Today, 35 years later, Chernobyl and the nearby town of Pripyat, attract thousands of tourists from all over the world.

But what are they touring, exactly? What is there to see and do in Pripyat?

Touring Chernobyl: How to Visit Pripyat

To visit Chernobyl, you’ll need access to the Exclusion Zone.

The Exclusion Zone is an an area of about 2,600 square kilometers (1,000 sq mi) in Ukraine that surrounds the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Can you visit Chernobyl without a guide?

You can only enter the exclusion zone with a licensed guide, meaning you’ll need to take one of the Chernobyl tours available.

You can get tours that range from one day, two days or three days.

The one days tours last about 12 hours, with four hours in transit from nearby Kiev. If you’re in a rush, the one day tours are a great way to get in and out quickly and they’re also your most affordable tour option.

You can also get private Chernobyl tours, which are especially good for photography as they let you take your time to take photos.

While it is possible to visit the area, there are areas in the exclusion zone that are still highly dangerous. A guide can help keep you safe and away from dangerous areas and situations. English guides are plentiful, and while tours include transportation, it’s important to know that you’ll need to go through multiple checkpoints while visiting.

So, what is there to see on a tour of Chernobyl?

Chernobyl is located around 62 miles, or 100 km, from Kiev, Ukraine. It’s about a two hour shuttle ride.

Chernobyl itself is home to the power plant, but the exclusion zone includes a large forest and other towns.

There are plenty of places to visit in the Chernobyl township, from an eerie abandoned kindergarten to forests surrounding the power plant itself.

Pripyat tours

Pripyat (which is also known as Pryp’yat’ or Prypyat) is a ghost city near the Ukraine–Belarus border. The town of Pripyat is about two kilometers from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (ChNPP).

When the Chernobyl disaster occurred, the town of Pripyat was home to around 49,000 people. It was evacuated after the explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in April, 1986 and many of its residents have never set foot in the town since.

While you can’t get too close to the plant or stay too long, there’s a lot to see in the town of Pripyat itself.

For instance, the Pripyat amusement park was set to have its grand opening on May 1st, 1986, less than a week before the explosion. However, it was never officially opened, and to this day it remains a symbol of the disaster in nearby Chernobyl.

There are three abandoned swimming pools in Pripyat, while the Swimming Pool Azure or Lazurny is the most well-known of these.

When’s the best time to visit Chernobyl?

You can visit Chernobyl any time of year.

The clearest weather is in the summer from June to August, but it can be hot, with temperatures often hovering near 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit). Summer’s also the busiest season with tons of visitors and more expensive accommodations.

Fall and Spring are good times to visit, but the weather can be more variable.

Chernobyl is quietest in the winter, and the snow and gloom make for eerie and atmospheric photos however it can get cool with daytime highs around 0 C° (40 F°) and nights around -7 C° (20 F°).

Can you visit the Chernobyl Elephant’s Foot?

The Elephant’s Foot is a nickname for a large column formed underneath the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Its made of corium and other materials, and looks like black glass and bark.

Its wrinkly surface looks a lot like an elephant’s foot, thus the name. The Elephant’s Foot is in a maintenance corridor near the remains of the Chernobyl Reactor No. 4.

Because it’s still highly radioactive, it’s unfortunately not possible to walk up and see the Elephant’s Foot up close.

How safe is a Chernobyl tour?

Licensed Chernobyl tour operators have to follow strict guidelines set out by the governing body. The level of radiation in most areas tour operators are allowed to take you are minimal (less than you get in an airplane and 300x less than a typical xray) and most tours give you a respirator (though they’re not really needed) as well as your own Geiger-Muller dosimeter (Geiger counter) to make sure you stay within safe limits.

Where to stay on a Chernobyl stay?

While there are plenty of places to stay near the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the best hotels will be in Kiev proper. Most people who choose to stay for a one day tour will often stay in Kiev and have their tour operator pick them up directly from their hotel.

While it can make for a longer tour day, Kiev has a huge selection of great hotels to choose from.

