www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Hey Ive done the Arenal Zipline and parisio quad run at the plantation now Im gonna do the la paz and poas day tour but also I want to do something adventorous out of san jose like rappel a waterfall or a zipline..whats the best zipline out of san jose?? thansk JG

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I don't drink milk often ..but when I do it's dos tetas ..stay Horney my friends

I can't tell you about zip lines, but for me the best adventurous day trip is whitewater rafting on the Rio Pacuare.

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It's faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, and more money--Tom T. Hall
No man is a failure who is enjoying life--William Faulkner

...And if you want to do something seriously wack, there's 3 ultra-light flight outfits on the Pacific Coast. Googling can provide details. Another idea (not exactly a day trip) is going down to the Puerto Viejo area and taking the trek to meet the Bri-Bri Indians. Both these options are admittedly extreme.

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

hummm Interesting ..Id think the level 3 rapids are level 4 this time of year ? Ill check out the things.thanks

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I don't drink milk often ..but when I do it's dos tetas ..stay Horney my friends

For GENERAL ideas for things you can do as a DAY trip out of SJ, you really need to check out this classic post of mine from 3 years ago: http://costaricaticas.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=16082&start=16.

I'll cover zip-line tours first and in the most depth since that seems to be mainly what you were asking about. As for "whats the best zipline out of san jose?" I don't think the real question is what is "best". Probably the "BEST" zipline adventures are in tourist areas relatively FAR from SJ (ie not really DAY trips from SJ). The real question for someone wanting to do it as a DAY trip out of SJ is which ones are CLOSEST. IMHO, the problem with any of these zip-line tours is that they're at best really only a HALF day tour with the actual "cable-time" lasting on the order of just a few minutes and the whole tour itself (including platform time and walking to and from the start of the aerial part of the tour) no more than an 1-1.5 hours tops. Because few if any of these tours are really that close to the thickly settled urban area of metropolitan San Jose, for nearly all of these tours most of your time would actually be spent just driving to and from whereever the tour is offered and do you really want to drive for 2-3 hours or more round trip for what amounts to a just a few minutes of excitement?

The most notable exception to that rule is the relatively new zip-line that they've created in Sabana Park, which is supposed to be nice (6 platforms with 7 zip lines including 1 over the lake) and certainly superconvenient for anyone staying in SJ but which would hardly otherwise be described as the "best". I don't have a weblink for that one but their tel# is 2215-2544.

The canopy tour that I referenced in my comprehensive day trip list was at Colina del Poas which is in Fraijanes going up towards the Poas Volcano. It is much much more extensive than the one in Sabana Park (and probably much more scenic as well being up so high in the mountains) with 24 platforms and an undisclosed number of cables including the final one measuring 1980ft in length. As something different, they also offer troutfishing if you want to combine your ziplining with another activity as long as you are there (or you can just eat the fresh trout at their restaurant). The potential problem is I don't see where they include transportation from SJ (probably about 1-1.5 hours away) in their rates ($50/pp for the 2hr long zip-line tour) or even offer it for an extra amount. For more info, you can check out their website at http://www.colinasdelpoas.com/index.php/en/poas-canopy-tour.html

I also referenced Turi Bari in that post, though not specifically for its zip-line tour. The direct link to their webpage for that tour is at http://www.turubari.com/htmleng/?page_id=126. This zip-line tour takes about an hour and includes 16 platforms but only 8 cables, though it also has 2 hanging bridges and one cable measuring an impressive 2135ft. They also have an "add-on" that they call the "Tarzan Swing" where you swing from a rope (presumably you're fastened to it rather than just hanging on like the ol' swimminghole rope you may have used as a K*D) over a distance of 120 feet (ie must be a really long and high rope).

Another unusual zip-line tour option that they have at Turi Bari is their "Superman Zip-line Tour". This is only one cable but it is 4000 feet long, and has a maximum height of 315 feet making it (according to them) "not only the longest Zip line tour in Costa Rica but also the fastest since you can reach a top speed of 55 miles per hour". At that speed, the whole thing lasts less than a minute, but what really makes this cable special is HOW you're attached. Rather than wearing a harness attached in front like you are probably used to, on this one they attach you from the BACK so that you're hanging FACE DOWN. You're then supposed to extend your arms and legs fore and aft (as if you were Superman). I haven't done the cable like this at Turi Bari, but I have done that at another zip-line in Honduras and let me tell you, that position takes a surprising amount of upper back strength (thank god it only lasts a minute)

