Rincon de la Vieja National Park Hike
Overview
This tour is designed for you to experience hiking at Rincon de la Vieja which is a national park surrounding the volcano of the same name. Translated, “The Old Woman’s Corner”, it stands well over a mile above sea level and last erupted in April of 2020. This is one of the most active volcanoes in Costa Rica and is surrounded by fumaroles, or steam and gas vents in the earth’s crust, and hot springs formed by lava. This tour is noted for the quality of its trails and panoramic views.
Hiking to see the volcano’s activities begins with air conditioned transportation from your hotel to Rincon de la Vieja National Park. You will be guided along the Las Pailas Trail at Rincon de la Vieja which starts at the ranger station and snakes through the forest in the midst of the amazing trees and wildlife. The trail eventually meanders out into dry flatland which has very little tree coverage.
You will see hot mud pools and geysers throughout this very warm part of the trail. This is the closest you will be able to get to the volcano as it is too hot to go to the crater. From here, you will be taken back through the jungle and return to the ranger station. Your naturalist guide will assist you in identifying monkeys, reptiles, Toucans and other birds, that you may encounter among the many species of wildlife inhabiting this beautiful park.
As you will have probably worked up an appetite, you will be taken into the historical city of Liberia for a hearty lunch and given an opportunity to shop for souvenirs.
Please come prepared to experience very warm weather wearing lightweight protective clothing and fully enclosed shoes for hiking. You will want to bring your sunblock, camera, binoculars, insect repellent, rain gear, and plenty of drinking water. If you are sensitive to the heat, you may want to wear a hat.
This tour includes park entrance fee, bilingual guide, lunch, drink, shopping and local transportation from Rincon de la Vieja as well as the beach areas of: Flamingo, Tamarindo, Papagayo and Playa Grande. One way transportation from your hotel to the park can take from 1 to 2.5 hours depending on where you are staying. The combined time of the tour including hiking, lunch, shopping and round trip transportation can take from 6.5 to 8.5 hours.
Note: Rincon de la Vieja National Park is closed on Mondays.What to Bring
- Lightweight Clothing
- Comfortable Hiking Shoes
- Sun Block
- Camera
- Insect Repellent
- Rain Gear
Location and Availability
The Rincon de la Vieja National Park Hike is available from Central Guanacaste, Jobo, Papagayo Peninsula, Playa Hermosa, Coco, Southern Papagayo, and Tamarindo
Tour Time
- 7:00am
Tour Type
- Learning Family
- Hiking
- Waterfalls
Cancellation Policy
Recommended Ages
7 and up
Location
Latitude: N 10° 45' 47.68"
Longitude: W 85° 18' 6.8"
Reviews
- Overall 90.4% (23 Guest Ratings)
- Experience: 90%
- Expectations: 88.3%
- Guides: 92.2%
- Logistics: 91.3%
- Value: 89.6%
03/08/2023
Our guide Stevenson was great! We came across some animals that he was genuinely excited to see and we were drawn into his excitement. He and our Driver Jose took us into Liberia after the tour for lunch and it was a really cool experience.
12/29/2022
This was a fantastic trip, and the best one of our adventures. We started out on the tour bus with Shyla as our guide. It was so great talking with Shyla! She was so smart and friendly and we talked about so many aspects about Costa Rica and the world, that we felt like old friends very quickly. Unfortunately, when we reached a rest stop, Shyla was called away where she was needed for her language skills to do a tour with another group. I was so sad to see Shyla go! But she promised that her replacement Walter would be every bit as good as her. And boy was she right! Walter was an encyclopedia of knowledge about Costa Rica's wildlife and its world of nature. He had a sixth sense of when there were animals in the area for us to observe, and took lots of time to find them and teach us about them. I learned so much from Walter about the naturalist Daniel Janzen and what he's done to establish the land conservation program and natural parks in Costa Rica, that I plan to make a large donation to Janzen's foundation, so he can continue to help Costa Rica's nature thrive forever. Walter has a wonderful sense of humor, and he seemed to know about - everything! When he was telling us about the volcanology of Costa Rica and how it contributes to sustainable green energy, he and I had another long talk about that. At the end of our trip, back at Margaritaville, I was talking with our family and I asked everyone what they would do for work if we lived in Costa Rica. Everyone answered something different, but I said I would want to work in either conservation or green energy, based entirely on everything I learned from Walter.
06/30/2019
Chris was the best tour guide we had on the entire trip. We learned so much from him that we continued to reflect upon during our entire stay. He went the extra mile to inform us about the area. Did not rush on the walk....he probably spent more time with us than he was booked to be with us.
01/22/2019
Lunch at Canyon de la Viejo was enjoyable. The description of the tour said that we will have time for souvenir shopping at Liberia - for some reason we were not given time to do so
12/26/2018
Andres was a fantastic tour guide whom we would love to have again in the future. He was very intelligent and well versed in plant and animal life. He was also very friendly and interactive.
07/07/2016
Guide was very knowledgeable and tried some bird calls to find some birds
05/26/2016
Wasn't an all day tour of the national park, only half a day.
03/26/2016
We weren't properly informed of what this tour included, and probably would have opted out had we known what it entailed. There was some miscommunication regarding what the tour entailed as we thought we were doing hot springs and mud baths. After being picked up, the tour guide informed us we would have to go to the office to pick something up. It was there that we discovered the tour we thought we were going on was not what was scheduled for the day. The tour guide did his best to change the tour to include a hike to a waterfall, but overall, I wasn't impressed with this. I wouldn't recommend this to someone else.
03/15/2016
tour guide distracted; not always informed on what was going on
08/15/2015
Great tour guide!
01/25/2015
Very Good Tour and guide