Explore Iconic Irazú & Hidden Turrialba Volcanoes With A Local

I booked this tour with Adrian through Viator, but he also provides completely customised tours. I got to see two amazing volcanoes, Irazu and Turrialba. Adrian was a great tour guide. In addition to learning all sorts of interesting facts about the volcanoes, I had interesting conversations, learning about life in Costa Rica and getting insider information in relation to other places that were on my radar too, which was very helpful. Thanks to Adrian’s insider knowledge of vantage points, I got some great photos, and a cool video of me walking at Turrialba. Doing this tour on my second day there, was a great introduction to Costa Rica. Highly recommended!

Adrian was a wonderful guide, very knowledgable about the area and the volcanoes. He picked us up right at our hotel and spent all day driving us around. He will alter the tour to focus on whatever you are most interested in. The hike on Turrialba was especially amazing as we got to see the results of a recent eruption. Also, we were the only tourists there. We lucked out and got clear views of both volcanoes. The weather is very unpredictable in these high altitude areas so come prepared for rain, chilly wind, or hot sun (most likely all three throughout the day).

I started my trip in San José, where I was picked up by Adrian, and we visited both the Irazú and Turrialba volcanoes. Adrian was incredibly trustworthy and flexible throughout the entire journey. I made several changes to the plans and we had some long drives, but he handled everything with patience and professionalism. He’s pleasant to travel with and a genuinely good tour guide. I highly recommend him.

Adrian was an amazing tour guide during our trip to Costa Rica. You can truly tell he has a passion for sharing such a beautiful place that he proudly calls home. We had an incredible time, and I would highly recommend anyone visiting to book a tour with him. Pura Vida !

We had a great tour of Irazu and Turialba volcanoes with Adrian Gutierrez. He had deep local knowledge, was a very safe driver with a new very comfortable vehicle, conducted an un-hurried tour, and we stopped for dinner at a small local restaurant on the way back to our hotel. Adrian took us on the back-road scenic route from Irazu to Turialba. At Turialba we had an especially great hike along the base of the volcanic cone to see the varying degrees of destruction wrought by the last major eruption. Two days later, we realized we had an open day so we called Adrian the night before, and he was able to accommodate us the next morning with a tour of the Waterfall Gardens near Poas Volcano. He had great local knowledge as we went through the various flora and fauna exhibits at the gardens, an as a special extra we stopped nearby on the way back at a restaurant for local food and great on-site bird watching. We highly recommend Adrian's private tours: informative, safe, excellent value and a LOT better than a shared, rushed bus or van tour!

We had the best time with Adrian. We got to customize our day. Adrian was very informative during our excursion. Highly recommend. We will be using him again.

This was such a wonderful experience. Adrian went out of his way to make our private tour extra special. He asked us how we wanted to proceed with the day by giving a couple of different options, and was able to roll with Mother Nature! Both volcanoes were breathtaking. The views everywhere we drove were spectacular. We had plenty of water and snacks and stopped for lunch and at a local shop for coffee, candy, and souvenirs. Adrian is so knowledgeable of the volcanoes and Costa Rica in general. The vehicle was very roomy and comfortable. If I could give this experience 10 out of 5 stars I would!

superb tour of Irazu volcano ftom multiple viewpoints, backroads to Turrialba volcano to ealk the slopes of recent ashflows. Adrian Gutierrez was a great guide and driver.

A great tour with an incredibly knowledgeable guide. Fascinating chap! This is a great tour to do if you're just in San Jose and not elsewhere in Costa Rica.

If you are looking for something to do or are uncertain about what to do in costa rica I HIGHLY recommend Adrian. You will get a custom experience that is professional yet personable. If it's nightlife, restaurants, museums, nature, beaches or city/country tours he can make it happen. My trip was definitely made because of him, and no time was wasted. I'll be contacting him on my next visit for sure! Thanks again for taking my trip to the next level, I definitely wouldn't have been able to all that I did without you 💪🏽😎

We were able to see a total of 3 volcanoes and take great pictures. Our guide was great!!! Very punctual, respectful, great driver, and awesome personality. He also made sure to make everyone feel comfortable and kept us engaged throughout our commute. Along with allowing us to play our music with aux system I highly recommend Adrian :)

Adrian was an amazing, kind, and wonderful guide. He was great with communication prior to the excursion. Then during the trip, Adrian gave us plenty of Costa Rican history and was extremely helpful with all of our questions/pictures. Getting to/from the volcanoes did take some time but the views were worth it. Would do another excursion with him.

