Irazu Volcano National Park, Cartago City and Orosi Valley from San Jose
Description
In this day tour you will be able to enjoy beautiful views from the Irazu Volcano National Park, Orosi Valley and explore Cartago City. Irazu is an active strato volcano with an irregular subconical shape. It towers 3,432 meters above sea level and spreads over 500 square kilometers, which makes it the largest volcano in Costa Rica.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You will be picked up from your hotel in San Jose between 7 and 7:30am. You will then travel 12 miles Eeast through the Panamerican Higway to Cartago province. At 9:30am you will arrive at Irazu Volcano National Park for a short walk to the main craters, enjoying great panoramic views of the Caribbean and Central Valley. A tour guide will explain all important facts about history, activities, vegetation and wildlife. After spending one hour at the volcano viewpoint, you will start to make your way to downtown Cartago in order to visit the main Basilica. At around 11:30am, you will visit Cartago City's main attractions including the Los Angeles Basilica. At 12:15pm you will continue to the wonderful Orosi Coffee Valley, stop at a viewpoint for beautiful pictures of the region and proceed to a restaurant for a great lunch.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Travellers will be picked up at the Hotel lobby 5 mins prior to pick up time
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Dress code is smart casual
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Reviews(23)
$149 is too much for an entry to a volcano park, one stop at a church and one stop at a mediocre food lunch place. Price should probably be one third of that. The itinerary states: visit Cartago's city main attraction "including" the Los Angeles Basilica (it was the only attraction visited). There was no "Stop at a viewpoint for beautiful pictures", only a stop to a souvenir store (more money for them) and "proceed to a restaurant for a great lunch", where the food was meh and the service was cold at best.
Thank you for taking the time to share your honest feedback with us. We are truly sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations and that you felt the tour fell short of what was promised in the itinerary. We take your comments regarding the timing of the stops, the viewpoint, and the quality of the lunch and service very seriously. We will review this tour with our operations team and restaurant partners immediately to ensure our descriptions match the on the ground experience and to improve our service quality. We appreciate your feedback as it helps us grow, and we hope to have the opportunity to provide you with a much better experience in the future.
Very varied tour. Was able to walk in a crater, toured the Cathedral, botanical garden and had a tasty lunch. Have patience with the traffic. Roads are overcrowded. Edgar our guide was terrific on all aspects.
Thank you very much for your detailed feedback! We’re happy to hear you enjoyed the variety of the tour and that Edgar provided excellent service. We truly appreciate your patience with the traffic and your kind comments. It was a pleasure having you with us! PURA VIDA
Wonderful guide, well organized tour excellent lunch, worth the money, we enjoyed every minute of it
Thank you so much for your kind words! We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed the guide, the organization of the tour, and the lunch. Knowing that you felt it was worth the money and enjoyed every minute truly means a lot to us. We hope to welcome you again soon!
Harlem was a great guide, knowledgeable, efficient pleasant and helpful. The natural beauty of Irazcu is awe inspiring. We did not realize that the elevation was 9000 feet and that at the top at 9 AM it would be 40 degrees Fahrenheit and windy so be prepared and bring warm clothes. We ended up having to buy gift shop sweatshirts! While Irazcu was the highlight our visits to the two historic churches and the botanical garden were entirely enjoyable enlightening and worthwhile. As Harlem explained to us you need to see Irazcu first thing in the morning which makes the public bus a poor option. Lunch was consistent with the other meals we have had in Costa Rica: hearty, simple and delicious. We got the fish which was a great choice.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share such a detailed review! We’re delighted to hear that Harlem provided excellent service and shared his knowledge in a pleasant and efficient way. Irazú Volcano truly is breathtaking, and you’re absolutely right the elevation and weather can be quite a surprise, so your advice to bring warm clothing is very helpful for future travelers. We’re also glad you enjoyed the visits to the historic churches, the botanical garden, and the traditional Costa Rican lunch great choice with the fish! Thank you for joining us, and we hope to see you again on another adventure in Costa Rica.
My wife and I had an amazing day exploring Costa Rica's Cartago province on our tour that included Irazu Volcano, the historic city of Cartago, the Orosi Valley with a delicious lunch, and the beautiful Lankester Botanical Gardens. The views at Irazu Volcano were breathtaking, my wife commented that it felt like standing on another planet. In Cartago, the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles was very impressive. We appreciated having time in Cartago to shop for souvenirs. Lunch at the Orosi Valley was perfect with delicious Costa Rican food. We then visited the Church of San Jose de Orosi, built by Franciscans in the 1740’s, and finally, the Lankester Botanical Gardens with thousands of orchids in bloom, plus bromeliads, bamboo, and that peaceful Japanese section. A highlight for any plant lover. What made the whole day fantastic was our guide, Arlin, who was incredibly knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and made everything fun and informative. Highly recommend this tour for people wanting a mix of nature, culture, and great food. Easily a 5 out of 5 stars.
Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful and detailed review! We are especially happy to know that Arlin made your experience even more memorable with her knowledge, enthusiasm, and passion for sharing Costa Rica. Your kind words mean a lot to us and to our team. Thank you for recommending this tour, and we hope to welcome you back to Costa Rica for more unforgettable experiences in the future!
Had a great time with Edgar. He was very knowledgeable and had awesome conversations about the history and the people, culture. Definitely recommend this trip
Thank you so much for your kind words! We're thrilled to hear you had a great time with Edgar and enjoyed the conversations and cultural insights. Your recommendation means a lot to us , we hope to welcome you back for another adventure soon!
We saw and did a lot in this tour, so a very good value for a day tour. Be mindful, however, that the total tour, if you count pick up and drop off time takes about 12 hours, which makes it a very long day. Difficult to see the volcano because it was cloudy there but did get a small glimpse for a short time. Also be aware it's very cold up there. The lunch by the lake was a super beautiful place. Guide and driver were excellent, professional, kind, friendly.
Thank you for your detailed review! We’re glad you enjoyed the variety of activities and the beautiful lunch spot by the lake. We understand the long day and weather challenges, but it sounds like the excellent guide and driver made the experience worthwhile. We hope you get a chance to visit again under clearer skies!
We did not think would be such a great tour! The guide Raquel was fantastic as well as the driver. The lunch was booked in a great restaurant with a view and a great lake and a lot of variety to chose from a great buffet We loved it Thank you Raquel!
We are so happy to know that you had such a great time during this tour. Thank you for sharing your experience.
The tour was all I expected and more. Oscar was a great tour guide who understandably was passionate about his country. Destiny Travel should be commended for taking me on my tour, even with some last minute cancellations. I would heartily recommend this tour to anyone wanting a great overall experience. The knowledge you get from a professional tour guide is work every penny.
We covered a lot in a matter of hours and the tour guide (we had Abdul) was very nice and patient with us, extremely appreciative!
Thank you for your comments, we are glad to know that the service and the excursion were to your satisfaction. Thank you for allowing us to serve you.
