Sports and Outdoor activities in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is famous for year-round adventure tourism and its variety of adrenaline-fuelled outdoor activities, with numerous operators running well-organized packages and guided outings.

Hiking

Almost everyone who comes to Costa Rica does some sort of hiking or walking, whether it be multiday hikes through remote rainforest, scaling Cerro Chirripó or ambling along beaches and well-maintained national park trails.

Make sure you bring sturdy shoes or hiking boots, and lightweight rain gear. It helps to have binoculars, too. In certain areas, like Parque Nacional Corcovado – where you’ll be doing more walking than you’ve probably ever done before, unless you’re in the Marines – most people also bring a tent. In the high paramo of Chirripó, you’ll need to bring at least a sleeping bag.

There are a number of things you have to be careful of when hiking. The chief danger is dehydration: always carry lots of water with you, preferably bottled, or a canteen, and bring a hat and sunscreen to protect yourself against sunstroke (and use both, even if it’s cloudy).

Each year many hikers get lost, although they’re nearly almost always found before it’s too late. If you’re venturing into a remote and unfamiliar area, bring a map and compass and make sure you know how to use both. To lessen anxiety if you do get lost, make sure you have matches, a torch and, if you are at a fairly high altitude, warm clothing. It gets cold at night above 1500m, and it would be ironic (and put quite a damper on your vacation) to end up with hypothermia in the tropics.

Whitewater rafting

After hiking, whitewater rafting is probably the most popular activity in Costa Rica. Some of the best rapids south of the Colorado are here, and there’s a growing mini-industry of rafting outfitters, most of them in San José, Turrialba and La Virgen.

Whitewater rafting entails getting in a rubber dinghy with about eight other people (including a guide) and negotiating exhilarating rapids of varying difficulty. Overall it’s very safe, and the ample life jackets and helmets help. Most trips last a day, though some companies run overnight or multiday excursions; costs generally include transport, equipment and lunch. Dress to get wet, with a bathing suit, shorts and surfer sandals or gym shoes.

Rafters rate their rivers from Class I (easiest) to Class V (pretty hard – don’t venture onto one of these unless you know what you’re doing). The most difficult rivers in Costa Rica are the Class III–IV+ Pacuare and Reventazón, both reached from Turrialba ; the Class IV Río Naranjo, near Quepos ; and the Class V Upper Balsa, accessed from La Fortuna . The moderately easy Río Sarapiquí is a Class II river with some Class III rapids and a fearsome Class IV upper section; the Río Savegre, near Quepos runs Class II–III rapids. The gentlest of all is the Río Corobicí , a lazy ride along Class I flat water.

Outfitters

• Aguas Bravas http://aguasbravascr.com. One of the largest rafting specialists in the country, operating on the Balsa, the Sarapiquí, the Pacuare and the Chirripó, close to San José.
• Ríos Tropicales http://riostropicales.com. One of the larger outfitters, with challenging one- to four-day trips on the Pacuare, plus day-rides on half a dozen other rivers, including the Reventazón, the Tenorio and the Cucaracho in Guanacaste – a good choice for experienced rafters.

Kayaking

More than twenty rivers in Costa Rica offer good kayaking opportunities, especially the Sarapiquí, Reventazón, Pacuare and Corobicí, while several tour operators run paddling trips among the wildlife-rich mangroves of Isla Damas and Bahía Drake. La Virgen in the Zona Norte is a good base for customized kayaking tours, with a number of specialist operators or lodges renting boats, equipment and guides.

Sea-kayaking has become increasingly popular. This is for experienced kayakers only, and should never be attempted without a guide – the number of rivers, rapids and streams pouring from the mountains into the oceans on both coasts can make currents treacherous, and kayaking dangerous without proper supervision.

Canopy tours, hanging bridges and aerial trams

The canopy tour craze that started in Monteverde in the early 1990s has taken the country by storm, and now pretty much any tourist town worth its salt has a zipline or two. The standard tour consists of whizzing from lofty platform to platform via traverse cables, and while you’re moving too fast to see much wildlife, it’s definitely a thrill. In recent years, Tarzan swings and Superman cables (which you ride horizontally, arms stretched out) have upped the ante, and several places now let you zipline at night. Monteverde and the area around Volcán Arenal have some of the best canopy tours in Costa Rica.

More sedate, and more worthwhile for wildlife-watching, are the hanging bridges complexes, where you can experience spectacular views as you walk across the wobbly structures over serious heights. Several bridges take you right alongside the canopy of tall trees; most places offer tours with a naturalist guide, which can be a great way of gaining a better insight into life in the treetops. Again, Monteverde and Volcán Arenal are recommended places to take a “sky walk”.

