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Costa Rica

Limon Costa Rica Zip Line Tips

Our Limon Costa Rica zip line started with the first terrifying jump nearly 100 feet in the air. We were not in Virginia any more.

One lady didn’t make it. She climbed all the way to the top with the rest of us and made the mistake of looking down. She decided to climb back down and skip the zip lining altogether.

Some of us wondered if we would do the same thing when it came our turn to jump.

That moment can be terrifying. We stood on a platform hanging from a tree 100 feet in the air. The guide hooked our harness to a wire overhead. After a big breath, we jumped forward into a glide that took us over the wire dozens of yards to the next tree.

Zip Line Excursion Tips

Costa Rica Canopy Tour
© 2021 Scott S. Bateman

A Limon zip line tour requires transportation to get to the zip line facility. Visitors can either take an excursion bus to reach it or a boat on the Tortuguero Canals.

The drive is faster than the boat, but the boat ride is more interesting. The total trip time will take 60 to 90 minutes or more one way depending on the weather.

Most excursion operators quote prices ranging from $100 to $135 dollars per person. Prices depend in part on the cruise date. Boat transportation is usually more expensive than driving there.

The tour lasts about five to six hours including quite a bit of time reaching the location and getting back again. Once at the facility, visitors will get fitted with equipment and go through a training session.

Note that Costa Rica has rain throughout the year, and sometimes the rain is quite heavy, especially from September through November. Tour particpants should bring ponchos or raincoats just in case.

Otherwise, take note the cancellation policy of the tour operator when booking the tour. Heavy rains will certainly make zip lining an uncomfortable experience.

Going on the Excursion

We found ourselves in a rain forest in Costa Rica during a western Caribbean cruise that included a stop at the cruise port of Limon.

After a lengthy ride to the park, we were helped by locals into harnesses at the main facility, given explanations on how to use them and hiked through the forest to the first tree.

It didn’t seem scary until we got there. It didn’t even seem scary when our group started the climb.

It did seem scary for some of us when we realized how high we climbed.

Our local guide was the first to hook her harness to the glide wire, gave us some extra tips and encouragement, and seemed to throw herself off the platform.

Costa Rica ziplining
A Costa Rica zip lining tour is terrifying and exhilarating. Credit: Wikimedia Creative Commons license

She zipped quickly across an expanse high in the air that was at least dozens of yards to the next tree.

The first of our group jumped, and another, and another. Nerves clearly were on edge as we were hooked to the wire and were encouraged to go.

But after we began to glide, the looks of fear were gone. Exhilaration took over.

The sensation of zip lining is one of the speed and the tops of trees flying past. Any thought of being so high in the air is gone.

Each of us reached the next tree, sometimes too fast and sometimes too slow. But the guide was always there to help. No one had any trouble.

Memorable Shore Excursion for Children

In time, a sense of adventure grows. There also was the feeling of what it was like to live in that tree house in the movie “Swiss Family Robinson.” It certainly built an appreciation for the beauty of nature.

Like all great excursions, our canopying adventure ended too soon and we were back in the main facility for the ride back to the cruise ship.

All three of our children (the minimum age to go is 12), loved the experience and handled the heights well.

Canopying in Costa Rica is a thrilling family adventure and one of the best excursions in the Caribbean.

Scott S. Bateman is a professional journalist who has traveled widely throughout the Caribbean and the Americas. He is the author of four books about cruising in the Caribbean, Alaska and Mexican Riviera.
January 19, 2022

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