Costa Rica Surfing Trips
So you’re thinking of Costa Rica as your next surfing vacation destination. You’ve probably heard about the consistent warm water waves, the year round surfing, very friendly ticos, easy access to a great variety of breaks and over 700 miles of coastline: Maybe you’re visiting with your family and the lure of a tour package with multiple options for lodging and eating out, the safety and low rate of violence you can find Costa Rica along with the ability to stay at beaches that not only provide great waves but also a variety of activities for the non surfers in your group have made you decide that this is where you’ll get the most out of your vacation trip. Whether you’re traveling solo, with a group, with dedicated surfers or with folks who have never ridden a wave, in Costa Rica you’ll be able to surf on two different Oceans, assist a surfing camp or school to learn or improve your technique and combine it with other adventures, national parks, day tours, active volcanoes to visit and more. Costa Rica will make your surfing vacation exceed expectations.
Deliciously warm water, year-round waves, and two coasts add up to one of the world's best-known surfing destinatios. There's even better news: that popularity hasn't yet translated into overcrowding. Most surfers bring their own boards, as evidenced by the crowds that get off the plane and make a beeline for the oversize luggage carousel, but you'll find plenty of places to rent equipment if you're not quite that hardcore.
Jacó, Central Pacific. Easily accessible Jacó draws the many surfers who come here as much for the partying as the waves.
Pavones, South Pacific. It's a long trip here, but your reward is one of the world's longest left-breaking waves.
Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Caribbean. One of the world's best (and toughest) waves, Salsa Brava, laps right offshore in town.
Tamarindo, North Pacific. The north coast's consummate surfing town and a good place for beginners; the stretch of shoreline north to Playa Grande and south to Playa Negra satisfies experts.
Spend the day hiking deep into the jungle to a 70 foot waterfall and then take a dip in it’s cool waters. This beautiful hike follows the Bananito River upstream to a series of charming waterfalls within our private reserve, Reserva Selva Bananito. Enjoy refreshing dips in the river and a delicious lunch by the last waterfall. You may want to try rapelling at the waterfalls.
Arenal, Northern Plains. The most famous volcano in Costa Rica, Arenal has a classic cone that forms an iconic backdrop to the town of La Fortuna. On clear nights you can see red-hot lava spitting from its summit.
Irazú, Central Valley. A cinch to visit as a day trip from San José, here you can walk right up to the edge of steaming craters.
Poás, Northern Plains. Like Irazú, at Poás you can get close the crater, and it is also close to San José. We find Poás, with its beautiful crater lake, a bit more impressive.
Rincón de la Vieja, North Pacific. This moonlike landscape of steaming craters and fizzing fumaroles is worth the rugged drive and rough hike.
Turrialba, Central Valley. The least-visited of the active volcanoes, Turrialba rises 3,320 m (10,900) feet above sea level. You can see the Pacific on a clear day.
The Lake Arenal area of Costa Rica is a paradise for windsurfers. Warm water, predictably high winds, moderate temperatures and great accomodations all add up to possibly the greatest windsurfing conditions on the planet! Here at Tilawa Windsurfing Resort, we have great prices on accomodations and windsurfing equipment.
Conditions and Statistics
Wind speeds, lake conditions and weather conditions on Lake Arenal:
December through April, average 25 mph wind. 11° N. latitude, 1,525 feet above sea level, 48 square miles of surface area, 24 miles long, Air Temp: 70° to 80°, water temp 73° +, sweet water, with up to 5 foot swell with port- ramps.
Lake Arenal Costa Rica Wind data is provided by Costa Ricas National Utilities. The information sums 15 + years of wind speed averages as measured by a professional quality weather station. This station is located within one mile of the Tilawa Wind surf launch and Marina. You will note that there are three "averaged wind speeds" and unlike most wind surfing destinations' wind data, it provides the complete picture: the highest, mean and minimum you can expect at Lake Arenal. It should be noted that the wind speed here is unusually stable, it is very-very typical to sail one sail size all day.
site linked to Costa Ricas official windsurfing site at the Hotel Tilawa
Bird Watching
A bird watching Costa Rica vacation is a truly satisfying experience. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or an expert: the variety and quantity of Costa Rica birds you can observe in this country is amazing. With 874 species divided into 64 families, there is plenty to look for. Many species are endemic either to Costa Rica or Central America. There are many reasons why this nation is preferred by birders: it’s a small country with varied habitats and an astounding biodiversity, with a strong infrastructure that supports visitors, so bird watchers can stay in a forest lodge, take bird watching hikes with an experienced and knowledgeable bilingual guide, or use a great bird watching list or cheat sheet available for use. Think about it: there are more species in Costa Rica than in all of North America, in an area roughly the size of West Virginia. We can assist you by arranging a bird watching Costa Rica trip, where you’ll be able to stay surrounded by nature in comfortable forest lodges, go on hikes or tours to National Parks or reserves with knowledgeable bilingual guides, and get the chance to see and hear multiple species of birds and other animals. We arrange all details so you can concentrate on enjoying your holidays.
