Day Trips & Volcano Tours In Costa Rica

In Costa Rica almost all mountain ranges are of volcanic origin and therefore vacationers can take with ease tours to areas that feature craters. In province of Cartago, located close to the capital city of San Jose, lies Volcano Irazu - the highest of all volcanos in Costa Rica with 11,260 feet or 3,432 meters. It is also one of the most active, with a history of eruptions recorded from 1723, the last one dating back to 1963-1965. Yet, today it is inactive and the crater hosts a small lake.

Another destination for volcano tours in Costa Rica is Poas, located in province of Alajuela, which is also one of the most active volcanos in the country and features one of the largest active craters in the world. The 8,884-feet (2,708 meters) high volcano is made up actually by two vast craters that host now lakes. The southern lake, Botos, is cold and clear, while the other one is warm and acidic.

Tours to Volcano Arenal, located in the northwestern region of Costa Rica, draw every year tens of thousands of vacationers eager to see a constant stream of hot lava flowing down on slopes. Arenal is the only volcano in Costa Rica constantly active and is considered as one of the ten most active volcanos in the world.

Located in the southeastern region, Turrialba is a large and densely forested volcano. Three well-defined craters lie in the upper section of the mountain, all of them remaining quiet after a series of explosive eruptions in the 19^th century.

Rincon de la Vieja, the largest volcano in the northwestern area of the country, is actually a remote volcanic complex in Guanacaste that features at least nine lava-throwing holes located within a 10-mile (15 kilometers) wide crater. Tours to this volcano are very popular with tourists booking all inclusive vacations to Guanacaste region.

Miravalles is a relatively young volcano, featuring lava flows on the western and southwestern flanks. The only reported eruption was a small steam explosion in 1946.