Amazing Water Adventures Await You in Costa Rica

On September 9, 2011, In Outdoor Adventure Travel, Water Adventures, By Sylvia Arad

Costa Rica offers a wide array of water adventures and water-related sports.  The country’s 1200 km coastline affords some of the best water sports beaches offering surfing, snorkeling, board surfing and scuba diving, while inland rivers and rainforests are packed with boating, kayaking and white water rafting adventures.

Surfing, Snorkeling and Scuba Diving

Some of the world’s best year-round surfing lures water enthusiasts to Costa Rica.  From mid-December to April, during the country’s summer, the most popular surfing location is on Costa Rica’s northern Pacific coast.  Tamarindo, a small beach community, boasts beach surfing, river mouth surfing and some challenging surfing opportunities around the area’s well-known reefs.

Surfing on Costa Rica's Pacific Coast

On the Caribbean coast, Play Cocles is a favorite with surfers and in a remote and peaceful setting on the southern Pacific coast, Matapalo on the Osa Peninsula proffers world class surfing.  This is also the best region for scuba diving and snorkeling.  Drake Bay, on the northern tip of the Osa Peninsula, features crystalline clear blue waters where corals, several species of crustaceans and three species of dolphins reside.  Octal, on the Gulf of Papagayo, offers diving courses as well as great snorkeling and fishing adventures.  Water activities like the above range from relaxing getaways to high adventures in the depths of the Costa Rican underwater world.

Snorkeling in Calm Blue Waers

Rafting and Kayaking

From low impact, pleasant gliding and kayaking across calm, tropical waters to tackling with water challenges on class III and IV river rapids, Costa Rica has it all.  The Pacuare, Sarapiqui and Corobici Rivers are great destinations for unforgettable water adventures. 

The Pacuare River is divided into 3 sections, from easy gliding to high adventure rapids.  Surrounded by dense, tropical rainforest in the Guanacaste region, the Tenorio River offers high adventure with some of the most exhilarating white water rafting challenges.  Advanced rafters have the opportunity to tackle class III and IV river conditions in a 15 mile fast flowing wild and untamed white water adventure.

Pacuare River Rafting

If the thought of rafting down fierce white water rapids while holding on for dear life is not for you, then a pleasant glide down the Corobici River may be your style.  Situated in the lush rain and mangrove forests, the Corobici River provides on of the calmest rafting adventures through stunning scenery and fascinating wildlife viewing opportunities.  With flora including ceiba and mahogany trees, wild birds of paradise and over 300 species of birds, howler and white faced monkeys, iguanas and lizards, Rio corobici in Guanacaste features one of Costa Rica’s most picturesque riverscapes and offers a memorable adventure for the entire family.

The Calm Waters of the Corobici River

Wild Bird of Paradise - Gorgeous!

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Unique Vacations in Montenegro

On September 3, 2010, In From Rails to Sails: Europe Go Travel Direct with Kids, Outdoor Adventure Travel, Water Adventures, By Sylvia Arad

Quaint little Montenegro has come out of its Yugoslav shadow with a personality all its own.  Sandwiched between Serbia and Albania, and just an hour away from Dubrovnik this small country is a land of amazing diversity, with plenty of sights, scenery and adventure to go around.

Charming Budva

The sapphire- blue Adriatic and Montenegro’s 182 mile-long lauded shoreline, to the backdrop of spectacular mountain ranges, proffers pristine beaches, secluded coves and rocky headlands.  Historic walled towns punctuate the coastline with Budva at the heart of the Montenegro riviera-like coast.  A blend of ancient and modern, Budva’s stari grad (Old Town) features charming shops and medieval churches, the oldest, the Church of St. Ivan’s dating from the 7th century.  A span of medieval wall and charming old houses, clustered together on close-knit streets reveal the town’s heritage as a former outpost of the Venetian Empire.  Budva’s lively modern town boasts a glamorous marina with delightful sidewalk cafes and a sweep of exclusive sandy beaches comparable only to France’s Riviera.

Kotor

Picturesque Kotor with its walled Old Town, a labyrinth of cobbled alleyways linking small squares with ancient churches and former aristocratic mansions, nestles at the head of its eponymous bay and boasts Montenegro’s most spectacular setting.  Bordering the town, the dramatic Bay of Kotor, southern Europe’s deepest fjord, is a winding channel leaving its mark on Montenegro’s splendid coastline.

