If you’re visiting the Guanacaste province and looking for a full day excursion of fun and adventure, then you have to check out the Guachipelin one day adventure pass.
The one day adventure tour is ziplining, horseback riding, white water tubing, lunch, hot springs and mud baths. This day tour is one of our favorite things to do in Guanacaste!
Contact us or fill out the form below to request your one day adventure park tickets or tour.
Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin
Hacienda Guachipelin is 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from Liberia in the small town of Curubande. It’s 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) from the entrance of Rincon de la Vieja National Park.
You can visit Hacienda Guachipelin as a non-hotel guest for a day trip.
The most popular is their one day adventure combo tour with many guests coming from Tamarindo, Playas del Coco, Flamingo, Liberia or La Cruz.
Tamarindo about 2 hours driving from Guachipelin.
Guachipelin One Day Adventure Pass Video
Check out our Guachipelin one day adventure pass video to see what it’s like!
Guachipeline One Day Adventure Pass Ziplining
First, up was the canopy tour (ziplining).
The first few ziplines were a piece of cake, short and sweet and they even let us go upside down on a couple of them which was awesome.
They have an optional rappel and rock climb, and then you have to tarzan swing over the river. Definitely don’t miss this part if you want as much adventure as possible.
Horseback Riding
After we finished the canopy tour, we headed back to the main office and got a little breather before our next activity: horseback riding.
We geared up, got on our horses and headed off into the forest.
The entire horseback riding was about 1 hour and we stopped at a blue waterfall on the way.
When we finished the horseback riding, we got on the Guachipelin bus to take us to the white water tubing start point.
Our guide explained to us about the tubing, the proper way to sit on the tube and safety tips.
After that we put on our helmet and life jackets, carried our tube down and started our next adventure!
Guachipelin White Water Tubing
This river with class 1 and 2 rapids runs through Rincon de la Vieja and the entire tubing tour is a grand total of 5 kilometers (3.1 miles), lasting about 1-1.5 hours.
This was probably the most fun hour I’ve ever had.
The rapids weren’t too big so there is very low chance of falling out or any feeling of danger but they were strong enough that you get knocked around enough like bumper boats and you have handles to hold onto.
There are lazy pools after every few falls where you can float around and take it all in: the delicious refreshing water, the sun, the gorgeous sky, the trees and the wildlife.
By the time we finished, it was 2pm and I was ready to eat.
Lunch
Lunch is at the Hacienda Guachipelin restaurant and it’s buffet style with typical Costa Rican food. They offer lots of salads, rice, beans, veggies and meat.
After lunch, you can take as much time as you want to get to the hot springs.
You do need your own transportation for this part since the hot springs are about a ten minute drive away from the adventure center.
There are a lot of signs for the hot springs that will point you the right way.
Guachipelin Hot Springs and Mud Baths
You can stay as long as you want at the hot springs which closes at 6. The receptionist will give you towels and there are bathrooms/changing stations at the entrance.
From there, follow the trail down to the hot springs. You’ll cross one hanging bridge which has a great view of the hot springs!
You can take a volcanic mud bath, bathe in the river or soak in the hot springs.
There were only two pools for the hot springs but they are right over a river so you are surrounded by nature.
After the hot springs, you’ll feel SO relaxed and ready to go home.
We stayed about 1 hour at the hot springs. Hot springs close at 6 PM and you can stay as long as you want until they close.
The End of a Fun Day
This is one of our favorite tours in Costa Rica since you get a little bit of everything in this tour: excitement, adrenaline and relaxation.
It’s one of the best ways to experience the dry tropical forests, nature and volcanoes of Guanacaste.
What to Know About the Guachipelin One Day Adventure Pass
- The order of activities may change
- Hiking sandals are the best shoes. Closed toed shoes are mandatory during the white water tubing.
- There are bathrooms and changing facilities at the reception and at the hot springs.
- Bring mosquito repellent and sunscreen.
- Eat a good breakfast!
- You need your own transportation to the hot springs. The hot springs are about a 10 minute drive from the activity center.
- If booking a tour, the tour company will take you to the hot springs.
- Don’t lose the towels at the hot springs, they will charge you if you do.
Hacienda Guachipelin One Day Adventure Booking
Please fill out the form below to book your tour or get your tickets! Select tour if you do not have your own transportation and require a tour with round trip transportation included.
Sammi says
HI Maribel. Congratulations on graduating college! You can find all our Costa Rica information here:
Costa Rica information
Happy travels! We have a bunch of information about the country but let us know if you have any other questions we may be able to help you with.
Maribel says
Hi,
I Love your post! I am about to graduate from college ,and my friends and I are looking to take a trip to Costa Rica. Is there any advice you can give to first time travelers and guides you recommend? Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Stephanie! Thanks for checking the site out and glad to hear it’s been helpful! As for places to stay, Rincon and Arenal are quite far apart, it’s about a 3-4 hour drive from each other. There’s not really too much in the middle except for some local towns so that is an option if you want really want to do that. If you plan on visiting different areas of the country on short time, you can take local flights to minimize transit time. Another option is to rent a car. Renting a car is really nice because then you can stop and see the sights and you can go around to wherever you want along the way. The drive from Guanacaste to Arenal is quite beautiful. If you decide you want to rent a car, we have a special discount for readers, just let me know if you do rent one.
