El Santuario Canopy Adventure Tour — Attraction in Quepos

Our travel agency booked this tour for us and thus we were unsure who we booked with and what we were going to expect. Needless to say, we were stoked to have El Santuario Canopy Adventure tour be the zip line company we went with within Manuel Antonio! The tour guide that picked us up was soooo funny; it definitely set the tone for the rest of the tour. Upon arriving, we signed a waiver and were quickly guided to the changing station. Every tour guide joked about what we were going to experience which made us feel relaxed and safe. The staff members are all professional, bi-lingual, and certified guides!

We were told that this company hosts the longest dual zip line in Central America and boy, that thing went fast! Along with this perk, El Santuario "has over 3.6 kilometers of total zip line length on 10 lines, 14 tree platforms, 3 nature walks, 6 hanging bridges, a rappel secured by a top and bottom belay and airstairs. "

You'll walk a lot so be prepared to wear sunscreen, deet, and comfortable shoes. We went up and down hills, up and down staircases, traverse shaky bridges situated above grounds, all while still being safely secured to the bridges and zip lines. The property is equipped with a dynamic braking system that provides an extra measure of safety.

On some zip lines, they will ask you whether you want to spin, go upside down, and provide other options. Your choice!

This company is very good at timing the group of parties coming in and out.

Once you've hit the halfway point, you'll be served fresh fruit such as watermelon, papaya, and pineapple as well as water.

When we were there, it started to rain and it was cool to be provided shade from all the trees around. Keep your eyes opened for working ants! There was one rope that was connected to the staircase leading to one of the final zip lines and it had dozens of ants carrying leaves in the rain! It was rather pleasing to see. Your eyes could not pinpoint what was going on with that rope!

The last part, you are belayed down to end the tour but this was the scariest part for me so be prepared if you hate going straight down.

At the end of the tour, we were provided lunch. Note, a vegetarian option is provided. They swap the chicken for more veggies. You'll be served a traditional Costa Rican plate consisting of rice and beans, plantains, veggies, and chicken (but can ask to opt for more veggies).

You also have the option of buying your photos at the end. We bought them for $25.00. The tour guides are taking photos throughout the tour.

All in all, they worked with us to get us back to the hotel on time since we had an appointment right after the tour...we thought we were going to run late since the tour ran later than expected but we made it on time once we addressed the urgency.

Thank you so much El Santuario for making this such a memorable experience!

TIP: If you had an awesome time, at the end of the tour they have a jar for tips. Feel free to tip them since these guys work hard to make this experience one of the best you'll have in...

My husband and I went earlier this week and had so much fun! Right from the start, the team was so accommodating. I tried to book the 2pm tour but it wouldn’t let me because we were a party of 2. I messaged them and they immediately went into the website and made it so I could purchase!!

I am super glad we had them pick us up at the hotel. The location on google maps is not where the actual tour happens. You go about 30 minutes outside of Manuel Antonio/Quepos on a gravel road. I highly recommend you take the bus for the sake of your rental car. Our driver was super sweet. I wish I had smaller bills to tip him in other than 100 colones coins.

We were first taken to an office building where we signed waivers and paid the rest of the cost. We then were ushered back into the van where we headed down that long, gravel road. It was about a 20 minutes outside ride.

When we got there, we were seated at a table with the others in our group. We were given a quick intro about what we could and couldn’t bring (phones can be brought at your own risk! Bring an arm phone case carrier or zippered pockets if you really want to bring your phone). We were told we could put our stuff into this green bench with a lock in it. I was a little nervous seeing it was open to the people in our party. It turned out to be okay, but don’t bring anything too fancy. I’d recommend sunscreen, a small amount of money to buy drinks if needed, your phone, and that’s honestly it. They have bathrooms on-site that you can use before and after.

We put all our gear on and met the team. Every single person was just a joy. They were so nice, calming, and smiling the whole time. They are very serious about safety. They even adjusted my harness mid-activity when I told them it was hurting my back to lean too far back.

We had about an hour and a half of ziplining and crossing hanging bridges. When we got back, we had a fresh dinner waiting for us, which was so good! The chicken literally melts in your mouth.

Photos were free for us because we bought through them directly. The whole thing from pickup to drop off was about 4.5 hours. We got picked up at 1, tour started at 2, dinner at 4, in the van by 4:25! Dropped off at our hotel at 5:15 (we were the second group to be dropped off).

The only reason why I’m giving them a 4/5 is because of the gear. The hats and gloves were very smelly. I could smell the sweat of all the people before me in the gloves and hat. And the scent sticks. My hands are just starting to smell normal again after four hours. My husband’s forehead still smells like the helmet despite washing his head two times. I would probably recommend wearing a bandana of some sort to serve as a barrier, but I don’t really have a solution for the gloves. It also took 72 hours for photos when the man had told us 24. They were very kind when I reached out to ask about it.

All in all, super fun experience! Great staff, super accommodating and kind. They made the experience so great. I’d...

Outstanding in every way! Communication was perfect, I was able to book through WhatsApp by texting their number and speaking with Francesca (who was super nice). I had my own car, so we met at a small, local airport and I followed the tour group through a few miles of palm groves and small family farms on a dirt road that ended at El Santuario on private property. The welcome was wonderful and among the beautiful flowers were tasteful restrooms and a seating area with tables, benches, cold water and juice were provided (and water and fruit was during the activity).

We were all fitted with gear and then we hopped into vans or back of a truck to head to the foot of the course. There was a brief but necessarily informative safety lesson, and then we were on our way! I’m pretty sure there were 10 zip lines altogether with the longest taking over 90 seconds to complete…you can even race someone with parallel lines at one of them, spin around, or even hang upside down! Juan was my amigo and was helpful along the way not only in assisting me to film some great footage, but also as a guide to some local flora and fauna like the endangered “Hot Lips” plant (psychotria sp. elata), a plant with beautiful red flowers used for millennia by indigenous healers who used the plant for a variety of ailments, and the giant but docile banana spider (there ARE venomous varieties, but these were not those).

Any the end, we rappelled down a tall tree and awaited a ride back to base where a delicious home-cooked typical Costa Rican lunch was waiting for us. You can purchase photos that they take along the way of each person or be happy with what you’re able to take. I liked having my phone with me and was able to secure it in zipped pockets, especially when capturing all the adventure and even the occasional blue morpho butterfly!

I definitely recommend El Santuario Canopy Tours. Some of the walking to go from line to line may be difficult for people who have physical limitations. Even though it was warm and humid the day I went (went for the earliest tour at 7:40 AM), I did opt to wear lightweight/quick dry hiking pants and good hiking boots. Some people were wearing shorts and sneakers, which was fine, but I was much more comfortable in more appropriate gear, considering you are in a jungle with all the jungle critters around you! If you visit Manuel Antonio (which you SHOULD!), definitely check them out for a once in a lifetime treat that you’ll...