Home > San Jose > Poas Volcano, Doka Coffee Estate and Sarchi Arts and Craft
USD $90.00
Poas Volcano, Doka Coffee Estate and Sarchi Arts and Craft
San Jose, Costa Rica
Take a full day to explore the natural and cultural attractions of Costa Rica! Visit a still-active volcano at Poas Volcano National Park and a family-owned coffee plantation at the Doka Estate before stopping in the historical artisan city of Sarchi. This eventful day trip from San Jose, which includes a peek at Botos Lake (Laguna Boas), offers an adrenaline rush mixed with a good dose of Costa Rican culture.
Situated in the middle of Poas Volcano National Park (Parque Nacional Volcán Poás) is the still-smoking and gurgling Poas Volcano. This majestic and imposing crater, which stands at an elevation of 8,900 feet (2,713 meters), allows you to enjoy a magnificent view of the park’s 16,000 acres (6,474 hectares) and the central valley beyond. Your guide will take you to a lookout platform near the edge of the 950-foot-deep (290-meter-deep) main volcanic crater, which remains active with small geyser and lava eruptions. After watching the fumarole activity, head to Botos Lake to see the beautiful green lake that now fills the inactive Botos crater. After the steamy sights of Poas Volcano National Park, visit the Doka Estate, located in the coffee capital of Costa Rica. You’ll be guided through all the stages of making some of Costa Rica’s best quality coffee at this estate where coffee production has been passed down in the Vargas Ruiz family for more than 70 years. As you tour the roasting plant, learn about the ideal climate and rich soil of the fertile volcanic slopes that cultivate the grains. You will have the opportunity to closely observe and understand how a first-choice bean turns into a fabulous cup of coffee. After lunch at a local restaurant, continue to the town of Sarchi, the artisan center of Costa Rica. The charming town boasts more than 200 shops and family-operated factories that produce a variety of wooden goods. Don’t miss out on the construction and elaborate painting of the carretas, oxcarts traditionally used to carry coffee down from the highlands.
Mario the tour guide was excellent. He was very friendly and knowledgeable about all sites visited. We were lucky to get a glimpse of the volcano, so that was cool. The food at the Doka Coffee Estate was good, which included fish, rice and beans, salad,etc. It was buffet but due to us getting there a little late, we only had one round at the buffet. However the coffee made up for it. Overall nice excursion on a beautiful day, with nice tour guide and driver forgot his name.
Review by: John T, March 2017
We enjoyed our group as much as our tour since we had quite the international group of people. Well worth the time and gave us a great overview of the area.
Review by: Lynda J, March 2017
We were fortunate and had a clear morning at the volcano, the entire day was filled with the most enjoyable, memorable experiences and we thoroughly recommend this tour.
Review by: John P, February 2017
Tour was great.. only problem ride was late and I had to call in to find out where it was and it cost me 15HST.
Review by: Kathy H, February 2017
Excellent outing! The itinerary, guide, and driver all were outstanding. Thanks!
Review by: Robert W, November 2016
Long day with much of tour on bus. No one's fault, distance is distance. Coffee processing facility was interesting, but volcano was obscured by clouds.
Review by: frances.marin, October 2016
We went to Sarchí and Doka Plantation. In the coffee plantation, we had a delicious buffet lunch with natural juice, and we also tasted different types of coffee. In Doka, they showed us the entire process to make coffee. In Poas, you have to bring sweaters because sometimes is cold. It was great.
Review by: Benedicte G, October 2016
This trip was great, so many highlights in one day. Mario, our guide, was very knowledgable and always had interesting information to share about everything from plants and animals to history and local fun facts. The volcano was beautiful, and I recommend doing the trail back to the parking lot rather than walking back the same way. Visiting Doka was great and the lunch was very tasty. I also enjoyed driving through the country side and visiting Grecia and Sarchi. I can definitely recommend this day trip if you want to explore the areas around San Jose!
Review by: Tatiana K, September 2016
Great trip. A lot of new information was provided.
Review by: Donna L, August 2016
Knowledgeable and friendly tour guides made the experience even more pleasant.
Review by: Haiyan L, July 2016
This tour is very interesting and you really got the chance to see the city as a local ! Plus the trip to the mask maker legend is just too wonderful ! I highly recommend it !
Review by: Kathleen D, July 2016
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Michelle B, June 2016
Yes I totally would recommend this trip! Loved the variety of places we went to!
Review by: DERRICK W, June 2016
This trip allowed me to check off my list a visit to an active volcano. It was fantastic!!! I hope to visit Arenal hopefully via helicopter the next time I am in Costa Rica. I was not overly enthusiastic about visiting the colonial coffee plantation at first, but it turned about to be highly educational, fun and interesting. The food at Doka was absolutely delicious.
