Irazú Volcano Half Day Tour from San Jose
Description
Visit the highest volcano in Costa Rica, enjoy of an easy hike to the top of the volcano where you will be able to admire both craters and its moon type surface. The tour includes round-trip transportation with a tour guide and admission ticket to the national park.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The trip begins by ascending the breathtaking summit of the Irazu Volcano, passing all types and forms of vegetation, from coffee plantations, to ferns, depending on the elevation. The trip leads up to a spectacular view of the massive crater which is home to a lagoon with a mystical green hue surrounded by jagged rocks. It should be mentioned, that on a clear day you can actually see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans! After an exciting tour of the volcano, we will descend to the historical city of Cartago. Here will visit the mysterious ruins of the old Parish and take in the beautiful Basilica of our Virgin of Los Angeles (Virgen de los Angeles) with rich displays of carvings, statues and other art.
The Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles (Our Lady of the Angels Basilica) is a Roman Catholic basilica in Costa Rica, located in the city of Cartago and dedicated to the Virgen de los Pardos, officially known as Virgen de los Ángeles (the Lady of the Angels).
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
“Tour departs from hotels in San Jose You must indicate the hotel’s name in order to confirm the booking. Please confirm the pickup time at least 24 hours before the tour.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Note: A minimum of 4 people per booking is required to confirm.
- Contact line available for handling hotel pick-up reconfirmations and day-to-day operational matters.
Reviews(60)
Tour guide was a no show. I reached out via phone, message and email and no response. Extremely disappointing as we drove into San Jose for pick up.
We sincerely apologize for this experience. A no‑show combined with the lack of response you encountered is unacceptable and does not reflect our service standards. This situation has been escalated internally for urgent review, as we take these failures very seriously. We regret the inconvenience caused, especially after you made the effort to travel to San José for the pickup.
Local tour guide didn't show up on the day, tried contacting them but no answer. Customer support was good and tried to sort it out, got a refund 2 days later.
We’re truly sorry that the local tour guide did not show up as expected. This is not the level of service we aim to provide, and we understand how frustrating that must have been. We’re glad our customer support team was able to assist you promptly and arrange a full refund within two days. Your feedback helps us identify gaps and work with our local partners to prevent this from happening again. If you decide to travel with us in the future, we’d appreciate the opportunity to deliver the experience you originally expected. Please feel free to reach out to our support team anytime.
This was an excellent and easy half day trip! Our guide was Gary, who was very knowledgeable. The volcano was incredible to see as well as the short tour of the church in Cartago. Bring some snacks and a jacket.
We’re delighted to hear you had an excellent and easy half-day trip. Gary will be especially happy to know his knowledge helped make your experience even more enjoyable. It’s great that you were able to take in the incredible views of the volcano and visit Cartago’s beautiful church. We also appreciate your helpful tip—it will surely benefit future travelers!
Sorry I can not recommend. Bus of 20 required over two hours of different hotel pickups. Drive up Mt was beautiful but time at volcano crater itself was 35 minutes, barely time to walk out and back, no view of crater bottom only upper sides. Church visit also felt rushed. Guide was great, funny and personable but is being asked to do an impossible job. I did half day tour, took 2 12/ hours to drop off tourists at five hotels before I got to mine. Way too much pickup and drop off time compared to actual trip time.
We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the scenic drive and found the guide engaging. At the same time, we understand your concerns regarding the extended pickup and drop-off times, as well as the limited time at the volcano and other stops. Shared tours can involve multiple hotel pickups, which may impact overall timing. That said, your comments are very valuable and will be reviewed with our team to improve the balance between logistics and time spent at each location.
I liked it, the guide was very friendly and attentive
I was on half day tour so it was short. Best take full day . Walking inside the crater is part of tour. Going to Cartago and visiting & learning the cathedral history and participating in a few activities was interesting.
Gary was very friendly and pleasant on the trip, his explanations were clear and I felt confident always. I highly recommend it for your tours!
They are unable to pick you up from an AirBnB so you have to make your way to closest (listed) hotel that they do pick up from. Can be difficult to arrange for their early morning pickup this way. Eric the guide was wonderful, as was the driver, who expertly travelled very the difficult roads up to Irazu. The stop at Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles in Cartago was very special. Wish we could have had a whole hour alotted there. All in all, an amazing 1/2 day trip.
Great half day tour. Our guide Pedro was very funny and did a lot of explaining during the tour. Unfortunately the rain and fog spoiled the ability to see the crater properly which was outside of anyone’s control. Highly recommend.
Pedro was exceptionally kind. No water in the volcano. Very informational. I'd recommend this tour...
Thank you for your review and for recommending the tour. We’re happy to hear Pedro made such a positive impression and that you found the information shared throughout the day valuable. Your note about the water conditions at the volcano is appreciated as well—it’s a natural factor, but feedback like this helps set clearer expectations for future guests.
