Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [475]
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ACTIVITIES
For a full-color teaser of some of Costa Rica’s top-billed activities, see the Costa Rica Outdoors feature Click here.
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Bungee Jumping
No vacation appears to be complete without a head-first, screaming plunge off a bridge. Tropical Bungee (2248-2212, 8398-8134; www.bungee.co.cr) in San José has been organizing jumps off the Río Colorado bridge since 1992.
RESERVING BY CREDIT CARD
Some of the pricier hotels will require that you confirm your reservation with a credit card. Before doing so, note that some top-end hotels require a 50% to 100% payment upfront when you reserve. Unfortunately, many of them don’t communicate this rule clearly.
Sometimes visitors end up ‘reserving’ a room only to find out that they have actually paid for it in advance. Technically, reservations can be canceled and refunded with enough advance notice. (Again, ask the hotel about its cancellation policy.) However, in Costa Rica it’s a lot easier to make the reservation than to unmake it. In addition, many hotels charge a hefty service fee for credit card use.
Have the hotel fax or email you a confirmation. Hotels often get overbooked, and if you don’t have confirmation, you could be out of a room.
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Canopy Tours
Life in the rainforest takes place at canopy level. But with trees extending 30m to 60m in height, the average human has a hard time getting a look at what’s going on up there. Indeed, it was only a matter of time before someone in Costa Rica invented the so-called ‘canopy tour.’
Some companies have built elevated walkways through the trees that allow hikers to stroll through. SkyTrek near Monteverde and Rainmaker near Quepos are two of the most established operations in the country. A somewhat newer but equally popular operation is Actividades Arboreales near Santa María de Dota.
You can also take a ski lift–style ride through the tree tops, such as the Rainforest Aerial Tram near Braulio Carrillo or the smaller Monteverde Trainforest in Monteverde.
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Diving & Snorkeling
Costa Rica doesn’t pretend to rank alongside regional diving and snorkeling heavyweights such as Belize, the Cayman Islands and Bonaire. However, Costa Rica’s underwater world does offer sheer number and variety of underwater life.
As a general rule, water visibility is not good during the rainy months, when rivers swell and their outflow clouds the ocean. At this time, boats to locations offshore offer better viewing opportunities.
The water is warm – around 24°C (75°F) to 29°C (84°F) at the surface, with a thermocline at around 20m below the surface where it drops to 23°C (73°F). If you’re keeping it shallow, you can skin-dive (ie no wetsuit).
If you want to maximize your diving time, it’s advisable to get diving accreditation beforehand. For more information, check out the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI; in USA 949-858-7234, 800-729-7234, in Canada 604-552-5969, 800-565-8130, in Switzerland 52-304-1414; www.padi.com). Divers Alert Network (in USA 800-446-2671, 919-684-2948; www.diversalertnetwork.org) is a nonprofit organization that provides diving insurance and emergency medical evacuation.
If you are interested in diving but are not accredited, you can usually do a one-day introductory course that will allow you to do one or two accompanied dives. If you love it, which most people do, consider getting certified, which takes three to four days and costs around US$350 to US$500.
The following dive companies offer live-aboard tours in Costa Rica:
JD’s Watersports (in USA 970-356-1028, 800-477-8971; www.jdwatersports.com)
Okeanos Aggressor (in USA 985-385-2628, in USA & Canada 800-348-2628; www.aggressor.com)
Undersea Hunter (2228-6613, in USA 800-203-2120; www.underseahunter.com)
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Fishing
Sportfishing is tremendously popular in Costa Rica, though