If you’re planning a multiple day tour, oftentimes the tour operators will include accommodations or direct you to the hotels they often deal with. You’re best bet if you’re unsure is to talk to your tour operator before booking any tours to make sure your hotel will work for them and for you.

Are Chernobyl tours cancelled?

As of the time of writing this article, tours to Pripyat and Chernobyl are running, but check tour operators directly, as this can change.

In 2020, forest fires near Chernobyl damaged some of the tourist attractions however it didn’t damage the Main Reactor No. 4 so tours can still run.

So we were thrilled when Kamino approached us to share a hike through our new city. Kamino is a great app for travel that lets you make and share urban hikes on your smartphone. While most hikers head out of the city to stretch their legs, Kamino features in town urban hikes with a strong emphasis on local sights and activities.

This suits us fine as we love exploring the cities we stay in when we travel. Whether we’re going for a walk through the colonial centro of Merida in Mexico, checking out a flamenco bar in Seville, strolling through the squares in Madrid, or wandering the maze-like streets of Marrakesh we love walking around town.

It’s a cool concept, so we thought we’d kill two birds with one stone: Check out the Kamino app and explore the beautiful waterfront in Kelowna, British Columbia. Our trip around Kelowna takes you along the waterfront of Okanagan Lake, one of British Columbia’s longest and deepest lakes. Lake Okanagan is even said to have its very own lake monster, a giant serpent-like beast named Ogopogo though it’s been a few years since its last “sighting”. We created our hike to guide you around the festivities on Canada Day, but you could take the walk anytime.

Hint: Our hike may or may not involve ice cream, grilled cheese, an Ogopogo sighting and yoga on a stand up paddle board.

We planned our own trip around our city, but you can also follow someone else’s hike. Like all other Kamino hikes, ours includes photos and a map with GPS to help guide you  around.

First, a few sneak peeks at what we found in Kelowna before we dish a bit more on Kamino.

So, what did we think of Kamino?

I had a lot of fun creating our walk for others. We snapped a few photos and I used the website version of Kamino to upload our photos and map out our walk. With nine stops and a dozen photos, it still only took me about 10 minutes to create our walk for others to use. I was really impressed with how quickly Kamino let me create my hike and even more with how easy it was to go back and edit.

I also browsed the hikes on Kamino and found a few walks that I’d love to try out firsthand. The Local’s Guide to Waikiki, Hot Times in Old Town San Diego and Tokyo for the Food Lover all sound like great walking experiences. Check out the featured hikes and featured hikers list for more inspiration once you have the app installed.

What I liked.

My Verdict?  Kamino is well designed, fast and beautiful to look at. Kamino could definitely be a great tool to use while planning your next trip, especially for travelers who love to explore on foot, like we do.

I’m honestly looking forward to taking Kamino for a spin on our next trip. I would love to use it for a walking tour of a new neighborhood, complete with stops for great coffee shops, parks and hangouts. I usually spend a lot of time mapping out the places we’d like to see on our smartphone and love the idea of having a walking tour already created by fellow travel enthusiasts.

What didn’t we like?

Since Kamino’s a newer app, there aren’t hikes for every city. That said, they seem to be adding walks at a blistering pace: I saw two new hikes go up in the hour after I created ours.

For now, Android lovers are out of luck; there isn’t an Android app for Kamino, though we hear there is one in development.

A Little More About Kamino

Kamino lets you find hikes on the fly, wherever you are, and lets you get insights from travel experts and local gurus on the best hikes in town. You can find hikes tailored to your own interests, whether you’re looking for a dog or kid-friendly hike, or one for a night out with friends.

Coming straight in from Istanbul, it was our first time in an English speaking country in six months. It was also the first time we had been back on Canadian soil for half a year.

As part of the conference, we were invited on a few tours of the city. My favorite was taking a Segway tour with Segway of Ontario in the old Distillery District. Riding a Segway has always been on my To Do list, and I can tell you I’ll be going on a few more Segway tours in the years to come.

