The Transat Jacques Vabre 2009

The Transat Jacques Vabre 2009, a trans-Atlantic boat race where around 30 ships from different European countries will compete to cross half the world. Costa Rica will be the last stop for these competitors, and the country is expecting roughly 15.000 spectators on the Caribbean coast. There will be festivities planned around the race’s finish line, including live music, concerts, and several other events.

Jacques Vapillon – DPPI

Costa Rica is expecting the firs competitor to arrive around November 22, 2009, and tourist around November 20th staying until November 30th. This international event, the regatta, which takes place every two years, will end when the last ships arrives to the finish line. It will begin on November 8th on Port of Le Havre of Normandy, and will end in Port Limon, Costa Rica, navigating around 4.340 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean (France to the Americas).

Plan your trip to Costa Rica. Visit Banana Adventure Tours.

Link: Read more

Top 10 biking cities in the US

Biking Step by Step is a mountain biking blog for Costa Rica; however, we are interested in all the best places where mountain bike can be done and the best biking cities in the world. This time we have a small list of the top 10 biking cities in the United States:

1. Davis, California
2. Boulder, Colorado
3. Corvallis, Oregon
4. Madison, Wisconsin
5. Palo Alto, California
6. Portland, Oregon
7. San Francisco, California
8. Tucson/Pima Eastern Region, Arizona
9. Eugene, Oregon
10. Chicago, Illinois

This list was created by the The League of American Bicyclists. There are many races and recreative biking routes organized by this leage. To read more go to Americas Best and Top Ten.

If you are planning your next vacations to Costa Rica, plan your trip with www.bananaadventuretours.com.

Biking in Corcovado

Osa Peninsula, located on the south part of Puntarenas Province (Pacific side) is home of Corcovado National Park and other smaller reserves created to protect the intense biodiversity of the area. It is called by some the open zoo of Costa Rica or the National Park of the world. Osa Peninsula and its many town Puerto Jimenez are very far away, and tourist should plan at least 3 days in the area to be able to enjoy some of the wonders it has to offer.



There are many biking routes in Corcovado area (Osa Peninsula); however, some of them are not very known. Some tour operators use the great landscaped and natural wonders of the area included in the mountain bike tours; including the beutiful river of Sierpe (65 km), Bahia Drake, Puerto Escondido, the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve, Cabo Blanco and the small town of Puerto Jimenez. Normally these tours take from 3 to 5 days, pedaling around 50 km per day. Other are multisport tours that include kayaking, snorkeling and mountain bike.

When coming to Costa Rica make sure you visit this area; to plan your trip visit www.bananaadventuretours.com.

Enlace: Visit Costa Rica

Biking in Tortuguero

Tortuguero is a wet land area protected by a National Park where thousands of sea turtles come to nest every year. There are not trails made specificly for biking, and it is not an area know by the prescense of mountain biking tours. However, local people sometimes uses bikes to move around the so called barras, hotel properties, the beach or in town.


There are also multi sport tours that include many interesting sports and the area of Tortuguero. For example, the tourte Turrialba - Tortuguero, which has mountain bike, hiking, white water rafting and river kayak.

Link: Multisport Tour

Visit Costa Rica

La Vuelta de La Soledad, 2009

La Vuelta de La Soledad is a great ride that takes place every years. The mountain bike race will take place at Playa Samara - Puerto Carrillos, at the Peninsula de Nicoya, Guanacaste, on october 3, 2009. The registration fee is c 40.000 per person, and it includes the event shirt, numbers, chip, insurance, 5 hidratation points, buses, atvs, mecanic asistant, and various raffles. For more informations please write to ciclo.guilly@hotmail.com, or the web page www.lasoledadmtb.com.

Link: Visit Costa Rica

Ride Puntamaleña

Ride Puntamaleña (Cortes - Uvita) will take place at Ciudad Cortes, especificly from San Buenaventura to Tres Rios de Coronado, then move off the beaches of Ventanas, Piñuelas, Ballena and Chaman and to finish at the Uvita school La Flor de Bahia. The distance of the race is 45 km, and there will be different categories such as juvenil, élite, veteranos A, B y mujeres, with three winner for each category. The date of the race is October 11, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. The registration fee is c 5.000 per person; includes security, raffles, refreshments, and Red Cross.


The invitation is made by the Cycling Committee of Ciudad Cortes and the Cantonal Committee of Sports and Recreation of Osa. For more information please contact ccarranza02@gmail.com, ronajera@ice.co.cr, johelvm@live.co.

