In the morning, I awoke to the sounds of birds telling me it was time to wake up. I found that in the middle of the night I must have become cold, because I had the sheet and blanket piled on top of me and tucked in around my sides. That was a surprise, as I did not anticipate feeling cold at all the entire time I visited. I rose quickly to go down to meet Alan, my guide, to try climbing the kapok tree. The system involves two ropes and two handles that grip the rope to use to pull yourself up higher. While it appeared to be a fairly easy exercise, by the time I reached the top, I was exhausted and wasn't quite sure I would have the strength to come down! The view from the top of the tree was gorgeous, and Alan shared with me about the species of birds, and yes, even ants, that they found around Selva Bananito. After taking my time descending, I pulled off a very sweaty helmet and decided to take a shower before breakfast. All the guests came together for breakfast, and lots of café con leche (coffee with milk) before deciding to head out for a horseback ride to the rainforest, with a brief hike and a zipline trip out to the canopy tower. A pit viper was camping out next to the zipline to the platform, all coiled and ready to strike at anything passing by that looked like dinner. I could barely see it at first, as its colors blended in with the dirt, but Alan had trained eyes and pointed it out to us. We zipped over to the platform and looked around in the canopy and in the ravine. Then we zipped back, and headed back to the lodge.
After a restful lunch break, we traveled back down the bumpy dirt road to head to Cariblue Resort on the Caribbean Coast. Upon arriving, we were met with a charming little town, with not much to it other than gorgeous beaches on one side of the road, and buildings on the other. Cariblue is such a fun place, with a nice pool with swim up bar, large common area with pool tables and board games, and thatched roof bungalows nestled into the vegetation around the property. Another traveler and I, Shane, met up for dinner and a thrilling board game before dinner. The food was fantastic! And we enjoyed some of the live reggae music playing that evening before turning in for the night.
Adventure Life took care of everything! All we had to do was show up when we were supposed to, which made our first trip to Costa Rica largely stress-free and incredibly fun. Our trip reps, Hannah and Mariethony, were helpful and responsive, getting back to us by email usually within a few hours. Our accommodations were all great, and we got incredibly blessed with some absolutely stellar guides and drivers.
Our Jungle & Beach trip was an excellent balance of adventure and rest. We got to try out a lot of different activities, including snorkeling, hiking, white water rafting and kayaking, while also partaking of some rest around the pool or by the ocean. We enjoyed seeing and exploring the beautiful Caribbean side of the country.
Joy Knowles
1 week ago
The company made our adventure trip hassle-free, and a lot of fun! I will definitely be using them again
Carolena F
1 month ago
For our first trip to Costa Rica, Adventure Life designed a tour that meets the interests, ecological and adventure, of our party; but also takes into account our physical limitations sine we are all septuagenarian. We are looking forward to the trip.
John Zent
1 month ago
COSTA RICA a trip of a life time travelling round this beautiful country. All went like clockwork even when the weather was against us and all transfers seemed to be part of the holiday not a chore. Would definitely use Adventure Life again having previously used them 20 years ago!!
Cynthia Calton
1 month ago
Our Costa Rica trip was amazing! Kassandra planned everything and the excursions, hotels, overall organization were outstanding. Everything worked out smoothly, the excursions guides were knowledgeable allowing us to see so much of the fauna and flora of the country. The hotels were great as well, all in fantastic locations and with beautiful views.