For an even more relaxing meander through the canopy, try riding on an aerial tram, a gondola-like cable car that slowly circuits the upper reaches of the rainforest. Several places that operate canopy tours and hanging bridges also have aerial trams, though the most famous is the Rainforest Aerial Tram (now known as the Rainforest Adventures Costa Rica Atlantic), just outside Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo ; there’s also a Pacific branch, just north of Jacó.

Swimming

Costa Rica has lovely beaches, most of them on the Pacific coast. You do have to be careful swimming at many of them, however, as around 250 drownings occur each year – about five a week. Most are the result of rip current, strong, swift-moving currents that go from the beach out to sea in a kind of funnel . It’s also important to be aware of fairly heavy swells. These waves might not look that big from the beach but can have a mighty pull when you get near their break point. Many people are hurt coming out of the sea, backs to the waves, which then clobber them from behind – it’s best to come out of the sea sideways, so that there is minimum body-resistance to the water. If you do get stuck in a rip current then the most important thing is not to panic. This is what kills. Then, the safest course of action is normally to head towards the breaking waves. This might seem counter intuitive, but rip currents are formed by water being pushed forward by the energy of the waves and then looking for an escape route out to sea, which means anywhere where the waves are less strong. But, do be aware that swimming directly against a rip current is next to impossible, so swim diagonally against one instead toward the shore but aiming for the area where waves are breaking so that the white water can push you back in toward the beach.

In addition to the above precautions, never swim alone, don’t swim at beaches where turtles nest (this means, more often than not, sharks), never swim near river estuaries (pollution and riptides) and always ask locals about the general character of the beach before you swim.

Surfing

Surfing is one of Costa Rica’s biggest draws and is very good on both coasts, although there are certain beaches that are suitable during only certain months. You can surf all year round on the Pacific: running north to south the most popular beaches are Naranjo, Tamarindo, Boca de Barranca, Jacó, Hermosa, Quepos, Dominical and, in the extreme south near the Panama border, Pavones. On the Caribbean, the best year-round beaches are at Puerto Viejo de Talamanca and Punta Uva, further down the coast and the season runs roughly between October and late-February.

There are numerous camps and schools where you can learn to surf in Tamarindo , Santa Teresa/Mal País and Jacó . Costa Rica is small enough that if things are quiet on one coast, it’s fairly easy to pack up your kit and hit the other (buses will take your board for a small additional fee while shuttle buses charge a bit more). Serious surfers spending some time in the country will find The Surfer’s Guide to Costa Rica and SW Nicaragua by Mike Parise an invaluable guide.

You can check tide times online at http://crsurf.com.

The Pacific

The north Pacific coast and Nicoya Peninsula are the country’s prime surfing areas, with a wide variety of reef and beach breaks, and lefts and rights of varying power and velocity. Playa Potrero Grande (also known as Ollie’s Point and made famous in the surf flick Endless Summer II) is only accessible by boat from Playas del Coco and offers a very fast, right point break. Within Parque Nacional Santa Rosa, Playa Naranjo (or Witch’s Rock) gives one of the best breaks in the country and has the added attraction of good camping facilities, though you’ll need your own 4WD to reach them.

Moving down to the long western back of the Nicoya Peninsula, Playa Tamarindo has three (very popular) sites for surfing, though they don’t offer a really demanding or wild ride and parts of the beach are plagued by rocks. Playa Langosta, just south of Tamarindo, offers more demanding right and left beach breaks. Playa Avellana has a good beach break, with very hollow rights and lefts, while the faster Playa Negra nearby has a right point break that is one of the best in the country. Playa Sámara and Playa Nosara offer fairly gentle beach breaks (Sámara is particularly good for beginners), though things hot up a bit as you work your way towards the tip of the peninsula, where playas Manzanillo, Santa Teresa, Carmen (best for beginners), Mal País and, on the east coast, Montezuma, have consistent breaks.

Near Puntarenas on the central Pacific coast, Boca Barranca is a river-mouth break with a very long left, while Puerto Caldera also has a good left. Playa Tivives (beach break) and Valor (a rocky point break) have good lefts and rights, as does the point break at Playa Escondida. Playa Jacó is not always dependable for good beach breaks, and the surf is not too big, though it’s within easy reach of Roca Loca, a rocky point break to the north, and, to the south, Playa Hermosa, a good spot for more experienced surfers, with a very strong beach break. The adjacent playas Esterillos Oeste, Esterillos Este, Bejuco and Bocas Damas offer similarly good beach breaks.

On the south Pacific coast, the river mouth at Quepos has a small left point break, while Playa Espadilla at Manuel Antonio is good when the wind is up, with beach breaks and left and right waves. Southwards from here, Playa El Rey offers left and right beach breaks, but you’re best off continuing to Dominical and some really great surfing, with strong lefts and rights and beautiful surroundings. Down at the very south of the country, Bahía Drake gets going on a big swell. A much more reliable wave hits the shore at Playa Pavones, allegedly the longest left point in the world, very fast and with a good formation; it’s offset by the nearby right point break at Matapalo. Only hardcore surfers tend to tackle the remote reef break at Punta Burica.

