windycitymoxie

Ok... the ziplines in La Fortuna, my kid is so excited about this tour but the closer I get to the date the more I'm thinking it's not such a good idea. I haven't been able to burst his bubble because it's all that he's been talking about. I feel a little silly for asking, especially after reading about the 5 & 6 year olds that zip with no problem, but what do they know? We were all fearless at that age, now I know better. LOL
I wan't suggestions of tours that your 80yo grandmother (with a heart condition) could handle with no problem.

On a scale of 1-10, how scary are they? I've heard the Tarzan swing compared to bungee jumping and for that reason I will definitely be taking a pass. What would you compare the actual zip portion to?

hipvirgochick

Leaving the platform each time was scary. Zipping down the lines was fun. Am I glad I did it? Yes. Do I desire to do it again? Not really.

My 10 year old daughter on the other hand, after 11 lines, wanted to go back and do all over again. ;-)

volcanogirl

Which ones are you thinking of doing? I think SkyTrek would be the most adventurous because their lines are so long and so high. We zipped in Monteverde, and we thought it was going to be really scary, but it wasn't at all. They surprised us with two rappels though - that was pretty thrilling. One was a 100 foot drop that they asked us to do without using our hands, and we fell super fast. That turned out to be our favorite part! A lot of places have a minimum age limit, so be sure to ask before you go. Usually kids can zip with an instructor. I'm like hip - we're glad we did it, but I don't know that we'd make the effort to go again.

sessa

I agree with hipvirgochick that it was scary all over again each time you left the platform. We did SkyTrek and had a blast, though. How old is your son? Just curious as there was a young girl who was in our group, and a guide had to go with her because she wasn't heavy enough to get all the way across. The last thing you want to do is get stuck out in the middle of those lines! It's exhilarating for sure!

P.S. My 80 year old grandmother would not do any ziplining...and she doesn't have a heart condition

colibri

One word of advice - don't go on a zipline in the rain like I did! I went at Arenal Paraiso and the lines are twice as fast in the rain. They have 11 different lines and I absolutely loved flying through the air, over the trees, canyons and river.

But I had a major problem braking/stopping. I stupidly assumed there was some sort of mechanical brake, but on this zipline all that you had was one (wet) leather glove on one hand that stays on the line. To stop you squeeze the gloved hand and put the other hand over top it. You are supposed to pump your legs and pull yourself up towards the line. Wham! I came in so darn fast to the next platforms that my body was flinging. I earned the nickname "Speedy" by the others....I was able to stop on the final three and I think it's because they were more lateral, not vertical, so I wasn't going as fast.

I've heard that Sky Trek has a different (better) braking system. I wasn't afraid of the heights at all, found it fun, except for the stopping part which really took some of my enjoyment out of it. The best line was one of the last ones where you soar right down over the river.

I think it was an experience, but I don't know if I would do it again - maybe if there was a different braking system.

janenicole

I'll jump in on this one and say SkyTrek was a 7 (10 being the scariest). I never feared for my safety, it was just the idea of being up so high, out there by myself that made my knees shake! But on a fun and exhilarating scale, I would give it a 10. Would we do it again? Sure!

There was a 10 year old girl in our group, and she zipped with the instructor. She wasn't one bit scared.

sessa

SkyTrek does NOT have a braking system - well, at least not one that you can use to slow yourself down. The "brake" is when they stop you at the end of the line. It's pretty crazy because you feel like they aren't going to stop you in time, but of course they do.

MichelleY

Just do it!! I am very afraid of heights, but have ziplined in Puerto Vallarta & SkyTrek in CR and it was very fun. The only downer in CR was we did it in the pouring rain - cold and miserable. We couldn't even see the other end of the lines. We would disappear into the clouds, so no views either. So, I guess if I go to CR again, I'll have to do SkyTrek again!!

It is maybe a 7 or 8. SkyTrek also has a couple of test runs, so if you don't want to continue, you can go back. Your son will LOVE it!!

MY

Eressea

The very first time I stepped off the platform I rate a 7. It was really a fear of the unknown and then once I reached the second platform I was too caught up in having fun that I wasn't afraid anymore. My favorite lines were those I did upside down and across a river.

One of my friends has a fear of heights so she had a "taxi" for the first three lines (a "taxi" is a guide who clamps himself to you and escorts you from one platform to the next) but gained enough confidence after that to do the rest by herself.

What you hold onto also differs: one place I went you held onto the binding cables that connected you to the steel cable with one hand and the other hand behind your head directly on the steel cable itself while at another place you held onto handlebars of some sort and you didn't have to touch the steel cable at all. I've ziplined in three separate places - one had a braking gadget in place that did the braking for you and all you really had to do was avoid kicking the guide waiting for you on the platform in the chest - and the other two didn't; I prefer the one with the braking gadget but I would go to the other two places again in a heartbeat.

When I ziplined in Monteverde, there were two older couples among the zipliners and the husbands were easily between 70 to 80 years old each. They seemed a little shaky and frail but game to go. (The wives seemed slightly younger.) One of the husbands even had a video camera strapped to his chest as he wanted to film each line he did as well as his Tarzan Swing jump. And we all applauded loudly after his Tarzan Swing jump.

There was also an 8 year old boy with his mother who ziplined with our group. He had a taxi for each line and his mother always went directly before him so that she could watch and photograph his approach.

Most places have some sort of brochure that tells you how many lines and rappels there are and how high and how long they are. You can ring the tour company and ask them to fax you this brochure at your hotel and those who have them will gladly do so. You can then test the waters by ziplining at a place with shorter and lower lines and then zipline at another with longer and higher lines once you feel more comfortable.

wanatrvl

I can't speak specifically to the ziplines in La Fortuna as we did SkyTrek in Monteverde. But in my experience the worst part was climbing up the tall metal towers to get to the platforms. I am afraid of heights so that was a 10 for me. I loved the actual zipline itself and didn't find that as scary. For me it was an experience I just had to do since I was going all the way to Costa Rica and I didn't want to regret it later if I didn't do it. My daughter was 7 and she had to go with a guide. On the last line they made us all double up to have more weight to get across and my son and I didn't make it across which he thought was awesome but not so much me!

volcanogirl

Ours had the type where you have one of your arms stretched over your head with you hand on the cable. I braked too early on my first line and was just dangling out there. I had to turn myself around and pull myself hand over hand to the platform. When I got there, everyone applauded - lol.

Eressea

vgirl - One of my friends did the exact same thing and stopped about two-thirds of the way in so she had to be "rescued." One of the guides on the "arrival" platform had to zip out to where she was and guide her in. Three times. She was mortified. LOL.

shillmac

Having quite a fear of heights myself, I was really nervous when we zipped. However, I found that the trees below really helped change the perspective and I didn't have a sense of the distance above the ground. It was a real thrill. Like hip, I don't have much desire to do it again, but had a blast, and found myself feeling totally fearless. That was such a nice feeling, and I felt like I had "freed" myself from that fear somewhat.

SiteC_er

I'd say a 7 and I'm terrified of heights. Though the lines are high and relatively long (half mile on one at Sky Trek), each line/run only lasts a short time since your traveling up to 40 miles an hour (not trying to scare you). My whole family hates heights and we loved it! Go and you will definitely want to go again....or at least tell everyone back home how great it was

volcanogirl

Eressa, I know - it figures I would do it!

Ours had a picture of Jimmy Carter when he did the zips, and I figured if 80-year old Jimmy and Ros could do it, then I could do it.