volcanogirl

I'm curious what everyone's favorite tours and activities in the Arenal area are. We've done a lot but are always looking for something new to try. Any favorites out there?

jdp867

Waterfall rappelling with Pure Trek was a blast.

volcanogirl

Thanks for suggesting that, j - we've never tried that one. Would you mind giving a description of what all it entails?

Cattail

And Vernado Cave though we were disappointed that there was more focus on the adventure end than protecting the cave and identifying creatures and structures. It was fun though.

jdp867

We did the Pure Trek tour about 6-7 years ago when it first opened. After hiking a half-mile or so down a canyon, you rapel down a series of 5-6 waterfalls of different sizes. A couple of rappels are in the water, a couple are next to the water. I seem to recall that we ended with a 135 foot rapel. You then hike out of the canyon and return for lunch in Arenal. The operation at the time was owned by an American ex-pat who was very safety oriented. Not for the faint of heart, but if you can do Sky Trek, you should be able to do this.

We also have rafted Rio Tinto in Arenal (Class 4) out of Arenal through Rios Tropicales. Somewhat technical rafting; fun, but not as exciting as when we rafted Reventazon-Pasciua (Class 5+).

wanderlust1974

Grab a GPS and geocache! Geocaching.com ... you will see things that no guide book will recommend.

volcanogirl

Thanks for that description, j - it does sound like fun. We have done Sky Trek and thought it was pretty amazing. We've done rafting with Rios Tropicales - great company.

Cat, the Venado Caves is another one we haven't done. Do you remember what tour company you went with? How narrow are the spaces you go through? Is part of it in the water? About how long did the tour take?

volcanogirl

wander, that sounds interesting. Did you do that while you were in Costa Rica?

Cattail

vc, we went with Sunset Tours. We were the only people on the tour, and in comparison with their wonderful Cano Negro tour, it was a bit of a disappointment. Our guide was a young man who was in the process of being trained, and knew very little about the cave. He was, however, very personable, reasonably safety conscious, and, most importantly, did not get us lost!

I think that my mind is failing me, because I can't recall how long the tour took. Maybe a half day, including driving to and from. The spaces were pretty narrow. I remember our guide telling us that larger folks were led through different formations. We had to kneel quite low in spots, which was a bit hard on my husband's knees, and climb or jump from a small cliff or two. The water wasn't too deep, but we did go through some.

volcanogirl

That's a great description, cat. I'm like you - I'd prefer to learn about the history, nature, animals, etc. We've done caving a few times before, but this one sounds like it wasn't as great as some of Sunset's other tours.

hipvirgochick

The cultural tour that Desafio offers...although they may have changed it a little now, we learned a lot of interesting things and had a lot of fun too.

volcanogirl

hip, we did that on our last trip based on your rec. and we really liked it. I think they change it periodically; ours included Proyecto Asis which was awesome. What did yours include?

hipvirgochick

Proyecto Asis, stop at an open market to try some fruit, a new lodge that was just opening with an organic and medicinal farm including a wonderful lunch from what they had grown and a women's co-op that was formed by some hard working women that raised money to buy the equipment to recycle paper and make crafts from the recycled products. I thought it was a really neat tour and something different to try. I love all the adventure activities too, but it's good to have other options. I'd still like to visit Venado Caves.

volcanogirl

Ours included Luna Nueva organic farm which sounds similar to the one you went to. The fresh lunch was great. We also stopped at a factory and made our own bio-diesel fuel!

Cattail

That tour sounds right up our alley. Bio-diesal fuel, huh? now that should qualify as new, vc!

Hip, do you remember the name of the lodge? Is it run by the co-op?

volcanogirl

Cat, that part was so random. We didn't know it was included on the tour, and the next thing we knew, we were wearing goggles and carrying around beakers and a bunson (sp?) burner!

hipvirgochick

cattail - The lodge was Luna Nueva, same as the one vgirl went to. It was brand new then, don't even think people were staying there yet. A really beautiful place, but pretty far out of the way. They took us through the medicinal garden telling us about the plants and from what I remember most of the food is grown/raised on their land too. The co-op was ran by all women, who had overcome a lot of hurdles to make it successful. Their stories were very inspiring and they took us through the process of how they made paper from recycled product. Sounds like maybe that isn't included anymore. Proyecto Asis has an abundance of resident Boat-Billed Herons, which I loved!

volcanogirl

When we were at Luna Nueva, we hiked all over the property, and our guide picked cacao right off the plant, broke it open, and let us eat the fruit inside. They also had us try roasted cacao, and they were experimenting with making their own chocolate ice cream. We really liked that tour. The property was gorgeous.

Cattail

Lol, vc!

Hip, thanks - I'm going to look that place up right now.

Chessy

JDP, sounds like an adventure, but myself and the group I am with will not be rappling nor hand gliding. Thanks for the info though. I think you have peaked the interest of some of the others.