Costa Rica is known for their Canopy Tours where a vacationer can zip through the rainforest. The zip-lines are scattered among several platforms, some as high as 130 feet.

The users are physically attached to the cable by wearing a harness which attaches to a removable trolley. A helmet is required on almost all courses of any size.

Cables can be very high, starting at a height of over 30 feet (9 m), and traveling well over 1500 feet (457 m).

Fun facts About Ziplining and some less known

While you may not have tried zip lining yourself, we thought it would be fun to share a few facts about this fun adventure sport you may one day wish to try.Our expertise and resources give you an insider’s view on your Costa Rica vacation with exclusive benefits you cannot obtain on your own.

Ziplines are now common for many different occasions including family backyard get-togethers to entertain the little ones, as fundraisers, and even large birthday celebrations. In fact, some people have built mini ziplines in their back yards!

So, how long have ziplines actually been around? While there’s not much historical record of when the first zip line came along, there is ample evidence that people living in mountainous regions – particularly the Himalayas and the Alps strung up zip lines quite early in their culture to both traverse dangerous country and to receive and carry supplies more efficiently.

Nestled in a valley and encircled by impressive mountains, Oaxaca is a beautiful colonial city that is as charming as it is culturally fascinating.

Cobblestone streets combine with brightly colored buildings that are lit by bright sunshine and blue skies over 300 days of the year, making this city a popular destination for photographers, writers, and artists, who get lost in its allure.

Let it be known, however, that Oaxaca is not merely a pretty face, it is also a culturally rich city, bursting with things to tickle the cultural senses. Sixteen different indigenous languages are spoken in the state and this cultural diversity is also reflected in the huge variety of textiles and handicrafts on offer in Oaxaca.  A plethora of villages dot the roads out of the city, each producing different handicrafts from pottery and weaving to carving and metal work. There is something for every taste and the artisans are proud to show visitors how they make their crafts; their incredible talent making their work seem effortless.

Escape the boring wine list and jump in line fast for a chance to preview the year’s First Sip from Plantaže! This Euro trip will be at the top of your wine touring list for years to come, as this large, award-winning vintner produces exceptional wines (both red and white) and has a few very special preview tastes available nowhere else on Earth.

(The fact that the beaches are amazing is, of course, secondary.)

The Plantaže vineyards are extensive – amongst the largest in Europe – and extremely productive, yielding some of the largest exports in the region. Perched at almost the same latitude as Rome, Plantaže is in the heart of Montenegro, a short hop east of Italy and a stone’s throw (a few miles) from the sea. Some top destination beaches (well-reviewed and tourist-friendly) abound at nearby destinations like Herceg Novi and several beachy sweet-spots in and around Budva.

Everyone will feel like a kid again when your whole group gets to greet whales in person! Our Costa Rican whale encounters are as intimate as you could ever hope for, with these gentle giants often coming close enough to get us wet!

We zoom out to meet migrating “pods” (groups of whales) on a comfortable and super-stable catamaran (a twin-hulled ship) as Gray and Humpback whales - and sometimes Blue whales up to 100 feet long - pass within a few miles of the Costa Rican shore.

*** Alert! ***

Talk about something special! Whales are extremely gentle and often come right up to the boat, so it is sometimes possible to actually *touch* a whale! Whales enjoy interacting with boats and people, so much so that you could be greeted personally in a close approach – or by getting a good close up “once over” as a whale investigates and stares at our group.

When whale groups encounter a tour boat, they very often put on a deliberate show with fantastic aerial jumps, rolls and splashes. Humpbacks in particular love to cavort about and play to the camera, posing with their huge pectoral fins pointed up out of the water and showing off their bellies.

We also often hear whale songs! While whale songs are known to travel miles underwater, when whales are close by it is actually possible to hear singing from the boat. Watch them breach and entertain the children in the short video.

Zen Recreations’ Costa Rica tours help schools, teachers, children, and adults explore and learn about animals through experiences intended to create a deeper understanding, respect, and desire to protect all wildlife through informal learning experiences.

The whale watching jaunt starts in the morning and lasts until mid-day. After lunch, we take a charter flight back to San Jose`.                                                                                     

                                                          Find out more about our Costa Rica trip which includes whalewatching!        