Link: Visit Costa Rica

More information

I Recreativa Quebradilla – Cartago 2009

The I Recreativa Quebradilla – Cartago 2009, will take place on Octubre 4th, 2009 at 9 a.m. Please register at Ciclo Mania, Ciclo Alex (Tobosi), Ciclo Gerald (Quebradilla), Libreria Gonzalez or to the phone numbers: (506) 2273-6071 or (506) 8886-0909. Rider can also register at the race date. The route is 36 km approximately, with panoramic View to San Jose and Cartago, 2 help place, refreshments and fruits, T-Shirts for the first 100 participants , with the registration to participate in the raffle for a bicycle, consolation prizes, snack, Red Cross Police officers, guides and guarded parking for the entire event.

There will also be a concert with VOX FM from 11 am to 2 pm, typical meals, entertainment for the passengers (football games), Exhibition of bicycles and others. For more information please call the phone (506) 2573-6071 and (506) 8886-0909 with Mrs. Ruth Barahona or Mr. Edwin Monge.

Link: Visit Costa Rica

More information

I Clasica Eco-Turistica de Mountain Bike

The I Clasica Eco-Turistica de Mountain Bike "La Conquista del Maquenque" will take place on sunday September 27, 2009. The race will begin at 8:00 a.m. from Veracruz de Pital, San Carlos, and the long ride will be of 60 km, (the short ride will be 25 km). The registration fee is c 6.000 per person. The price includes assitance (3 spots), paramedics (3 spots), mecanics (3 spots), check point (3 spots), motos, ATV, lunch, T-shirts for the first 350 people who register, a boat tour in San Carlos River (150 spots), raffles, and much more. Security garanteed.



There will be other events associated with the race, such as a dance with the music group Marfil on September 26 at Rancho Toños, and promotions for tours and hotels. The race has the main objective of promoting the Lapa Verde conservation at the Maquenque Wildlife Refugee. For more information go to www.laconquistadel maquenque.com

Link: Visit Costa Rica

III Tila Ride

On September 20, 2009, the III Tila Ride will take place. Get to ride your bike from Tilaran to Guanacaste. The race begins at 9:00 a.m. at the west side of Tilarán Central Park, in front of the Ciclo Tila. The registration fee is c 4.000 per person. The distance of the race 35 to 40 km. For the first 160 people to register there will be T-shirts, brazalets, numbers, raffles, fruits, refreshments, among others. For more information contact Ciclo Tila (506) 2695-6540 with Alvaro Herrera, or to the e-mail ciclotila@hotmail.com.

Link: Visit Costa Rica

II Recreativo de las Flores

The II Recreativo de las Flores is a Mountain Bike Race that will take place in Heredia (San Pablo y San Rafael) on September 20, 2009. There will be a short race of 20 km, and a long race 35 km. It will begin from Skorpio Gym to Plaza Heredia, and the starting time is 9:00 a.m. The registration fee is c 5.ooo per person. The price includes 300 shirts for the first 300 people to register, bike raffle, fruits and refreshments. For more information call (506) 2260-2510, or write to info@gymskorpio.com.

Link: Visit Costa Rica

The best least visited places in Costa Rica

When booking a vacations to visit Costa Rica, many people just search for the most visited sites in the country, including San Jose, Arenal, Monteverde, Tamarindo, Manuel Antonio, and Tortuguero. However, there are so many other wonderful places in the country that are less visited but that have a lot to offer. This places are particularly nice for people who would like to enjoy the nature and culture of the country without so many tourists around; a more real untouched experience of Costa Rica. Among those places are: Volcán Tenorio (Bijagua), Orosi (Cartago), Turrialba, Grecia and Sarapiquí.

1. Volcan Tenorio: Located between the provinces of Alajuela and Guanacaste, close to the town of Bijagua. This volcano is part of the Tenorio National Park, and it is known by its wonderful turquoise waters, due to a whimsical combination of pure river water and volcanic minerals. There are few hotels around the area, and among the main activities that can be enjoyed are horseback riding, hiking, canopy and rural tours, among others.




2. Orosi: Located in the Cartago province, is home of one of the oldest church in the country. Close to the small town of Orosi the National Park tapanti can be found. This national park is important because of the great amount of rainfall of the area. It is a land full of beautiful rivers and lush green forests. There are many things that can be done in the area, among which are hot springs, ATV, horseback riding, hiking, white water rafting, etc.

