After years of not going we went to the Poás Volcano National Park with a reservation, although we did not see the crater because of the mist ... The good thing was that we stayed in the chalets of the Hotel Villa Calas in Poasito where we had a great time and enjoyed the trails between paddocks.

How to get there?

Poás Volcano: You pass through downtown Alajuela, passing through the Alajuela Courts, from here follow the signs that say Poás Volcano, enjoy the road that is very beautiful, do not hesitate to stop to buy cheese and fresh strawberries.

Villa Calas: Going up the Poás you have to turn right in Poasito, from here it is 4 km continuing towards Vara Blanca.

Waze:

Poás Volcano National Park: https://waze.com/ul/hd1u1gjvp3

Hotel Villa Calas: https://waze.com/ul/hd1u1u97eb

Distance: 1.4 km

Difficulty: Easy

Accessibility: Accessible

What to bring?  Coat, waterproof jacket, sunscreen, long pants and comfortable shoes.

Vehicle: Automobile

Parking: Yes

Pets: No

Camping: No

Contact: Poás Volcano: 24822165

Hotel Villa Calas: http://www.villacalas.com/

Phone: 2482-2222

https://www.facebook.com/VillaCalascr

https://www.instagram.com/villa_calas/

Cost:

Entrance to the National ¢ 1000

How to book a reservation for the Poás Volcano?

You have to go to https://serviciosenlinea.sinac.go.cr/ Create a user (if you don't already have one) Select the National Park Reserve the day and date that suits you After entering all your data, proceed to make the payment.

We went on Friday night to the Hotel Villa Calas located in Poasito, here we dined in the restaurant next to a central fireplace that heated the place, which in itself has a quite cozy atmosphere.

After a little wine we went upstairs to the chalet-type rooms. They are beautiful on the inside with a fireplace, living room, kitchenette and a mezzanine where the main room with a balcony is located.

We lit the fireplace and ate some chocolate covered strawberries to finish settling in and rested for the next day.

We got up at around 7 to go down for breakfast and go to the Poás Volcano since we had the reservation at 9. The nice thing here is that we were 20 minutes from the National Park, so we got up early to take advantage of the day and arrived at the entrance of the Poás Volcano National Park, in addition to the entrance you have to pay for parking (they accept card) and as it is with reservation you have to be punctual. The entry protocol is strict, first they took us to the bathroom to wash our hands and to finish they put a helmet on us while we waited our turn.

Although early the weather was not as sunny as we expected, when it was our turn to go to the crater, a drizzle began to fall so we enjoyed those 20 minutes of travel to the crater taking photos and hesitating since we knew it was going to be cloudy. Said and done, we arrived and it was totally cloudy ... Then the group that followed arrived and we had to go back to the entrance.

The path that leads to the other lagoon is closed, that is, there is not much to do ... Also, they do not allow picnics in the National Park or in the surroundings (there are very beautiful pastures with flowers).

So since we couldn't do anything else in Poás, we went back to the Hotel Villa Calas, here we walked along the hotel's trails between beautiful pastures (they are about 5 km long) and we enjoyed the good weather for the rest of the morning before going back to San Jose.

** BONUS **

On the way back we went to a restaurant called "El Recreo" going down towards Fraijanes, they sell yucca and all the food was very tasty.

Waze: https: //waze.com/ul/hd1u1speyy

• DATE OF TRIP: November 2020