NOTE: The content on this page was last updated on September 14th, 2017.
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- 1 NOTE: The content on this page was last updated on September 14th, 2017.
- 2 WE KNOW SKY ADVENTURES; WE HAVE DONE THE SKY TRAM, SKY TREK, AND SKY WALK TOURS IN BOTH ARENAL AND MONTEVERDE
- 3 FIRST THINGS FIRST: SKY ADVENTURES HAS TWO DISTINCT ADVENTURE PARKS IN COSTA RICA, THE ARENAL PARK (LA FORTUNA) AND THE MONTEVERDE PARK (SANTA ELENA)
- 4 ABOUT THE SKY ADVENTURES ARENAL PARK
- 5 SKY ADVENTURES ARENAL PARK: SKY TRAM AERIAL TRAM RIDE
- 6 SKY ADVENTURES ARENAL PARK: SKY TREK CANOPY ZIPLINING TOUR
- 7 SKY ADVENTURES ARENAL PARK: SKY WALK HANGING BRIDGES
- 8 SKY ADVENTURES ARENAL PARK: ADDITIONAL FEATURES AND INFORMATION
- 9 MAP OF THE SKY ADVENTURES ARENAL PARK
Looking for Sky Adventures tour discounts? WE OFFER TRAVELLERS FREE ACCESS TO CASH BACK SAVINGS FOR SKY ADVENTURES TOURS when booking the day tour through Pura Vida! eh? Incorporated. Click here for more information and/or to obtain the Sky Adventures tour savings. Con mucho gusto (you’re welcome) and pura vida! 🙂
WE KNOW SKY ADVENTURES; WE HAVE DONE THE SKY TRAM, SKY TREK, AND SKY WALK TOURS IN BOTH ARENAL AND MONTEVERDE
Everywhere we turn nowadays it feels as if everyone who has been to Costa Rica is an expert on the country. Too many travel agents “sell” the country without ever having stood on Costa Rican soil, and even travellers who have visited firsthand are quick to evaluate many of the country’s features based on onetime experiences and snap judgments. To help provide as honest, critical, and valuable information as we can, we base our Costa Rica Travel Blog advice on repeat experiences and offer recommendations based on comparative analyses. For example, when we wrote about Costa Rica volcanoes in our related blog post The Best Costa Rica Volcanoes: What To Know About Arenal, Irazu, Poas, Rincon De La Vieja, And Turrialba, we didn’t just list the country’s five most popular options, instead we wrote about our experiences visiting each so our readers would be comforted by the depth of our familiarity before opting to trust our conclusions. Fortunately, we aim to accomplish the same with our posts about Sky Adventures’ tours and activities since we are familiar with each (the Sky Tram aerial tram ride, the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour, and the Sky Walk hanging bridges tour), and at both the Sky Adventures Arenal Park (the focus of this post) as well as the Sky Adventures Monteverde Park (see our related blog post Sky Adventures Monteverde: Ziplining, Hanging Bridges, And Tram Rides In The Cloud Forest for more information). For a comparison of the Sky Adventures Arenal Park and the Sky Adventures Monteverde Park, please see our related blog post Sky Adventures Arenal Or Sky Adventures Monteverde: Which Is Better? (post coming soon)
FIRST THINGS FIRST: SKY ADVENTURES HAS TWO DISTINCT ADVENTURE PARKS IN COSTA RICA, THE ARENAL PARK (LA FORTUNA) AND THE MONTEVERDE PARK (SANTA ELENA)
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: Sky Adventures owns and operates two Adventure Parks in Costa Rica, one named the “Sky Adventures Arenal Park” which exists in the La Fortuna region of the country (nearby El Castillo), and one named the “Sky Adventures Monteverde Park” which exists in the Monteverde region of the country (nearby Santa Elena). Although the two parks appear to be located not far from one another on the map, the two are an approximate 3.5-to-4-hour drive apart, and it is not possible to experience activities at both parks on the same day (unless a traveller opts to participate in an activity at one park in the morning, makes the multi-hour drive between destinations during the day, and participates in another activity at the other park later in the afternoon). Although both parks are run by the same company and offer many of the same tours, reservations for activities at each Adventure Park are handled separately; in addition, reservations must state which site the tour is being reserved at–either the Arenal Park or the Monteverde Park–to secure availability at the correct location and avoid confusion.