3. Turrialba: Located also the in Cartago province, it is a town which has grown a lot. It is a city of adventure, due to the great amount of adventure tours that can be enjoyed in the area. Everything you are looking for concerning adventure and nature can be found here. There are many hotels in the area, and restaurants. The Turrialba Volcano began its volcanic activity again recently, which makes the town more interesting.

4. Grecia: Located in the Alajuela province, it is a town not so far from San Jose. Although the town is not a very touristic destiny, it has many activities to offer. A gorgeous waterfall called Toro Amarillo Waterfall is close by and there are rappeling and conopy tours around. There is also white water rafting and some other adventure activities available.

5. Sarapiqui: It is located in the Heredia province, around 1 hour and a half from San Jose. It is a great place to stop on your way either to Tortuguero or Arenal. Among the activities that can be enjoyed in the area are white water rafting at Rio Sarapiqui, hiking, hanging bridges, and horseback riding.

Link: Visit Costa Rica

Top 7 Costa Rica Touristic Destinations

Costa Rica is a small country that has a lot to offer. Visitors can find beautiful beaches on the Pacific or Caribbean sea, volcanoes, amazing rivers, lush green forests, and a lot of different activities to enjoy the entire vacations. There are so many beutiful places in Costa Rica that is hard to chose the most amazing one, so we decided to make a small list of the top 7 most visited destinations in the country, in no particular order:



1. Manuel Antonio - Quepos: Located in the Central Pacific side of Costa Rica, at the Puntarenas Province. Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the most visited parks in the country and it has a lot to offer. There are great tropical beaches, hiking trails and a lot of fauna and flora. It is not difficult to sea monkeys, sloth, many kinds of different birds and reptiles. Moreover, the town of Manuel Antonio has many beautiful hotels, restaurants, bars, etc.

2. Arenal Volcano and Hot Springs: The Arenal Volcano is located in the Alajuela Province at the north of Costa Rica. The main town is called La Fortuna and it is home of the most active volcano in the country: Arenal Volcano. There are many hot springs to enjoy, including Tabacon Hot Springs and Baldi Hot Springs, among others. At La Fortuna there are many wonderful tours such as hiking, horseback riding, ATV, canopy, canyoning and bungee jumping among others.

3. Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve: Many tourist chose to make a combination of Arenal Volcano and Monteverde. Monteverde is located in the Puntarenas Province, and the main town is called Santa Elena. The access to the town is not as easy as other touristic destinations in Costa Rica; there are unpaved road and it is very natural.

4. Tamarindo: Located in the Guanacaste province at the North West part of the country, it is one of the most visited beaches in the country. It is great for surfers and people who enjoy nature in a well develop destiny. It is part of the Gold Coast of Costa Rica, and it is very close to other beautiful beaches.

5. Drake Bay and Corcovado National Park: Located in the south part of Costa Rica, Puntarenas province at Osa Peninsula. It is home of Corcovado National Park, called one of the most biodiverse parts of the world bacause of the great amount of different especies of flora and fauna. It is a great place for nature lovers who prefer a not so busy destination.

6. Cahuita and Puerto Viejo: Located in the limon province, east of Costa Rica. It is a great place for Caribbean Lovers. The towns of Cahuita, Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo are very close by and very visited. Cahuita National Park is available to be visited and the are has one of the most beautiful reefs of the country.

7. Tortuguero: One of the top visited destinations of Costa Rica; it is located in the north east part of Costa Rica on the Limon province. It is a great place to see sea turtle nesting. To arrive to the hotels in the area a boat or a plane has to be taken. It is also a nature gem for nature lovers.

There are many other great places in Costa Rica, among which are Jaco (on of the most visited beaches in the country), Rincon de la Vieja National Park (to see volcanic activity such as boiling mud, fumarolas etc.), and Grecia-Sarchi (great for handcraf buying).

Link: Visit Costa Rica - Plan your trip

Top biking places in Costa Rica

We especialize in biking tours in Costa Rica; we have operators everywhere in the country. Among the top best places to bike in Costa Rica, in no particular order are:

• Guanacaste: Samara Beach is regarded as a particularly suitable area for mountain biking and mountain biking competitions, such as the famous Tour de los Conquistadores which often ends in Samara. Around the Rincón de la Vieja National Park, Pailas sector, north Guanacaste, there is a beautiful route on single track, good for all levels of phisical condition. The route goes through pasture land, spiny cedar tree plantations, pristine jungle and different waterfalls.

• Monteverde: Go through unpaved roads, mountain views, fast heartbeats, and a very different way of seeing Monteverde.
  

