Poás Volcano Tour: Explore Costa Rica's Geothermal Wonder

Discover Poás Volcano’s bubbling lake, steam geysers, and the world’s largest active crater. Experience Costa Rica’s geothermal marvel safely.

Duration: 45 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Poas Volcano - The Poas is a volcano that rises to 2,708 metres above sea level, since 1989 has increased markedly the emission of gases causing acid rain phenomena that have damaged the flora in some sectors of the Park and surrounding agricultural plantations to the area. At the top there are two craters, the principal of 1.5 km in diameter and…
What's Included
  • All Fees and Taxes
What's Not Included
  • Private transportation
  • Parking fee ($5)
Additional Information

Poás volcano is a powerful symbol of the geothermal forces that formed Costa Rica. When the mist and clouds part you’ll see the sulfuric, bubbling, green rain fed lake at the bottom, surrounded by smoke and steam rising from fumaroles. Water from the lake is constantly seeping through cracks in the hot rock, evaporating and building pockets of steam….

Location
Poas Volcano
Cr130,
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.4
(40 Ratings)
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1 star
Carlagt6829bf
Mar 16, 2026
SPECTACULAR! EXPETACULAR! - Excellent tour guide Walbert 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 Breakfast was Excellent also Very educational tour
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nancy_f
Mar 3, 2026
Book through the National Park website if you can - if you can figure out how to buy a ticket on the park website, just do that. It is $17 cheaper. We could not figure out how to purchase on the park website so we chose Viator to book through and pay the extra $. After you book it, you have to get a code through another third-party which Viator works with and it was not easy to get. I had to contact customer support and it took quite a bit of back-and-forth to get the code.It was a lot of trouble to get to see the Volcano but once we got it all straightened out it was worth the trip.
Review provided by Viator
Matt_t
Feb 19, 2026
Spectacular experience - You may need to wait for the fog to clear up, but when it did for us, we enjoyed a spectacular view! The hike was great. The park was very organized and well maintained.
Review provided by Viator
Manatila
Feb 5, 2026
Beautiful place provided the weather is favorable - We were lucky, we arrived at 8:00 the volcano 🌋 was in the clouds and drizzle but by chance and with the help of the wind it is discovered On the other hand the reception of the entrance staff for the reception at the parking lot which costs 6 dollars, is an impressive cold no response to our hello "just a 6 Dollars " Arrived at the parking lot like that, you say hello he doesn't answer you and you look Arrived at the center at the level of toilets and reception, all visitors sought or go we were left to ourselves Of all the parks we visited it is surely and by far the one where the reception is the least warm
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Siddharth_s
Dec 31, 2025
Hidden gem. Cloud 9 experience! - Cloud 9 experience. Hidden gem that cannot be missed during Costa Rica trip. We did combined the coffee farm visit and got best day trip planned from San Jose.
Review provided by Viator
Kelli_y
Feb 18, 2026
Definitely worth seeing.... - Definitely worth seeing. It was foggy so we didn't get to see the lagoon but we did walk the entire trail which was paved and nice.
Review provided by Viator
Valeriadr4368bu
Feb 3, 2026
Watch the weather! - We were disappointed by our visit to Poás Volcano National Park. The day we arrived, the weather was grey and cloudy, which totally prevented us from seeing the volcano crater. Unfortunately, despite the total lack of visibility, the ticket price remains very high. It would really be nice if the park offered a reduced fee when the weather conditions did not allow to enjoy the main site. As it stands, the value for money is very disappointing. Tip for future travellers: do not allow too much time on site, as there is not much to do around the park. Rather, this visit should be considered a “joker” to make only if the weather is perfectly clear. Ideally, go as soon as you arrive in Costa Rica from San José airport if the weather is good, or at the end of your stay if you have a little time before returning to the capital for your return flight — always carefully checking the weather. In short, an expensive and frustrating experience. If there is any cloud, it is better to postpone the visit to another day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
P872skjavierm
Jan 14, 2026
Nice place that could not be appreciated - The visit to the National Park was frustrating. Although the area is very nice and has good infrastructure, we could not see absolutely anything of the crater or the lake due to the dense layer of haze. In addition, road access from San Jose is very heavy due to heavy traffic. In this sense, the cost we paid for income was too high. I suppose, under other conditions, the visit can be very good.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rhondabg1282lv
Feb 25, 2026
No visibility this time of year, waste your money - I would not advise to go to the volcano this time of year. You can see absolutely nothing as the fog is so thick. Itappears that it rains a lot, which is fine but the visibility is zero. The park person told us that if you come in April, you will be able to see the volcano. So unless you come in April, it’s a waste of your money Next thing you must be aware of, when you purchase tickets through TripAdvisor, can you get an email confirming your purchase. However, you must get a special code through the ‎Whats up app that was a bit frustrating as we had no clue how to do that. We did figure it out.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kevinoc7184za
Feb 1, 2026
It was terrible - We were told we had to book in advance that we couldn't book at the entrance so we were not able to see what the weather was like. It was cloudy and raining the day we went so we couldn't see anything
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $32
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).