The Caribbean

The best surfing beaches on the Caribbean coast lie in the south, from Cahuita to Manzanillo villages. Playa Negra at Cahuita has an excellent beach break, with the added bonus of year-round waves. Puerto Viejo de Talamanca is home to La Salsa Brava, one of the few legitimate “big waves” in Costa Rica, a very thick, tubular wave formed by deep water rocketing towards a shallow reef. Further south, Manzanillo has a very fast beach break in lovely and pretty surroundings.

Up towards Puerto Limón, there are a couple of beaches that, while not in the class of Puerto Viejo, can offer experienced surfers a few good waves. Westfalia’s left and right beach breaks only really work on a small swell, while Playa Bonita, a few kilometres north of Limón, is known for its powerful and dangerous left; only people who really know what they are doing should try this. The right point break at Portete is easier to handle, though the left-breaking waves at Isla Uvita, just off the coast from Puerto Limón, are also considered tricky. The north Caribbean coast has a number of decent beach breaks, which you can reach along the canals north of Moín.

Diving and snorkeling

Though diving is less of a big deal in Costa Rica than in Belize or Honduras’ Bay Islands, there are a few worthwhile dive sites around the country; the best, however, lie some 535km off Costa Rica’s Pacific coast in the waters around Parque Nacional Isla del Coco .

You can also theoretically snorkel all along the Pacific coast – Playa Flamingo in northern Guanacaste has clear waters though not a lot to see, while Playa Panama and Bahía Ballena also have good snorkelling. For people who want to see an abundance of underwater life, the small reef near Manzanillo on the Caribbean coast is the best; the nearby reef at Cahuita has suffered in recent years from erosion and is now dying.

Fishing and sportfishing

Both coasts are blessed with the kind of big fish serious anglers love, marlin (aguja), sailfish (pez vela), tarpon (sábalo) and snook (robalo) among them. With sportfishing the vast majority of fish are returned to the sea alive. Its most obvious characteristic, though, is its tremendous expense – day-trips start at around US$400, while multiday packages can cost upwards of US$3500. Quepos and Golfito have long been good places to do some fishing, while Barra del Colorado in the northeast and Playa Flamingo in Guanacaste have turned into monothematic costly sportfishing destinations. Although good fishing is possible all year round, the catch is seasonal (Pacific marlin, for example, can only be caught Nov–April); January and February are the most popular months.

Casual anglers can find cheaper and more low-key fishing opportunities in the country’s many trout-rich freshwater rivers, or in Laguna de Arenal and the Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Caño Negro, where fishing for rainbow bass (guapote) is especially good.

Birdwatching

One oft-repeated statistic you’ll hear about Costa Rica is that the country boasts around 900 species of bird (including migratory ones), a higher number than all of North America. Consequently, the birding is hugely impressive, and it’s likely that you’ll spot hummingbirds, toucans, kingfishers and a variety of trogons (the best time to see migratory birds is the dry season). The iconic resplendent quetzal, found in the higher elevations of Monteverde and the Cordillera de Talamanca, is elusive, but can still be spotted – the tiny hamlet of San Gerardo de Dota , close to Cerro de la Muerte, and the nearby Parque Nacional Los Quetzales are by far the best places to see them.

A good guide is worth its weight in gold and will be able to pick out all sorts of species that you might otherwise miss.

Most lodges include some sort of birdwatching trip among their excursions, and several cater specifically for birders, including Rancho Naturalista and Bosque de Paz , which organize day-trips and multiday tours.

Mountain biking

Only certain places in Costa Rica lend themselves well to mountain biking. In general, the best areas for extensive biking are Parque Nacional Corcovado, the road from Montezuma to the Reserva Natural Absoluta Cabo Blanco on the southern Nicoya Peninsula, and Parque Nacional Santa Rosa. The La Fortuna and Volcán Arenal area is also increasingly popular: you can bike to see the volcano (although not up it) and around the pretty Laguna de Arenal.

There are plenty of bike rental shops throughout the country, and you may also be able to rent one from local tour agencies.

Horseriding

Almost everywhere you go in Costa Rica, with the exception of waterlogged northern Limón Province, you should be able to hook up with a horseriding tour. Guanacaste is probably the best area in the country for riding, with a cluster of excellent haciendas (working cattle ranches) that also cater to tourists, offering bed and breakfast and horse hire.

Riding on the beach on the Nicoya Peninsula, especially in Montezuma in the south and Sámara on the west coast, is also very popular; however, there has been a history of mistreatment of horses in these places (if you see any cases of mistreatment, complain to the local tourist information center or local residents).