• Irazu - Turrialba (White Water Rafting): This route begins on the Irazu volcano downhill and finish at Turrialba.
  

• Arenal - La Fortuna: Biking trips in this area are wonderful, because of the beautiful trail trough forest, the Arenal Volcano and the Lake Arenal.

• Sarapiqui: This is a great route that begins with three kilometers of asphalted road at "Islas del Rio" and then changes to non-asphalted one. The rides goes near the river.
  
  

There are many more routes in the country, going at the central valley, north pacific, and central pacific among others.

Link: Plan your trip

Biking at Isla Chira, Costa Rica

It will take place on September 20, 2009, departing from Parqueo San Nicolas 50 metros oeste de los Tribunales en Calle Blancos, Guadalupe 05:00 AM. Chira Island is located in the Gulf of Nicoya and has an area of 43 km2 and about 2,800 people distributed between the towns of Puerto Bocana, Jicaro, San Antonio, Pochote, Montero and Puerto Palito. The island has over 40 miles of ballast or earth perfect for the practice of MTB!



The ride begins at 05:00 am coming by bus from Costa de Pajaros, where the cycling adventure starts. Bikers will ride about 10 miles to the place where the boats will be waiting. The journey lasts approximately half an hour to Puerto Bocana. Once in the island, again take the bicycle to ride the beautiful roads of the island for another 12 miles to a small beaches on the island.

For more details contact Henry Pérez López Tours y Eventos Bikecr.com SA henry@bikecr.com, or the web site www.bikecr.com.

Enlace: Visit Costa Rica

Top 5 hiking places in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a small country located in Central America. The country has managed to protect a larger proportion of its territory (land and marine) than any other country in the world. Despite its small size, Costa Rica has high levels of biological diversity, including around 12,000 species of plants, 1,239 species of butterflies, 838 species of birds, 440 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 232 species of mammals. The luxurious forests, the varied altitude, many rivers and great volcanoes, makes Costa Rica a top country to enjoy adventure and get in touch with nature.

Costa Rica is a great place to hike, going through beautiful rivers, different types of forests (dry, rain and cloud forest, among others), and wide variety of wildlife that can be seen in their natural environment. For those people who enjoy hiking in the wild nature, and discovering the wonders of this small country, Costa Rica offers a lot. Among the top 5 most touristic hiking places in Costa Rica are:

• Chirripo National Park: Located around 151 km away from San Jose, close to the city of Perez Zeledon (San Isidro del General). It is truly an unique National Park in the country, due to its mist and cold weather, and the flora of the Paramo life zone. Besides the Paramo. It was declared a "Biosphere Reserve" by the UNESCO in 1982, and a year later (1983) was declared a "World Heritage Site".

• Corcovado National Park: located in the Osa Peninsula, south west of Costa Rica. This park, called by some people and open zoo because of its varied fauna, is a place exclusively for conservations goals and scientific investigation. Corcovado has an unusually high level of biological diversity, which provides essential habitat for a number of endemic and endangered species.

• Rincon de la Vieja Volcano – Rincon de la Vieja National Park: located on the Cordillera de Guanacaste, a province of Guanacaste and Alajuela, 27 km northeast of the city of Liberia. Among the highlights of the Rincon de la Vieja National Park include: hot springs, dry forest, volcanic scenery, and many different species of flora.

• Río Celeste – Tenorio Volcano National Park: located between the provinces of Alajuela and Guancaste. The national park protects primary cloud forest and rain forest, with numerous waterfalls, rivers, multiple life zones, thermal hot springs and the beautiful Laguna Danta (Tapir Lake). Among the interest of the park is the Rio Celeste (Light Blue River), Celeste Waterfall, thermal waters gas liberation, Teñideros, all conveyed in the trail called “Los Misterios del tenorio”; and a wide variety of flora and fauna.

• Manuel Antonio National Park: located in Puntarenas province, in the Central Pacific are of Costa Rica. There are several trails and 4 beaches within the park Manuel Antonio, Espadilla, Escondido and Playita; it also has tidal pools for snorkeling.

Link: Visit Costa Rica

Mountain Biking, Rafting and Volcanos

If you are looking for a complete adventure journey, full of amazing landscapes and a combination of Mountain Biking, White Water Rafting at the Río Pacuare (on of the top 10 most scenic rivers for white water rafting in the world), and a night at La Fortuna, home of the most active volcano in Costa Rica (Arenal Volcano), here is the place to begin.



