Costa Rica is the perfect destination for anyone, but especially with teens in tow.  There are so many adventurous activities that one can never run out of things to do!  From hiking, surfing, swimming in waterfalls, ziplining, riding ATVs, and white water rafting, this will probably be rated “the best trip ever!”  We took our teens, plus traveled with another family with teens, to Costa Rica for our spring break one year.  Below, we share eight amazing adventures to have while in Costa Rica.

About Costa Rica

Costa Rica is located in Central America with Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the south, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.  The climate is warm and tropical with a rainy season (December to April) and a “dry season” (April to December), although the rainforest is always lush and green.  

Costa Rica, located in Central America

Eight Great Things to do in Costa Rica

Ziplining

Ziplining is one of the most popular activities in Costa Rica.  The beautiful rainforest is the perfect place to soar along on cables high above the jungle canopy.  We ziplined with EcoGlide, located in La Fortuna.  

The crew at EcoGlide was great.  They fitted us with helmets and harnesses and walked us through the procedure of ziplining on a low cable line to start.  From there, we boarded a truck with bench seating for our group and drove our way up into the jungle.  The crew was engaging and friendly.  We highly recommend ziplining with EcoGlide!

Ziplining is a must in Costa Rica

Trek Across Hanging Bridges

Hanging bridges are all over Costa Rica, as it’s how people can move about in the jungle without disrupting the flora and fauna.

We visited Mistico Hanging Bridges as the first of three stops of the day with Green Vacations.  One of the highlights of this stop was seeing so many animals here in their natural habitat.  Our guide pointed out the animals to us as we moved about the jungle.  Our untrained eyes would have definitely missed many of them!  While here, we saw sleepy sloths, active monkeys, snakes resting on the tree bark, birds flitting about, and a tarantula sitting in a deep hole!  

Walking across the hanging bridges is also a really fun experience!  Just some wobbly wires to take you from one side of the jungle to the next, across waterfalls, rivers, and tree canopies with amazing animals all around.  

Hike at Arenal Volcano

This was the second stop of the day with Green Vacations on our three stop tour.  Our guide took us among lava rocks, through various vegetation, and to lookouts with great views of Arenal Volcano.  She also stopped periodically to teach us about the area as well as the eruption of Arenal Volcano in 1968.  Many lives and homes were lost but this sad situation turned into a positive one over time.  People began arriving into Costa Rica by the busload to check out the eruption for themselves and to soak in the hot springs heated by the volcanic activity.  Costa Ricans appreciated the happiness exhibited by these tourists as well as the boost in the economy.  This detrimental situation ended up being the catalyst for modern day tourism in Costa Rica.  

Hiking at Arenal Volcano

Swim in a Waterfall

We recommend the Green Vacations full day tour which includes three stops, with Fortuna Waterfall being one of them.

This was the last stop of the day for us during our three stop tour and it was fabulous to end it with swimming in a waterfall!  The water was cool but it felt refreshing after our day of hiking in the hot sun.  There is a beautiful, calm area to the left of the waterfall which is shallow and has slow moving water, perfect for smaller kids.  Keep in mind, the only way up after you’re done swimming is climbing back up 500 stairs.  When we reached the top, I had climbed 91 flights that day (noted by my Apple Watch), between all the hiking and climbing of these stairs!

All of us had fun swimming the waterfall!

Go on an ATV Tour

What teen doesn’t like driving?!  If they are 16 years old they can operate an ATV in Costa Rica.  We opted to take 2 side-by-sides that seated 4 people each.  We were very glad to have done this as it was just our two vehicles and our guide leading the way on his own ATV.  

On this tour, we drove through the jungle on dusty roads, past howler monkeys growling high up in the trees.  

We also had a short stop at a beautiful beach, which was a welcomed rest break.

Whitewater Rafting

If you find yourself in Costa Rica during the rainy season, April to December, one of the perks is that it’s an excellent time to go white water rafting.  The copious amount of rainfall make this one of the top things to do in Costa Rica.  One can do Class I & II rapids which is more like a river float (great for small kids) or for the more adventurous ones in your group, Class III, IV, & V rapids! 

The Pacuare River, located east of San Jose, is rated as one of the top ten rivers in the world to go white water rafting.  There are many places throughout the country to go white water rafting, however!

Surfing

The Pacific coast of Costa Rica reigns supreme in terms of world class surfing.  The Gaunacaste area is home to fabulous surf breaks.  This is a great place to take some lessons or just to watch the incredible surfers!

Rappelling a Waterfall

Still need more adventure?  How about rappelling down a waterfall!  Also knowing as canyoning, one wears a harness and belays down the waterfall, getting sprayed all along the way.  Just like whitewater rafting, you can find places to do this all over the country and it can generally be done year-round.