It was the most exciting tour we had in Costa Rica. Adrian was very knowledgeable and was an excellent guide. Really recommend this tour if you want a deep dive experience and not the hop off for 10min and a picture and hop on again. We had a lot of fun, and would definitely book a tour with Adrian again.

This tour made my trip to Costa Rica!! I went to San Jose for work, and had only one day for tourism, and this was the perfect way of spending this single day off. Alexander, our guide, was great. He knows so much about Cartago, the volcanos, and Costa Rica, and you can tell how much he cares about the place and for the travelers too. I really liked the order that we did things (Cartago, Turrialba, Irazu), I thought it was good to do Turrialba first when we have the energy to do the hike up the volcano. This tour was one of the few that I saw that take you to Turrialba. The altitude on the hike can be a little rough but we all did it with a smile on our faces!! Alexander also knows the best spots for photos, and he became our photographer haha we were a group of four people traveling by ourselves, which was really nice because we ended up talking a lot to each other. I also really liked that it was a small group! Being picked up and dropped off at the AirBnb I was staying was definitely a plus. I've always been fascinated by volcanoes, and this was absolutely the best way of fulfilling my dream of seeing not just one but two volcanoes! I highly recommend this tour! Thank you Alexander & crew :)

This was my favorite tour in Costa Rica!  It was a privilege to explore two very different volcanoes. Our guide, Alexander, was engaging, helpful, and informative.   He helped us create and capture the most unforgettable moments from our trip. Follow the tour guide's advice and wear layers!  These guys know what they are doing and are ready to show you what they love most about their country! The changing mountain weather at multiple elevations had us soggy, foggy, sunburnt, frozen and windburnt by the end of the day. But what a day! After pickup, we finally got an explanation on why there were so many people walking and riding in one direction outside of our downtown hotel that morning!  Apparently, our tour was scheduled at the same time as a major annual pilgrimage from the city center to the Basilica in Cartago.  Since millions of people come to San Jose for this pronation, we were not going to intrude to visit the Basilica.   Instead, Alexander wound us around the crowds to show us to a colonial church operating since the 1500's in Cartago.  Next, we wound up the mountain roads into the dense cloud layer.   The roads were carved out of dense dripping jungle and rich terraced farmland.  We hiked to the base across private farmland exploring the results of old landslides, trees burned by gas clouds, and runoff rich with mineral oxidation. The hike was moderately difficult‐ I wimped out only a few hundred feet from the highest point, but my husband and son didn't have a problem.  I got to wander around taking stunning pics in a level tree debris field and watched the guys climb the last rise. I was watching the dense clouds cover the peaks of Irazu on the opposite horizon while getting clear shots at Turrialba's peak. However, when we made it back through jungle fog and over to Irazu, we were lucky to have (a freezing cold) wind pushing the clouds through the craters fast enough for perfect views.  The landscapes of the two areas were wildly different.  Here, we walked through fields of old ash sands ringed by two newer craters.  We drove up to the high point overlook for an even better sense of scale.  One side of the peak was nothing but the tops of clouds, and the other side was clear enough to see all the way to the Sarchi lake/ hydroelectric project. Frozen and elated, we made our way to great food and coffee to talk about everything we had seen. We had a blast!

Overall the trip was wonderful: Both volcanoes are definitely worth the time and reward visitors with astonishing views. Carthago was quite exciting from a historical point of view. Our guide Adrian gave us plenty of information about the volcanoes and Costa Rica in general during the trip, so the ride in the car never got boring and was truely enjoyable. Since the tour group consisted only of my girlfried and myself, Adrian took the time to take a great load of remarkable pictures of us. I would recommend the trip any day of the week! :)

Turriabla with it’s beauty of wildness , becomes my favourite Volcano in Costa Rica, really worth to visit

Adrian was an amazing tour guide and wealth of knowledge about historical and scientific aspects of these active volcanoes, the outlying topography, as well as the city of Cartago. I highly recommend this tour. It is highly comprehensive.

The tour was excellent, despite an unforeseen situation with the main guide, the substitute was excellent, super dedicated and attentive. It also complemented the tour with lunch at a very good restaurant, with a panoramic view of the city and introduced us to the center, where we got to know a little more about the history and ruins of the church.