                                                                                                       Contact us

Don’t miss this amazing trip! Learn more or join up with us today! Send a free text message to 1 (929) 266-5936 and one of our friendly travel hosts will call you right away.

Some details about whales:

Pilsner Urquell is  176  years old this year. As the name suggests, “Urquell” in German or “Prazdroj” in Czech both mean “the ancient source.”  On 5 October 1842, Josef Groll had an entirely new mash ready and on 11 November 1842, the new beer was first served at the feast of Saint Martin and a legend was born.

Though the beer is not kvasnicovy (yeast beer), as there is no wort or young yeast added, it is unpasteurized and unfiltered.

Unfiltered Pilsner is available in selected pubs every October. Note that this is not the same as the more widespread tankovná (tank beer) or the unpasteurized (filtered) version, both of which are found throughout Prague and Czech Republic .

Safe Travels for Silvered Seniors

Taking off for parts unknown at the gray-haired stage of life is still a fun adventure and there is nothing to fear! It may be true that running, jumping for joy and endless flights of stairs are less enticing than they used to be, but there’s a very big world out there to see without resorting to a “bucket list” approach. Organizing  a  Multi-Generational holiday or traveling Alone with Your Grandchildren can be a Great Bonding Experience.

Think “safety in numbers” and go for it! (If you’ve decided that sitting at home gathering dust is more appealing than travel, well, we can’t help you there, granny.) If you think this article is going to talk about pouch belts under your pants to hide your passport, no, no, no; we have better things to discuss.

Zen Recreations is a fantastic solution for traveling at any age and we specialize in the safety-in-numbers approach. By the way, we’re all about the destination; we don’t cut off the fun to travel in herds. But we help with a number of things including locating solo travel deals (here you have the opportunity to share a room with someone who has similar interests), finding lower prices and looking for adventures and showing you the ropes.

Zen Recreations is not a tour bus with a uniformed guide at the front. We don’t say “and if you look out the left window you’ll see an old building.” (Well, sometimes, but not much because we have places to go and things to do!)

Summer ’17 means Euro music festivals; they’ve already gotten under way, but there are opportunities to jump in now for some of the best fun to be had this year! If you’d be satisfied with a nice beach and some mildly scenic eye candy, well then head over to Montenegro’s beaches for a little Adriatic awesomeness anyway. But, baby! There’s so much more!

The world-famous (and enormous) EXIT music festivals are hitting the beach, too, with the Sea Dance landing beachside in Budva in mid-July. What a gas, right? But you jump over to the festival website and get hit with the news that hotels are sold out. Downer? Serious bummer?

For this year’s big getaway, may we propose a something quietly different? How about “unique + calm + touristy + history”? All these are available in Herceg Novi, and summer is the time to relax and absorb all those time-off things you want to indulge in; shopping and sightseeing gives way to munching and sipping on something entirely new and different. But your Secret Sauce for this adventure is to top it all off with moments of serenity you just can’t find anywhere else.

Unique even among historical sites, the still-functioning Savina monastery compound houses two churches called the “Church of the Dormition” and a third church named after Saint Sava. Savina will provide a dose of calm that (according to some records) dates back to 1030 A.D., and the churches house some of the most important religious relics in existence, including the Crystal Cross of St. Sava, dating from the 13^th century. The churches have undergone significant renovations and now represent some of the best Baroque architecture still in use and some of the best preserved frescos predating the Renaissance.

Enchanted by the idea of a special European getaway? The best stopovers are the ones gaining popularity with experienced travelers and we have one for you: Montenegro is a country that’s equal parts convenient, affordable and quintessentially European. And of the many hidden gems there, this gem of Montenegro is the tiny city of Kotor.

This charming “hidden” city is a real treasure of the Adriatic! Thousands of years old and sheltered by beautiful mountains, the Old City is home to marinas and stunning water-side views, too. Charm, history, welcoming people and majestic scenery combine where ancient architecture meets modern conveniences along streets you simply won’t find anywhere else.

Homey and full of flavor, but just a short drive from beaches, awesome national parks, and cities.

Montenegro is getting popular for superb scenery, great travel bargains, a thriving art scene,  a real Unesco Jewel meandring down the cobbled streets and fantastic things to do, Kotor is your perfect place to call home base while you’re here.