The distillery tour also helped open our eyes to just how cool Toronto is.

First up, we traveled the world one oil and vinegar at a time at Crescendo. Their unique and exotic imported oils like hazelnut and argan tasted great paired with balsamic vinegar varieties like raspberry, pomegranate and mango. Crescendo’s infused extra virgin olive oils like the truffle and red pepper made us want to run home and start cooking.

We then had the pleasure to sample some Canadian food at A Taste of Quebec. There we were tempted with three different cheeses hand made in Quebec. The maple variety was especially delicious, and the tasting was even more special because of the beautiful artworks found in the Thomas Landry Gallery (found in the same building).

After our light snack of cheeses we soon found ourselves following our noses to the decadent chocolate at Soma Chocolatemaker. There we were presented with some deliciously rich  chocolate goodies including a mug of of their near famous Mayan Hot Chocolate. The rich flavors of the hot chocolate reminded us of our time in Mexico and their seriously thick A La Taza reminded us of Spain’s ultra thick hot chocolate. Needless to say I was definitely craving a churro to go with it.

Everyone knows chocolate goes great with beer, so a short stop at the Mill St. Brewery was a definite delight. We had the pleasure of sampling four of their in house specialties (Original Organic Lager, Tankhouse Pale Ale, Stock Ale and Micki tried the Balzac’s Coffee Porter). All of them were great and Micki and I seriously considered slipping away from our group and ordering a few rounds on their patio.

Of course if we had done that we wouldn’t have learned the rich history of the Distillery District’s origins, or how the Gooderham and Worts Distillery that the site now occupies was once the largest distillery in the world or how a 19 year old boy was the head brewmaster and introduced the world to what is now known as rye whiskey.

The second day of tours in Toronto was just as interesting as the first (minus the Segways) in that not only did we get a rich backstory of Toronto’s glitzy side but we also got to check out The Fairmont Royal York. This hotel has been front and center with the worlds rich and famous for over 80 years with budding stars, royal elite and Broadway legends all calling it home at some point. Supposedly the place is swarmed during the Toronto Film Festival so if you’re hoping to book then I suggest doing it early.

As part of the Filmed on Location tour we again ended up spending some more time in the Distillery District. This time, we honed in on a few of the places we didn’t see the first time around. One of the places we practically ran to was The Sweet Escape Patisserie where we enjoyed some delicious cupcakes before reuniting with our group. (If we had even a minute more time we would have stopped by Mill St. Brewery again.)

The last place we stopped at definitely hit the multicultural spot again. This time we had the opportunity to try out some delicious locally brewed sake at The Ontario Spring Water Sake Company. Named Izumi, the sake is brewed right in the building. There they explained the sake brewing methods and we were allowed a few tastes of their traditional recipes. It was quite refreshing and a few of the people in our groups became instant fans.

A special thank you to Tourism Toronto, Segway Tours of Toronto and Chris the movie guy for a the great tours. If you ever find yourself in Toronto, make sure you check out the Distillery District and try some of these great places out for yourself.

I exchange a tentative glance with Charles, debating how much I should worry about our little girl’s sudden bond with a 1,000 pound animal. Mohammad, the camel’s handler is completely unfazed by Jordan’s enthusiasm, though I’m fairly sure that small girls with wild golden ringlets don’t fling themselves on top of his camels every day.

For all their size, the camels don’t look terribly imposing.

Sitting down, they’re as docile as sleepy kittens and lined up neatly, with their gangly legs tucked primly underneath their lumpy bodies. Every so often one of them lets out a disconcerting “nuuuuuurrrr” sound, a deep rumbling that’s something between a cat’s purr and an elephant’s trumpet.

Mohammad tousles Jordan’s hair with a smile, and motions Charles to climb up on the saddle behind her. Cole wiggles into position on another camel and I scramble awkwardly behind him.