Costa Rica’s claim to fame is certainly the Resplendent Quetzal. For those seeking the Quetzal, the best areas to head to are the Monteverde Cloud Forest, Barva Volcano area and the mountains of Dota and Cerro de la Muerte, south of San José. The male quetzal is covered with emerald green iridescent feathers, sports an attractive mohawk, and has a bright red lower breast and belly. The most striking feature of this beautiful bird is its extremely long tail feathers which double the bird’s length. When the male quetzal sings its liquid trills while perched on a branch, these feathers will hang down pointing to the ground, and when it flies through the forest under story, they stream behind the bird, like banners announcing its arrival. It feeds off the “aguacatillo” fruit, a relative to the avocado. It swallows the whole fruit including the large pit, which it later regurgitates: vital to the conservation of this species is the safeguarding of this tree, its main source of sustenance. To spot a Quetzal, learn to recognize the tree, and sooner or later the birds shall come.
When birding, Costa Rica’s many wonderful wonders will take your breath away. Due to the dense foliage, the only warnings you’ll have of the incredible birds in the vicinity are their songs and calls. The Kiskadee sings to an unknown Victor Diaz throughout Costa Rica, the Long Tailed Manakin with its red crest and bright blue back you’ll see in abundance in the humid forests and Santa Rosa, calling out “Toledo”. Another striking bird is the Blue Crowned Motmot: bright turquoise with a long tail feather with a knob at the end. It’s an interesting with peculiar behavior: its namesake song sounds like a dog playfully barking and when it perches it “wags” its tail. The Keel-Billed Toucan croaks its song from high up the treetops, a sound many mistake for a frog: it certainly makes up for its lack of singing skills with the beauty of its rainbow colored bill. How about the Laughing Falcon? Locals call it “Guaco”, and you can locate this by the repetitive, boisterous, mocking call in the humid forests. The Scarlet Macaw you can see in Palo Verde or in Carara reserve. This beautiful animal is being forced into extinction by the razing of its nesting trees, and now survives in protected areas. Another favorite is the Three Wattled Bellbird: its distinctive song is composed by what sounds like a squeaky gate creaking open 3 times and a final BONK. They are found in the Monteverde Cloud Forest area. Also keep your ears open for the Montezuma Oropendola: its bright yellow and black plumage, hanging basket nests and liquid song make this a great bird to spot whenever you are near humid forests. Thrushes, hummingbirds and migratory birds are also popular to sight. We can assist you in arranging a birding vacation tour: stay at the best locations to spot wonderful birds. Birding in the Caribbean, Pacific coasts or the rainforests and enjoy the beauty of these flying wonders.
birdwatching
Go horseback riding. Enjoying lovely tropical scenery an undisturbed beachesand learningabout the region's agriculture. Costa Rica offers an ideal opportunity to observe sustainable development in action: tourism combined with agriculture, making use of natural resources in a balanced manner. You may come across a garden of heliconia flowers (members of the "bird-of-paradise" family), pastures reforested with native laurel trees, a plantation of organic bananas, a scenic overview, and a break to drink coconut water from coconuts picked as you watch.
Explore the paths within Reserva Selva Bananito and let the pristine rain forest and crystal waters enchant you. This hike can be adjusted to a variety of interests and physical conditions. 1-3 hours. You may also want to try a night of hiking and camping in the virgin rainforest sleeping in a tent or hammock.
Costa Rica is considered to be one of the most bio-diverse regions in the world. One of the country’s main attractions is the incredible wealth of plants and animals found in this small part of the Central America rain forest, comprising 5% of the world’s biodiversity. The Costa Rica rainforest is 25% of the national territory. Costa Rica forests boasts 20 national parks, 8 biological reserves, and a variety of other protected areas that have protected plants and wildlife and captivated eco tourists for decades. The most impressive areas are the rain forests in Costa Rica, which can be categorized into tropical rain forest, cloud forest, and dry forest. Since visiting the tropical rain forest in Costa Rica is an event to be experienced at least once in a lifetime.
