fbpx
Skip to main content

The top 5 EXTREME- adventure activities in Costa Rica (just for brave people)

If you are passionate about feeling the maximum adrenaline and feel really alive, you are continually looking for activities that give you exactly this feeling. Even though many different things take us to our limit, Costa Rica offers a list of activities that make you feel invincible while you experience extreme adventure.

No matter if you are an extreme tourist, a middle-range or you are just starting with this kind of experience, in this list, you will find options for everyone and you can decide which one will be your favourite one to try out on your next adventure.

1. Surfing in Tamarindo - Roca Bruja - Guanacaste

Roca Bruja Costa Rica c

If you like surfing, the waves at Tamarindo beach are considered to be the best ones in Costa Rica to surf. It is one of the most crowded beaches in the country, since the access is really easy and just one hour away from the international airport Daniel Oduber in Liberia. 

The waves are all year long the same and such a long beach like this one is suitable for riding the waves. The waves here are perfect for beginners and experts. If you like to surf but you still don’t know how to practice it, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will help you to organise a surf lesson for you.

Just for experts:

Roca Bruja is a giant rock located at Naranjo beach in Guanacaste. The name comes from the spooky noise that the offshore wind produced, that blew through a hole in the rock that today is clogged by erosion.

This is a surf destination known for its tubular waves in the whole world. To begin, being located within a protected area, the only land access is through the Santa Rosa National Park, so during the rainy season (between May and November) it is practically impossible to reach the beach, the only way would be by boat over the sea. During the dry season (from December to April) you can only get inside with a double traction vehicle. 

The waves until 300 meters long and up to 4 meters high. The water temperature is around 17° C, so it is recommended to wear a neoprene or spring suit.

In the water, you can easily see sea turtles, manta rays, dolphins and sharks. On the other side, don´t forget to bring enough food and drinks, because the next town due to the bad street conditions is several hours away. I also recommend you bring a first-aid kit, just in case.

If you want to do this activity, you should do this by yourself. In the Santa Rosa National Park, it is possible to camp but you need to rent a 4x4 vehicle to get there or walk a very long way. If you want to reserve a car with us, just write to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

2. Canyoning in La Fortuna - Arenal

canyoning la fortuna

Even though this is not one of the most popular activities, climbing down waterfalls in the middle of the jungle is an extreme activity that you can enjoy in Costa Rica and even though the security that the tour operators provide is really high, this is just something for brave people. Just imagine, those waterfalls can be higher than 50 meters, you descend slippery rocks and the waters splashes in your face, while you climb down the mountain hanging on just one rope. Doesn’t it sound interesting? If you like this type of experience, this is definitively something you need to try out at least once in your life. 

You can reserve this experience by writing to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!

3. Sky Trek in La Fortuna - Arenal

sky trek

The Sky Trek is the perfect combination of nature, taking a gondola and ziplining. The cables go from mountain to mountain, being incredibly long and high and cross canons, forests and even clouds. This is an adventure that will leave you shaking for a while when you feel the altitude you could have never imagined.

The best thing is that you can admire the lake and the Arenal Volcano from a unique perspective, being very safe and without having to walk. If you get to one platform you can immediately take the next cable. 

Are you curious about this adventure? You can reserve this experience just by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!

4. Flying like Superman - Monteverde

superman monteverde

Ziplining goes to the next level when you do it in the “superman position”, because like this the speed is faster while you fly with all excitement through the treetops of the cloud forest in Monteverde. Furthermore, there is the longest and most extreme cable in whole Latin America, with a total distance of 1´590 meters (5216 ft).

At this adventure, you will be hanging at your back while you fly through the forest. Like this, you make the dream of every boy come true and fly like a superhero until you forget that you are actually attached to the safety cables.

To do this activity I recommend you use closed shoes. People between 5 and 65 years can do this, having a maximum weight of 108 kilos (240 Libras) and those who like to experience the maximum adventure. Just This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!

5. Rafting Class V (extreme) - Pacuare

Rafting en el Pacuare Costa Rica c

The Pacuare River is on the list of the 10 best rivers in the world to do rafting (place 6) with the categories lll to lV, which makes it simply impossible to not include it on my list of the most exciting extreme adventure activities in the country.

The most interesting thing about this river is that the part of the rafting is up to 30 km long. It starts at 1´500 m and goes to 350 meters above sea level. In the rainy season, it can overcome category V, which is really extreme, and sometimes they even have to stop this sport for a time.

It is important to know that the only way to do this tour is, for safety reasons, accompanied by a guide. The tours always include a snack, transportation, life jackets, a bottle of water and a dose of endless adventure.