ABOUT THE SKY ADVENTURES ARENAL PARK
The Sky Adventures Arenal Park is best known for its three original onsite activities (referred to by Sky Adventures as “the classics”): the Sky Tram aerial tram ride, the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour, and the Sky Walk hanging bridges. More recently, the Sky Adventures Arenal Park division has created opportunities for participation in additional activities, including the development of the Sky Wild Bike Park, the Sky Wild bike tour, the Sky Wild kayak tour, the Sky River Drift tubing tour, the Sky Board flyboarding tour, and the Sky Limit adrenaline challenge. Operations for all of the above-mentioned activities flow through the Sky Adventures Arenal Park.
SKY ADVENTURES ARENAL PARK: SKY TRAM AERIAL TRAM RIDE
The Sky Tram aerial tram ride is a pleasant surprise. Since it is offered as a compulsory part of the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour, most travellers will find that the experience is not only required, but it is also enjoyable. In exchange for minimal effort, participants obtain incredible views of the forest and lake that surround the La Fortuna region; a tour guide that accompanies participants in the tram narrates along the way and offers interesting facts about flora and fauna native to the area. During our visits, we have seen monkeys playing in the trees, watched birds fly overhead, and spied on miles of treetop canopy from above; at times we were so close to nature as we glided through it that we were tempted to reach out and touch it.
Note:
- The Sky Tram aerial trams at the Sky Adventures Arenal Park are spacious and accessible to people with a variety of disabilities. So too is the platform at the top of the rainforest that boasts an incredible view of the Arenal Volcano. Although the trail tour (described below) does not provide an accessible trail, this portion of the Sky Tram aerial tram experience is optional and may be skipped if members of your group prefer not to participate (or are unable to participate) in the experience.
The Sky Adventures Arenal Park’s Sky Tram aerial tram ride takes approximately twenty minutes to ride between boarding the tram at its base and exiting the tram’s platform at the top of the rainforest. If you have reserved the Sky Tram aerial tram ride only (i.e., if you do not plan to participate in the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour), once at the platform you may choose to participate in a guided tour of a short forest trail which takes approximately twenty minutes to complete. Primarily centered around flora found in the forest, our trail guide pointed out a variety of species of plants and flowers, most notably elephant ear plants, cecropia plants, and heliconias. Following completion of the trail tour, participants board the tram from the platform at the top of the rainforest and ride the tram back down to its base. In total, the entire Sky Tram aerial tram experience (assuming the optional trail tour is taken) lasts approximately one hour.
Note:
- If you plan to participate in the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour, you will automatically experience the approximate twenty-minute Sky Tram aerial tram ride between boarding the tram at its base to exiting the tram’s platform at the top of the rainforest (no separate reservation or payment for the Sky Tram aerial tram ride is required). Since the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour departs from the rainforest platform, ziplining tour participants do not experience the short trail tour described above, nor do they ride the tram back down to its base. Although we have participated in the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour before (continue reading below for details regarding our experience), we have also visited the Sky Adventures Arenal Park on separate occasion to participate in the Sky Tram aerial tram ride on its own, so we are familiar with both tour options.
Note:
- It is not possible to participate in the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour without participating in the Sky Tram aerial tram ride; the Sky Tram experience is a required part of the Sky Trek tour’s course.
For pictures of our experience participating in the Sky Tram aerial tram ride at the Sky Adventures Monteverde Park instead, please see our related blog post: Sky Adventures Monteverde: Ziplining, Hanging Bridges, And Tram Rides In The Cloud Forest
Don’t miss our Sky Tram aerial tram ride savings:
SKY ADVENTURES ARENAL PARK: SKY TREK CANOPY ZIPLINING TOUR
The Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour is one of a number of canopy ziplining tour options offered in the La Fortuna area of the country. However, it is the only ziplining tour option in the region that utilizes an automatic breaking system, as opposed to the traditional hand-breaking system employed by most other canopy tour operators. In addition, it is the only canopy tour in La Fortuna to automatically include a complimentary aerial tram ride with the ziplining experience, as the Sky Tram aerial tram ride is a required component of the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour.
