People always ask me how many days they should stay in Costa Rica and the first thing I ask is, “What do you want to do?”
If you’re here just to get some sun and relax, then I think 5 days is plenty but if you have an adventurous spirit and want to explore, give yourself the very minimum a full week (not counting travel days). But if you only have a few days, how can you do it all? Luckily, there are several places that offer mega combo adventure tours which combine multiple adventures into one day.
One such tour is Buena Vista combo tour located in the Rincon de la Vieja area and it includes a canopy tour, horseback riding, hot springs, mud baths, and a water slide. Buena Vista is about a 30 minute drive from Liberia and a 1.5 hour drive from the Gulf of Papagayo.
As soon as you arrive, get ready for an exciting day!
There are Amazon affiliate links in this post.
Buena Vista Adventure Park Combination Tour
The tour is operated by Buena Vista Lodge and Adventure Center. They have their own hot springs, ziplining tour, horseback riding trails and water slide on the property. The tour is open to the public so anyone can go and experience adventure in the dry tropical forests of Costa Rica. It’s one of the best things to do in Guanacaste!
Location and Directions
Buena Vista is in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
How to get there from Liberia: From Liberia coming from the airport, turn left to go north on the Interamicanca highway (gas station on your right, Mcdonalds up ahead). Drive about 13 kilometers until you get to the Canas dulce intersection and turn right. You will see signs for Rincon de la Vieja National Park. Continue on this road for 17 kilometers and you will plenty of signs pointing to the Buena Vista Lodge. The last 11 kilometers are on an unpaved road.
Buena Vista Zipline
The first activity is the canopy tour with 11 platforms and 10 lines total. For first time zipliners it looks pretty scary but once you go on the first one, you’ll be hooked, trust me!
Even if you have a fear of heights, just don’t look down and enjoy the view and fresh wind in your face. By the time you get to your 10th line, you’ll be a professional zip liner! And what else do pros do but crazy stunts like no hands, backwards and upside down?
If you choose the adrenaline tour, they have an extra tarzan swing at the end of the canopy tour which is super fun!
Buena Vista Waterslide
What comes next you definitely don’t want to miss: the water slide!
When you get to the top, you see another canal behind the water slide, a gate and a man holding the handle to the gate.When you sit down in the chute, the man closes the gate and waits for the tank to fill up with water behind you. As soon as he deems that there’s enough, he pulls the handle to open the gate and there you go! The water shoots you down.
The boys went for a third time but I had to sit that one out. I was too winded by my second go around, so I was happy to take the camera and be paparazzi.
This water slide is about 420 meters long, has some twists and turns, a tunnel and then you land in the pool. The first time was really fun but it wasn’t as fast as I thought it would be so we went up again (you’re allowed a max of 3 rides).
The second time, the guy knew we wanted to go faster so he waited a long time for the water to fill up and holy crap! It must’ve been twice as fast, I almost fell out of my tube once flying around the corners!
I highly recommend using the tube as it’ll help you secure yourself in the slide. It can get really fast so hold on!
You can watch our video below of the Costa Rica waterslide!
Lunch and Horseback Riding
All that water sliding and zip lining made us super hungry so we went to get lunch (included in price). They served typical Costa Rican food: vegetable cream soup, rice, beans, platanos, pico de gallo, salad, meat, and fried fish with natural cas fruit juice. Good thing we all filled up with good food because horseback riding was next.
After about a 30 minute ride, the horses took us to our next stop, the waterfall. Tip: bring good closed toed shoes (hiking sandals are the best) for horseback riding because you’ll be hiking about a mile to get to the waterfall and the hot spring.
The guides will bring your bags for you on a truck and your things will meet you at the springs. But do not skip the waterfall! I don’t know the name of it but it is gorgeous and it is fairly easy to climb right underneath and feel the water pounding on your shoulders.
***Update for 2018. The last time we did the tour in June 2017, we didn’t go to the waterfall. You will need to go to it on your own if you want to see the waterfall.***
The hot springs are about another .5 mile hike from the waterfall and there are a couple hanging bridges to walk across.
Mud Baths and Hot Springs
All that hard work hiking pays off because at last you reach the spa. First you go into the natural sauna to wash away all the toxins and then to the fun part, mud baths. Two pots are available, full of hot volcanic mud that you can slather all over yourself, exfoliating, cleansing and rejuvenating the skin.
Let dry and then wash it all off to reveal soft, smooth and refreshed skin.
