Zip Lining

[audekat]

I am looking for a really great zip lining excursion for me and my aunt. She is in her 70's but fit so walking or hiking to the lines should not be a problem.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations?

 

Are there any cool things we could add to the tour? Beach? Shopping? Other stuff?

[cmac cruiser]

I am looking for a really great zip lining excursion for me and my aunt. She is in her 70's but fit so walking or hiking to the lines should not be a problem.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations?

 

Are there any cool things we could add to the tour? Beach? Shopping? Other stuff?

We just returned from Costa Rica, where we did a tour with Danilo Hall. He was amazing. Tour included ziplining, but he also made sure to stop and show us wildlife (monkeys, sloths), stopped at a fresh fruit stand where we ate amazing fruit (no additional charge), swung by the banana plantation and hit a beach. He was knowledgeable and friendly. Honestly, it's one of the best tours we've ever done. It was very reasonably priced (so much so, we told him he charges too little). He was very willing to do whatever we wanted. The ziplining was great. We went to Cedar Valley and enjoyed the heck out of it. A lot of fun, a lot of time in the canopy.

[audekat]

Do you have a web site for him? How many lines for the zip lining?

[cmac cruiser]

Do you have a web site for him? How many lines for the zip lining?

He doesn't have a website, but his e-mail address is:

adventure_caribbean@yahoo.com. There is an underscore between "adventure" and "caribbean." I don't recall the number of lines. I would say between eight and 10, maybe more? He took us to Cedar Valley Ranch. I understand he takes guests either there or to Jungle Breezes. One of the lines was 1,500 feet long, which was awesome. Great guides and a beautiful area.

[mjobtx]

If you are in Arenal area, SkyTrek has a great system. Tram up, zip down - 7 lines I think. Very safe operator. I saw people of all ages zipping.

[Cozzette2]

We went with Oscar Brown and had one of the most beautiful zip lines we have ever been on.

Kris

[jrh61]

I can't recommend a specific zipline company, but will make one suggestion - make sure that they have automatic braking. We zipped near Arenal in June (I don't remember the company name) and wore a leather thing on our hand that we held on the cable to brake ourselves. If you stopped too soon, you had to turn around and pull yourself in to the platform. I stopped WAY early on the last big line and they had to come "rescue" me. It would have been much more enjoyable if I didn't have to work so hard.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We went on a zipline at Adventure Park and Hotel Vista Golfo at Punta Arenas. We just picked up the tour off the ship, from one of the vendors holding up signs. I had researched enough to know this was probably the tour we wanted.

 

The zipline/hotel was probably a 30 minute drive from port. We had a short wait at the resort for another couple to arrive, but there are trails to walk there and it is very scenic. We only had the four of us on the tour--we were mid-sixties and have no health issues, the other couple were early 70's and the man did have some problems due to leg difficulties, but he managed without too much trouble--the guides were verly good with him.

 

Since there were only 4 of us, we had 3 guides who were very helpful and safety conscious. This zipline had around 25 lines and went over forest, a beautiful mountain stream and waterfalls. There were a couple of where we had to ratchet ourselves along (I forget the technical term) which were a little more difficult. We spent some time at one of the waterfalls and could have gone swimming there.

 

The group ahead of us had 20 or so people and we did catch up to them towards the end, but waits were minimal.

 

The resort also has horseback riding, which can be combined with zipping and ATV trails as well as some other activities. Our tour included a nice Costa Rican style lunch. We had a great time.

[SLO Dancers]

We also went zip-lining at Vista Golfo Resort in December and had an amazing day. The scenery is absolutely spectacular. There are 25 zip-lines and 11 waterfalls to cross, which is more than any other place we've zipped. The staff is professional and helpful and the lunch was at a pleasant restaurant overlooking the gulf. I would go back again.

[Milhouse]

We did ziplining in Veragua Rainforest. You had to brake yourself with your gloved hand on the line (as someone mentioned above). It made the process more complex as I was braking too early & had to pull myself in or braking too late & coming onto the platform a little too hard :D. If you can handle this the extra physical effort you might encounter with hand braking, I think it's kind of more fun. :)

 

Unfortunately, it started to rain during the last few zip lines (who'd of guessed in a RAINforest :) ). Just be prepared for the weather.

[RSF Cruiser]

We went zip lining at Rain Forest Adventures (part of a custom tour by Okey Dokey from Puntarenas). First they attached the harnesses to us and demonstrated what we would be doing. Then we took the tram up to the zip line platform, had four "practice" runs that were fairly short (100 feet?), and then 10 real runs that were maybe 700-1000 feet long.

 

It was incredible, spectacular, and seemed very safe. I'm 64, in good shape, but have a neck and lower back problems and a moderate fear of heights. For the first few zips I closed my eyes for the initial part (we were hundreds of feet above the ground), but after 3 or 4 zips I started to keep my eyes open and enjoyed the scenery and ride.

 

There was no strain on my neck or back, and we did not have to manually break - they have something on the lines near the end to slow you down and two strong young men to help you at the end.

 

There were some children who were very scared, so the guides zipped with them until they felt comfortable zipping alone. Also, Rain Forest Adventures had two cables for the zip and we were always strapped to something, even when we were on a platform. I felt very safe and secure.

 

The views were fantastic, and the friends I zipped with had zipped several times before and said this one was the best one they had been on. I have nothing to compare it to.

[JonconOH]

Our group which consisted of 10 seniors over the age of 70 took this incredible ride last year. The double cables provided extra safety. The guides were wonderful to us. My wife who has 2 replacement hips did very well. She recommends that if you have any artificial hips, to turn yourself around as you end the end of the zip line and "back in", so you don't hit your legs on the platform (or any tree trunk). The guides will slow you down on the approach to the platform and stop you.