This is Part 3, the final piece from of our things-to-do series. Part 1 covered the water, Part 2 covered activities on land close to Potrero; this last part covers the full-day, do-it-all adventure parks that are worth the longer drive.
Ticos call these places parques de aventura and the concept is simple: instead of booking a zipline tour one day and a horseback ride the next, you buy a single day pass and work through several activities at one property. They're a genuinely efficient way to pack a lot into one day, especially if your stay is short. We have been to Diamante and Rincon de la Vieja both of which were excellent and our kids loved the experience.
Diamante Eco Adventure Park
Diamante sits on the coast at Playa Matapalo, and its signature draw is what it bills as Costa Rica's only ocean-view dual zipline. For most of the ride you're looking out at the Pacific which is a different experience from the usual jungle-canopy ziplines that most parks offer. The day pass bundles in their wildlife sanctuary (rescued sloths, a jaguar, toucans, and more), a cultural tour covering traditional cacao, coffee, and sugarcane production, ATV trails, horseback riding, and a buffet lunch which is very good with plenty of options.
The experience is set up as a genuine full day out and is priced accordingly. They offer various levels of passes depending on your interests, ages of your party etc. The full Adventure Pass was $125 per person at time of writing. Check out their Website for more details.
Congo Trail Canopy Tour: closer option
If Diamante's drive feels like too much for the day you've got, Congo Trail is a smaller, closer version of the same idea, located on the Monkey Trail or about 20 minutes from Potrero. They offer a range of combo options such as zipline canopy tour with ATVs, horseback riding, and a monkey-spotting walk through the forest. This is a solid half-day rather than a full day, and a good option if you want the adventure-park format without committing your whole day to it. Check out their Website for more details.
Rincon de la Vieja: volcano country
Rincon de la Vieja National Park, up near the base of the (still active) volcano of the same name, is roughly an hour or more inland from Potrero. It's a longer drive than Diamante and less polished, but it's a full day built around a genuinely different landscape: hot pools, mud baths, and canopy walks on high swing bridges through cloud forest instead of dry coastal forest.
Several ranches (haciendas) in the area run their own version of a Rincon de la Vieja adventure-park day, each combining the park's natural features with their own activities. Hacienda Guachipelan is one of the better-known: their day pass runs about 8.5 hours and typically includes a zipline through the Rio Blanco Canyon (with rappelling and a Tarzan swing worked in), horseback riding, river tubing down Class III rapids on the Rio Negro, and a soak in the Rio Negro hot springs which offers ten thermal pools plus a mud bath to finish. The river tubing is legit and the rapids are big so it's not for the feint of heart. You will probably get tossed!
You can buy tickets here.
Other ranches in the area (Buena Vista, Sensoria, Blue River) offer similar combinations of hot springs and canopy activities, so it's worth comparing a couple before you book as they vary in exactly what's included and how far you'll drive within the park itself.
A few practical tips
- Closed-toe shoes are non-negotiable at any of these parks because ziplining, ATVs, and horseback riding all require them.
- These are full days. Build in a slow morning after, especially for Rincon de la Vieja given the drive.
- Double-check your travel insurance covers ziplining, ATVs, and rappelling before you book as some policies exclude these as "adventure sports."
- We can arrange these activities on your behalf at no extra charge to you.
Our favorites
For a single unforgettable day, Rincon de la Vieja is worth the extra drive. There's nothing else nearby that combines a volcano, hot springs, and a canyon zipline in one outing. But if you only have a half-day to spare, Congo Trail or Diamante get you most of the same adrenaline without eating your whole afternoon.
That wraps our things-to-do series. If you missed them, Part 1 covers everything in the water and Part 2 covers activities on land close to Potrero. Between all three, you should have more ideas than you'll fit into one trip.
Ready to book your Costa Rica trip?
Casa Roberta and Casa Daniel put you within reach of everything in this series; some of it a walk from the door, some worth the drive. Book direct with us and save on platform fees.
Questions about which of these is worth your time? Reach out - you'll get us, not a call center.