by Shannon Farley
Looking for what shore excursions to choose on your cruise to Costa Rica? I always recommend what Costa Rica is most famous for – its rainforest and nature.
At your Caribbean port of call in Limon, Costa Rica, one of the best Costa Rica shore excursions to experience the rainforest and its exotic wildlife is Veragua Rainforest Eco-Adventure.
On cruise ship stops, you normally only have time for a half-day tour, or maybe a full-day tour. The nice thing about Veragua Rainforest Eco-Adventure is that it is located less than an hour away from the pier at Limon. You have minimal travel time, which means more time in the rainforest.
This is real rainforest, not contrived. Veragua Rainforest’s 3,212-acre (1,300-hectare) park is set in the Caribbean coastal mountains bordering the renowned La Amistad International Park. Howler and white-faced monkeys roam the treetops. Hundreds of species of tropical and migratory birds fly through the forest. Brightly colored poison-dart frogs hop along the forest floor.
The award-winning adventure park design at Veragua gives you the most complete rainforest experience possible in a Costa Rica day tour. In addition to being a tourist attraction, important national scientific research is conducted here by Veragua’s team of on-site biologists.
You can choose either a half-day tour (pier-to-pier 5½ hours) or full-day tour (pier-to-pier 7½ hours) for your Limon shore excursion at Veragua. Both tours include a fascinating aerial tram ride through the rainforest canopy, walking trails along a river under giant trees to a beautiful waterfall, and interesting interactive wildlife exhibits: the largest indoor nocturnal and diurnal frog exhibit in the world, reptile and insect areas, and a huge butterfly garden filled with some of the world’s most colorful butterflies including the famed electric-blue Morpho. Veragua Rainforest is completely accessible for disabled visitors.
The full-day tour adds the exciting zip-lines of The Original Canopy Tour®, which has been featured on Discovery Channel, National Geographic and Travel Channel. Lunch is included on the full-day tour.