After a series of commands, and a gentle tug on the lead by Mohammed, our camel’s front legs straighten, and Cole and I are suddenly tilting backwards, staring at the wide blue sky. As we adjust and hold on for dear life, Mohammed gets the camel to extend its back legs, and we’re quickly propelled forward. Now ten feet off the ground, we’re questioning our decision to get on in the first place.

It seems like a long way down from the top of a camel.

Before we have time to reconsider, all our small group is quickly saddled up and we’re off, with the patient Mohammed walking ahead. He leads the first camel into the desert, with the other camels tied into a neat line behind. Each of us are laughing at the others in our group as we all try to adjust riding a camel for the first time.

Though Mohommad, the handler, leads the camels, we’re traveling through Morocco with Idir, our soft spoken and unflappable guide. Idir, who speaks fluent English, French, Berber, Arabic and a smattering of Spanish, has carefully explained that these are dromedaries (sometimes called Arabian camels) as they have only one hump, and not two. Since they’re all from the same camel family, we tended to use the term interchangeably to his constant chagrin.

As Idir drives away in our comfy 4×4 to help set up our camp for the night, we follow Mohammed into the desert. As our hour long ride wears on, I’m starting to think Idir’s choice of the 4×4 is a very sensible choice.

It turns out that camel saddles aren’t especially comfortable, especially with a seven year old perched in front of you.

Our camels pick their way across the sand,with a lilting, rolling gait that resembles a slow motion horse’s gallop. Dromedaries just like these have been used for thousands of years, as pack animals that made trade through the expansive Sahara possible.

Here, in the fading light of the desert, I half close my eyes and imagine a caravan of dromedaries from Southern Africa making their way across this land a thousand, maybe two thousand years ago.

Time wavers, and disappears just for a second.

Suddenly, Cole bursts into a giggling fit. The camel in front of us has decided to pee. To a seven year old, this is the highest form of humor.

Behind us, the sun sinks slowly into the golden sand. The road, and the camel camp behind us have completely disappeared from view. There’s nothing here in the middle of desert but us; our little caravan plodding slowly through the sands near the desert oasis of Ouarzazate.

The camel in front is still peeing. It seems like it has been spent about a third of our ride relieving itself. I make a note to ask Idir, who seems to have an inexhaustible knowledge of all things Moroccan, about the mysterious toilet habits of camels.

The nomadic Bedouin tents where we’ll lay our heads for the night appear as we crest a tall dune. The camp has hot showers and electricity to charge our iPhones, but you’d never know it as it enters into sight. Other than the telltale row of solar panels, there’s nothing here but a wide expanse of sand and our tents.

And that’s it. As quickly as it started, we’re off our camels and deposited just outside the camp. We walk, bowlegged and stiff towards the comfy cushions set up between the tents, where a steaming pot of delicious Moroccan mint tea awaits.

Cole is still giggling and we’re all thankful to have tried it but glad to be out of the saddle. After a long day of driving and seeing the Moroccan countryside, that last hour has worn us out.

Jordan just bounds ahead, ringlets bouncing, eager for her next adventure.

Morocco Essentials

Our camel ride was part of a two day, one night, tour with Sahara Desert Kingdom tours. You can contact Sahara Desert Kingdom through their webpage, on Facebook, and read reviews on TripAdvisor here.

Where: We rode our camels on a one hour ride near the desert town oasis of Ouarzazate.

Cost: A two day tour, including meals, all transportation, a camel ride, and accommodation costs around $200 USD per adult, and children are typically half price. Tours are very customisable and can be lengthened to 3, 5, or 7 days and longer if you want to  see more of Morocco or go further into the Saharan Desert.

Where to stay: Our tour started and ended in Marrakech, Morocco. We stayed in one of Marrakech’s traditional Moroccan riads in the Medina of the Old City. Check out our post on how to find the perfect riad in the Marrakech Medina.

Beautiful Mediterranean climate

One of the first things that makes Sardinia ideal for walking holidays is its beautiful Mediterranean climate. Typically, the weather is warm and mild in March, April and May, becoming hot throughout June, July and August and then beginning to cool again.

