The Poas Volcano area has many attractions and cool places to visit. Of course the most important is the actual park. Poas Volcano National Park is only 30 kilometres (20 miles) from SJO airport in Alajuela and therefore an excellent first night's stop on your Cost Rican vacation.

When you visit the Poas Volcano area, you have many options for exploring and enjoying the cool mountain climate. Poas Volcano is elusive and it is important to arrive at the park early to avoid the clouds and the crowds. Being the most visited park in the country means there can be thousands of people in the park per day. However if you are the park at 8am when it opens, you will likely have the entire place to yourself. Most of the big tour busses only start to arrive after 10am.

A great second stop for the day is La Paz Waterfall gardens, just 10 miles from Poas, it is easily accessible and well worth the entrance fee of $35. Allow yourself 2 to 3 hours to see all the park has to offer. Again, an early start at the volcano means an early arrival at La Paz and will allow you to be ahead of the tour busses.

If you feel you would like to have a full day and are energetic enough to fit in a coffee tour, then Doka Coffee Plantation is the next stop. Just 25 minutes from Poas Lodge, Doka offers several tours a day and at just an hour long, it is informative and keeps you interested. Doka is one of the countires biggest coffee plantations and has excellent quality coffee on offer. Coffee makes a great gift for the folks back home.

When planning your vacation in Costa Rica, consider Poas Volcano for your first night in the country. The area offers excellent accommodation at Poas Lodge, wonderfull views, great attractions and a good alternative to spending your first night in the city.