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.

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:

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!)

A perfectly balanced hot spring, in terms of temperature, volume and mineral content (low sulfur and odor). Five main springs of highly mineralized water heated underground by the earth’s molten core emanate naturally ever minute and thousands of gallons of this perfect  thermal water flows throughout the resort, forming the Tabacon River. The underground streams of the Tabacon River are enriched mineral water hot springs which are reputed to have a number of therapeutic benefits. Minerals transfer from the water to the skin and bloodstream via osmosis. Cultures all over the globe turn to natural mineral-rich waters to treat a wide array of concerns.  From sinus issues, muscle and joint pain to cosmetic (skin clarity, psoriasis). Soaking in hot springs increases your blood flow, circulation, metabolism, and absorption of essential minerals. Sounds awesome so far, but wait—there’s more!

Costa Rica produces less than 1% of the world’s coffee, yet Starbucks went out of their collective way to set up a company-owned 600-acre coffee farm there. Maybe this is a sign of coffee arrogance, but it seems more likely that the (somewhat experienced) folks at Starbucks know a good thing when they smell it.

Although there are several clearly separate Costa Rican growing regions, for the most part these distinctions don’t make it to the front counter of coffee shops and don’t make it onto a label. There are some exceptions for the Tarrazu snob, maybe, but mostly it’s “Costa Rican Blend” or some such title on the package.

Just as “French Roast” or “Chai Latte” evoke thoughts of extremely bold or spiced addictions, Costa Rican coffee paints a particular taste picture for fans, often requiring specialized vocab. Generally, Costa Rican coffee is highly acidic and very intensely flavorful. While each region is certainly different (and even specific farm varieties stand alone), Costa Rican coffees are referred to as having a “heavy” or “thick” body, and being “creamy”.

Christmas is around the corner and that means time to head to Zapote to see the bullfights live.

The mayor of San José, Johnny Araya, confirmed this October, fans will be allowed in the stands to see the bullfights that will be held from December 25 to January with an agreement with the Ministry of Health to allow 30% of the ring’s capacity. That is about 900 people per bullfight  the in person attendees to be fully vaccinated against covid-19, confirmed by the QR code. The same for the 100 authorized “improvisados” (amateur bullfighters), who want to enter the Zapote arena for each function.

In Costa Rica they call it a corrida, which literally means, “run.” what it actually means here is rodeo — and these events largely resemble a typical American rodeo — but some people would call it a bullfight, they wouldn’t be entirely wrong.

It may seem strange that bullfights take place during Christmas time, but the Costa Rican version of this Spanish sport does not include killing the bulls. In Costa Rica, bullfights consist of bull riding, equestrian skills, live music, dancing and fireworks. Called Toros a la Tica, these events are family friendly and take place near San Jose, if you came to Costa Rica to party, Zapote is where the party begins.

Tour the entertainment scene with your party of friends, and discover why the weather isn’t the only reason for Costa Rica’s sizzling heat. Thousands of Ticos visit the traditional Zapote festival on the east side of San José, where bull baiting is one of the most popular events.

But of all the bulls in Costa Rica, the most celebrated and revered is the ‘bull’ people call “Malacrianza.” Translation? “Badass.” On his debut at a corrida, the then-anonymous bull entered the ring on one of the earlier days of the festival, putting on a graceful and belligerent show worthy of an encore later in the week. Soon, Malacrianza’s distinctive style begin to earn him accolades and nicknames, for instance, “El Corazón de Garza” (the Heart of Garza) and “Su Majestad” (His Majesty). The most popular name, though, was as yet unearned: “El Toro Asesino.” The Bull Assassin.