It changed my life, no joke! You have to do it!
I listened to my friend describe her experience canyoning in Arenal with a bit of skepticism. Changed your life? Sure… everyone says that every time they travel! But I was curious. She wasn’t the type of girl to say things lightly so it had to have been something special for her to say it changed her life.
So when I was planning my brother’s Costa Rica itinerary, I made sure to book a canyoning tour in La Fortuna. And well, I have to say that my friend was right. It actually changed my life.
If you’re visiting La Fortuna/Arenal and you love nature and adventure, canyoning is a must. Read on to see our pictures and videos from this amazing day and why canyoning in Arenal made such an impact on my life (and get 7% off this tour!).
That time we went canyoning in Arenal
We went with Pure Trek Canyoning which is the leading canyoning company in Costa Rica so we were in good hands. They drove us to the main office, located in the forest surrounding La Fortuna waterfall on one of those indestructible Toyota 4X4 to get all suited up.
For those who have visited Central America before, you know that it’s incredibly common to ride in the back of these trucks as transportation, especially in not so nice roads. But as it was my brother and friends’ first time here, this was kind of a surprise.
“We have to ride that?” my brother asked in dismay. “Hey, be grateful because in Nicaragua we didn’t have seats… or a cover… or bars to hold onto!” I replied.
I think we were all kind of nervous and excited to do the canyoning. We suited up and the guides gave us the shortest safety presentation I’ve ever heard.
Hold the line with your left hand above, right hand down by your waist. Don’t hold tight or else you won’t move. Space your legs evenly apart. 4 waterfalls, 1 one rock wall.
Even for ziplining they give you this long schpeel and that’s super easy! Well I guess we’ll see how it goes. It must be a lot easier than it looks, after all you have someone on top and someone on bottom, two ropes and a harness to help you down. They said that if you get stuck or have trouble, the guides will do most of the work for you (phew).
The first rappel was the longest, about 200 feet right next to a waterfall and they let us go 2 at a time. My brother and his wife went first and we could hear them yelling all the way down but I peered over the edge and saw them safely on the bottom. So why were my legs shaking so much?
I have to admit, I was nervous. I consider myself an adventurous person because I’m willing to try anything but I hadn’t done many adventures. Ziplining, yes. White water tubing, yes. Ziplining upside down, check. But that was about the extent of my adventure list!
So when it was my turn, I looked at Yeison who was going down the same time as me and smiled big to hide my nerves. See you on the other side! I yelled out. I turned around to position myself and when the guide gave the signal, I took my first leap down into the jungles with only 2 ropes to hold me.
They weren’t lying when they said don’t hold tight with your hands. Even if you pinch the line ever so slightly, you don’t move at all. You have to let open your left hand and just lightly wrap the rope with your right. At first my legs kept flailing around as I got my balance but as soon as I got one good push off, I steadied myself and hopped down like a bunny.
I glanced over at Yeison who was already halfway down, leaping who knows how many feet while here I was, moving only half a foot at a time. OK I need to let go more I told myself. Or else I would’ve been on that rock forever! I loosened my grip and gave a good push off the rock. Heck yea now that’s way more fun!
I landed in the pool and thankfully the guide helped me get straightened as my legs were wobbling a little bit. Though I nearly fell face first into the water, I didn’t care – I MADE IT! I eagerly trotted over to the next waterfall to get ready to go again.
The next one wasn’t as high but you definitely get wet because you’re right inside a waterfall. You have to jump and swing down about 40 feet because there is no rock to push off of and you get a nice spray of water in the face. Refreshing!
One more rock wall rappel down, another mini waterfall and then onto the last one, a big wide waterfall. By now I felt like a pro and I was wanting more. Pure Trek picked a great last waterfall as this one could be done in two ways. One big leap down or small leaps.
Our guide was encouraging everyone who wasn’t sure if they could push off strong enough to go in small jumps. But I think he secretly wanted to get everyone soaked.
Well if everyone else is doing it, I might as well too! I decided to try my luck at taking one giant jump.