As for San Blas, I’d definitely take a flight to Panama City because the bus from San Jose to PC is about 16 hours and then it’s another 4 hours or so to San Blas. I don’t know how long you’re planning on staying in Costa Rica but I’d recommend staying at least 2-3 days in San Blas.
Bunni says
When going to San Blas make sure you take everything you need if you want the native of xperience of anything other than the main island. They are beautiful but the only amenities is a bathroom and it will cost you a quarter.
Sammi says
True, there are no amenities there! We had a bathroom on Dog Island though and we didn’t have to pay – but that was in 2013.
Stephanie says
Hi Sammi!
I absolutely LOVE your guys’ blog! My boyfriend and I are taking our first international trip together to Costa Rica and Panama sometime in December / January and I stumbled upon your blog while doing some research. It has been so helpful already! We are thinking of doing a total trip for approximately 11-12 days. I know it seems a bit short since we want to visit both countries, but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit both after looking at your blog! The 3 things we absolutely want to do are a combo tour like shown on this post, the canyoning in Arenal, and a visit to the San Blas Islands. Do you have any recommendations of where to stay in Costa Rica that would be close enough to both Rincon de la Vieja and Arenal national parks? We are also trying to figure out if renting a car is a good idea (even though it will be our first time visiting Costa Rica), but there are so many things we want to see in the short time we are there! Thank you so much for your blog, and for any other information you can help provide!
Claudia says
Hi Sammi! We are planing a trip to Costa Rica for our anniversary! We are first timers so any advice would be appreciated! Where do you recoment to stay to be close to all the action. Like zip lining we also love to snorkle? And what tour companie do you use? Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Claudia! Congratulations on your anniversary! I’d suggest Guanacaste, you are near the beach and the mountains/volcanoes/national parks. You can do all the activities like snorkeling, hiking, ziplining, river tubing and much more! We always use Shaman Tours out of Playas del Coco, you can email him here info@shamantourscostarica.com and tell him we sent you so you get the best service 🙂 They are really great and I always use them for my friends and family.
Kelly Hanifl says
This sounds amazing! We are going to Costa Rica in a month and will be staying at the RIU Guanacaste. How far is this from there? Also, we will not have a car so is there a way to arrange for someone to take us to the mud bath and hot springs?
Sammi says
Hi Kelly! It’s about 50 minute drive from the RIU (might be longer with the bumpy roads). You can book the tour with a tour company who will pick you up and can take you to the mud bath and hot springs at the end.
Kelly Hanifl says
Thank you so much! I’ve been doing some research and it seems like there are a million and one different tour groups to go through. Do you have any recommendations? Any tour groups that do private tours so it’s just the four of us?
Ps I absolutely love your website! It’s super helpful and fun to read!
Sammi says
There is one company that we love and like to recommend. They do private tours so you can request that so it’ll just be the four of you. I’ll email you the info 🙂
Jessica Buchwald says
Hi, I would love the email of that private company as well please.
Sammi says
Just sent you an email 🙂
TinkerBell says
I think we’re doing this tour next week. I have some questions about what to do with our bag.
Do we wear the backpack while we’re zip-lining or will they transport it for us?
You mentioned they give you towels at the hot springs so I’m assuming we don’t have to bring that, correct?
Thanks for your help.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Sammi says
No you can leave your backpacks, you can’t take anything with you ziplining except a small camera/Go Pro. Yes if they give you towels at the hot springs you don’t need to bring them. Unless you want to bring your own 😉
Gen says
Hello,
I’m in Costa Rica now and stumbled upon your post. Looks so awesome! Can you tell me how you booked this tour? Was it through Hacidena Guachipelin? If so, about how much did it cost? We’re stay in Tamarindo. Should we rent car and drive ourselves?
Sammi says
Hi Gen! We didn’t book through a tour company, we went there ourselves. You can book through Hacienda Guachipelin or any tour company in the area that offers it. The total price of the tour is about $90 if you drive yourself but it’s more (~$120) if you book through a tour company and include transportation. If you already have a car, you can drive yourself but if not, then it’s worth the money to book with a tour company especially if you’ve never driven in Costa Rica or to Rincon de la Vieja National Park before. This tour is also all day (7-6 ish) and it’s nice to have someone else drive at the end of the day because you’ll be quite tired. Renting a car will cost about $40 a day anyways so it’s worth it to book through a tour company and have a driver who knows the roads.
Cristina says
I was just in Costa Rica in December for the first time! I am a Europe gal by heart but I must say I fell in love with Costa Rica! So many adventures but never tried the mud bath!
Sammi says
Glad to hear you had a great time! There’s so much to do here for sure! We love the mud baths you’ll have to try it out next time !
Jim says
A fun filled day in a beautiful country. Matt will definitely love this trip. Going upside down on a zip line make me feel dizzy. But your video shows it is doable. How far is it from Coco? A longer than usual day trip seems to be required but a relaxing day on the beach will definitely compensate it afterward.
Sammi says
I think Matt will have a great time! It is about a hour and a half drive from Coco and you can leave after lunch since the hot springs aren’t guided. We got there at 830 in the morning and left around 530 but having the hot springs at the end is very relaxing after a long day.