I visited Veragua Rainforest Research and Adventure park with a group of university students sailing with the Semester at Sea program. We had an excellent day at the park and learned much about the magnificent flora and fauna of Costa Rica. I think the park does a brillant job of providing a first-class educational experience combined with the thrill of ziplining through the rainforest. Be sure to save enough time for the amazing displays and exhibits as well as the aerial tram. Highly recommended.

This place is very well done. We had a guide take us through all the exhibits and she was very knowledgable and fun. We loved the butterflies. The aerial tram was amazing over the tree tops. Great for all ages. My 84 yr old mom and 13 yr old daughter both loved it. Husband and kid ziplined and said it was better then they had ever done!

This is one of the most beautiful countries I've ever seen. It is lush and tropical. We took a private tour up to the Veragua rain forest using OkeyDokey Tours (http://nanada.com/tours/index.htm). They were pretty good. The tour guide was cute and told us all about his mother-in-law. The ride up was terrible. It took about 1 1/2 hours and the last third was over unpaved roads. We were in 10 passenger vans. I don't know how the big buses make it up here. However, once we got up there it was wonderful. There is about a 20 minute cable car ride down into the rain forest, about a 20 minute walk thru the rain forest, and then about a 20 minute cable car ride back up. We saw Toucans, monkeys, leaf-carrying ants, and all sorts of other stuff. We had a wonderful guide thru the rain forest. When we got back up they took us thru exhibits showing the native frogs, amphibians, snakes, butterflies, and insects. It was quite a wonderful experience and SHOULD NOT BE MISSED!!!!! For the more adventurous, there is zip-lining up there as well. Note that admission to the park is $40 per person for groups of 10 or more, and $55 per person for smaller groups. Admission was included in the price of the tour ($90 per person.) On the way back down, our tour guide stopped at some places and brought out various native herbs and plants for us to smell and look at. One of the more interesting things was a plant which looked something like an orange coconut. He opened it up and inside was a pod of very large seeds covered in an edible stuff. They dry the stuff off, roast the beans, and grind them. And that's how you make chocolate. Afterwards they took us for lunch to a restaurant in this really idyllic cove. You felt like you were in paradise. The food was local fare and very interesting. Back in the port there were vendors selling souvenirs. This was the best shopping of the entire trip. These were all local people selling local crafts at very reasonable prices.

We exited the ship in Puerto Limon and took a 1 hour bus ride through the neighboring farm lands. The guide was helpful in pointing out local facts of life, and the people although living a hard life, were very friendly. The kids in particular smiled broadly and waved at the passing bus.
The land is a verdant tropical paradise. As we went up the mountainside to our destination, the population thinned and the views becam more like a Jurrasic Park primieval feel. Really magnificent stuff. We Also were very lucky in that it did not rain ( the area gets more than 15 feet annuallly!!!)
The Park itself is fantastic. We got to see the Biology Center where they collect and study local wildlife looking for changes in the environment. Our guide, named Hurben, was very knowledgeable and spoke English fluently.
We saw in exhibits and in a walking tour lots of frogs, snakes and butterflies. There is a netted Butterfly House that is amazing in the diversity of types that exist as native species.Truly beautiful.
We then proceeded to take an aerial tram down to the canopy floor. We saw a couple of sloths and a white hawk but not a lot of other large animals. We did a 350 step walk through the rainforest to a waterfall that has a viewing platform. It was really a nice photo spot.
Returning back to the Biology Center we enjoyed a light lunch and some terrific local fruits. There is a small gift shop and then we headed back to the ship. This is a trip that is worth the time and mone, especially if like me, this is your 1st rainforest experience.