Costa Rica with Kids- Poas Volcao and La Paz Waterfall Gardens

It was a long day of travel to get to Costa Rica from Boston.  Our alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. in order to get the family out the door and into a taxi by 5:30 a.m. We survived a 6-hr flight from Boston to Panama City, a 1-hr layover, and another 1.5 hr flight from Panama to San Jose, Costa Rica.  Our exhilaration to have finally arrived was quickly dampened by the ridiculously long and slow moving customs line.

Fortunately, after about 10 minutes of waiting, a guard spotted our antsy kids and pulled us over to a much shorter express line (mostly families).  After that, we STILL had to grab our checked car seat bag, wait 20 minutes for the shuttle to the car rental agency, drive there in traffic, and wait another 30 minutes for our car rental paperwork to be completed, knowing that we faced a 1.5-hr drive out of the city to our hotel (ugh!). 

I had planned for our first 2-night stay to be in the mountains just outside of San Jose, since I knew the kids (and adults!) would not be up for a long drive to get to Arenal after such a long day of travel.  The roads through the city and suburbs were one-lane wide (but not one-way!), steep and winding, making Mohit feel a little nervous about scratching our brand new rental car.  After about 40 minutes making our way through the city and up the hills into the suburbs we merged onto a wider local highway route, and the driving was smoother.  It was dark out by then and the clouds were low enough that we were intermittently driving through them.  We finally turned onto the winding dirt driveway leading to Poas VolcanoLodge at about 8 p.m., tired and hungry.  It was foggy and dark, so we couldn’t really see much of our surroundings, but were excited when we entered the big front door and saw how cozy and beautiful it was inside.  We had called in advance letting them know that we’d be arriving late with hungry kids, so they helped us bring our bags to our room very quickly, and within moments we were seated in the dining room placing our dinner order.

Our king size room was easily spacious enough for the 4 of us, and the hotel had set up two twin-size cots for the kids. In the morning, the kids woke us up bright and early, eager to explore all that we had missed in the dark the night before.  We pulled back the curtains and discovered that the room opened onto a small patio with a private grassy courtyard.  Big kid discovered an orange tabby cat laying in the sun who was clearing hoping for a belly rub. 

While we waited for 7:30 a.m. breakfast to start, I took the kids outside for a walk around the property.  We were surprised how chilly the morning was -not what we were expecting for Costa Rica!  Hoodie or windbreaker definitely needed.  Nevertheless, the lodge was surrounded by tropical greenery and flowers of every color.  The back of the lodge is perched at the edge of a hill with a view over farms below and is set back from the main road amidst rolling green fields studded with cattle.  We walked through the greenhouse (where there was a rack of rubber mud boots of every size- adult to child- available to borrow) and followed a path into the cow field.  Big Kid insisted on trying to feed the cows a handful of grass, while they munched on the grass under their noses and barely gave him a second look. 

After breakfast, we packed up for a day of adventure.  First stop: Poas Volcano National Park, a 30 minute drive away.  We drove through beautiful countryside: verdant hills, farmhouses with laundry out to dry, strawberry fields, many many cows, kids on recess break at a small village school.

To visit the volcano, you need to purchase a ticket which provides you entry at a specified time.  Luckily, I’d asked our hotel concierge about it in the morning, and she had made our reservation online for us.  We arrived at the national park entry gate about 10 minutes before our set time.  After parking, we walked over to the national park lodge, a big concrete building, where a group of people were waiting to enter at the same time as us.  A park ranger instructed everyone to put on a hard hat, in case of rocks falling from the sky (Poas is an active volcano!). Poas last erupted in April 2017; an explosion of gas, ash and rocks that damaged some of the buildings and trails at this park.  After repairs and new safety additions including gas monitors and construction of concrete shelters, the national park reopened in August 2018.  

We walked as a group for about 10 minutes on a gently sloped dirt road escorted by a park guide who spoke in both English and Spanish, and then came to the viewing platform, where we could peer over the edge into the smoking crater, which was oozing smoke and sulfuric gases.  During the wet season, the crater fills with rain to create an aqua pool of water.  We were there during the dry season, so the crater was mostly dry, and we could see deposits of bright yellow sulfur at the bottom.  The shape of the crater looks like the entire top of a mountain has been blown off- it was really cool to see but definitely made me wonder about whether it was the safest parenting decision to have brought our kids there (if we go, at least we’ll all go together?! I kept reassuring myself that the volcano would warn us with rumbles and earthquakes before erupting).  We stayed for about 20 minutes and then were ushered back down the hill as another group approached.  Due to the risks of the active volcano, unattended hiking was not allowed at the time of our visit. 

We finished at Poas around 10:30 a.m., and our destination for the rest of the day was the La Paz Waterfall Gardens.  Basically, it’s a mini zoo/ educational village/ nature preserve all in one.  With our day pass, we got to see tropical birds flying free in an aviary, walk among butterflies in another enclosure, peek at sloths/ wild cats/ monkeys/ snakes in zoo habitats and enjoy a plentiful buffet lunch in a pleasant pavilion.  After lunch we explored orchids, amphibians of Costa Rica, a replica historical farmstead, and then hiked on a path to see all five of the natural waterfalls after which the gardens are named.  A highlight of our hike: we stumbled on a tiny baby snake in the process of trying to swallow a frog!

After our hike, we were hot, so we asked about whether we could swim anywhere, and were told that the pools by the Big Trout Bar were primarily for overnight guests of the attached (fancy and expensive!) Peace Lodge hotel, but available for day use if we purchased food or drink at the bar.  No problem, Mohit and I thought that a beer sounded great right about now!  So we headed over to the pool/ jacuzzi area and the kids enjoyed playing in the water for a good hour or so.  

 We returned to our hotel mid-afternoon, and while little kid napped for a bit in the room with daddy, big kid and I spent a relaxing few hours trying out the game room, where there is a pool table, an assortment of games like Scrabble, Jenga, and Twister, various toys, and a movie room.  As the sun set, it grew chilly again, and we changed into jeans and long sleeves, and the hotel workers lit small wood stoves that were in each of the public rooms to chase away the chill.  Dinner was simple but great: choices of grilled meats and fish, with sides of veggies and rice or potato.  The kids enjoyed the spaghetti bolognese two days in a row.  Mohit and I appreciated the wine and beer offerings. 

Although I had planned this 2-night, 1-day stay mostly as a stopover, to allow us to recharge a bit after arrival before venturing onward to our primary destinations (Arenal/ La Fortuna area and the Pacific Coast/ Manuel Antonio area), our stay at Poas Volcano Lodge ended up being my favorite part of the trip!  It was such a beautiful, peaceful location.  The lodge itself is unique and beautiful, with many kid friendly touches (although ours were the only kids there during our stay).  I would highly recommend Poas Volcano Lodge as a great place to spend 1 or 2 nights on your way to or from the San Jose airport! 

Tomorrow, onward to La Fortuna (see post here)!