How Close Can Students Get to a Volcano?

By Josette BonafinocloseAuthor: Josette Bonafino Name: Josette Bonafino
Site: http://www.cqtours.com/
About: Josette Bonafino is the founder and Director of Culture Quest Tours, an educational tour company that specializes in custom-tailored travel programs. Since 1993, Culture Quest has worked with hundreds of American high school and college groups traveling to Europe, Latin American and beyond. Josette is also the co-founder and Executive Director of MYX: Multicultural Youth eXchange, a nonprofit organization that uses the arts to help youth explore cultural diversity and social issues relevant to all people. A native Philadelphian and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Josette is an avid traveler and frequently spends time in Iceland and Montserrat where she and her husband own homes. The Global Travel Guru welcomes all travel questions at josette@cqtours.comSee Authors Posts (3)

Global Travel Guru advice column provides valuable tips and support for teachers planning to escort students on educational travel adventures!

Costa Rican Volcanoes Up Close and Personal

Dear Global Travel Guru,

I’ve taken my 9^th grade Spanish students to Costa Rica many times, concentrating mostly on the rainforests. This year, I’d like to visit some active volcanoes. Just how close can we get?

Beth Amberley, Minneapolis, MN

Dear Beth,

Of Costa Rica’s 112 volcanoes, six are active and four are within an easy drive from San Jose. The closest and most accessible is the 9000-foot Poas Volcano, just 19 miles away. It’s got two crater lakes at its summit: a turquoise sulfurous lake, nearly a mile in width, and Lake Botos, a jade-colored cold-water lake, surrounded by lush vegetation. A paved road leads to the parking lot at the top; from here, it’s an easy 10-minute walk to the 1000-foot-deep crater containing the sulfur lake. Steaming fumaroles at the bottom occasionally erupt into 250-foot geysers, but you can safely enjoy views from an enclosed viewing platform. The one-mile trail to Lake Botos branches off just before the viewing platform and gently climbs up to the second crater.

The conical Arenal Volcano is the youngest and most active mountain in Costa Rica, belching every day since its 1968 eruption. There are many ways to enjoy a personal encounter with Arenal including sky tram rides that offer great views over her south side, floating tours on the rivers and lakes in the surrounding valley and guided hikes over old lava flows. But the best way to observe this volcano may be from Tabacon Hot Springs, located at Arenal’s foot, where you can relax in soothing thermal waters and watch small trails of red lava stream down her sides every few minutes.

Volcán Irazú, about 50 miles away from San Jose, is Costa Rica’s tallest active volcano. You can drive right up to the edge of the otherworldly Diego de la Haya Crater  - one of the summit’s three – containing an amazing greenish-blue crater lake for which Irazú is known. On a clear day you can even see both the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean from the top.

Nearby is Irazú’s 11,0000-foot “twin,” Volcán Turrialba, Costa Rica’s second-largest volcano and one of its least visited. The 11-mile road leading to Turrialba’s three-crater summit is paved for the first six miles; the final five are rough and require a 4WD. Conditions often force vehicles to stop short of the top, charging visitors with a one-to-three hour hike the rest of the way. The slog is worth it, though, because arriving on the summit is like landing on the moon. Prior to the December 2007 eruption, visitors could hike into the main crater, but increased gaseous activity now limits summit visits to 20 minutes.

A visit to any of these volcanoes will no doubt be hot, hot, hot. But go prepared. Hire a local guide who knows about trail safety, and bring warm clothing because temperatures at the summit are cold, cold, cold.

Global Travel Guru

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Josette is the founder and Director of Culture Quest Tours, an educational tour company that specializes in custom-tailored travel programs. Since 1993, Culture Quest has worked with hundreds of American high school and college groups traveling to Europe, Latin American and beyond.