The Pacuare River is one of the top five rafting rivers in the world for its scenery and rapids. This quintessential tropical river is a trip of pure magic, unsurpassed beauty, wildlife and exhilarating rapids. Located on Costa Rica's Atlantic slope, the Pacuare River borders the Talamanca mountain range, home to native Cabecar Indians and an incredible variety of wildlife. Once at the river at our private put-in, you'll raft 16 miles deep in the heart of densely vegetated gorges, past gushing waterfalls, serene pools and pounding rapids, in one of Costa Rica's most impressive primary rainforests. The Pacuare plunges through spectacular mountain gorges and passes through virgin rainforest filled with howler monkeys, toucans, sloths, ocelots and more. We will have an adrenaline-packed afternoon running rapids like Upper and Lower Huacas, Cimarron, Dos Montanas and many more.
Green, Leatherback, Hawksbill, Loggerhead and Olive Ridley Sea Turtles
When and where ?
The nesting of the Green, Leatherback, Hawksbill, Loggerhead and Olive Ridley Sea Turtles is one of natures amazing spectacles. Green Turtles nest along the beaches of Tortuguero National Park from July to October.
Leatherbacks nest frequently along the Caribbean coast and at Las Baulas National Park in Guanacaste from February to June. Hawksbill and Loggerheads, less common, nest along the Caribbean during the summer months.
The Olive Ridley nest in Ostional in Guanacaste, coming ashore in large numbers for several days each month from August to September.
Sea Turtles are most frequently seen when the females come ashore to deposit their eggs on beaches usually at night.
Only 1 of 5000 Sea Turtles are going to be adults, so it is really important that people do not disturb them while digging the holes in the sand to put their eggs in. No bright flash lights please!
There are two basic types of canopy tours: one that gives you a chance to see treetop animals up close; and one that lets you behave like them. The former are canopy tours in the literal sense, where you walk along suspension bridges, ride along in a tram, or are hoisted up to a platform to get a closer look at birds, monkeys, and sloths. They may also be called hanging-bridges tours, sky walks, or platform tours. The latter, and much more popular, type of canopy tour has less to do with learning about nature. Instead, it is a fastpaced and fun experience where you are attached to a zip line with a safety harness and then "fly" from one tree platform to the next. When most people say "canopy tour" they are generally referring to a zip-line tour.
These tours are great fun, but don't plan on seeing the resplendent quetzal as you zip from platform to platform. (Your shouts of exhilaration will probably scare them all away.) Tree-to-tree zip lines date back to the 19th century, and were introduced as a means for rain-forest study in Costa Rica in the 1970s by U.S. biologist Donald Perry. Darren Hreniuk, a Dutch-turned-Tico entrepreneur, opened the country's first commercial canopy tour in Monteverde in the mid-1990s. It was an almost immediate success. Within a decade, there were close to 100 canopy tours operated by various companies and individuals. Canopy tours now generate some $120 million annually, and attract a reported 200,000 tourists each year.
TIP: If the day is overcast, save your money. All you'll see are clouds, and you can do that for free back on the ground.
Is It Safe?
Flying through the air, while undeniably cool, is also inherently dangerous. So before you strap into a harness, be certain that the safety standards are first rate. Like so much in Costa Rica, there is no government oversight of canopy tours, so you are dependent on the representations of the operators. Since 1997 two zip-line tour deaths have been attributed to faulty equipment; one in 2000 on a San Lorenzo Canopy Tour in San Ramón, the other in 1997, at a canopy tour near La Fortuna. Both women plummeted to earth after their harnesses came apart.
Considering that thousands of tourists enjoy the canopy tours each year, the safety record is quite good. Nevertheless, don't fall for sales pitches, and take your time to choose wisely. If anything seems "off" or makes you uncomfortable, walk away. Just as importantly: Listen closely to the guides and follow their instructions. Don't attempt to take photos in flight and never argue with the guide when s/he is making a decision to preserve your safety. A good operator will refund your money or reschedule your tour if it's cancelled due to weather.
Suspension Bridge Self Guided Tour
contact arenal.net for sky tram
Soaking in hot springs or swing from a rope in the natural local waterfalls
