Aerial Tram

[South Palm Cruiser]

We are booked on the Carnival Freedom, 8 day Western itinerary. Have reserved Aerial Tram in Limon, Costa Rica - thoughts / info from anyone who has done this would be awesome - thanks in advance for your replies

[Lsimon]

We did this trip a few weeks ago. When I researched it I didn't see a lot of positive comments and was a bit leery. We ended up going anyways to join some good friends on the excursion. We had a great time.

 

I was leery about the bus ride but there was a guide on the bus who gave a great narrative about Costa Rica, the countryside we were passing, information about the banana and pineapple industry (we passed a lot of plantations) and about life there in general. It made the time go fast.

 

On arrival we split up into groups of about 15 or so and were each assigned a guide for a 40 minute walk through the rain forest. The forest there was fantastic and the guide was very good. I've been to other rain forest areas and this area of Costa Rica was what I've always imagined a rain forest would look like. The walk seemed to pass very quickly.

 

After the walk we were loaded on the tram. The tram traveled slowly and stopped, or slowed down, each time they unloaded a car. You travel about a mile on one level, about the middle of tree height for about a mile. Then you travel back at a level about the height of the tree top canopy.

 

After this the there is a very nice buffet lunch with some nice local fruits, juices and salads as well as hot dishes. There is a gift shop there which seemed a little pricey but it had some very nice items.

 

If I had any advice it would be to dress warmer than you'd expect it to be. We were comfortable in shorts and polo shirts but would have been more comfortable in long pants. I guess the area is at higher altitude than the coast. Also if you have any light rain gear, like a jacket or poncho, bring it along. Also bring some insect repellent - a small can or some wipes would do. It is a rain forest so it does rain often (very short showers). If you don't bring something you'll probably buy a cheap poncho there - I think they were $10 or $15. We bought some and ended up being in only a short light shower. We didn't use any insect repellent and did not get any bites which surprised me as we did see a few mosquitoes and I'm very prone to getting bitten when they are around. Event though we didn't get bitten I thing I would have felt a bit more at ease if we'd had some repellent - especially after I saw our guide using some.

 

Again - I really enjoyed this trip and I'm not easily pleased with touring type trips as opposed to water/beach activities.

 

There are some photos here:

http://simon-pics.smugmug.com/gallery/7889855_RRT2s#511615759_faApY