Wind rushing through your hair, treetops whooshing beneath you, an active volcano smoking, and a GoPro filming on your helmet. Guess what you’re doing? If you guessed zip lining in Costa Rica, then you would be correct! If you guessed the most amazing experience of a lifetime, you would also be correct.
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For our honeymoon, I asked my husband for one thing. To go to a country we had not been to before and to be adventurous and boy did he deliver.
Our first activity of the trip was to zip line through the La Fortuna jungle, past the active Arenal Volcano, and over the treetops. Seeing things from a new perspective, taken literally.
Reid and I had only ever been ziplining once before, separately, and nothing like this excursion. I had gone with my sister to Red Mountain Park in Birmingham, AL with one line that’s about 60ft tall. This was another beast and it was awesome.
Keep reading to learn about what your day zip lining in Costa Rica looks like, what to bring, and my recommendations.
Table of Contents
What to Expect When Zip-Lining:
Before you go –
Our excursion was scheduled in the morning, which I highly recommend, as it is not as hot. The bus to the zip lining facilities picked us up at our resort, Arenal Manoa, at 8:00am.
It took us about 30 minutes to get there. Most of the resorts are in the same area of town and although times many vary for pick-up and length of travel, it will be relatively similar to these.
Once we got to our destination, the driver checked us in, and you follow the stairs up to the main building. There are lockers that you can put all your belongings in while you are zip lining. The key is on a bracelet that you can wear as you zip line.
There are also bathrooms for you to use for all your nervous pees. Then, you stand in line to sign a disclaimer, get your gear, and get fitted for a helmet.
Recommended: Zip Lining at Red Mountain Park in Birmingham Alabama
During your zip-lining experience –
After you are fitted with all your gear, you go to an area where a worker demonstrates how to sit/position yourself as you are going down the zip line, two hand signals they will use as you approach each loading dock, and safety precautions. Listen carefully, because they are important.
Then, you ride an aerial tram through the forest up to an observation platform with an amazing view of Lake Arenal, the Tilaran Mountain Range, and the Arenal Volcano. They even have signs you can take pictures with while you wait.
Upon finishing your photoshoot, you get in line to start the zip lines. There are eight cables, but the first and last one are small. Between all the cables, you end up flying through the air for a total of 4.5 miles. They range from 100 to 2460 feet long and some are up to 660 feet tall.
At each cable start, you step up onto stairs and one of the workers hooks your belt up to the cable. You hold on with both hands and once their partner at the other end gives them the green light, you are sent flying above the trees.
The cables are truly long enough to get the full experience and be able to see the views around you without feeling like it is about to end. One is a minute and a half long.
As you get closer to the end of each cable, the worker will signal for you to spread your legs, so that when you hit the brake, your legs will not hit the cable. Depending on how much you weigh, they might also signal you to brake. You do this by moving your hands back and forth on your handlebar.
After you finish zip lining –
After you have gone through all of the cables, you end at the beginning, where the lockers are located. You can get unbuckled from your gear and grab your belongings.
If you planned to buy pictures or the gopro footage, you go to the office and buy your documentaries. They have a small souvenir shop you can browse through while you wait on your bus.
Once your bus arrives, you load up and tell them which resort you are staying at and they will take you back promptly. We got back to the resort around lunch time, which gives you a large portion of the day to still relax.
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What to Bring:
One of my least favorite things is being unprepared for something. I was unsure how to properly prepare for zip lining and did not know whether we would have lockers or not.
Thankfully, our travel agent and concierge at the resort helped us out with suggesting things to bring. So, make sure you have the following when you go zip lining in Costa Rica:
- Comfortable light clothes (I suggest pants and a top that has a good range of motion)
- A rain jacket (They are used to rain year around and this will not stop your excursion)
- Closed toed shoes
- Sunscreen
- Bug spray
- A camera/phone (You can take this with you if you have pockets that zip)
- Money (For photographs, videos, or souvenirs)
Recommendations for Zip-Lining
How to take Photographs and Videos
There are two types of helmets, regular ones and ones with a gopro mount on them. Get the one with the mount. It is completely free to use the gopro as you zip line and then at the end of your ride, you have the option to buy the sim card or not and you can see the videos.
It was so much fun filming with the gopro that I recommend splurging and buying it for $35. Additionally, the workers can move the gopro onto different helmets, so everyone gets a turn filming.
Reid and I both wanted to be able to use the camera and we wanted film of both of us, so every two zip lines, we would just ask one of the workers to switch it to the other helmet and it took 30 seconds.
The workers were also really great and helped check to make sure it was on before you went down the zip line.
There are also photographers along the way that will periodically take your picture. Then, after the fifth zip line (as you are waiting on the longest one) you can look all through the pictures and decide whether to buy them or not.
Unfortunately, you cannot just buy a few photographs. Either you buy all of them for $35 or none of them. We splurged because it was our honeymoon and bought the pictures, because it is impossible to take any on your own.
If it hadn’t been our honeymoon, then my suggestion would be to either buy the gopro sim card or the photographs, because both is expensive.
Do not feel rushed
Because it is a business and there are a lot of people going through, the workers are very efficient and as soon as one person finished a cable, the next person is going and the person in front of them is being hooked up for the next one.
As a result, it can seem rushed, but do not let it make you feel like that and take your time. There were several times when a worker would be trying to hook me to the next cable, and I had to say no I want to watch my husband first or I would wait to walk to the next cable to watch Reid.
You are also zip lining with a group of people, and you get to watch others as they take their turns. Take time to talk to them and make friends. You are standing with them as you wait for some of the cables and it is always fun to make new friends.
Should you go on this Costa Rice Sky Adventure?
Yes, 100%, yes. This was our absolute favorite adventure we did our whole trip and was an unforgettable experience.
It is a way to see the country in a unique way and experience the beauty of Costa Rica. The employees are so genuinely nice and helpful, that they make the excursion even more fun.
There are many different companies that will offer the same excursions, but we used Costa Rica Sky Adventures to book our zip lining experience and they were wonderful.
For more information and details or to see what else this company offers, visit the link below!
Zip lining in Costa Rica is a bucket list item that I never knew I needed until I had experienced it. After our trip, Reid and I decided that we love zip lining so much that we are going to make it our thing when we travel to new places to see the scenery.
Have you ever been zip lining before? If so, where did you go and di you love it as much as we did?
To read more articles about Costa Rica, CLICK HERE!
Lots of Love, Laurel McDaniel
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Loved this article!!! It was very helpful in helping me understand what to expect and what to take to go ziplining!! Your articles are inspiring! 💗
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Thank you, I am glad you are enjoying them!