Turrialba Volcano is the second tallest volcano in Costa Rica and just a 2.5 hour drive away from San Jose. It has been very active on and off the last few years, making it an impressive volcano to see up close.
If you’re interested in visiting Turrialba Volcano National Park, make sure to check the details below. This national park has strict guidelines for visiting.
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Location
Turrialba Volcano National Park is in the Turrialba canton in the Cartago province, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Turrialba city.
The volcano is in the easternmost part of the Central Volcanic Range. Turrialba Volcano National Park is 70 kilometers (43 miles) from San Jose, about a 2.5 hour drive one way.
There is no public bus to the Turrialba Volcano National Park entrance. The best way to visit is by rental car. Access to the national park is from the Tapojo sector via Finca Monte Calas (Route 20). You need to have a 4wd for this access.
If you do not have a 4wd, then you can arrive via the La Pastora de Santa Cruz sector as a 4wd is not required for that route.
Turrialba Volcano National Park Guided Tour, Prices and Hours
You can only visit Turrialba Volcano National Park on a guided tour with a certified guide. In order to make reservations, please check their website: https://icetur.com/volc%C3%A1n-turrialba for current updates and availability. They offer just guiding services if you have your own transportation or day tour packages with transportation and guide included.
The guided tour is $45 USD or 22500 CRC and you must make reservations for your guided visit. Send an email to info@icetur.com to make your reservations and pay for the service.
The national park fee is not included in the guided tour fee. The Turrialba Volcano National Park fee is $12 + tax USD per person for foreigners, paid by credit or debit card only.
Tours run 6-10 AM, with a hike every hour as long as they have a minimum of 2 people per hike. There will be a maximum of 8 people per guide. The hike is around 4.5 kilometers (2.77 miles) and the entire tour takes around 4 hours.
About Turrialba Volcano
Turrialba Volcano has 3 craters and two cones: Cerro Tiendilla and Armado. As the second tallest volcano in Costa Ria, Turrialba stands at 10958 feet (3339 meters) above sea level with two different types of forests.
Since it is high up in elevation, temperatures are around 70° F (21° C) in summertime. At the top, there is a view of the Talamanca mountain range, Poas Volcano and all the way to the Caribbean.
Driving Up to the National Park
Since we visited while the park was closed, we drove up to the national park entrance and saw the volcano from outside.
Back then, we had to be at least 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the entrance. We could not go inside the park at all.
Right outside this entrance is a little cafe, run by a local Turrialbeño family. They have a great view of the volcano from there. You can find another point along along the road for impressive views.
When we visited in March 2017, Turrialba Volcano started erupting again after a month of being quiet. Small eruptions continued the entire 2 hours we were there!
Eventually, our car and clothes had a light covering of ash. If you look at the grass, fences and plants on the road, you can see that many of them have a thick layer of ash from previous eruptions.
Farmers and local families still operate in that area. As you’re driving up to the volcano, you’ll see crop fields destroyed by the ash.
Turrialba is a large farming area and areas close to the volcano has been affected by volcanic activity. But the locals continue on as usual.
The Road
The road up to Turrialba Volcano is not paved but is a compacted dirt road towards when you reach the top. It is paved at the beginning of the drive but has elevation climb, narrow roads and steep section.
Drive slow, there are some beautiful views of Turrialba city and the surrounding landscapes.
You may see some mountain bikers on the way, as this is an extremely popular route. Be very careful when passing them as it’s a curvy, narrow road with no bike lanes.
Where to Stay
For our Turrialba trip, we stayed two nights at Guayabo Lodge which has a wonderful view of Turrialba Volcano. From the lodge, we could see the volcano smoking!
There a few other hotels in the Turrialba area such as Casa Turire and Wagelia Hotel. They are closer to town.
Video of Our Visit
Here’s a short video of our visit. We went to Guayabo National Monument after the national park to see the ancient ruins. It was a great day exploring the two gems of Turrialba.
When it comes to volcanoes in Costa Rica, Turrialba is one of the most extraordinary. You can feel the difference in the air the moment you arrive at the base of the volcano.
It is simply astonishing to see this active volcano in person and all the breathtaking surrounding landscapes.
Read about other volcanoes in Costa Rica here!
Poas Volcano (another active volcano in the Central Valley)
Read about other things to do in Turrialba here!
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Jerry says
As the fact of short walk inside Irazu park, how do you think the possibility of combining Irazu and Turrialba volcano into one day trip? Is there anything specific to pay attention with such combination?
Sammi says
Yes you can although I think they closed Turrialba Volcano National Park again recently, so make sure to check the hours if you want to go in the park (reservations required) or you can drive up to the entrance of the park and take some photos because the view there is pretty spectacular as well without going into the park
Francois says
Hi, thanks for your awesome blog! In 2 days we would like to visit this national park, but we don’t have a 4×4. Do you know if access if possible with a regular car ? Thanks 🙂
Sammi says
Hi Francois, you’ll need a 4×4 to get to the park, the road goes up a very steep mountain road and it’s not paved the whole way
Joey says
A beautiful but annoying (and sometimes dangerous) aspect of living in Costa Rica. Would still go anyway, as the country has too many good things going for it!
Sammi says
Definitely! Plus Costa Rica is not the only country with active volcanoes so it’s not a huge deal.