I am a solo young traveler and had an amazing experience with Adrian! I also got lucky as cloud cover was not bad the day that I went. He made my trip to Costa Rica truly memorable and I highly recommend that If you want a fun, knowledgeable and memorable experience to book with him. It’s because of him why I will be making another trip back to CA and will be booking with him again!

We book this event in February, unknown that things would change so much with the Carona virus in two months time. Despite some challenges, Adrian went out of his way to find us a guide in his place to take us to these volcanoes. Unfortunately due to the partial lockdown we could only visit Irazu volcano, which was very nice. David did his best to make up for the disappointment and really made our day memorable. Will recommend this event once it is possible again.

A truly wonderful and off-the-beaten path to see two volcanos, but Turrialba is really the highlight. While the vistas and views from Irazu are impressive, seeing the power and destruction of Turrialba up close is a one-of-a-kind experience. The fog and mist rolling off the mountain added a surreal touch. The visit to the basilica in Cartago gives some interesting history and local legend. If there’s time for coffee at the end of the day, that may be the best part! Adrian was Informative, professional and gave us as much time as we needed. Strongly recommend especially if you prefer something less commercial and out of the ordinary.

Although I booked for an English speaking guide, I was given a non fluent English speaker but the guide did his BEST to keep me engaged and take care of me through out the day. I do not know conversational Spanish so I personally felt the difficulty, as the previous night I had booked a walking tour and dinner where the guide was a fluent dual language speaker. Now the crux: Level of service - 4 stars. Guide Rady - 5 stars. Price wise may seem a bit expensive at first glance BUT do check Uber drive cost. You would anyways spend $100 to and from the volcano, plus you get the tour of the cathedral, other historic sites, and a kind of mini city tour too. Excellent choice in case you cannot to go Poas.

First time doing a booked experience, I highly recommend this experience as it was not only a scenic one but Adrian makes it an informative one aswell. you get a good bang for your buck! Couldn't ask for a better guide.

My vulcon trip was amazing!! Everything was perfect. My personal guide, Mr Adrian Granados was very polite, showing very good knowledge of the local place and the all stuuf within this journey. He speaks English, Spanish very well and understandable Portuguese also! We started at 8:30, driving about 1:30h until the Irazu Volcano. It was about 3.420m above sea, too windy and cold sometimes, being a food ideia to bring sunblock, wearing an cold jacket.. The viewing is amazing and take photos as you can.. In clear days one can see the Atlantic ocean and in the opposite side the Pacific ocean!! After this, we drove until the Turrialba volcano. It was pretty scary once I coukd see really rhe devastation occasioned by the Piroplastic erruption occured in the 50’s... the dead grove, houses ans installations abandoned... the polluted water also. The climate there change fast, with rain, sun, wind and hot at same time or in minutes apart. Be prepared for that... The more astonishing was to see the smoke that never end at the cume.. and the sulfor smell present at nearest location allowed.. So, I reccomend this trip with these guys.

What impressed me more was to walk so near the active volcano Turrialba; to step on the continuously settled ash and to observe the contrast between the green of the living grass and the grey of the effect of the eruption. Adrian’s knowledge of the place is a certainty. Let’s go to see with your own eyes!

I went to the Vulcano for one day-an amazing experience! We arrived the evening before when it was already dark. Simply setting up our tent for the night was a great adventure. The nights there a pretty cold-so make sure to being a sweater. The next morning we had a great typical breakfast and then headed off for a walk through the volcanic area. The scenery is incredible!!! Adrian explained about the history of the area and the consequences of the eruption for the people living there. It was the perfect mix of nature and knowledge! I definitely recommend it, especially because in this way you get an exclusive experience. We were walking separate away from the bigger groups and could absorbe the beautiful surroundings!

The best guide in Costa Rica without hesitation, Adrian met him by recommendation and the truth that nothing better than to tour part of the country with someone who knows him. Adrian adapts to your needs, your tastes, your times, your comforts, very respectful, fun, and above all makes you have an unforgettable trip through unconventional places. Thank you Adrian!

I arrived in Costa Rica with 3 Chilean friends heading to Panama, at the border I could not cross my passport, I was alone, that was when I met Adrian, who invited me to join the group to tour all Costa Rica by car with other travelers from all over the world, that was when my trip became one of the greatest adventures I have ever lived, volcanoes, waterfalls, beaches, parks, animals, bars, friends... Uuff really was one of the best experiences I had traveling alone.... Fully recommended to go alone, with friends or couple to tour Costa Rica together Adrian 🌊😜✌