Review by: Boyd, June 2016
Our best our of the entire trip! The Poas volcano crater was spectacular. We originally thought our driver was driving a bit too fast, but we discovered that the volcano is in a cloud forest and often becomes invisible in the clouds by 11 am. We got there about 10:15 and had a perfect view of the crater. But within a half hour the clouds began moving in and by the time we left, the crater was almost obscured. Our driver was right to get us there on time. The coffee plantation was OK, but it was raining again and we didn't take the long walk through the fields. And at Sarchi, we stopped at a souvenir shop that was not the best in town according to other travellers who had been here before but we were not given enough time to look around to find others. So we did not really have a chance to shop in Sarchi, only to visit the guide's favorite souvenir place. This was disappointing to us and we did not buy anything in Sarchi, though we had intended to. The MOST annoying part of the trip was Eugenio, our guide, who kept referring to us as chico during the trip. We are seniors, we have never met this man before and never will again, and it was offensive and disrespectful to be called chico over and over again. He was probably just trying to be friendly, but he should KNOW that chico is NOT something that you EVER call your elders or those who are not intimate friends of yours. I mentioned this to him once during the tour, but he still called everyone chico. We will not travel with this particular company again.
Review by: Lisa A, April 2016
I give this a 5-star rating because our tour guide, Max was one of the best guides I've ever had. We learned so much from him and he was a delight to be around. In addition, we were lucky enough to catch the view of Poas which is not easy. Be aware that you may not get a view of Poas. It is the luck of the draw. The Doka estate was much more informative than I thought. It is literally the Robert Mondavi of coffee. And finally, the Sarchi Arts was fabulous! I like this part because this is where you really learned history and culture.
Review by: bryanis, April 2016
Great!
Review by: Damir M, April 2016
I do recommend this to everyone who visits Costa Rica.
Review by: Joan K, March 2016
Very disappointing. First, our group was mixed native and English speakers which was quite annoying. The tour guide droned on and on and repeated himself non stop. We had to change tour buses, which was confusing. We were constantly late to our attractions, and got back to San Jose 2 1/2 hours late. Yes, there was some traffic, but mostly I blame the disorganized operation.
Review by: Colleen D, February 2016
Our guide was so funny! And he knew so much!
Review by: Ella F, February 2016
This tour packs a lot of events into the allotted time. It was great to see so many different venues, and Alberto was a very entertaining tour guide! Our driver Guillermo was wonderful too. Lunch at Doka Coffee Estate was excellent. The number of people in the tour was kept to under a dozen, which made it a more personal experience.
Review by: JP C, February 2016
This was a good mix of activities, and our bilingual guide was friendly, professional, and informative. Also, our driver did an excellent job of navigating smoothly on narrow and sometimes challenging roads.
Review by: inge e, January 2016
Excellent tour
Review by: Diana M, January 2016
This was a great tour but unfortunately Volcan Poas was steeped in cloud. So we did not get to see the crater but the tour of the coffee plantation was great as was the village of Sarchi. Our guide, Ed was wonderful! He was so knowledgeable and in addition had a great sense of humour!_br/_ In addition, we had a very nice buffet lunch that was included in the cost of the tour!_br/_ Excellent value for money!!! Di and Forbes
Review by: Jing Z, January 2016
We loved the three places that we visited. The places, the driver, the tour guide, the lunch are all good.
Review by: Donata B, January 2016
Excellent tour, guide and driver
Review by: cecilia, December 2015
Great tour ! Tour guy is great!
Review by: Joyce C, November 2015
Great way to spend a full day! The volcano was agreeable and we were able to get a break in the clouds to view the crater. There is a small but interesting museum at the visitor's center, along with a small café and the obligatory gift shop. Next stop was the Doha Coffee Estate where we started with a buffet lunch ok but not great and then proceeded to walk through the coffee process of getting from tree to cup. It was all very interesting and we were able to enjoy some samples before leaving for the final stop. Sarchi is a pretty little town with a history of woodworking. Our stop was at a workshop/store combination where after viewing the artisans at work, you had about 30 minutes to shop. Ordinarily this would not be my ideal way to shop - I prefer to stop at little shops that I can wander in and out of but since this is the rainy season in Costa Rica, it was nice to be able to go through a view variety of items in the comfort of one dry store. The guide Ricardo was excellent. He did a fine job in English and Spanish of explaining everything we saw and did and answering additional questions. The tour was through a local tour company and I would definitely recommend it.
Review by: dane, October 2015
The tour is reasonably priced. The rainforest and sceneries around Poas Volcano is really nice plus it's cold! . Doka coffee tour is fun too now i know the whole process of making my favorite drink. There are some additional stops not highlighted in the summary but are included like Strawberry store buy the strawberry with chocolate and condensed milk, butterfly garden in Doka. lastly, the Sarchi part is not that good since there's really not much too see.
Review by: spyridon v, September 2015
This trip I highly recomend. I especially enjoyd the Doka Coffee Estates where you get to see first hand the porcess of coffee making. Their coffee and food that was served was excellent. The Sarchi Arts and Crafts was also very good in that you got to see hand made furniture and art. Bought some nice items from there and the prices are very good considering everything is hand made. The volcano was raining up there but I still found it interesting to be close to a vocano.