And lastly, the natural hot springs.
There are several different pools you can choose from, the hottest pool is by the bar. Below that one is a warm pool, and below that one is the coldest pool. The hottest pool is around the temperature of a Jacuzzi I would guess and it’s perfect for soothing aching muscles, steaming away worries and calming the mind.
Phew, what a day! It almost seems like too much but actually, all the activities played out very nicely with each other and we didn’t spend a minute being bored. I had a blast the whole day and I would definitely go back again!
As you can probably see, the Buena Vista Combo Tour is an entire day of fun, adventure and excitement. There’s no way you won’t leave without a smile on your face!
Tips for Buena Vista Combo Tour
- Bring a GoPro or waterproof camera. You can put the GoPro on the helmets and you need a waterproof camera for the water slide. Make sure to bring the correct helmet mount.
- Wear hiking sandals or closed toed shoes for the horseback riding. No flip flops allowed!
- Horseback riding is optional – there is a truck that can take you to the hot spring if you don’t want to ride.
- Lockers are available for free at the zipline area so you can bring a small backpack.
- Bring plenty of sunscreen, mosquito repellent and a change of clothes.
- This is a full day tour so eat a good breakfast!
- If you have a car and are driving yourself, we recommend booking beforehand in high season (December – April) to guarantee your spot. Make sure to arrive around 8:30 AM. If you don’t pre-book, make sure to arrive early so you have plenty of time to check in and
This combo tour is offered by Buena Vista Lodge. If you want to do this tour and need transportation, please contact us for tour company recommendations. Please include the date of tour, how many adults and children and pick up location.
K says
Is there a weight requirement if you can remember?
Sammi says
Usually for ziplining it goes by harness size, I think their biggest is XXL but I recommend you to contact them for their exact limits for the activities
Eva CHARBENEAU says
Hi Sammie,
I am 65 with an adventurous spirit and previous seeker of white water rafting trips! But now my knees aren’t so great and I worry about any long hikes or climbs required to do things my husband and I would love to try. We’d like to go on the Buena Vista Zipline and water slide….but is there any way to get to the top without a lot of climbing? If not, is there another tour you’d recommend? My new husband has never been white water rafting so that’s a possibility if it’s not too intense…. again my knees, as I know they’re strength is somewhat required to help hold me in the raft! Thanks in advance for any recommendations you can give us older folks!
Sammi says
Unfortunately there is no other way to get to the climb except walking up the path and I don’t recommend it if you don’t have good knees (I don’t recommend the waterslide either if you have bad knees since you will get knocked around a bit)
The best tour I would recommend is a covered riverboat wildlife safari – no walking or strenuous exercise required at all. Palo Verde National Park offers a very nice one.
Ilana says
Hi! Looking at going on the water slide at beuna vista with my kids 9, 12 and 14.
I have read some mixed reviews.
Do you think it would be appropriate for them?
Age wise – officially they are all allowed to on go down. Was just curious based on your personal experience- what your thoughts were
Sammi says
The slide is super fun! I would have your kids wear the rubber mat thing to protect the skin
Kelly says
A practical question…did you wear your bathing suits under your hiking clothes? Or is there somewhere to change for the slide/mud baths?
Sammi says
There are changing rooms there
Lori says
Hello,
I see the difference between the two tours (Hacienda Guachipelin & Buena Vista) is the water slide and the repelling but are they at the same park or two different locations. If they are at the same park, can you pay to do the water slide alone?
Thanks,
Lori
Sammi says
They are two different parks.
Nancy says
Hello! I’m traveling with my 6 year old. I’m trying to decide between buena vista and guachipelin. Is there one that you felt would be more suitable? Or any other lodging? You mentioned the river tubing as an advantage that guachipelin has, but I’m not sure they’d allow him to go (he probably would want to ride with me and not alone).
Sammi says
Hi Nancy, the Guachipelin tubing has a minimum age of 8 and I don’t believe they allow people to ride together (the tubes are only for 1 person, they’re not big). For Buena Vista, I know the minimum age of the zipline is 4, and Guachipelin minimum age for zipline is 5 and he can do the horseback riding. I am not sure what the minimum age for the Buena Vista waterslide is so I would check with them.
Staci says
Is there a weight limit for the horses and the zip lining?
yeison says
Hello Stacy, thank you for reading our Blog!
The weight limit for both are 350lb but the The big harness has a 47 inches waist max.
