Costa Rica Surfing Trips 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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Conditions and Statistics 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. site linked to Costa Ricas official windsurfing site at the Hotel Tilawa |
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Bird Watching
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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. |
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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. |
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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! |
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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. |
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Suspension Bridge Self Guided Tour |
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contact arenal.net for sky tram
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Soaking in hot springs or swing from a rope in the natural local waterfalls |
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