Zip Lines in Arenal area
 

We are headed to CR on Saturday and need some last minute advice. We wanted to zip line at Sky Trek as hubby and I have been there before. We are staying at Las Lagos and they suggested that we do their zip lines (of course). This trip we are bringing our 12 and 15 year olds with us and are now thinking that maybe Sky Trek is a bit high and that the lines at the resort would be OK for first-timers. Any input?
Also, we'd like to do a white water rafting trip. I read that someone said the water is really low right now. Any suggestions on where to go rafting out of the Arenal area at this time of year. Thanks so much.

We did SkyTrek as "first time zipliners" and thought they were great (including my 9 year-old son and fear-of-heights husband.) The views are phenominal and I think the ziplines were a lot more "impressive" than they were scary. It's a relatively new operation and, we felt, very professionally run.

The rivers run out of Arenal that I saw were the Sarapiqui, Balsa and Toro. We rafted the Sarapiqui and the water level was way too low. It was basically a float safari (with a lot of time hung up on the rocks.) Wave Expeditions is recommending the Balsa for a class II-III run, so perhaps it has enough water. It's also the closest river. I would go directly to the outfitter and ask them explicitely about the water levels before choosing.

Kari, you might also check out the zips at Arenal Paraiso; that one gets a lot of rave reviews.

Another vote for Arenal Paraiso zips. Convenient to get to and extensive, so lots of bang for the buck. Well managed as well. . .

The Zip lines in Arenal are the BEST!

What I was wondering specifically was about the zip lines at Los Lagos. Has anyone tried them? Would they be a disappointment compared to the Sky Trek lines?

Kari, I don't think I've ever seen anyone do a review of them; they don't seem to be very popular compared to SkyTrek and Arenal Paraiso. If I were you, I'd just wait until you get there so you can check it out for yourself and see if you'd be happy with it.

Kari, A few weeks ago annie928 posted her family trip report which included good reviews of the Los Lagos zipline. I believe it was around the beginning of March. We are also staying at Las Lagos, and I believe we might try it.

We'll be at Los Lagos in a couple of weeks too. Not sure if we'll do the zips again or not...we'll see. ;)

I think your kids will have a blast doing the zip lines. I did the SkyTrek at Arenal and it was fun. I however liked the one at Monteverde more.

dariow, which one did you do in Monteverde - was it SkyTrek as well? Why did you enjoy it more? We're trying to decide where to do our ziplines, and there are so many good choices.

We recently did the ziplines at Arenal Paraiso & thought they were great! I liked theirs because it wasn't so enclosed in the treetops & it offered fantastic views. I also liked the fact that you only had to climb a few steps on a platform to get started. I'm terrified of heights & having to climb to the top of a tree to get started would probably have kept me from doing it.

I think it was SkyTrek as well but I am not positive.

I liked the one in Monteverde more for the following reasons:
1) The ziplines were longer in Monteverde
2) There were more of them in Monteverde
3) In Monteverde, they had a tarzan type line where they tie you to the line and push you off a cliff. It was kind of like a bungee thing but not as scary. It was sooooooooooo fun.

Like I said, I also enjoyed the zipline in Arenal as well but I liked the one in Monteverde much more.

Have fun in CR, Volcanogirl.