In Costa Rica’s adventure capital: luxury and thrills with G Adventures
A journey through this Central American country proves that a thrillingly active trip doesn’t mean staying in sub-standard accommodation.
It’s while hanging from a harness halfway down a 60m waterfall on the flanks of an active volcano in Costa Rica that my mind slips back to snippets of conversation I caught in the back of the troop carrier on the way to the canyon. “The monkey drop is probably the worst, but also the best … Don’t climb the ladder, but if you do there’s no way back down.” I tapped that last one into my phone, as though I might need to refer to it at a time like this.
Channelling my inner Daniel Craig, I kick off against the canyon wall and rappel into the waterfall, until I’m dangling in a gushing torrent. There’s a flash of green jungle as I flail my body in circles, straining my toes for the rocks below. The rope goes slack and I stand at the bottom on the canyon amid the deafening drone of cicadas; drenched and discombobulated, but feeling more alive than I can remember. I turn and see a rope ladder leading up a cliff. A voice from above calls out, “Climb!”
I’m sharing this adventure of a lifetime with half a dozen new friends I’ve met on a G Adventures “Geluxe” group tour. Within an hour of towelling off after the canyoning experience, we’re wet again, except this time we’re clutching cocktails instead of carabiners, sitting in the outdoor pool of our four-star resort in the lap of Arenal Volcano, 90km northwest of San Jose. Later that evening we’ll soak in mineral hot pools and enjoy a delicious dinner before returning to our comfortable timber bungalows. If there’s a single day that encapsulates G Adventure’s new premium category of tours, I think we’ve found it.
Since its founding in 1990, the Canadian company has carved a niche for active, small-group tours, traditionally aimed at younger, adventurous travellers for whom the phrases “bunkhouse” and “shared bathroom” don’t automatically provoke a recoil response. The Geluxe collection is targeted at travellers who like their trips to be active but comfortable, and this eight-day Costa Rican itinerary hits the sweet spot, proving that community-centred tourism need not compromise on comfort.
The tail of Tropical Storm Sara is stinging Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast as we begin our trip, boarding a boat near the mouth of the Parismina River and following various arteries upstream into Tortuguero National Park. Birdlife is prolific in this Amazon-like wetland, which spans 31,000ha of canals, lagoons and lakes, all fringed by tropical jungle and sprawling mangrove forests. Snowy egrets and black-necked stilts wade their spindly legs through the shallows, mangrove swallows dart and weave alongside the boat, and yellow-faced jacanas use their huge feet to spread their weight across the flimsiest of floating leaves and reeds, giving the appearance of walking on water (which earns their nickname, Jesus bird).
Accessible only by boat or seaplane, the village of Tortuguero is sandwiched on a slither of sandbar between the Caribbean Sea and the Tortuguero Canal. The beach is a vital nesting site for the endangered green turtle, a species hunted almost to extinction prior to the establishment of the national park in 1975. A local organisation, Sea Turtle Conservancy, was instrumental in both getting the turtles protected and promoting ecotourism as an alternative income to hunting. More than 50,000 visitors arrive each year to watch the turtles nest, demonstrating that the creatures have more value in sand than in soup.
Tortuguero is home to about 2000 residents. Many families emigrated from Nicaragua after the revolution in the late 1970s, while others are descendants of Jamaican slaves granted freedom after working on the San Jose-to-Limon railway in the late 19th century. That colonial Caribbean influence infuses Tortuga Lodge, a riverfront property backing on to a private nature reserve crosshatched with walking trails. Victorian-style timber suites presiding over plantation gardens are airy, with stately verandas and elegant wood detailing painted in cheery Caribbean colours. The riverside restaurant serves tasty Caribbean-style rice and beans (along with Western dishes), and rondon, a stew made with coconut milk, red snapper, tubers and Panamanian chilli. Downtime is spent cooling off in the pool or getting prodded and pampered in a pontoon day spa on a tranquil lagoon.
