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Zip Lining in Costa Rica’s Monteverde

There are mandatory experiences in a traveller’s life: skydiving in New Zealand, scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, eating ice cream in Italy and Zip-lining in Monteverde. You can’t get around it. The question is not ‘Will you do it?’, but ‘When will you do it?’ So, here are a few insights and tips for your next trip to Costa Rica. Oh yes, by the way, leaving the country without having visited the mountain village Monteverde would be like deciding against zip-lining, so don’t even think about skipping it! It’s one of the Must-Sees, Must-Have-Dones that you can check off your Things-To-Do-Before-I-Die-List. So, please don’t be ridiculous, here is how it works.

The view from the top platform is rewarding
This is where you fly above…

Finding the right company for Zip-lining in Monteverde

All tour companies offer more or less the same program: 14 zip-lines, one ‘Superman’, one Tarzan Swing and a Rappel. (Don’t worry, we will explain the different types later on). They all pick you up at your hotel/hostel in Monteverde and bring you back afterwards. The tour takes about 3-4 hours, so make sure you bring some water, our company did not have water included which would have been nice as it got hot and humid during our trip…

When you get to Monteverde, take your time and walk around the small village. You can compare each offer according to price and size of the group. We decided in the end to go with the tour company called ‘Extremo‘ because it sounded simply tempting to even put an extra bit of extreme adrenaline rush to it. We paid 50 USD which included the pick-up and transfer to the park area, the equipment and the transfer back.

What you can expect when you go Zip-lining in Monteverde

It goes without saying that this is a day filled with fun. I laughed a lot and screamed many times from the bottom of my lungs. Nervous, sweaty hands can be a common symptom, but once you’ve started and gone down your first couple of zip-lines, then you get literally the hang of it and understand that it is not as scary as it looks. Oh and the best part is that you fly above extremely beautiful scenery which makes this rush even more fun! Look down, that’s really breathtaking!

A beautiful view before you go down...

Although the canopy is not inside the main nature reserves like those of other companies, the views are extremely amazing. On top of that, it has the longest lines that are almost 3.2 kilometres (2 miles) in total. The individual zip-lines are between 40 meters (131 feet) to 750 meters (2,461 feet) long, including 4 cables that are longer than 425 meters (1,394 feet). You will walk many stairs and up a hill in order to make it from one end to the next line. It’s a great way to get to know the rest of the group, as we were about 15 people from all over the world lining up for the next zip line. 🙂 

When you make it through the first 10 Lines, suddenly you are supposed to leave your metal hooks in a bucket, as you won’t need them when you go down the Tarzan Swing. Imagine a bungee jump, but with your head up and feet down, plus you are holding on to the rope (all secured, of course). Well, like Tarzan you swing around after a jump off the platform and a free-fall of about 9 meters… it really is not for the faint of heart and made me scream again – I now understand why Tarzan did not swing in silence!

Smile! Before you go down, you have no clue but it's so much fun!
Suddenly, ropes become so precious… 😀 

 The highlight at the end is the so-called Superman which simply means that you are now ready to turn onto your belly and rush down the line with open arms as if flying like, well, Superman of course. Since we went with Extremo, our very last zip line even took us through a tunnel that was recently built to give you an extra bit of rush right at the end. Yet, for me, nothing topped the great scenery that we were able to look at throughout the whole time. All in all, we had fun, laughed and screamed a lot and definitely would go back to do it again!

If you love adventure activities, you might like our post about Sailing in Nicaragua. But first tell us, have you been to Costa Rica? And did you go Zip Lining in Monteverde?

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By Julia Jerg

Julia is the founder and chief editor of Jey Jetter, a site that showcases the option of working remotely and travel as much as you like. Julia is a former PR/marketing consultant who turned into a remote working social media manager, travel writer and public speaker living location independently since 2011. She has been to 86 countries on all 6 continents and lived in several different countries for more than six months. Her laptop is her office and the label 'digital nomad' fits best to describe her lifestyle. On this site, she writes about personal freedom, remote work and her passion for travelling.

3 replies on “Zip Lining in Costa Rica’s Monteverde”

Wow, this is really a COOL STUFF! The traveler who like adventure they would preferred it certainly, besides the birdeye’s green view must feed one’s mind! Thanks for sharing this nice post. Have you ever been to South Asia? Can read travel story http://bit.ly/1SjxSTj

Hey, thank you! And great post! I haven’t been to Bangladesh but spent some time in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Would love to go back, it’s so beautiful and I love the food 😀

Yes, indeed! Though Bangladesh is something different than the countries you’ve visited in Asia as because it’s totally an undiscovered land for tourists where people are not yet commercial like other countries. And the fascinating natural activities like Sundarbans (the largest mangrove forest on earth), Saint Martin Island, archaeological sites, a traditional cruise of Rocket Peddle Steamer and tea garden state must make one’s tour memorable.

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