Tours > Mountain Biking from Arenal Volcano to Monteverde
Mountain Biking from Arenal Volcano to Monteverde
Bicycling as a means of transport between La Fortuna and Monteverde People who love to ride mountain bikes can now do so as a means of transport up to Monteverde – do an adventure on the way to your next destination, as a part of the innovative Desafío Adventure Connection.
We have two riding options, depending on your adventure level:
The first and more-intense ride is about 3-hours long or about 25 miles. We’ll start at the Lake Arenal Dam where you drop off your luggage with Captain Marquez, our boat driver. From there we ride past the rural community of El Castillo until we get to the pristine Caño Negro river that runs alongside Rancho Margot.
From here we do a technical river crossing and continue riding through rolling hills along the edge of picture-perfect Lake Arenal until ride to the small town of Río Chiquito.
We also offer, a slightly-more-expensive, but shortened, 15-mile ride that includes a boat ride across the Lake Arenal to the mid-way point.
This man-made lake is the second-largest lake in Central America. To get from one side of the lake to the other by land, there are several bridge-less river crossings.
The scenery is a combination of secondary rainforest, farmland and great views of the lake and volcano.
Your eagle-eyed bike guide will help point out some of the local wildlife indigenous to the area, such as wild boar, sloths, toucans, Oropendolas and iguanas.
Upon arrival to Río Chiquito, you will be reunited with your luggage and Freddy, our driver, will drive you in his mini-van the remaining 1.5-hours up the steep, gravel roads to your hotel in Monteverde. We also have an office up in Monteverde should you need any advice on what else to do in the area.
This is a truly adventurous ride – the terrain is rugged, the scenery is incredible but this is the perfect way to travel between La Fortuna and Costa Rica.
NOTE:
we can make arrangements for more-demanding local rides and special equipment needs. Please ask for special trip quote.
Departure:
8:30am from La Fortuna only
Includes:
Brand-name, professional suspension mountain bikes, gloves, helmets, bike guide, transport up to Monteverde, water break, small snack
Welcome to Desafío Adventure Company! To make your trip more enjoyable and safe, we’d like to tell you about some of our policies for our exciting adventures:
For reasons beyond our control (climate, river levels, etc.), we may change to a more-suitable tour with an equal or similar difficulty rating and adventure-appeal. Our Head Guide makes the final decision. Desafío Adventure Company also reserves the right to cancel any trip due to unsafe conditions and will only run a tour according to established company policies. Full refund is given if (on rare occasion) no tour is run.
Rafting, canyoneering and many of our other adventures involve some inherent risk and physical exertion, so you must be in good physical condition without any recent surgery, heart condition, pregnancy or injury. If you take medication such as allergy pills and need them with you or have other medical concerns, please inform your guide.
The natural environment of Costa Rica is filled with insects, snakes, crocodiles and a variety of other wildlife. In addition, landslides, falling rocks and sudden flash floods are possible, so we may not be held responsible for an encounter with any of the above.
Desafío Adventure Company has a $1-million civil responsibility insurance policy, a contract with a specialized paramedic company and our guides and drivers are trained in first aid and CPR in case of emergency. However, we highly recommend clients have their own travel insurance prior to participating in a tour.
Recommended ages for tours operated by Desafio: Río Toro class 3-4: 13-55; Río Balsa class 2-3 & Venado Caves: 10-65; Canyoneering in the Lost Canyon & Cerro Chato: 13-55; Safari Float & nature walks (Arenal Volcano, Hanging Bridges, Río Celeste, Nature Combo 6x1): 6-65; Horseback riding: 8-55; Community, Culture & Conservation or Proyecto Asís & Luna Nueva: no age limit (under 5 free.) For those outside of the age recommendations or if there is an adult accompanying a minor child, we ask that you request and sign a special Waiver form for such cases
The maximum weight limit for whitewater rafting, canyoneering and horseback riding is 200 lbs. We may also cancel any client seen unfit to do a tour for their own safety and/or the safety of clients and guides. Clients must not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
We recommend closed-toe shoes for hikes, horseback & canyoneering. For rafting, clients should be able to swim.
Do not take valuables on our tours such as jewelry, money, cameras or passports. Desafío Adventure Company and its affiliates are not responsible for lost, broken or stolen items. We have a lost & found box for our tours & services and donate items after 2 weeks left behind.
Payment Policies
All tours must be prepaid: Prepayment can be made in US dollars, Costa Rican colones, credit card via a signed credit card authorization form (Visa/Mastercard/American Express). Credit cards are charged once the authorization form has been received in our office. Your reservation is not confirmed until we acknowledge receipt of credit card authorization form.
Confirmation subject to availability: Due to our small, personalized tours, we cannot guarantee your reservation until we have confirmed receipt of your payment.
If payment is made via deposit, wire transfer or credit card. Please send deposit slip as confirmation of pre-payment. Direct deposits can be made to our Banco Nacional de Costa Rica colones account: 100-01-057-1424-3 or dollars account: 200-02-057-0379-3.
Cancellations for day tours must be made no later than 48 hours prior to the service. For package tours cancelled less than one-month in advance, we cannot give a full refund as many hotels do not allow for short-notice cancellations (see policy below.) No refunds for no shows.
Payment policy for package tours:
Payment policy for package tours is 50% at booking and the remaining 50% one month before the start of the tour package.
Up to 31 days before tour starts: refund of 50% deposit minus 10% administrative fee
30 to 2 days before tour starts: 40% (the 60% we keep would cover the hotel costs which are usually 40-50% of the total package price plus 10% for administrative costs)
IMPORTANT: Any cancellation by a client must be made in writing and acknowledged by Desafio Adventure Company. The date on which the request to cancel is received by us will determine the cancellation charge applicable.
Book this Tour
Now that you’ve learned about all of the “Seriously Fun” things you can do in Costa Rica, let us help you book your vacation. Here are a few options on how to make your reservations:
1:
Request our reservation form and send it to our office by fax, scan or email it along with your credit card information and handwritten signature.
2:
Call us at from the US or Canada (00)506-2479-9464, toll free from US & Canada 1-866-210-0052 or Skype “desafiocostarica” to speak with a live representative.
You will still need to fill-out a reservation form or book online.
3:
For an online reservation for this tour, we need to first confirm that there is space available. Please fill-out the following form and we will confirm as soon as possible:
Or, feel free to write us an e-mail, so we can customize the perfect vacation for you: info@desafiocostarica.com