You can reserve this experience This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

It is important to remember that, since these are extreme activities, safety is very important, so you have to make sure that the providers are legal companies, which have insurances and a safety protocol according to the activity. To help you with this, we can help you with the reservation and organization of your trip as we are a legally constituted company by the Costa Rica Tourism Board ICT, also, we work with providers who are legally constituted and specialists in this type of activities.

I hope this list of adventures will be an inspiration for you, so when you get to Costa Rica you can get a long extreme adventure and enjoy it to the fullest.

If you have something to add or if you have a question, don’t hesitate to write it in the comments down below. If you want to reserve one of the excursions or if you wish us to organize your trip with different adventure excursions, write to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Greetings and Pura Vida!

Recommended Blogs

Nearby Hotels

ARA Tours Testimonials-FeedBack

Feedback

  • Janaina & Dieter, Brazil

    The trip was wonderful! Your help was invaluable and without your choices it would not have been so good! I am very very satisfied and very happy with the choices you made!

    Thank you very much for everything!

    Janaina & Dieter, Brazil
  • Kathrin, Ines, Matthias & Ingo, Germany

    Hello dear Aline, many thanks to you for the great compilation and organization of the trip. We were able to spend eventful, interesting and wonderful days in Costa Rica and will keep them in good memory. A thank you also goes to the ARA Tours team, which was available 24/7 for problems and questions, which were solved and answered quickly and reliably. The punctuality of the transfers offered should also be emphasized. In summary, it was a wonderful holiday.

    Kind regards

    Kathrin, Ines, Matthias & Ingo, Germany
  • Carina & Thomas, Germany

    Hello dear Aline,
    Now we have arrived back at San Jose Airport after a great trip. Everything worked out great and the tour was just perfectly planned and organized. Thank you very much. We take a lot of positive memories with us.
    Best regards.

    Carina & Thomas, Germany
  • Yvonne, Switzerland

    The Costa Rica trip together with my family is already behind us - it was wonderful!!! Everything went smoothly from A to Z, we had a wonderful time, no incidents and wonderful experiences.
    We all enjoyed it very much; the nature is enormous, but also the warm-hearted people, the cleanliness, the food - we are very enthusiastic!
    At this point I would like to thank you very much for your support in the preparation, for all the bookings, clarifications and enquiries!!!
    We visited the waterfall in La Fortuna and had a great view of the Arenal. In Monteverde we did a Hanging Bridges and Zipline tour and in Nosara a surf course. In Finca Rosa Bianca we did the coffee tour, it was all great, fun and interesting 😊. All in all, we saw lots of animals, always ate well, enjoyed the beaches....even in rainy weather 😊. Often we were even glad that it was overcast, otherwise it would have been almost toouuu hot for us.
    So THANK YOU again so much for everything!!!!

    Yvonne, Switzerland
  • Christina, Switzerland

    Many thanks for the extensive support (before, during and after the trip) and the professional handling of our concerns. With your support we had a smooth and unforgettable vacation in Costa Rica! Our favorite hotels: Hotel Plaza Yara and the Poas Volcano Lodge - a dream!
    All the best
    Christina

    Christina, Switzerland
  • Jeanne, Bernd & Bill, USA

    Yay! I´m glad we are back on track. Thank you again for helping us with all these changes.
    I´m glad we choose ARA-you are amazing! Thanks for all your help! It made it a very memorable visit!

    Jeanne, Bernd & Bill, USA
  • Janka, The Netherlands

    Hi Eli & ARA Team,
    We have spoken to the guest and they are super enthusiastic about their Costa Rica roundtrip! Everything was well organized, nice hotels, nice mix of activities & beach and they have big compliments for you guys!!
    Many thanks for all the good work!! The guest highly appreciate it!!
    They had lunch nearby in Ara Ambigua Lodge, and they loved this place. Friendly staff and good food!
    Do you work with this accommodation? If so, we would love hear 😊
    Once again, heads off for this amazing trip!
    With warm regards

    Janka, The Netherlands
  • Thomas, Deborah, Eva & Paula, Switzerland

    Dear Priska
    Happily I write some words to you in English, so you can easily forward them also to Ara Tours, please. Thank you all, we spent a magic time in Costa Rica! Baumeler's and Ara Tours organisation and logistics were perfect, everything worked out even better than we expected. The tours were brilliant, we really enjoyed everything very very much!
    All the accomodation was absolutely wonderful... the setting, the quality, the food, with happy helpful friendly staff everywhere. It was a wonderful way to experience this beautiful country the way we did, on a private tour with personal guide and drivers. We saw and learnt sooo much - it would have been impossible to do so on our own.
    Especially we praise our brilliant guide Fernando Perez, we benefited so much from his truly wide knowledge and deep love for his Country which he passed on in lovely encouraging way. We even became friends and we will meet in Switzerland coming September! Also our driver Carlos Sandi was great, not only as a driver but also as a compagnion, animal spotter and photographer. Thank you!
    So.... now we just enjoy our last day...
    Sunny greetings, pura vida

