Our last day in Arenal was full of excitement. Today was our biggest activity of the trip; we were ready to go Canyoning and Rappelling! We were picked up by our hotel and driven to the edge of the private land where the tour takes place. We hopped into a jeep and headed to the start point. We were quickly placed in our harnesses, helmets and met our 8 guides. They were all so friendly and became quick friends with the whole group.
After the safety talk on how to rappel, we were launched into the tour. They don’t just start you with a baby rappel. The first section is a 165-foot waterfall! It was amazing. Kels and I got to go side by side (I had the head start) but I was quickly passed with Kels’ rappelling skills. : ) The rest of the tour was so fun. Three more rappels plus a zipline combined with a drop. The guides encouraged all 15 of us along as we jumped and spun. I was so sad to see it end. Our group was a great range of ages and family dynamics and everyone loved their tour. I would definitely recommend this tour.
We ended back at the operator’s main headquarters where we were fed the typical casado lunch with coffee and cookies for dessert. We hung around afterwards and spent some time hearing about the guide’s stories and where they were from. So fun.
Once we returned to the hotel, we checked out and read in the hammocks until our transfer to Monteverde arrived.
We did the typical transfer from Arenal to Monteverde: bus-boat-bus. It was raining and misty along the lake and so pretty. The boat ride was about 45 minutes long and our driver would go along the edge of the lake so we could get better views of the many egrets, cormorants, kingfishers and herons. On the other side, our driver picked us up and we began the steep ascent into the cloudforest. It was about a 3 hour drive but the landscape was so amazing it didn’t matter. The farms along the steep hills led into dense forest and coffee fields. The scattered houses and cars that make this commute everyday were impressive. The roads were so bumpy that I bet they would be exhausting even on a motorcycle!
Upon arrival to Santa Elena, our driver pointed out the best local hang outs and we continued on our way to the Trapp Family Lodge, just minutes from the Monteverde Cloudforest.
The hotel was just as I hoped: Simple, clean and beautiful. It was full of rich wood and simple décor and reminiscent of the Izaak Walton Inn back home in Montana. We had a pleasant dinner with our new favorite drink: Jugos Naturales en Agua (aka: fruit smoothie) and called it an early night.
Next Up: Cloudforest Hike and Manuel Antonio!
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
2 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
3 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.