Respected Leader for Costa Rica Adventure & Nature Vacations Since 1991
All other countries: +506 4001-3860
Serendipity: Canopy Tours We've Checked Out
Pure Adrenaline!
And good safety, too
Serendipity Does Not Operate A Canopy Tour - But We Inspect Them
Serendipity uses ziplines with double cables and brakes. Note brake line at the end of the steel cable, a spring to slow down your arrival speed
What Serendipity Looks For
With over 100 canopy tours in Costa Rica and no government standards for construction, Serendipity attempts to fill the gap for our guests. Here's our criteria:
Double cables. The lower cable carries the pulley and person. Above that one is the safety cable with a loose-fitting line. This cable only has to work once -- if the primary cable breaks or separates from its anchor. These cables should be connected to different supports (trees or main branches).
Brakes. Canopy tours accommodate people from 30 pounds to over 300 pounds, and the momentum at the arrival platform for a heavy person can crash legs into the platform edge.... Ouch! The braking system is a shock absorber made from a slightly elastic rope, as in the photo.
Harnesses, Gloves, Helmets. Checking how the operator closes the harness, see if the brand name on the harness is an established brand, if the harness shows signs of abrasion. The helmet is really for falling nuts from trees and useful while on the platforms. It should have a chin strap and adjust so it doesn't fall forward over the eyes. Gloves with anti-friction padding protect the hands from friction burns if a person grabs the cable to try to slow down.
The most common injuries from canopy tours are burned hands and broken legs or knees.
When you are zipping, your Serendipity guide is right along with you, to check the equipment, to take pictures, to shout encouragement
We're Checking Out the Canopy Guides, Too
Serendipity principal guides -- YOUR guide, goes with you on the cables. Not just to take pictures and offer encouraging words, but also as eyes and ears to check the operation by the canopy guides. Are the carabiners closed? The straps connected -- always -- to either the platform or the cable? Are your helmets still strapped?
The canopy tour guides sometimes get bored, and to enliven their day they "add a thrill" by jerking the cable when a timid person or child sets off. The kid will scream, the guide laughs, and parents spend the rest of the day consoling a terrified child. Serendipity guides on the platform with you make sure this doesn't happen.
Most operators offer to take young children accompanied by a canopy tour guide
And Note What Bad Equipment Looks Like
This equipment would not meet Serendipity standards. No second cable. No gloves.
The child going tandem might have been happier if the person taking her were the Serendipity guide she had become friends with already. Then there is a smile!
And with Serendipity, the canopy tour is usually just a fun way to break up a long drive from one place to another.
What we won't do is compromise on elements that create an unacceptable risk.
While we're at it, let's talk about Risk. It's one of the most important aspects of any adventure. We're proud of our record, and our commitment to setting the standard in Costa Rica for minimizing risk.
It's time to call us.
What made our experience beyond any else we have done is the guides. We hoped they would get us to our adventures and hoped they would teach us/ support us during the adventures. They did this with amazing competence and thoroughness. Our trip was enriched by their personal qualities, experiences, knowledge and passionate connections to Costa Rica-- that each guide shared with us. The personal connections, knowledge and insight I gained on this trip are life changing.
—Cynthia G., Durham, NC, Dec. 2005