Go early in case the clouds roll in and block your view. The hike to the lake and is worth it but you better in shape if you continue on. Great work out and beautiful views.
the drive is a little hard but the views and the people you see on the way - that's the experience. we drove by car and you must have a GPS becasue there are no signs along the road!
The walk takes about 15 minutes on a level, even path. The color and size of the Poas hot pool of vocanic liquid was beautiful and we were told we were lucky to have such a clear view. The bus ride from San Jose was picturous passing coffee, palm, flower plantations. Continue up to the Lake and then do the loop. It's a nice walk.
After seeing Arenal during a previous visit, I was intrigued with the opportunity to get a closer look at another volcano. This was worth the walk and was amazing - especially taking the route to the lakes. Truly nature at it's best.
We had read that the best chance to view the crater and lagoon were in the morning. We considered taking the bus, but thought it would get there too late. Instead, we hired a taxi (if you can find other people in your hotel that are interested in the same things, you can split the cost). We left San Jose at 7am and it took about an hour and a half to get there. It cost us $10 per person to get in which appears to be the non-resident price. It might be cheaper for locals.
We walked up to the crater and had excellent views. We then hoofed it up the trail to the lagoon. Asthmatics, bring your inhalers. Couch potatoes, prepare to take a few rests on the way up. The altitude combined with the ascent will kick your butt if you aren't in shape.
We had 15 to 20 minutes of clear views of the lagoon before it was completely covered by clouds. Instead of going back the way we came, we continued on the loop. It was probably about the same distance, but it was uphill and then very steeply downhill. The jungle was beautiful, but walking was slightly treacherous due to slippery leaves and a lack of handrails which were removed for some reason.
We compared the prices of some of the things in the visitor's center gift shop to other stores and didn't find them to be completely outrageous. The bathrooms were clean.
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