I hear there are several places to do the zip lines. Does any one of them stand out as the best? If you were to choose just one place to do it, where would you go?

Most of the people reading your post have no idea what country you are talking about.

It happens, that I was running a search on just Costa Rica tags, so I assume you mean that country, but what area are you visiting?

Keith

The zip lines in Monteverde are worth the money. I heard the one near Jaco is good, too.

There are many, many zip lines all over the country.

I have taken a wide variety of them in various locations - some fun, some scary, some boring. Three have stood out from the crowd and if you do a search on other travel forums, you will likely come across them elsewhere:

SkyTrek Monteverde: In my opinion the best zip line anywhere. Lines are long, fast, and high up. Instead of just zipping from A to B over open space, some of these lines run through holes cut into the forest canopy. Fantastic.

SkyTrek Arenal: Not quite as good as the one in Monteverde (in my humble opinion) but still easily one of the best zip line tours out there. Again, great variety of lines that are fun and fast. You also get to have a fantastic view of Lake Arenal. Unfortunately, they require you to ride a trolley up to the starting point. While some might like this feature, it did nothing for me.

Mundo Aventura Arenal: Some people just love it - and they love it because some zip lines are very close to a waterfall - a feature that can be hard to find. The 45 minute horseback ride you can opt for adds to the experience.

I don't have anything to compare it to, but thought Mundo Aventura was great. 11 zips, high up, past the falls also. One of the cables is 2nd longest in Costa Rica (I was told). This tour does require some hiking up though, whereas I think Skytrek in Arenal uses a tram to take you up, and you just zip down.

Thank you all very much for your responses. It is definitely helpful.

We are going at the end of July/beginning of August. I know it's supposed to be the rainy season. Considering this, is any one of the areas where these zip lines are located better than others at that time of year? I've heard some areas are wetter than others.

Thanks again for your input.

Xela, try to do your zipline early in the day; we had reservations with SkyTrek in Arenal, and we got rained out, and they cancelled due to heavy rain. The mornings were usually clear for us in July, and the rain would come later in the afternoon and clear out by dinner.

Thanks volcanogirl. I'll try to book a morning trip.

Do you have any experience with weather at bosque del cabo in late July/early August. Is it an ok time for a trip there? It sounds like the wildlife viewing is very good there and I was thinking of spending our first four days there, but I'm a little worried that it might be raining every day.

Xela, we were at Bosque del Cabo this past July and did not get any rain at all. We like to travel during green season because you can get some great deals, and we were worried the rain would really affect us. We did not get one drop during the day and only had one 10-minute shower one night. Although the weather is unpredictable, I'd say September and October is when the big rains hit. You're right that the wildlife viewing is great - we saw all 4 kinds of monkeys, coatis, scarlet macaws, toucans - lots of amazing wildlife.

That's awesome! I hope we're as lucky with the weather as you were. I don't even mind if we get afternoon thunder showers every day. I just don't want those all day steady rains that can be a bummer when you want to be outdoors.

We are bringing our boys (ages 6 & 8) to CR. They say that they want to do the zip line. I'm just afraid they might freak out when it is time to start. Do different companies offer slower (and maybe not as frightening) ziplines? Also, would you recommend doing this in Arenal or MA? Thanks!

Critter, some of the zip lines have guides that will go with the child on the zip line; I'd look into doing that with children so young.