Review: Zipline with Oscar Brown

[brentp]

My wife and I recently booked the Zipline adventure with Almonds & Corals through Oscar Brown (Oscar’s Tour #2) for our recent cruise stop in Puerto Limon. We were the only cruise ship in town this day (a Sunday). The tour was good, . . . but I will say I believe I had my expectations sit a bit higher.

 

When we arrived, we learned that there would be two tours this day. There were 4 of us signed up for the tour #2, and approximately 12 signed up for the tour #1 (canal tour). The four of us were ushered off to Roger, Oscar’s cousin or nephew depending on who you listened to. Roger loaded us into a small 4 door taxis (his or Oscars?) and off we went. Lets just say, it was a very tight fit.

 

On the way out, was saw the banana plantation (closed on Sundays) and Roger described how bananas grow (3 trees – one fruit, etc.). We also drove by a couple of beaches, one a black sand beach. The roads in Costa Rica are either really good, . . . or really bad. On the bad roads, Roger was dogging pot holes all the time. He would zip in and out, and many times right at another car, pedestrian, or biker. After a little more than an hour, we arrived at Almonds & Corals. Here we paid our own entrance fee ($40 US), were fitted up with equipment, and off we went.

 

The first platform is about 85 feet off the ground. To get there, you climbed a serious of stairs and ladders, all the time you were harnessed in. My wife and I have done something similar to this in the past, so this height was not a bid deal (you are not focused on the height). The guides would then hook us up to the cables and off we went one by one, zip lining from tree to tree. The platforms are all fairly large and you feel safe on them. You are harnessed in and connected to independent safety cables most of the time. The only time you are not is when the guide was transitioning you from one safety cable to another. In the past, we had used a 2 safety harness system where you hook up one before disconnecting the other. They did not do this here, . . . but I never felt un-safe at any time (again, the platforms are fairly large).

 

So there we go, zip lining from tree to tree and all the way down to the beach. On the last zipline, the guides got the cable bouncing a bit which was a lot of fun. Once done, back into the cab and we headed back to Puerto Limon. On the way back, we stopped at a bar on a beach and enjoyed a local beer (~$10 US for all 5 of us [Roger had a fruit drink]), and watched the surfers out in the water. Kinda cool.

 

Once back in Puerto Limon, we went up to the top of a hill where a restaurant is located that overlooks the harbor. Very nice view. We did not eat, but the other tour group was there and the food looked fantastic. We were offered to go visit a local lady that has Sloth and Monkeys ($3 US/PP entrance we were told). We had seen a couple of Sloth and a Toucan while at Almonds & Corals, were all a bit tired, so we opted not to, in hindsight I wish we did for the pictures. Roger then took us back to the pier area and we were done, once we paid the remaining amount due ($30/pp).

 

All in all, this was a fun day. Having done something similar to this in the past, I wish now I had booked the tour #1. From what they described, they had a fantastic time and saw a lot of wildlife. I’m not sure if it was the closed quarters in the car or Roger’s lack of enthusiasm, but the ride out and back felt just like that, a ride out and back to Almonds & Corals. From the description I got before we booked, I was expecting more of a tour versus a ride. Most of the time, the four guests were making our own conversations and had to ask if we saw something we wanted to know more about.

[cruisingschool]

What is tour 1 and tour 2? Is this through a ship or a local est.?

[brentp]

What is tour 1 and tour 2? Is this through a ship or a local est.?

These are through the independent operator known as Oscar Brown. Tour #1 is a canal tour through a national park (lots of wild life), and his tour #2 is the zip line tour through Almonds & Corals.

 

I had a list of all his tours posted here a while back. If you search on either Oscar Brown or my user name you should be able to get the description of all the tours he offers as well as his EMAIL contact info.

 

Hope this helps.