    Thomas, Deborah, Eva & Paula, Switzerland
  • Yvonne & Andrea, Switzerland

    Hello all
    Unfortunately, our wonderful trip is already over and everyday life has caught up with us again. We would like to thank you very much for everything. The trip was planned exactly according to our wishes and we have seen so many beautiful places.
    Thank you Stefanie!
    We have felt completely comfortable and top cared for by you. Via Whats App we got immediate answers to our questions, with the car everything worked out great. In all locations we were treated very warmly and nicely. It was just so indescribably beautiful, we will dream of the beautiful experiences for a long time. In any case, we will warmly recommend you and hope for a next time. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
    Best regards.

    Yvonne & Andrea, Switzerland
  • Anita, Switzerland

    We have arrived safely in Switzerland and have already returned to work.
    It was a wonderful trip you put together for us.
    Your excellent service, as well as the 24 hour support service from ARA Tours, was truly outstanding.
    I have already recommended you several times and would book with you again and again. Thank you very much and keep me informed if there are any interesting offers.
    Best wishes.

    Anita, Switzerland
  • Lukas & Isabelle, Switzerland

    Hello Pedro, our time in CR is coming to an end and we wanted to say "thank you very much for organizing a phenomenal week". Everything has been well organized and we have seen many beauties of nature. Thanks!

    Lukas & Isabelle, Switzerland
  • Reinout & Yvonne, The Netherlands

    Thanks Jenny for the clear answer. We will make an appointment via the link you gave us.
    Today we visited National Parc Cabo Blanco. What an amazing park, so quiet for tourists, so full of animals, really lovely and therefore together with Monte Verde, Cahuita and Corcovado the park today, Cabo Blanco, scores high in our ranking of most beautiful parks of CR.These parks give us reason, together with the Pura Vida in CR, to come back soon. We'll keep in contact.

    Reinout & Yvonne, The Netherlands
  • Dominik, Germany

    Good day Jennifer
    As we have already told Simone, the stay at Lapa Rios is extremely enriching, thanks to the well planned planting and the untouched environment we see a lot of animals. Contrary to the plans before the stay, we do not want to visit more animals in captivity at the end. We will have a look at the few hours before we leave.
    We thank you and your team very much for the excellent advice and the permanent support! We can only recommend Ara Tours.
    Best regards.

    Dominik, Germany
  • Daniel, Jana & Theo, Germany

    A big thank to you, you saved our vacation!
    Communication already worked very well in Germany. The help from you, especially through Aline, should be mentioned here. This was fantastic from the first WhatsApp message to the last. We already know Costa Rica, so we knew what we wanted and what not. Ara Tours was an important point of contact for us. We are very grateful to Aline precisely because our actual travel agent cancelled our trip 36 hours before departure. She immediately organized everything for us. Whether the hotel in beautiful Punta Leona, the tours to the national parks, even the shuttle service with the great driver Guillerno Ortega has to be mentioned here. We are very grateful to you, dear Aline, but also to the entire Ara Tours team. You too made our almost 3-week trip to Costa Rica unforgettable again. We would love to come back and of course we will book through Ara Tours again.

    Daniel, Jana & Theo, Germany
  • Alexander & family, Switzerland

    Thank you, everything really worked out great. Super organization and at any time quick info / help / support from you!
    We liked it very much. The conclusion in Quepos was crowning. We liked the beach in the National Park Manuel Antonio very much. We would have liked to stay longer, but we take home many wonderful, unforgettable impressions. PURA VIDA!
    Many thanks to you Aline! We will gladly recommend you to others.

    Alexander & family, Switzerland
  • Neumann Family, Germany

    - The route was super planned, first on the beach time to arrive and then only from Monteverde with excursions inland etc. and at the end again beach - perfect!
    - Support from Ara Tours was VERY good!!! Through Whatsapp reachability the service was great, very quick answers / very flexible, good suggestions etc. Also with the doctor Ara Tours helped with translations by phone - that was really very, very good!
    - The home stay day was an absolute highlight - very authentic - so we got to know the locals REAL, the family was super friendly and very open and have talked about everything. Not at all touristy perceived.

    Neumann Family, Germany
  • Marine & Bruno, France

    Hello
    We would like to thank you personally for this beautiful trip that you organised for us and for the follow-up that you did throughout the stay. A big thank you also to Jennifer d'Ara tours! Thank you again and have a great week!

