Tortuguero and the Caribbean Coast Sights

Shopping Nightlife

1. Rain Forest Adventures

Just beyond the northeastern boundary of Braulio Carrillo National Park, about 15 km (9 miles) before the Caribbean-slope town of Guápiles, a 1,200-acre reserve houses a privately owned and operated engineering marvel: a series of gondolas strung together in a modified ski-lift pulley system. (To lessen the impact on the jungle, the support pylons were lowered into place by helicopter.) The 21 gondolas hold five people each, plus a bilingual biologist-guide equipped with a walkie-talkie to request brief stops for snapping pictures. The ride covers 2½ km (1½ miles) in 80 minutes. The price includes a biologist-guided walk through the area for ground-level orientation before or after the tram ride. Several add-ons are possible, too, with frog and butterfly exhibits, a medicinal-plant garden, and a zip-line canopy tour on-site, as well as a half-day birding tour. There is also on-site lodging. You can arrange a personal pickup in San José for a fee, or there are public buses (on the Guápiles line) every half hour from the Gran Terminal del Caribe in San José. Drivers know the tram as the teleférico. Many San José tour operators make a day tour combining the tram with another half-day option; combos with the Britt Coffee Tour, near Heredia, are especially popular. The company also operates parks near Jacó, on the Central Pacific coast, as well as in Panama and the Caribbean-island nations of Jamaica (Ocho Rios), and St. Lucia.