I didn’t end up pushing off hard enough and landed about halfway in the waterfall where the guides playfully pulled me into the water. Ahhhhhh! I cried out as the cold water rushed into my face. Woo hoo!
At the end, I was wanting more. More waterfalls, more rock walls. If I had to describe it one word, it’d be awesome. Freaking awesome! I really don’t know why I was scared. Honestly! I was so proud of myself for doing it.
Our experience canyoning in Arenal opened up my eyes to outdoor adventure and this is the activity that got me hooked. I can actually trace it back to this very day and whenever anyone asks me what my favorite thing to do in Costa Rica, canyoning is on top of the list. The feeling you get when it’s just you, the waterfall and nature is like no other. And that sensation of adrenaline rushing through your body, coursing through every vein makes you feel like you can do anything.
Costa Rica has given me many things including love and a new perspective on life but I never expected an appreciation and necessity for outdoor adventure would be one of them. I hope you feel the same way when you visit as well because there is no feeling like conquering your fear with nature or experiencing nature to the fullest.
Tips for the Best Canyoning in Arenal
- Wear clothes that can get wet and dry quickly. You’ll wear the blue top over your shirt but your pants will get. I wore jeans which was a terrible idea!
- You don’t need previous experience. Kids can also do this tour and if they are too scared, they can go with a guide who will take them down. Kids do need to be at least 5 years old to do the tour.
- No need to swim.
- Wear shoes that can get wet and go from water to land easily. Closed toed hiking sandals are the best since they’re the most comfortable compared to wearing sneakers and socks since your feet will get wet. Hiking sandals also give you some traction. Wearing closed toed shoes will be super uncomfortable since you’ll have soaking wet socks at the end!
- The best camera to use is a GoPro or Sony Action Cam. Some helmets have the mount but you need to bring the attaching mount piece. A point and shoot waterproof camera won’t work since you have to use both hands to go down
- Don’t try to bring your phone to take pictures, you end up getting soaked so don’t take any risks. The company has a photographer which you can purchase pictures after.
- Price includes lunch.
- They have a morning and afternoon tour. The entire tour takes around 4 hours.
The Pure Trek Canyoning tour is $114 USD per person. If you want to do this tour, we have a 7% discount for canyoning in Arenal!
Read about other things to do in Arenal here!
There are Amazon affiliate links in this post.
Shannon says
Hi! First off, your site is soooooo helpful and informative! Thank you!
This canyoning tour looks amazing! I did have a question….when you jump off and down the cliffs do you drop quickly? Do you get that same feeling in your stomach that you get on a roller coaster when it drops? I ask because this looks like an amazing experience but I hate that feeling you get in your stomach from quick drops on rides and whatnot haha.
Sammi says
hi Shannon, I’m glad the blog is helpful.
You don’t have to take huge jumps when canyoning. The first waterfall, I was actually nervous so I took tiny baby steps and the guide had to encourage and kind of pull me down because I was going super slow and they had to keep everyone moving. By the last waterfall, I felt more confident and they said the last one you can take a bigger leap, the distance is not that far and it’s not like a straight drop since you kind of like, glide down and the guide at the bottom holds you steady.
Len says
How cold is the water in February? I am planning to do this and I easily get cold. Thanks.
Sammi says
Not that bad, we did it in August in slight rain and you kind of get over the coldish water soon because you’re moving a lot. February is dry season and very hot so it’ll be nice weather, when we went in August it was cloudy and drizzling.
Marissa Z. says
Hi! MY fiance and I are looking to do this activity and the horseback riding one as well. Can both be done in the same day and if so, which order do you suggest?
Sammi says
Hello! Yes you can. We usually recommend canyoning in the morning during rainy season.
Rosemary says
1st, I LOVE your site! This has been so helpful in planning our trip.
I think I’ve convinced 3/4 of our group to do the canyoning! Can one person come with, take pictures, but not rappel?
Also, we wanted to zipline, would you recommend doing both in the same day? Are we able to book those together?
Sammi says
Hi Rosemary!
The canyoning goes through 4 waterfalls and you have to go down the waterfall to get to the next one so the only thing the person who doesn’t go is to watch the group for the first one and then wait for them to finish.
