Did I want to fly over the Costa Rican cloud forest like superman? Absolutely, yes! This is why I came to Monteverde, Costa Rica—the adventure capital of the country. I was there to experience the longest zipline in Latin America from the unique angle of head first.
I’ve never done a major ziplining experience before—just shorter single ones back in the USA. I wanted to experience more beautiful rainforest but from a different perspective and with the adrenaline kick that ziplining provides. What I wasn’t expecting was the giant swing into the canopy below at the end. Yikes!
I did it anyway, in honor of my last swing in New Zealand almost 10 years prior. Overall, my zip-line experience with 100% Aventura was amazing—fast-paced, thrilling, and, most importantly, safe! And I got it all on video.
Getting To Aventura
The night I arrived at my hostel, Cattleya Monteverde, I asked the hostel manager about booking a tour with 100% Aventura.
I read online that they were THE company in Costa Rica if you want to experience the longest zip-line in Latin America. Plus, they let you go “superman” style—head first! So I was excited to make this a focal points of my time in Monteverde.
From my research, Monteverde appeared to be the capital of adventure tourism in Costa Rica. That was very apparent by all the advertising around town of various tourist activities, in particular hanging bridge experiences and zip lining.
I only planned a two-night stay because I knew I wanted to experience at least this one zipline but that was it. I wasn’t too keen on staying long in such a tourism-centric town. It was already about 9pm when I got to the hotel.
I figured if I couldn’t book my tour for the next day, I could go the next and then move on to my next destination. The hostel manager easily slotted me in for 8am the next morning—on a Tuesday. The tour cost $54.
There are a few ways to get to 100% Aventura and all depend on your travel style and budget.
The least expensive ways to get there are by shuttle, public bus or by your own vehicle. Shuttles can be arranged with other travelers going on the same tour from various locations around Costa Rica. They are typically nicer forms of transport than public buses. Public buses are very cheap and go all over Costa Rica but they are slow, have no A/C, tend to be very crowded, and the schedule is inconsistent if you can even identify an up to date one.
I had Bianca—my brand spanking new, white Geely rental car. This was the least expensive and most efficient way for me to get there. I drove 15 minutes from my hostel at Cattleya Monteverde up a dirt road to get there.
Along the way, I did pass a few slow-moving, bumping along mini buses that I assume were either public transport or shuttles.
I was glad to be driving on my own. I easily navigated there, parked, and started gearing up!
Safety and Practice
The tour started off in a little instruction area. One guy demonstrated how to position yourself, how to loop your fingers loosely around the cable to keep from spinning, and how to pull yourself to the end if you get stuck.
I’ve never had zip lining instruction like this so it was actually really good to listen to before diving in!
During the instruction, I met some of the folks who would be in my group. I immediately made friends with a tall, tatted Australian named Shanyn. We immediately became support buddies.
The first parts of the experience were very basic with low to the ground hanging bridges between zip line stations and short zip lines. This was just getting us used to the process and used to the feeling!
What was amazing to me was how efficient the workers were. There was a whole team of them stations at each start and end of a zipline. They would attached me and check all the locks and then send me off to the next worker. They would catch me, release me from the zip line, and on I would go.
Before I started the experience, I saw how big my group was—maybe 30 people? This made me worry that there would be a long wait for each zipline.
That was not the case. I waited no longer than a couple of minutes each time. This 3-hour experience was an amazingly fast-paced and efficient process. They really threw you into it and from one part to the next.
Somehow the pace never felt rushed—just a part of the adventure!
Something else I noticed about the workers as I was going through is that they would finish up with the group on one part of the park and then race ahead to the next. Each worker strapped me into a different zip line at least two separate times. In other words, there weren’t enough of them to be spread out at every station across the park. But there was never a blip in the workers showing up to each station. Again, so efficient!
My Gear Setup
When I originally got geared up back at the shop, I made sure to attach my phone and Tripod to my harness. Some of the people working there didn’t even blink an eye at this. Others were impressed that I had such faith in my technology to stay put. I did have faith, though!
I had my phone attached in 3 ways—the tripod wrapped around my harness, wedged tightly between the grips, and the strap on my phone was also attached to me. It wasn’t going anywhere!
I wanted to capture my entire zipline experience. I was able to do that and you can see what I shot in the video below.
Safety always came first, however. This means I didn’t always capture the image straight on because my phone would drift to the side or I simply couldn’t position it at a different angle without letting go of my hold or neglecting to break when needed.
In the superman position, in particular, I had to accept that the phone was going to remain facing downward. The phone was right in front of my chest and in superman position my chest was mainly facing the ground!
The Longest Zipline
Before reaching the longer ziplines in the park, I experienced 8 regular zip lines, 1 hammock bridge, and 1 rappel.
The 2 longer ziplines were coming up and would include the longest line in Costa Rica (and Latin America) at 5220ft (1590m).
To get to them, we had to go up! A 5-minute jeep ride took part of my group up and up a bumpy trail through the rainforest. This brought us to the proper height for the experience.
Now it was time to try out the superman-style of being harnessed!
This harness setup includes a harness at your back AND straps around your ankles. Getting into it meant leaning forward and kicking back my feet so they could be strapped in. Then nice pulling back and release sent me on my way!
I did stop short of the end on this one, though. I pulled myself forward until I was close enough for the worker to come get me. Then I grabbed his boot and he pulled me the rest of the way.
The second superman zip was the longest. I made it to the end on that one! But before I reached the end, I saw something ahead that they told us at the start was an optional experience.
Check it out at about the 1:40 mark off to the left of the screen in the video below of my entire zip lining experience with 100% Aventura.
The Mega Tarzan Swing
So what was next? If you caught it in the video, you saw the Mega Tarzan Swing which is 150ft (45m) in height. Just as I was flying over, I watched as a tourist dropped into the cloud forest and swung outward.
My immediate reaction was, “Nooooooo!” Haha. But I figured, eh what the hell! I did it once before, strapped to my friend in New Zealand. And that one was taller by 5 meters. I could do it again and solo this time!
I waited at the start of a really long hanging bridge that basically just ends out over the canopy. Only a few people can be positioned out there at a time.
Eventually, I made my way to the end and watched the woman in front of me drop. Eeeeek! I was definitely feeling the nerves. But I was already committed.
Well. There’s not really much to say except to show you! See the video below of my 150ft descent into the Costa Rican cloud forest!
In Conclusion
Whew! For my first real zip lining experience, this set the bar high! It was definitely an adrenaline rush and something I would do again. By the time the experience was over, I was quite energized and ready to find something else to fill my time that day. But where to and what?
I had plenty of time to kill before another little experience I lined up for myself for later. One of the 100% Aventura workers recommended the perfect local sunset spot for me to see that night. I was looking forward to it!