While Turi Bari may not have the sheer number of cables that they have at Colinas del Poas, they probably more than make up for it with sheer variety and much closer proximity to SJ (near Orotina just 45 minutes from SJ using the new highway according to their website, ie half the time it takes to get to Colinas). PLUS they include transportation from SJ in their PACKAGE prices. PLUS they have MANY other things to see and do while there (Aerial Tram, Bamboo, Bromeliad & Orchid Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Crocodile Breeding Exhibits, Horseback Riding, etc.) so you could easily make it a full-day tour (and need to if you want to get the transportation included). Their rate not including any transportation to/from SJ for INDIVIDUAL tours is $55/ea. Their FULL-DAY tour including transportation (pick-up from the Sleep Inn around 7AM return around 5PM), lunch and aerial tram is $99-119/pp depending on how many adventure tours you want to do.

There is yet another zip-line tour that is relatively close to SJ (45 minutes away according to what I've read) but I haven't heard of anyone who has taken it or know much about it. That is "Canopy Adventure San José de La Montaña" and is located on the Barva Volcano north of Heredia. I've read that they have 13 platforms, don't know how many cables but that the longest is around 600ft. If you want more info, you can call them at #2266-0782.

There is another zip-line tour at the Rain Forest Aerial Tram http://www.rainforestrams.com/crpintro.html. As you probably know, they're located about an hour north of SJ on the road to Limon just on the other side of Braulio Carillo NP. Their 1 hour long zip line tour consists of only 7 zip lines and 6 platforms and costs $45/pp a la carte (ie withOUT transportation, though you could conceivably take a public bus to get there). If you go for their full-day Eco-pass, the cost is $104/pp including r/t transportation to/from SJ, lunch and whatever else you want to do there including the Aerial Tram that they're most famous for.

One final zip-line tour I can throw out is located at "San Vicente de Tres Rios, Cartago" (whereever the heck that is though I would THINK it falls somewhere on the SJ side of Cartago near Tres Rios). Aventuras La Carpintera has 20 platforms and 13 cables (1800m total length). Their tour starts with a 30-40 minute horseback ride. That's all I was able to find out. For more info you can call #2278-3355

Personally speaking of all of these, the zip-line at Turi Baru sounds the most promising particularly since the new highway has drastically cut down the time in getting there.

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As others have said, if you want adventure there are lots of other day trips you can do from SJ that offer you that. Having done PLENTY of both the zip-lines and the w/w raft trips myself, I can tell you that my personal preference is definitely for the latter. They both often require some time to get out to from SJ, but the actual adventure time on the trip itself is much longer lasting on the rivers. PLUS, if you're gonna be soaked by rain or sweat anyway (as you most likely will be at this time of year) better you should just go for it and get soaked by the river to help you cool off. Thats JMHO, YMMV. Presumably I don't need to offer any links or make any suggestions for rafting as that has already been covered many times on this forum and elsewhere. However, I will throw out a bunch of more unique adventure tour suggestions that you might not have considered.

The first one is bungee jumping with Tropical Bungee http://www.bungee.co.cr/. Personally, I haven't worked up the nerve to try this yet either here or anywhere else, though I have jumped out of planes from much greater heights (they have something called a reserve chute, but you don't get any 2nd chances with bungee jumping). If you're up for it, their tour costs $65 for the 1st jump (with discounts for subsequent jumps if you're crazy enough to want to do it more than once ). That price includes r/t transportation from SJ (they charge $10 for transport if you "chicken-out" or are going along just to see your friend kill himself) and they pickup in SJ twice per day at 8AM and 1PM returning 3-3.5 hours later.

Tropical Bungee also offers rock-climbing if you're into that for $70 for "All Day or until burn-out" (including transport and a snack lunch but requires 4 person minimum). CR is not particularly noted for its rock-climbing and I've never tried it there. However, I did try it when I was in Krabi Thailand, which is considered one of the better places for it (and on various man-made "rock-walls" elsewhere). I can only speak for myself, but can tell you that "burn-out" came quite quickly for me as this "sport" can really do a number on your hands, feet and lower back.

If you prefer an easier descent they also offer a couple of rappelling packaged (through canyons, one 50m and the other 70m, that may have some small waterfalls but not through the waterfalls themselves). Unfortunately, they don't list any prices for the rappeling though suggest you might get a special rate if you package them with the bungee.

