Costa Rica is an incredible country, offering long stretches of deserted white sand beaches, dense jungles filled with a rich diversity of exotic wildlife, lush rain-forests, raging rivers, towering volcanoes, and smiling communities.
The beaches really are second to none, the scenery is phenomenal, the country boasts wildlife you have never before encountered, and all inclusive Costa Rica luxury resorts are world-class.
On top of all of this though, Costa Rica has an adventurous activities scene which rivals that of New Zealand!
Costa Rica’s landscape and temperate climate lends itself to outdoor activity, and it is the perfect destination for anyone wanting to combine a love of the outdoors with an adventurous spirit!
Throughout the country there are a wealth of activities and attractions so exciting and in locations so breathtaking that there is enough to dedicate full vacations solely to an adventure tour! Your days can be spent soaring through the treetops and nights in amazing cabin accommodation amongst rare rainforest species.
The wildlife is second to none.
Spend time to enjoy white water rafting, hiking, abseiling, zip lining, mountain biking, horseback riding, bungee jumping, surfing, swimming, canoeing and canopy tours – your biggest challenge will be trying to fit it all in!
Here are our favorite options for adventurous activities in Costa Rica!
Bungee Jumping
Costa Rica is the perfect destination for a bungee jump, and a jump from the Colorado River Bridge will be one of the most exhilarating experiences of your life! 265 feet high, it is one of the highest bungee bridges in the Americas, and one with the most visually stunning backdrop – although it’s kind of hard to enjoy the scenery while standing on the wrong edge of the bridge!
Tropical Bungee offers jumps every day with round trip transportation from San Jose. Departures are at 8am and 1pm.
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Zip-lining
Soar over the jungle on Costa Rica’s famed zip-lines! This is one of the top tourist attractions in Costa Rica, and consists of platforms connected by thick cables stretching across tree-ladden ravines, hillsides and valleys. You will be strapped into harnesses, clipped into the cables and sent flying from one platform to another.
There are so many options in terms of Zip-lining, so make sure to do some research first to find a reputable tour operator. Recommendations include Selvatura Park, The Original Canopy Tour and The Canopy Adventure Tour.
Hiking
Visiting Costa Rica without making it to a rainforest is missing the whole point of the country!
There are amazing hiking trails throughout each region which are some of the most tranquil and beautiful in the world.
Surfing
Picture miles upon miles of white sandy beaches, clean surf breaks, epic waves, and water so warm there’s no need for a wetsuit.
Costa Rica is a surfers paradise, and a world class surfing destination for beginners and surf pros alike. With beaches less crowded than that of California, Indonesia, Hawaii and Australia, Costa Rica is the perfect location for both pro surfers and those who wish to learn.
Additional Adventurous Activities
Additional adventurous activities include white water rafting, horse riding, hot springs, mud baths, abseiling, mountain biking, volcano tourism and … waterfall diving!
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18 Comments
Meg the wildlife really is 2nd to none! Amazing country. We saw monkeys, sloths, Jesus Christ lizards, snakes, scorpions and all that good stuff….and iguanas and cayman, regularly. Almost stunning how freely the wildlife goes about its business. This shows how chill the animals are in a country without heavy poaching, with plenty of protection.
Meg loved the share….keep on inspiring!
Ryan
I remember reading about your experience with the Jesus Christ Lizard – so glad you enjoyed CR as much as we did! We really love traveling for wildlife, and CR is definitely one of the best countries to head to!
Thanks Ryan!
Never been bungee jumping or zip lining. Both scare me! I have sky driving on my list, but do I willingly want to jump out of a plane?
The brill thing about skydiving which separates it from bungee is that they actually push you lol so you don’t have to make the conscious jump :D
They’re all amazing activities – maybe start with ziplining then work your way up to Skydiving and then bungee – I promise the adrenalin rush will be one of the most amazing experiences of your life!
Costa Rica is really growing in the popularity stakes and seems to now be a must visit. Thanks to you and Samantha and Yeison (Mytanfeet) it is little wonder. It looks like you love the place for good reason.
I love your waterfall jump video too, it looks like a lot of fun.
It’s definitely a must visit destination, highly recommend a trip! Love Samantha and Yeison and all of their CR posts as well – they really do the country an amazing service :)
So glad you enjoyed the videos – waterfall jump was one of the highlights of the trip for sure :)
You’re right! All the points mentioned in the article seem to be truth and it is worth reading. Truly had fun reading this post.
Thanks Daniel – glad you enjoyed the post.
Costa Rica most definitely is on everyone’s agenda including ours. Might have to give the heights ones a miss tho
Such a brilliant country, and even if you’re not a fan of heights there’s so much to see and do :)
You will never run out of amazing adventure opportunities in Costa Rica, that’s for sure! Great list :)
Thanks Mary! And totally agree – you really could spend a lifetime!
Enjoyed this post Megan. Costa Rica seems amazing! I don’t know if I’d dare try bungee jumping though. For some reason that is the one adventure thrill that terrifies me. Maybe it’s because I’ve watched too many YouTube bungee breaks. Eeeek.
Thanks Jessica! So glad you enjoyed the post :) Costa Rica truly is just amazing – I was terrified of bungee jumping at the time lol though the adrenalin is like nothing I’ve ever felt before!!
Maybe book your trip and hold off on the Youtube videos until after you jump lol :D I purposely didn’t tell anyone at home I was doing it until afterwards so I didn’t have to put up with being sent horrific videos :D!
love love love Costa Rica! Heading back with our toddler son this fall. I’m a sucker for the wildlife in Africa but I love Costa Rica and it’s certainly a closer plane ride. We did all of the activities above (except bungee), but will have to scale it back with our little guy this time. Can’t wait to shoe him the monkeys and frogs!
So glad to hear! And CR is definitely the right country for amazing wildlife in a family friendly setting – I cant even imagine how much fun your son is going to have spotting sloths and monkeys and toucans – everything is so colorful as well which is great for keeping toddlers entertained!
Have a wonderful trip :)
Just back. Amazing country and wonderful proud people.
If you can handle the roller-coaster short flight, try Osa Peninsula
A country on the right track for sure.
Glad to hear you had a wonderful time Pops! Thanks for the tip on the flight to the Osa Peninsula – a beautiful region for sure!