Kotor Bay

While the seaside, with its host of water sports on offer- sailing, scuba diving, snorkeling or just relaxing – is the main draw for visitors, Montenegro also has much to offer inland.  In a setting of dramatic mountains with lush pine forests dotted with lakes you find Montenegro’s foremost natural wonder – its giddy-deep Tara Canyon.  Set in the pristine mountainscape of Durmitor National Park, the Tara River Canyon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lays claim to being the second largest canyon in the world, topped only by the Grand Canyon.  Baffling though it may be, few outside the Balkans have heard of this amazing gorge.

Rafting in the Tara Canyon

This 85 km long canyon, 1300 m. at its deepest, is punctuated by a sculpture of rapids, narrow passes, massive obstacles and deep abysses.  The canyon draws nature lovers and adventure seekers, its main attraction being rafting and floating on the river.  Intrepid travelers  can glide down the canyon on rafts made of single logs bound together, or you can admire this creation of nature from the Durdevica Tara Bridge, the main crossing point which spans the divide in spectacular fashion.  You’ll feel lightheaded just viewing this canyon from the walkway while listening to the gurgling, echoing chasm below.

Venture into Montenegro and you step into condensed adventure.  Explore fascinating historical towns sailing or boating down the Adriatic’s beautiful coast; relax on its lovely beaches; bike through boundless highlands around Montenegro’s lakes and experience the thrills of whitewater rafting down the Tara River Canyon.  These are just several of the many highlights this tiny country offers up for the taking.

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Adventure Outdoors in Bled and its Surroundings

On August 31, 2010, In Biking & Hiking, From Rails to Sails: Europe Go Travel Direct with Kids, Outdoor Adventure Travel, Water Adventures, By Sylvia Arad

Town of Bled on Lake

Nothing prepared us for the beauty of Slovenia’s Bled and Lake Bled.  A small town in northwest Slovenia, Bled’s claim to fame is its lovely picturesque lake and the thermal springs which have earned it exclusive spa resort status.  To boot, a wealth of outdoor adventure travel activities are on offer here and in the surrounding area. 

Lake Bled

Lake Bled, the jewel in the crown, is a picture of near perfection, a  tiny island perched in its  center and its castle, guarding the lake protectively from a high crag above.  This beautiful lake, which is quite small, affords one of the most relaxing and lovely walks around its banks where one can take in the spectacular scenery.  A visit to the church on the island is a must – public transportation is available by motorboat or gondola, but hiring a boat and rowing out is a much more satisfying and exciting experience.  Overlooking the lake and perched atop a cliff, Bled Castle offers  amazing views of the whole of the lake and the many valleys in the background.

Lake Bled and Castle ABove

 

Vintgar Gorge

Vintgar Gorge

A short drive from Bled, you come upon Vintgar Gorge, an impressive canyon whose wooden walkway built into the rock crisscrosses the Radovna River and affords great views of cascading falls and rapids.  Walk in these beautiful surroundings, with the refreshing mist of the river spraying your face or take an easy white water rafting trip down the  nearby river rapids.  Vintgar Gorge is a superb place for adventure outdoors!

 

 

 

Postojna Caves 

Inside Postojna Caves

The Postojna Caves, a mere half hour’s drive from Bled, are without a doubt some of the most spectacular caves to visit.  A small train takes you through approximately 4 km of the caves, where gallery after gallery of incredible rock formations in hues of black, red and bluish white astounded us. Spaghetti-like stalactites dangle from above while stalagmites appear as if candles melting in Gaudi-like structures, and in the background the oohs and aahs of spectators left gasping by the spectacle.  Thin calcite curtains appear as fragile as to give an impression of fluttering voile cloth.  Where the train ends, a tour on foot continues and takes you to the second of the cave’s highlights – a view of the Proteus Anguinus – the human fish, a remarkable tiny albino creature found only in these caves.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ljubljana 

Ljubljana on the Ljubljianca River

Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital is only an hour’s drive away.  This is a great city, small enough to explore on foot, yet classically European.  Stroll its quaint streets; hike up to its castle, visible from almost anywhere in town; enjoy the lovely houses in Tarnovo and Krakova neighborhoods as you wander along the banks of the Lubljanca.  Ljubljana is first and foremost, though, an outdoor town.  Let the sun shine and the city’s many nature lovers are out walking, hiking, cycling and roller blading.

Bled and its surroundings, the wonderful, unspoilt mountains, ,its towns and  even its  capital city all  present the best that nature, in all its splendor, has to offer.  The myriad of relaxed recreation, activities and scenery in this region of the Balkans offer some of the best adventure travel holiday’s   families can imagine.

Human Fish

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