Another GREAT adventure activity that I HAVE done in CR (and elsewhere) is what is known as "Gravity Assisted Biking". This is biking DOWNHILL (as opposed to the much harder up and down of traditional mountain biking). You don't really need to be in that great a shape to do this. All you need is a reasonable strong hand grip (as you'll be using your brakes A LOT) and nerves of steel as you zip around hairpin turns. I said before that w/w rafting was my favorite adventure activity, but Gravity-assisted biking might have that beat. The big problem is that tours are hard to find because they usually require a minimum number of participants that they don't always get and that, like rafting, it can be expensive when you do find a tour. A few links you might want to check out for more info (such as description of various different tours and prices) are: http://www.lava-tours.com/day-tours.html and http://www.costaricaadventures.net/activities/bike-Turr_Volcano.html.

That latter outfit also offers other interesting adventure tours including regular mountain biking (including uphill), w/w kayaking (if you have experience) or a w/w kayaking beginners class ($150/day pickup at 6AM return at 5:30PM) and, the thing I think you might be most interested in, various hiking, rappeling down waterfall and swimming combos (aka "canyoning"), though they don't list any prices for any of the latter. http://www.costaricaadventures.net/activities/activities.html

BTW, some people might consider going horseback riding to be an "adventure tour". I suppose it could be if you got the horse up to a fast enough gallop or even trot. Usually these tours go at a much more sedate pace. And, IMHO more significantly for us as male mongers, even without getting up to a bouncy crotch slamming pace, going for more than an hour or two of this sport is likely to leave you in a condition where you'll be very sore in the crotch region (and stiff but not in a good way). There USED to be an interesting "Adventure Super Combo Tour" which mixed horseback riding, zip-lining and white water rafting into one long (11hr $125/pp) day tour. I discussed that in this thread http://costaricaticas.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=61725. I just went back to their direct link http://www.costa-rica-tour.net/tours/super_combo.php and it seems they've dropped the horseback part of it (too many sore butts I suppose) and now offer it as "just" a 9hr $102/pp zip-line/rafting tour. So that might also be something you'd want to consider if your time in CR is short, you can't decide between zip-ling or rafting, etc. However, IMHO, any horseback riding "adventure" is probably best left to the chicas and gringas.

Are these enough adventurous SJ area day tour suggestions for you?

Mr Prolijo ,I have seen seen a more accurate and informative response in my life thanks!!!

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I don't drink milk often ..but when I do it's dos tetas ..stay Horney my friends

There's bunjee jumping in Naranjo - very exhilarating!!

There's also hang-gliding and para-gliding in jaco; also a must-do.

Due to the great volume of other information contained in my post above, Pura Vida probably just missed where I already described the Bungee option. As for the paragliding and hanggliding options in Jaco, I neglected to mention them because I thought we've been talking about day trips out of SAN JOSE rather than Jaco. I suppose now that the new highway has finally opened up and travel time to Jaco has been so greatly reduced going as far as Jaco for a day trip has become much more practical. HOWEVER, when researching these tours I see that AT BEST transportation for them is still only offered from the JACO area hotels but NOT from SJ. Of course, you could always hop on the public bus from SJ to get down to the Jaco area and then hook up with your tour but that would add on an extra layer of complexity and time to your total day.

Here is a link for the primary hanggliding tour operator http://www.hangglidecr.com. Prices (listed as for 2007) are (or were) $99-149 per person per flight depending on altitude (1500-2500') and included transportation from JACO. Solo flights (IF you're already rated to fly solo) start (or started) at $25 per tow (to 2500' altitude) plus another $25 for glider rental, though I'd imagine, if you're going to go all the way to Jaco, you're probably going to want to do more than just one short flight.

I've been hanggliding (albeit not in CR) but I must confess I've never paraglided nor really know that much about it. From the little I've been able to find out about it in CR, it seems to be more often packaged as part of a multi-day paragliding vacation rather than as something you just do as a day trip. This is probably because it is a sport that takes some time to master and then, once you've spent the time, money and effort to have mastered it, you're somewhat more likely to take whole vacations dedicated to doing it over several days. People also spend entire vacations dedicated mainly to surfing, scuba, fishing, golf and, as we all know, mongering, but it is also at least very possible just to spend one day doing any of those activities and mix it up with other activities the rest of the time. The top 2 links that came up in a Google search were http://www.paraglidecostarica.com (for the paragliding oriented Grampa Ninja B&B near Jaco) and http://www.costaricaparagliding.com/ and both seem to only list week long package deals.