We’ve just missed turtle nesting season (July to October), but the surrounding rainforest is hissing, howling and harumphing with wildlife. Glum-faced howler monkeys wake us in the witching hour with their demonic growls and howls. Red poison dart frogs glisten on leaves, their poison so potent the indigenous Cabecar people would only have to touch the tip of their spears on the frog’s back to extract a dose lethal enough to kill a tapir. High in the canopy we spy a mother spider monkey forming a bridge with her body so her baby can climb from tree to tree. A torchlit night walk reveals tarantulas and trapdoor spiders. Somewhere in the jungles are jaguars, ocelots and pumas.
The calm waterways are perfect for kayaking. We start early to beat the sun, slipping up a sinuous side branch of the Tortuguero River, ducking under giant palm fronds as we penetrate deeper into even narrower tributaries. Our guides point out green iguanas camouflaged on branches, brightly coloured toucans and even a sloth smiling serenely in an almond tree. Who needs turtles when the river offerings are this good?
From the coastal canals our tour moves inland to Costa Rica’s adventure capital, La Fortuna, a town dominated by the imposing presence of a seriously volatile volcano. After lying dormant for centuries, Arenal erupted violently in 1968, killing 87 people and burying three villages. It blew its top again in 2010 and is regarded as one of the world’s most active and unpredictable volcanoes. Unsurprisingly, climbing Arenal is banned, but tourists frequently disregard the rule, putting themselves and rescuers in grave danger. Four hikers go missing on its slopes while we are there. I’m content to admire it from my balcony at our hotel, Lomas del Volcan. It’s a treat I don’t take for granted, given the mountain can be cloaked in clouds for days at a time.
Every Geluxe tour features what G Adventures rather cringingly calls an “OMG Day”, a chance to choose your own adventure. While some of us are rappelling down waterfalls, others are ziplining through the treetops 200m above the valley floor, which from all reports proves an equally exhilarating experience. Our “OMG Day” is followed by our “OMG Stay” at Hideaway Rio Celeste hotel, nestled in the rainforest just outside Tenorio Volcano National Park. It’s a boutique Balinese-style property with 26 private villas, all featuring covered patios and outdoor showers, so guests feel fully immersed in the rainforest. A pitched ceiling lined with bamboo and strung with cane pendant lights frames a central lodge housing a restaurant, bar, games room and koi pond. Calmness feels more or less compulsory at this resort; even the gym decrees a level of decorum with its “No loud noises or grunts” sign. A bland and repetitive menu, along with drinks at OMG prices, is the only chink in the armour.
The downpour intensifies as we set off on a guided walk to Rio Celeste Waterfall, known for its vibrant turquoise pool. Rio Celeste means Blue River and local legend has it that when God was painting the sky blue, he washed his paintbrush in the river. Today, it’s the colour of dirty dishwater, and the turquoise pool looks turgent and turbid. “I thought the rainy season ended in November?” I ask our local guide, Byron, as we slosh through puddles. He smiles. “We have a rainy season and a more rainy season.” The river breaks its banks and floods the track. It’s my turn to smile. There must be thousands of photos on Instagram of that brilliantly blue river, but none as it is now, frothing at the mouth and threatening to swallow us whole.
I shared the moment with our wonderful Costa Rican tour leader, Yinier, always at his best when unscripted. “Walking in the rain is something we stop doing when we grow up,” he says. “It’s good to get back to those moments.” The sum total of those moments adds up to our unique adventure and, with Hideaway’s hot tub waiting at the end of the rainbow, we wouldn’t have chosen it any other way.
In the know
G Adventures has recently expanded its Geluxe collection of group tours to 54 trips across 26 countries, including Morocco, Mexico, Patagonia, Kenya, Iceland, Portugal and Turkey. The eight-day Costa Rica: Tortuguero, La Fortuna and Rio Celeste tour starts and finishes in San Jose. Departures from May 2025; from $4999 a person, including airport transfers, most meals and activities.
Ricky French was a guest of G Adventures.
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