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 with them. 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.
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. And of course, who goes first of the whole group but us.
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 slightly pinch the line, 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. 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. I nearly fell face first into the water but 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.
Pictures don’t do the canyoning justice so you have to check out the video. Trust me, after you watch it you’ll be looking up airplane tickets to come and do canyoning in Arenal!
Check out our video! Experience canyoning through our eyes.
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 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.
- You don’t need to know how to swim either as you won’t be swimming, just getting soaked.
- Wear shoes that can get wet and go from water to land easily. 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.
- The best camera to use is a GoPro, 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.
Read about other things to do in Arenal here!
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What tour companies do you recommend in Arenal?
Hi Jill, for canyoning we went with Pure Trek. For tour companies in Arenal, we recommend Jacamar – we actually just made a partnership with them to give our readers a 10% discount, you can email us at hello@mytanfeet.com for more info. We have always used Jacamar for tours in Arenal and they are one of the biggest tour companies in Costa Rica.
This looks amazing! But neither I or my sister are swimmers, would we be able to take part in this if we cannot swim?
Hi Michelle, you don’t have to swim in the canyoning, you’ll land in the waterfall pool but it’s super shallow.
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
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.
I absolutely loved the guides at Pure Trek. True professionals. And just fun overall!
They are awesome!
You mention a discount if we go through you on this. How does that work?
Hi Tonya, unfortunately we don’t have a discount for this tour
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
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.
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!
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!
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
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
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 🙂
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.
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!
I believe it! Pretty magical!
Awesome- another thing to add to my list of things to do when I’m down there this winter! Thanks guys!
Yes you have to do it! Changed my life… well not that intense but pretty close haha
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!
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 !