    Marine & Bruno, France
  • Walter, Switzerland

    We really appreciated your (almost) daily updates from Costa Rica on Covid and related issues. That was a highlight compared to other incoming agents worldwide! We thank you for your effort and wish you that you manage the coming time well and stay healthy.

    Walter, Switzerland
  • Ronald, Germany

    Our great compliments for keeping us informed every day on the developments. We wish you all the best and keep yourself and families in good health and mood during this unprecedented period!

    Ronald, Germany
  • Kathrin, Germany

    You are really super! It is impressive how you manage the crisis with your super flow of information and the great reversal. Hats off!

    Kathrin, Germany
  • Michael, Germany

    Hello, we were on a round trip in Costa Rica from 27.11., which was booked through BigXtra and organised by them. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much. The tour was simply amazing! The support by Carlos was just great. We have done many trips before, but this one was an unforgettable experience thanks to Carlos. Carlos speaks very good German and was able to sensitively introduce us to Costa Rica, its incomparable nature and its great, friendly inhabitants. Pura Vida became for us a term for the attitude towards life in Costa Rica. Please say hello to Carlos from us and once again a huge thank you to him in the name of the whole group of 8. We wish him only the best for his future.

    Michael, Germany
  • Evelyne, Switzerland

    Wie just did a 4 week trip in Costa Rica which was organised from ARA tours and we really liked it - well done Ara Tours! We also had a guide - his name is Enrique. His German is really good and he knows a lot about Costa Rica and he showed us a lot of animals. We had a wonderful time with hime - thank you so much Enrique!

    Evelyne, Switzerland
  • Tanja, Germany

    perfect tour perfect tour guide pablo, everything very well organised 👍👍👍👍🇨🇷🇨🇨🇷 were thrilled

    Tanja, Germany
  • Ines, Germany

    Many thanks and great praise to our tour guide Mauricio and our bus driver Adrian! We felt very comfortable during the 2 weeks in Costa Rica. The wide-ranging knowledge of Mauricio and the super driving skills of Adrian were particularly admirable. Thanks to the eagle eyes of both of them, we had the opportunity to observe a variety of animals in Costa Rica. Thank you for everything!

    Ines, Germany
  • Sabine, Germany

    I can only recommend ARA Tours. Thanks again to Nicole for the great planning of the tour and the support. Our tour guide Peter Käser was simply incredible (a walking encyclopaedia) and always had an answer to all my questions about the flora and fauna and the history of CR. Our driver Julio carried my father on his hands, for which I am very grateful. CR is also worth a trip for wheelchair users at any time (with ARA Tours, of course).

    Sabine, Germany
  • Thieme Family, Germany

    We would like to thank you once again for organizing our trip [...] through the beautiful country of Costa Rica. Our special thanks go to our tour guide Enrique, who with his extensive knowledge of flora and fauna about his country brought it very close to us and made us want to come even a second time. We were very glad and happy to travel with him, as he was also very committed to our problems on site, in addition to his competent function as a tour guide.

    Thieme Family, Germany
  • Antonia-Maria & Boris, Austria

    Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sensational effort! I do not know such a competent tour guide as with you really from nowhere else... and we have already traveled a lot... 🙏🏻🍀

    Antonia-Maria & Boris, Austria
  • Katja, Germany

    I wanted to thank you again for the great Costa Rica trip. We flew back home very happy and with many great impressions. A compliment for the super organisation. Everything worked out perfectly (except for the handover of the rental car, which was force majeure...). So thank you again and I have already recommended you to friends:-)!

    Katja, Germany
  • Denise & Alain, Switzerland

    Thank you very much for your email and the tickets. We really appreciate how quickly and efficiently you deal with our requests each time!

    Denise & Alain, Switzerland
  • Philippe, Switzerland

    Hello Christine Thank you very much for this information. The support is super👍 many thanks Gruss

    Philippe, Switzerland
  • Marianne & Stefan Gräub, Switzerland

    Otherwise, the planned trip was a complete success. Everything went well and the visits you organised were all very interesting. The visits you organised were all very interesting and gave us a great insight into the respective topics. The fact that the Ticos are very friendly and always ready to help was fully confirmed.

    Marianne & Stefan Gräub, Switzerland

    Contact Information

    WhatsApp: +506-8893-3863
    Phone: +506-2232-0400
    Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Address

    Apdo 799 – 1007
    San José, Costa Rica

    Licenced by the Costa Rican Tourist Board: Lic ICT OT 294

    Liability insurance: Instituto Costarricense de Seguros (INS) Coverage: Territory of the Republic of Costa Rica

    Derechos Reservados - ARA Agencia de Viajes Internacional S.A © 2023