Banana Adventure Tours offers a great tour that combines everything you need, a great adventure experience with amazing scenery and Hot Springs at the end of your trip. This tour is unique in Costa Rica, and requieres of good physical condition. For more information please contact cgoodfellow@bananaadventuretours.com, or go to our main web page www.bananaadventuretours.com.

Top Mountain Biking places in the world

There are many wonderful places to mountain bike in the world. However, we can pinpoint one country and place for each region so that bikers have a wider choice when planning their adventure vacations internationally.

South America: Ecuador is one of the top biking places in the world thanks to the great views, volcanoes, wild trails and adventour landscape, among others.

Central America: Costa Rica has great mountain bike trails around the country. If bikers prefer the Caribbean or Pacific trails, wild or easy trails, flat, curvy or mountainous trails, Costa Rica has it all, north to south and east to west.

North America: there are many places in the United States and Canada that are great for mountain bike, among those places are Virginia, Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, California, South Dakota, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, Montana and New Mexico.,etc.

Erurope: Many countries in Europe are wonderful for mountain biking, but amon the very best are Saalbach (Austria), Chamonix, Les Deux Alpes, and Trois Vallées (all in France).

Link: Read more

Banana Adventure Tours Costa Rica

Top biking cities in the world

Biking is a great excercise and a way to become familiar with a city where you live. There are cities that have been adapted to bikes, promoting this healthy non polluted way of transportation. Among this great biking cities throught the world are Amsterdam (Netherlands), which has 40% of all traffic movements by bicycle, Portland (Oregon, USA), which has a varied bicycle network, about 260 miles, that connects all parts of the city; and Copenhagen (Denmark), which is home to the world's most successful community bicycle program.



Other cities are Boulder (Colorado, USA) with a great public programs for safe biking; Davis (California, USA) with 17% of its residents who commute to work on bikes; Sandnes (Norway), Trondheim (Norway), which invented the worlds first Bicycle Lift (Trampe), and San Francisco (California, San Francisco), Berlin (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), and Basel (Switzerland).

Links: Top biking cities

Bike in Costa Rica

Biking in Arenal, La Fortuna

One of the top places to bike in Costa Rica is Arenal, around the town of La Fortuna. La Fortuna is also a multisport adventure site where visitors can enjoy rappel, canopy, white water rafting, bungee jumping, hiking, and kayak among many others. There are trails for amateurs taking ease one day bike tours at the base of one of Costa Rica top volcanos and the most active one in the country, to hard trails for expert bikers.

Arenal Volcano - CGoodfellow Copyright

There are also multisport packages that include biking and white water rafting in Pacuare River. In the area, visitors can find hotels and accomodations for all budgets. Bikers could also made a combination of biking tour and hot springs in the area. It is truly a great site to bike. To book a trip that include multisport and biking specificly, please contact Banana Adventure Tours at www.bananaadventuretours.com.

Link: Visit Costa Rica

Special Copa Endurance Pipasa Juan Viñas 2009

There will be a VI Special Copa Endurance Pipasa Juan Viñas 2009, that will take place on September 06, 2009 in Juan Viñas. Bikers will begin the race in Barrio San Martin. The distance of the race is 47 kilometers and will go through the following places: Barrio San Martín (Parqueo en la Plaza de Futbol), El Trapiche, Naranjo, Los Potreros, Plaza Maravilla, Ingenio,Santa Cecilia,beneficio, Las Vueltas, Santa Marta, La Gloria, B Cuba, Los Alpes, Bajo Hermes, San Juan Norte, La Victoria, La Española, La Casona and the "Meta" (goal).


There is a registration fee that goes from 7.500 colones before the race or 10.000 colones the day of the race. There will also be winning prices for first, second and third place, but only in categories with more than 20 bikers. The prices will be given out on October 30th. Register online.

Link: Get a biking tour

Mountain Biking in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a biking paradise! here bikers can find nice flat trails, mountain gravel trails, rocky mountain trails, muddy curvy trails and even beautiful trails in the middle of the forest. There are trails for all physical conditions, and bikers can choose among the wide variety of biking tours in the country. These tours can be found from the Guanacaste Province around the beaches, to the beutiful lands of the Alajuela Province close to La Fortuna, Arenal. If bikers prefer a more wild, less visited region, biking tours are offered in the Osa Peninsula. There are also one day biking tour or multi days biking tours.



Costa Rica is also host of various biking races annually. If you like biking and would like to come to Costa Rica an try some of our great routes, please visit our web page: www.bananaadventuretours.com, we can offer you a great vacations and nice biking plus adventure tours package.

Link: Visit Costa Rica