Our experience with the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour at the Sky Adventures Arenal Park began with the collection of ziplining equipment at Sky Adventures’ main base and a twenty-minute aerial tram ride to a platform at the top of the rainforest. At the platform, we had an opportunity to run the first zipline cable as a trial, so anyone who disliked the experience could opt out of tour completion at that time (beyond the first cable, there is no opportunity to turn back). Six additional ziplines stretching as long as 760 meters followed suit, and took approximately one hour and forty-five minutes to complete. In total, the entire experience (including the equipment collection, safety demonstration, tram ride, and ziplining tour, but excluding transportation to and from the Sky Adventures Arenal Park) was an approximate two-hour-and-thirty-minute one.
The Sky Adventures Arenal Park’s Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour cable lengths:
Cable #1: 32 meters
Cable #2: 465 meters
Cable #3: 450 meters
Cable #4: 410 meters
Cable #5: 610 meters
Cable #6: 760 meters
Cable #7: 25 meters
Total ziplining distance: 2,752 meters
The ziplining tour’s course zigzags back and forth over top of the rainforest canopy. Views similar to those obtained during the Sky Tram aerial tram ride, including panoramic shots of the Arenal Volcano and Lake Arenal, can be seen. New in 2017, ziplining tour participants may opt to add an optional superman cable (i.e., the option to run a zipline cable facing forward) to their Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour experience. It is important to note that the superman cable is considered a tour add-on, it has an additional charge above and beyond the cost of the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour cost, and it requires advance reservation.
Note:
- Sky Adventures has long maintained that their minimum age limit for participation in the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour was twelve years old. Recently, their minimum age limit changed to a minimum height limit, as children only 1.2 meters tall were allowed to participate. New in 2017, Sky Adventures announced that children as young as five years old can participate in their Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour, as their equipment now includes smaller harnesses that fit children weighing ten to forty kilograms.
Note:
- The minimum weight limit for participation in the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour is one hundred kilograms. Individuals over this minimum weight limit will be evaluated by Sky Adventures’ technical staff (according to their height and physical condition) to determine if participation will be permitted.
For pictures of our experience participating in the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour at the Sky Adventures Monteverde Park instead, please see our related blog post: Sky Adventures Monteverde: Ziplining, Hanging Bridges, And Tram Rides In The Cloud Forest
Don’t miss our Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour savings:
Sky Tram Aerial Tram Ride and Sky Trek Canopy Ziplining Tour (La Fortuna/Arenal)
Sky Tram Aerial Tram Ride and Sky Trek Canopy Ziplining Tour (Monteverde)
SKY ADVENTURES ARENAL PARK: SKY WALK HANGING BRIDGES
The Sky Walk hanging bridges attraction at the Sky Adventures Arenal Park is one of two hanging bridges sites in the La Fortuna region. Although the Sky Walk hanging bridges tour is available as its own standalone tour (i.e., for travellers interested in touring the hanging bridges only), most Sky Adventures Arenal Park visitors combine their Sky Walk hanging bridges experience with either the onsite Sky Tram aerial tram ride or the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour.
Note:
- The Sky Adventures Arenal Park’s Sky Walk hanging bridges experience is automatically a guided tour. However, travellers who would prefer to hike the bridges without a guide may do so by paying the bridges entrance fee and walking the attraction’s course on their own. Regardless of whether a guided tour or an unguided experience would be preferred, advance reservations are required to ensure availability of access to the hanging bridges.
Offering a moderate hiking experience over approximately 3.6 kilometers (“Las Cataratas” trail), our trips through the Sky Walk hanging bridges at the Sky Adventures Arenal Park are always enjoyable. In addition to walking over the attraction’s five suspension bridges, we love the challenging combination of uphill and downhill sections that the approximate three-hour tour provides. The two observation deck viewpoints (“El Million” and “El Lago”) present opportunities to capture great “Kodak” moments, and the spray of mist felt when passing by the two waterfalls (“El Encanto” and “Escondida”) offers welcomed and refreshing relief from the forest’s humidity. A fitting experience through the Costa Rican rainforest (as opposed to over top of it, as experienced via the Sky Tram aerial tram ride and the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour), the Sky Walk hanging bridges tour is the ultimate nexus of a physically active and rewarding hike with complete nature immersion.