You can do ziplning in the same day as canyoning and ziplining are half day activities.
Basil says
Thank you for the wonderful blog. We haven’t done Canyoning before (only ziplining) and are excited to try it. With a family of four, with two boys (ages 11 and 12) we are debating between Sky Limit and Pure Trek (or Spider Monkey) canyoning. Have you done Sky Limit? It seems it has canyoning over one waterfall only… but also includes ziplining, Tarzan swing and Sky Tram. If we had more time in Arenal, we would have preferred to do these activities separately. With our limited time, would you recommend Pure Trek or Sky Limit? Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Basil, we haven’t done Sky Limit but it sounds like a fun obstacle course. I’m sure that either one will be fun, but Pure Trek is all canyoning, sounds like Sky Limit has one canyon and then the rest of the activity is a variety of an obstacle course.
tom says
For Arenal..Are the SkyTrek ..Ziplines and SKY-Limit 10 event packages Too hairy or too difficult for most normal people and kids?? want the adventure nots sure the level to do..
ecoglide maybe too tame??
thanks
Sammi says
Skytrek zipline is pretty intense…I would say that’s definitely not for someone who is scared of heights. Check out the Aventuras Mundo Park, that one has a nice zipline over La Fortuna waterfall.
Maggie says
Love your site! I know you recommend close toed water shoes like Keen, but will original Teva sandals do the trick? It looks like that is what many in your party were wearing. I love my Tevas and don’t want to shell out for Keen’s unless it really is worth it.
I am beyond excited!!! We fly out Dec 27
Sammi says
Hi Maggie, those should be fine 🙂
Jul says
Hi Just great !! I know!! There is also one in Golfito, smaller but wilder !! For those going to South Costa Rica !! byee 🙂
Karley says
I think I have to add canyoning to our list of things to do when we visit Costa Rica next month! I’m trying to decide between this tour and the one offered on the Mistico site. I am considering the Spider Monkey Canyon + Hanging Bridges Walk. Do you know anything about that tour? Thanks so much! Your blog has been such a huge help in planning out trip!!
Sammi says
Hi Karley! Canyoning is soo fun I highly recommend it. I haven’t done the Mistico one but I saw a video of it on Youtube. We personally love the Pure Trek one and I believe they have the tallest waterfalls for canyoning in the area.
Nadia says
Will we be able to see the La Fortuna Waterfall on this tour?
Sammi says
Hi Nadia, no this tour doesn’t go to La Fortuna waterfall. You’ll have to go there separately.
Jennifer Hamm says
Is there an age requirement for this tour?
Sammi says
Hi Jennifer, the minimum age is 5 and maximum is around 65-70 depending on their physical condition because it does require you to be in moderate physical condition and have good knees and ankles so for people who have trouble walking, they will not be able to do it.
Jamie says
Is this tour still the same as when you went? I looked at their website and it didn’t seem the same as the pictures and videos you posted. Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Jamie, it is the same tour, you can see the photos are actually the same shots and they post the same ones on Facebook (there are only 4 waterfalls and they take photos at the top of the first one, bottom of the second one, and top of the last one). They do have an extra monkey drop and rock climb that we didn’t do though, I think they added that part of the tour recently.
Sammi says
Hi! For your kids, canyoning would be perfect for them! The minimum age is 5 so that’s perfect. They would probably also like ziplining and horseback riding and if they like water, there is a great white water rafting tour for kids that is Class 2 and 3 they can do.
But for your girls, I highly recommend the canyoning, white water rafting and ziplining. If they like animals, horseback riding is also super fun!
ST says
Loved your guides and blog! I have a 7 and 10 yr old girls. Both adventurous and love hiking. Do you recommend canyoning for them? Is there a minimum age? Also what other fun activities do you recommend for kids?
Sammi says
Hi Mona, you can see here the list of La Fortuna tours discount.
Mona says
We are visiting Aernal in Feb 2018. We are planning to do PureTrek combo tour of rappaling and rafiting. Do you provide discount for that?
Sammi says
Hi Jill, for canyoning we went with Pure Trek.
