has been dormant since October 2010.
64 experiences in 6 destinations -
Poás & Irazú Volcanoes
Volcano tours from San José: the Poás acid crater lake, Irazú's drive-up summit at 3,432 m and Turrialba. Which to choose, and why the morning cloud decides it.
28 experiences in 3 destinations -
Rincón de la Vieja
Guanacaste's volcanoes: Rincón de la Vieja's boiling mud, the Río Celeste inside Tenorio, and the Miravalles geothermal field.
20 experiences in 3 destinations
Volcano Travel Experiences in Costa Rica
Rio Celeste Float: Tubing Between the Rapids and the Still Water
A float descent that alternates fast water with backwaters where the current drops off, under vegetation that closes over the Rio Celeste in places.
Rio Celeste Full-Day Hike from La Fortuna: Waterfall, Lookout and the Colour Change
A 4-hour walk in Tenorio Volcano National Park to the waterfall, the lookout and the junction where two mineral rivers turn the water blue. Lunch afterwards.
Rio Celeste Hike with Swimming and Lunch at Don Alexis Farm
The park section covers Los Teñideros, Los Borbollones and the waterfall; the swimming and the Costa Rican lunch happen afterwards, at Don Alexis Farm.
Rio Celeste in Tenorio Volcano National Park, with Sloth Watching, from San Jose
The trails inside Tenorio Volcano National Park lead to the Celeste river and its waterfall, in the canton of Guatuso, with sloth watching included.
Rio Celeste, Llanos de Cortes and Jungle Life Sloth Sanctuary from Guanacaste
Two waterfalls in one day out of the Guanacaste beaches, plus rescued sloths at Jungle Life. Pick-ups from 6:00 am and a three-hour drive to Tenorio.
Rio Celeste Tubing with a Certified Naturalist Guide and GoPro Photos
A certified bilingual naturalist stays with the group for the whole descent, and the GoPro photos are taken for you. Five departures a day from the operator's base.
Rio Celeste Tubing with Rio Celeste Nature from the Katira Base
Run by Rio Celeste Nature from its riverside base at Katira, the one of its two offices that takes the adventure activities rather than the naturalist walks.
Rio Celeste Waterfall with Slothland Bijagua: Sloth Reserve, Coffee, Chocolate and Lunch
A private sloth reserve at Bijagua where the animals move loose, an interactive coffee and chocolate tour, and a typical lunch already covered by the price.
Sarapiquí Rafting, Class II-III, Open to Children from 7
Class II and III water on the Sarapiquí, with a minimum age of seven, so a family can run the same river together. Bring your own water bottle.
Side-by-Side Buggy at Arenal: Two Seats Abreast, Drivers 18 and Over
Two seats abreast in one machine rather than separate quads, a warm-up track before the hard sections, and a swim in the Arenal River. Drivers must be 18.
Sky Tram and Sky Trek at Arenal: Cable Car Up, Zip Lines Down
The aerial tram climbs to the highest point of the reserve with the volcano and the lake in view, then the Sky Trek cables bring you back down at speed.
Sky Walk, Sky Tram and Sky Trek at Arenal: 7 Cables up to 660 Feet High
Seven zip line cables totalling 1.7 miles and reaching 660 feet above the canopy, after the guided bridge walk and the cable car to the top of the reserve.
Tenorio River Rafting, Class III-IV, with RCR-Rafting from Cañas
RCR-Rafting has run the Tenorio since 2004, the first rafting company in Guanacaste. Class III and IV water through tropical dry forest, north of Cañas.
Three Days from San Jose: Monteverde Bridges, Arenal, Manuel Antonio
Two nights of accommodation split three places: canopy bridges at Selvatura, a hike on the country's most active volcano, and the Pacific park at the end.
Two Waterfalls, Two Wildlife Stops and a 50-Metre Rappel: Arenal from San Jose
Seven zip lines end on a rappel of 50 metres, and the coffee is drunk at a bird viewpoint above the San Fernando falls rather than at the plantation.
Wave Expeditions: 980-Metre Cable at 70 km/h, Then Class II-III Rafting
Seven extreme cables, the longest 980 metres over the waterfall at up to 70 km/h, then two hours on class II-III water. Transfers and lunch included.
Ratings collected by Viator and Tripadvisor