A trip to Costa Rica wouldn’t be a trip without a little zip lining; something the country is famous for. During our stay at the Westin Playa Conchal, we took a day trip to The Congo Trail a short thirty minute drive away from the resort. For our time spent at the beach area and areas around the hotel of the Westin Playa Conchal Beach, please follow along here. For our experiences spent at the hotel area, please see the Westin Playa Conchal Resort.

Activity: Zipling “The Congo Trail”, Playa Conchal, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

“A visit to Costa Rica isn’t complete without a jungle Zip Line Experience”

Booking and Getting There:

After several days of lounging around on the Westin Property, we decided to do a zip line tour at The Congo Trail. We booked through the Westin Playa Conchal resort tour desk. The Swiss Travel (on resort) Activities Manager “Vernay” was excellent. We booked a half day tour of 11 zip lines for $50 USD per adult and he waived our son’s participation fee ($30 face value saved). I’m guessing this was because it was low season and bookings were not too busy. I thought this was quite a good value since the Zip Lines in Whistler charge $199 CAD ($150 USD) per person for 5 (likely but albeit longer) zip lines.

After half an hour of travel up and on bumpy unsealed roads, we hit the zip trekking center. It was a bit touristy but at the same time, it was quite surreal to be zip lining on platforms on the upper tree top canopy. The difference here is that the lush foliage in Costa Rica really means a different eco system at the top of the trees compared to the forest / jungle floor. You don’t realize how high you are until you look through the gaps and see the forest floor 40-60 feet down. A zip line is a must do experience if you can make it if you visit Costa Rica.  

Zip Lining The Congo Line

We had a safety orientation and an explanation of how the zip lines work. It would be a tour of 5 zip lines today through thick growth Costa Rican jungle forest.

My nine year old was initially a bit freaked out by the whole thing, despite seeing some videos of the zip lining in the waiting area of the zip line center. He thought it was really high – but in reality the first line was probably only 10-15 feet off the ground. I should mention that this is a kid that’s fortunate enough to spend almost every winter weekend up at Whistler sitting on a chair lift at 40-60 feet of the ground. He ended up doing the first one zip line solo, and then went tandem with the instructor for the remaining 10 lines. He found it a neat experience which I’m sure he’s telling his friends about at school, but that he probably wouldn’t repeat again tomorrow.

Seemingly, not a lot to see when you’re up in the canopy, but if you look closely, it’s neat to see that you’re in an entirely other eco system than what’s on the valley floor. The trees and leaves were as lush as any jungle you could imagine.

The “long line” at The Congo Trail spooked my son out a bit, but I really enjoyed it. The line itself was probably at least 1 km long. There were super views on this one zipping along at probably 25 mph or 40 km/h. Here you had the opportunity to see how lush the forest is and how thick the vegetation was.

The staff here were super great and patient with those that were skittish. For those that have never done this before, you are roped / clipped into the tree top platforms cables at all times with your harness so there is no risk of falling (or an extremely slight risk as a result of equipment failure). 

The staff here were super great and patient with those that were skittish. For those that have never done this before, you are roped / clipped into the tree top platforms cables at all times with your harness so there is no risk of falling (or an extremely slight risk as a result of equipment failure). 

My Thoughts on Zip Lining in Costa Rica:

Experiencing Costa Rica is all about the activities. It would be a dis – service if you just attended the beach on any visit here since there is more to the country than just coast line.

The Congo Line was a totally worthwhile experience. The activity was paced right at half a day, and the Zip Lines were a pretty neat thing to do and a great way to see the jungles of Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

I would easily return for another experience with The Congo Line. They were great to deal with and their attitude made for a fun day.

Related Posts:

If you enjoyed this post, you may want to look at these related posts that explore other aspects of the Westin Playa Conchal by taking a look into these areas:

• The Westin Playa Conchal All Inclusive Resort, Deluxe Junior Suite, Costa Rica
• The Westin Playa Conchal Beach area and Playa Brasilito

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