I also found this spanish language site http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.parapentecr.com%2FES%2Fvuelos%2Findex.php. They mention a 1 day tandem flight (including areas much nearer to SJ like Cartago and Escazu) but fail to list any rates and seem to be oriented much more to locals than to tourists focusing mainly on services for existing paragliders as well as a multi-week 12 lesson training program for new gliders.

However, I did manage to find a couple of more gringo tourist oriented links that mention a $75 tandem intro flight near Jaco (20-25 minutes): http://www.paraddicted.com/paragliding-tandem.php and http://www.vistapacifico.com/DayTrips.html (listed down near the bottom of the page but this hotel may just be offering the paraddicted tour). Other than that the only other useful general information on paragliding in CR that I found on-line was at http://www.costaricahotels.com/paragliding.

I'm curious, since Puravida mentioned these as "must-do's", whether he has actually done them himself when he was in Jaco, and if so whether he can share some greater information about those activities than I was able to come up with.

Another thing one can do,is hop the public bus's to town's close to san jose....keep coin's for bathroom's at terminal stops,also toilet paper,as they charge for bathroom use and ration the roll....on my next visit, i plan to go to NUAYACA FALL'S.near Dominical on road to san isidro...is it a day trip on public bus or an overnight stay.........

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Jaco is called little USA by all ticos

Is it a day trip?!? I suppose it is possible to do as a day trip but I'd never do it that way.

It is a 4.5-5hr trip EACH way when you go by public bus. Unless you were willing to get up for the 6AM departure, with the 8:30AM departure you wouldn't get to Dominical until 1PM with a change of buses (and bus terminals) in San Isidro. Coming back there are buses leaving Dominical at 1:30PM (leaving only 30 minutes to get out to the falls and back, which is obviously not nearly enough time), 2:20PM (which is only marginally better) or 3:30PM (which doesn't arrive back in SJ until 5 hours later or 8:30PM). If you left any later than that you'd wind up having to overnight either in Quepos or San Isidro, so it would end up being an overnighter whether you wanted it to be or not. Even leaving at 6AM and returning at 8:30PM, that would be a grueling 14.5 hour day with nearly 10 hours of it riding on a bus. That woudn't exactly be my idea of fun. (source of info: http://www.thebusschedule.com/cr/index.php)

Your point about hopping on a public bus to go to towns that TRULY ARE fairly close to SJ is a good one. I'm not sure I'd exactly consider it to be adventure travel like the zip-line and w/w rafting tours we've been discussing elsewhere in this thread, but it does make for a very interesting cultural and scenic experience. It is also a much more affordable activity than any of those much more organized tours we've been discussing up to now.

BTW, if you're really interested in doing your own public bus tours then you should really check out this thread: http://costaricaticas.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22883. That thread actually started with an inquiry about hiring a private driver to take one around to various areas around SJ with an eye towards relocation, however it also covers the topic of doing local bus tours in great detail (particularly my posts, as is so often the case ). Some particular local bus trips you might consider include:
1) the "Periferica" loop around downtown SJ http://www.lapericr.com/
2) Heredia (which can also be done now by train)
3) Alajuela, Grecia, Sarchi and possibly San Ramon
4) Escazu, Santa Ana, Ciudad Colon
5) Aserri, Tabarca (aka Pork Chop Hill)
6) Cartago, Paraiso, Orosi
7) Cartago, San Cristobal, Tabarca (the back loop via "la Ruta de los Santos")

My favorite CR day trip ever was to Volcan Arenal and Tabacon Springs in La Fortuna. The trip included a scenic bus tour of the Tilaran mountains... and breakfast, lunch and a superb buffet dinner at the Tabacon Springs resort. We spent several hours basking in the hot springs at Tabacon during the afternoon. After dinner, the bus parked near a grand stand, and we watched the volcano venting at night. If visibility is good, you can get some spectacular shots of the volcano at night. I took the tour back in 2004, and if my memory serves me correctly, it cost around $75 or $80. The tour was all day from 6:30 am until 11:00 pm.

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Blue Devil

Pura Vida...enjoying life to the fullest...

I say this every time this comes up. IMHO, even though they do offer it as a day trip, a visit to Arenal is MUCH MUCH better done at least as an overnight and MANY (or even MOST) would most likely agree with me. Obviously, there are exceptions, as with BlueDevil here, and YMMV, but here is my reasoning.