Please let us know if you have any questions
Liz says
Do you recommend this tour or the Guachipelin tour in your other post
Do either of the tours include transport? I wasn’t clear on that since you mentioned you do need your own transport to the hotsprings
Sammi says
Hi Liz! We love both of them and either one is awesome, we do like the Guachipelin one a little bit more because of the white water tubing which is crazy fun. The Buena Vista one has a nicer waterfall but the white water tubing is super fun. If you don’t have a car, you will have to book the tour with a tour company that provides transportation. THe Guachipelin hot springs are separate from where the rest of the activities are so you need to drive yourself or your tour guide will take you. Let me know if you need tour company recommendations! 🙂
Liz says
Thanks Sammi, I booked with Shaman after seeing your recommendation on the Palo Verde page.
Have you gone through MemoAdventures before?
Also wanted to mention, I found your website because it was sent to me by an American Express Platinum Concierge member 🙂
Sammi says
Hi Liz, awesome! He’s an excellent tour guide, you’ll learn a lot and have a lot of fun!
I haven’t gone through MemoAdventures before, actually have never heard of them.
Wow that’s awesome! I’m glad it’s helpful 🙂 Have a great time in Costa RIca!
Brenna says
This is for my 1 yr wedding anniversary and honeymoon combo celebration. I wanted to get some feedback in location in Costa Rica. My ideal vacation would be beautiful scenery, beaches, adventure like (water rappeling, ziplining and ATVS, waterfalls, etc) Also I was looking into those Hot Springs Resorts (Baldi Hot Springs vs Tabacon). We’re in our late 30s and wanna have fun, be adventurous but still have some relax time too. Im not too familiar with locations but can you kindly please tell me if the Hot Springs resorts in Le Fortuna is far away from doing adventure stuff like (water rappeling, ziplining and ATVS) and going to a nice beach? I heard Guanacaste is nice but is that far from Le Fortuna? or Should I just do Hot Springs in Guanacaste in one of the tours? I was also thinking the Hacienda Guachipelin Adventure Tour in Guanacaste vs Buena Vista combo tour located in the Rincon de la Vieja area . Which one do you prefer? Please help. I wanted to do the Hot Springs, beach and the mentioned adventurous activities. Ill be staying for 4 days. =) Also I heard in August its rainy season but theres a few locations warmer than others. If you can kindly tell me some recommendations I would really appreciate it.
Brenna
Sammi says
Hello Brenna, for 4 days that isn’t a lot of time to be able to do all but I would pick just one place (either Guanacaste or La Fortuna). You could stay in Guanacaste and do a day trip to La Fortuna to hike, see the volcano and go to hot springs, a day trip to Buena Vista/Guachipelin (both are fun, just depends whether you want to waterslide or white water tube), one day for beach and one day for ziplining and ATV in Guanacaste. You won’t be able to do everything but you can do a good amount in 4 days.
Melissa says
Hi!
First off thank you so much for all of your advice, it has really given me a lot of insight! Now to my question, my boyfriend and I are traveling to Tamarindo in the early November and this was one of our first activities we wanted to try–out of this tour and Guachipelin Combo Tour, which one did you like the best? Also, what tour company would you recommend we book most of our activities with? We are also interested in the Rio Celeste hike and Optional Wildlife Refuge but since we’re not over 25 yet, we don’t want to rent a car due to the high fees. Thank you again for all your insight!
Best,
Melissa
Sammi says
Hi Melissa! We love both tours but we love the white water tubing at Guachipelin, we’ve done it at least 5-6 times and it never gets old. The waterslide is awesome too, but we prefer the tubing. As for tour companies, I’ll send you an email with our recommendations. You can actually rent a car if you’re over 23 years of age in Costa Rica, not 25 here 🙂
Janette Gould says
Greetings from the state of Washington!
We are a large group of 19, 9 adults and 10 children with 3 children under 3. Is there anyway to accommodate for the small children? We want to go on one of these tours. We are looking at Buena Vista or Vandara Hot Springs. Could you tell me the difference between them? We love your blog, thanks for all the information.
Janette
Sammi says
Hi Janette,
Unfortunately the tours aren’t suitable for children that young since they can’t do any of the activities. The adults could take turns taking care of the children and switch off for the activities, but they’re too small to go ziplining, the water slide and horseback riding. You should contact the lodge to see if they have any options for children that young. As for Vandara, I am not sure we have never been there. It seems they have a website if you Google them, and you can read about the activities they offer. It looks like they’re also in Rincon de la Vieja National Park.