Jill says
What tour companies do you recommend in Arenal?
Michelle says
This looks amazing! But neither I or my sister are swimmers, would we be able to take part in this if we cannot swim?
Sammi says
Hi Michelle, you don’t have to swim in the canyoning, you’ll land in the waterfall pool but it’s super shallow.
Kathy Zepeda says
Sammi,
I was looking at your suggestion on a week in Costa Rica, do you think we good squeeze in Arenal if we had one or two days ?
Kathy
Sammi says
Hi Kathy, you can. A lot of people do day trips if they don’t have enough time or stay at least one full day so they can go to the hot springs and visit the national park which is probably the most popular 2 activities to do together.
Tonya Denmark says
I absolutely loved the guides at Pure Trek. True professionals. And just fun overall!
Sammi says
They are awesome!
Tonya says
You mention a discount if we go through you on this. How does that work?
samantha says
I am doing this in one week. Are you able to bring your camera? I know it said there is a guide there taking pictures and you can purchase them afterwards.. is that what you did or were you able to bring a camera
Sammi says
If you have a GO Pro you can attach it but these pictures are from the guides taking the photos. It’d be pretty difficult to take your camera if it’s not a go pro where you can strap it on because you need both hands for holding the rope at all time.
Travis says
Great post. We went canyoning when we were in Costa Rica 3 years ago, and it was definitely one of the most fun things we’ve done on our travels. Our guides were great and very goofy (I think we went with a different company, but possibly to the same spot). We also had a 200 foot descent at the end. The best moment was going down about 190 feet on your own, and then them telling you “the guide needed to let you down the rest of the way since you were away from the waterfall wall”…which was basically a ruse to drop you into the pool at the bottom. Great fun! Glad to hear you are enjoying Costa Rica, we had a blast there!
Sammi says
Thanks! It actually kind of sounds like Arenal – the last waterfall our guides would deliberately swing us under the waterfall to get us wet haha. Definitely one of the best tours and I want to do it again! pura vida!
Jessica Zais says
haha. Ya they were behind schedule so they were like, “No, you’ll be finnnnne.” haha. One of the things that made we want to do the arenal canyoning trip was I noticed you didn’t have to wear wetsuits. hahaha. And yes, I totally did keep that photo. It makes me laugh so hard every time I see it.;D
Jessica Zais says
Haha. Totally. Ya canyoning in Switzerland was really cool! The only problem was we had to wear full wetsuits and they gave me one that was way too small so
I could barely bend my knees and arms which was a tad frightening. haha. I probably looked like a waddling penguin. There was a photographer with us taking photos and everyone has this shot of them surfacing after jumping off a waterfall and my shot is of my helmut submerged in the water because I couldn’t swim in the wetsuit. hahaha. Preeeetty funny. But I felt awesome at the end (especially after taking off the darn wetsuit)! ; D
Sammi says
Oh my gosh that’s too funny but considering how much you have to move around while canyoning that’s pretty uncomfortable! They just gave us jackets which was nice since the water was a tad chilly. I hope you kept that pic just for memories sake 🙂
Jessica Zais says
I was thinking of the whale shark when I wrote magical. lol. Wrong post! But ya, stuff like that totally changes you, even if it’s just in a small way – it shows you you’re tougher than you think! 😀 I remember canyoning in Interlaken, Switzerland and I was so scared but then after I was like, “Damn straight I did that.” haha.
Sammi says
OH man I had the same thought, i was pretty freaked out right before but afterwards it’s such a cool feeling and you’re like hell yea! haha, canyoning in Switzerland sounds pretty awesome!
Jessica Zais says
I believe it! Pretty magical!
Jessica Zais says
Awesome- another thing to add to my list of things to do when I’m down there this winter! Thanks guys!
Sammi says
Yes you have to do it! Changed my life… well not that intense but pretty close haha
Elle says
This looks like so much fun! We planned on visiting here when I went to Costa but, unfortunately, we didn’t make it 🙁 Maybe next time!
yeison says
Hi Elle !
Yes, You have to do it next time, we know the right people so let us know when are you coming, and they will give you a special price. Pura vida !