First of all, just driving between SJ and there takes 3.5 hours EACH way (7 hrs total) or over half the time spent on the trip.

Secondly, even if you return to SJ as late as 11PM, that means you must leave the Arenal area no later than 7:30PM. Take out the time it takes for you to eat dinner (which presumably is done sometime after sunset, and the amount of time you're left with to enjoy any night-time views of the volcano is exceedingly small.

Thirdly, if you leave at 6:30AM and on the go all day, you're gonna be dragging by the time you get back at 11PM (or at least I'd be) and that's gonna severely impact how much "partying" you're gonna be able to do once you get back any way, so IMHO you might as well stay over. Of course, another perfectly valid way to go is to catch some catnaps at various points during the tour to make up for it. You could sleep on the bus during the ride there and miss all the scenery along the way. You could sleep on a lounger at the hot springs, which you could just as well do anywhere else, so that largely defeats the whole point of going to the hot springs if you're not going to be fully engaged with it while you're there. The best option is to sleep on the bus on the way back, when you'll be the most worn out, so that you'll be more refreshed for going out once you get back to SJ. Since you return at night anyway its not like you'll be missing any scenery along the way. However, whether you sleep on the way back or not, you WILL be missing the scenery (and comradery of friends) at the HDR or SL or wherever else you'd normally hang out during the early evening. Even with the full day rafting tours or the catamarran tour that takes you way out in the Gulf of Nicoya, you'd be back in SJ early enough to enjoy an entire evening of fun. Not so with the Arenal Day Trip.

So am I saying this tour entirely without merit? Hardly. So why do they offer it? IMHO, this DOES have some merit for some people in PARTICULAR situations. 1) If you have very limited time in CR and don't expect to ever come back, this tour, like the former so-called Highlights or 5-in-1 Tours, will at least give its participants a small taste of something they would otherwise miss entirely. 2) If you're so absolutely tied up to SJ that you can't envision spending even 1 night away from it (and are willing to spend over half the day on the road to get all the way out to and back from the main attraction), then this tour might still be for you. However, as I've already pointed out, given the fact that it forces you to rise at a much earlier hour than most of us normally get up during our trips (probably necessitating you retire much earlier than you normally would have the evening before) AND doesn't get you back until a time when we're normally already halfway through our evening (and probably so depleted that you're not likely to make it a very full night even after you get back), you should probably just as well just bite the bullet and make it an overnight (particularly if you bring a chica with you).

BTW, if you are bringing a chica with you on this "day trip", good luck getting her to be ready to go at 6:30AM. I don't know about 2004 but the cost of this trip today is more like $100/pp or more or $200 total for you and your chica. For MUCH less than that you could:
a) leave at a much more reasonable hour on the public bus rather than at 6:30AM (late enough that you can still take advantage of your free breakfast at your SJ hotel)
b) pay for 2 admissions to a hot springs (including lunch and/or dinner)
c) hotel costs (and meal costs the following day) you'd have either way
d) be able to spend more than a rushed 15 minutes or so viewing the volcano at night before having to rush back to SJ (btw the lava flow has moved around to the FAR side of the volcano since 2004 and you now need to drive around the volcano to that side if you have any hope of seeing the lava, something I seriously doubt they take the time to do on these "day tours" since they need to get back to SJ)
e) STILL get in your evening chica time in Fortuna because you brought one with you (OTOH, even if you don't bring one with you, you could look at it as having a night off to recharge your batteries, and then MORE than make up for it the following day)
f) also enjoy some other tour activity the next morning that is fairly close to your hotel (at least compared to any equivalent ones in the SJ area) and not requiring another long drive to get to, such as a hanging bridges or zip-line tour (optional of course)
g) return to SJ by bus (again leaving and arriving at a more reasonable hour), possibly stopping for some souvenir shopping in Sarchi, or returning directly back so that you can enjoy most of your usual daytime activities like going to an MP in the afternoon.

Of course, you could also do those last 2 items if you did the Arenal Day Trip the day before, but I think I've made my point. Doing Arenal as a day trip may seem like the best way to go by those guys who can't envision spending even 1 night away from the Gulch, but when it all gets said and done, they could just as well (and probably better) have given up that one night due to the impact taking such a long day trip would have on it anyway.

Any way, that is how I see it, YMMV.

I did the all day thing, to Arenal, and did fall sound asleep on the ride back. I also went on the Monteverde Zipline on another trip and liked it as well.

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Go Dolphins!!!