The Sky Adventures Arenal Park’s Sky Walk hanging bridge lengths:
Bridge #1: 127 meters
Bridge #2: 136 meters
Bridge #3: 25 meters
Bridge #4: 143 meters
Bridge #5: 35 meters
Total hanging bridges distance: 446 meters
For pictures of our experience participating in the Sky Walk hanging bridges at the Sky Adventures Monteverde Park instead, please see our related blog post: Sky Adventures Monteverde: Ziplining, Hanging Bridges, And Tram Rides In The Cloud Forest
Don’t miss our Sky Walk hanging bridges tour savings:
Sky Walk Hanging Bridges Tour (La Fortuna/Arenal)
Sky Walk Hanging Bridges Unguided/Entrance Only (La Fortuna/Arenal)
Sky Walk Hanging Bridges Tour (Monteverde)
Sky Walk Hanging Bridges Night Tour (Monteverde)
Sky Walk Hanging Bridges Unguided/Entrance Only (Monteverde)
SKY ADVENTURES ARENAL PARK: ADDITIONAL FEATURES AND INFORMATION
Observation decks and incredible views
In addition to the views obtained from the Sky Tram, Sky Trek, and/or Sky Walk experiences, the Sky Adventures Arenal Park offers an observation deck that features the Arenal Volcano. In addition, the drive to and from the Sky Adventures Arenal Park (along the La Fortuna – El Castillo road) offers great views of Lake Arenal; pull over safely on the side of the road to capture some stunning shots of the lake if you wish!
Onsite restaurant, lobby, lockers, souvenir shop, photo/video purchases, and GoPro camera rentals
The Sky Adventures Arenal Park offers dining at their onsite “Chill Out” restaurant; meals are available both to individuals who wish to dine before or after their scheduled tours (advance meal reservations strongly recommended), as well as to individuals who have opted to include a meal with their tour reservation(s). Lockers (free for tour participants to use) are also available onsite, as is a lobby/seating area, which may be used by family/group members waiting for their travel companions to complete their Sky Adventures activities. Following tour completion, keepsakes can be bought from the onsite souvenir store, and photos/videos of the day’s adventure are made available for purchase as souvenirs. Alternatively, if you would prefer to capture your own tour footage, GoPro cameras (permitted for use during Sky Adventures’ tours, including the Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour) are available to rent at the start of the tour (subject to equipment availability).
Tour transportation (shuttle services), road conditions, and onsite parking
The Sky Adventures Arenal Park offers optional transportation to/from La Fortuna hotels with each of their tours (for an additional fee and with advance reservation). For individuals who would prefer to drive themselves to/from the park, free and ample parking is available onsite. The drive from downtown La Fortuna to the Sky Adventures Arenal Park takes approximately twenty-five minutes; half of this drive is conducted on a paved highway (road #142), and the other half is conducted on a bumpy dirt road where stones and potholes are common (the La Fortuna – El Castillo road). Having a 4X4 vehicle is recommended, however individuals with non-4X4 vehicles may make the trip provided they drive slow and give themselves extra time to arrive at the destination.
MAP OF THE SKY ADVENTURES ARENAL PARK
QUESTION TO COMMENT ON: Have you been to the Sky Adventures Arenal Park before? Which onsite tours or activities do you opt to participate in?
Pura vida!
Don’t miss our other Sky Adventures tour savings (in addition to those already linked to above):
Sky Tram Aerial Tram Ride and Sky Walk Hanging Bridges Tour (La Fortuna/Arenal)
Sky Tram Aerial Tram Ride and Sky Walk Hanging Bridges Tour (Monteverde)
Sunset Sky Tram Aerial Tram Ride and Sky Walk Hanging Bridges Night Tour (Monteverde)
Sky Tram Aerial Tram Ride, Sky Trek Canopy Ziplining Tour, and Sky Walk Hanging Bridges (Monteverde)
Sky Flyboard Tour (La Fortuna/Arenal)
Sky Wild Bike Tour (La Fortuna/Arenal)
Sky Wild Kayak Tour (La Fortuna/Arenal)
Sky Limit Adrenaline Challenge Tour (La Fortuna/Arenal)
If you’re more of a visual learner, take a moment to view our gallery photos below from our visits to the Sky Adventures Arenal Park.