Review by: Emily F, April 2015
Great experience. Luckily clear day for volcano
Review by: Veronique C, April 2015
We definitely enjoyed our day trip. We were surprised on how complete the coffee tour was. We couldn't see the bottom of the crater of the volcano because there were too many clouds... Although if you happen to be there on a windy day, you might get a good picture. The guide was very interesting.
Review by: Wendy M, March 2015
The tour was fine, but unfortunately the volcano was fogged in completely. You take the luck of the draw when you go on this tour. The rain forest trail to the lake was beautiful, but not worth it by itself. I would recommend a combo tour to Poas Volcano and La Paz waterfalls, which are nearby. At least that way you'd be guaranteed to see the falls and the butterflies and hummingbirds.
Review by: Chris W, February 2015
Worst tour ever! Do not ware your time or money! I have never in my life reviewed anything ever, but was so disappointed in this tour I felt I must. 90% if the tour is spent in a can with no AC. The "tour" of
Review by: Sherry R, February 2015
The trip was good, the guide was knowledgeable and usually I would rate this much higher. However, the guide was humorless and rude especially to my older cousin. At the very beginning of the tour, he chastised her for taking too much time in an unpleasant voice. He was very concerned with HIS timeline and HIS plans. His humor was only sarcastic. So take the tour for it is good but I hope you do not get this guide
Review by: Benjamin B, January 2015
The first half was OK, visiting Poas, some beautiful scenery and the coffee estate. The second half after lunch was a complete waste of time, visiting a large cart (!) and a metal church, with hours of driving, for nothing._br/_
Just to fill in time, I assume.
Review by: Albert T, January 2015
The tour guide was very knowledgeable and terrific. Although we were not able to see the surface of the volcano due to the heavy fog / cloud, we had a good time. The lunch was good with real local taste. Doka Coffee Estate was interesting.
Review by: Mona S, January 2015
The Poas Volcano part of the trip was a bust. There were clouds so you could not see a thing. The Doka Coffee Estate tour and the tour of the church in Sarchi were very good.
Review by: bigfoot6ft6, January 2015
Guide Eugene was good but overall was very disappointed in the Poas Volcano portion of the trip. Weather was horrible with heavy rain and swirling winds which guide said is percent 80% of the time. Overpriced concessions and souvenirs at the park. You need serious outdoor raingear to do this tour, not a cheap poncho that cost you $ 3 at the first break stop. If you are not properly prepared for walking uphill in weather to possibly see nothing because of visibility, plan something else. Doka Coffee Estate was informative and lunch was very good. Sarchi Oxcart and Grecia Church Stop were marginal. Would have enjoyed furniture shopping in Sarchi. Suggest you just do half day Doka Tour.
Review by: coabey, December 2014
Excellent guide (Ricardo). Lots of knowledge on plants and geology!!
Review by: Gabriele A, December 2014
great excursion to Poas. The guide was very well informed and shared some great background. the trip was well organized starting with Poas volcano and then a lunch at Doka coffee. Very much enjoyed this day and recommend it for anyone going to Costa Rica.
Review by: mobart, September 2014
Great tour. Beautiful nature. Only visit Doka coffee plantation was long and boring. We could not contact local agency because the phone Nr. and e-mail address on the voucher was wrong. We were not ready in time for departure.
Review by: art.ofwar, August 2014
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Lynnette M, August 2014
THe tour guide was very knowledlgable on Costa Rica which was great I learned a lot. It was too cloudley to see the volcano but the walk around the area was every nice.
Review by: Dread, June 2014
We were very fortunate to have seen activity within the volcano. The cloud cleared long enough to give us that spectacular view that we had anticipated.
Review by: Dread, June 2014
The view of the volcano was breathtaking! Would recommend this tour to anyone up for great adventure.
Review by: Ashley K, June 2014
It's worth doing but the guide was a bit of a jerk. Overall a good, memorable experience.
Review by: Israel C, June 2014
Grevin is the most talented bilingual guide we have encountered. He is knowledgeable in all aspects of this tour and he was relax and accomodating! Good example of Pura Vida in Costa Rica! Our driver was excellent as well. Great value for the money. My recommendation is a 5+STAR.
Review by: Amanda R, March 2014
Absolutely amazing!!!! Great views of volcano, loved loved loved the Sarchi store and woodwork. This was such a great variety tour. One of the best I've done.
Review by: Jennifer J, January 2014
We didn't see anything at all, too many clouds. Some of the stops seemed fake and just a way to do business for tourist to buy things (like the company and their business have something arranged already). I also was kinda saddened at the way they use Nicaraguans at the coffee plantation. I would be ashamed. I would rent a car, or find transportation, it's a hit or miss kind of thing.
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