What this means for keen ramblers is that they can pick a time of year when the temperature best suits them. For instance, if you dislike walking in strong sunshine and heat, the springtime is probably a little better for you – and the scenery will be just as beautiful.

Varied walks and scenery

One of the most appealing things about walking in Sardinia is simply the variety of trails on offer, which you can read more about below. If you love nothing more than a picturesque walk along the coast, you will find paths aplenty to delight you, while you will also have the chance to tackle mountain peaks and hike through gorges. Some of the highlights of a trip here include:

Enjoying coastal walks

There’s a stunning coastline in Sardinia, and it’s well worth time to expore.. One of the most scenic areas is the Golfo di Orosei, which you can start to explore from Cala Fuili Bay in the coastal town of Cala Gonone.

A fairly gentle trail, this path will lead you along some of the island’s most beautiful and rugged coastal landscapes, as well as through a section of Gennargentu National Park. By ending your walk at the beach at Cala di Luna, you can round off your day with a leisurely dip in the sea, or simply by spending some time relaxing on the sand.

Hiking to the summit of scenic mountains

As a contrast to this relatively flat coastal walk, you will also have the opportunity to hike to the summit of several mountains – something that shows you just how varied the walks here are. The perfect chance for keen photographers to get some great snaps of the Orosei Valley and out to sea, hiking to the summit of Mount Corrasi is a real highlight of walking breaks on the island.

The tallest peak in the Supramonte Mountain range, Mount Corrasi reaches a huge 1,463 m above sea level. On the way up, it is worth looking out for local wildlife (such as wild boar and eagles), as well as keeping your eyes peeled for interesting landscapes, which here include underground caves, striking valleys and limestone ridges.

Walking along deep gorges

As well as ascending mountain peaks, you can have yet another very different experience by hiking through one or two of Sardinia’s gorges. The Gola di Gorropu Gorge is famous for being one of Europe’s deepest canyons, and with its impressive white walls towering some 350 m high, walking here really is an unforgettable experience.

Visiting ancient ruins

A bonus of walking in Sardinia is that the scenery is not the only attraction – although it is certainly a strong one! – as the island is dotted with some absolutely fascinating historical sites. You can see one of the best of these by hiking in Mount Tiscali, where you’ll find the ruins of a Nuragic village that dates back to the 6th century BC.

If Sardinia’s wonderful mix of breathtaking landscapes and historical sites appeals to you, it is well worth looking for walking tours that feature the above attractions. For example, these can be seen on itineraries, such as the Sardinia Walking Tour, from Explore Worldwide from £638 without flights.

For us, this story began a couple years ago when we first moved to Kamloops, BC. Back then, we spent every weekend driving around the valley seeing everything it had to offer. As chance would dictate, one day we stumbled onto a little used road on the western outskirts of the city that lead past a group of some hauntingly empty buildings. With giant Do Not Enter and Private Property signs posted all along its gates, our curiosity was instantly piqued.

From what we could tell, the place was much more than just the few scattered buildings we could see. There was a large road that went between what looked like a hospital, some old apartments and numerous smaller buildings. In the distance, glimpses of other large buildings could also be seen. Just how far this little, eerily empty, town extended was a mystery to Micki and me.

With no one in sight, we talked of parking the car and wandering down its vacant streets. Besides for the large signs warning us away, the fact that we had our two young children with us and knew absolutely nothing about the place kept us in our car. To be honest, I’ll be man enough to say the place was so quiet it was almost disturbing. Intrigued about its origin as much as its fate we left the place that day not even knowing its name.

Over the following weeks its history and abandonment were constant topics of discussion. Without knowing it’s name, searches on the Internet were only so helpful and it wasn’t until Micki was talking with one of her co-workers that the mystery of the place started unraveling.

The place was called quite simply Tranquille and, in some circles, was also once known as Padova City. We learned that it was the home of the massive King Edward VII Tuberculosis Sanatorium that was opened in the early 1900s and ran until the late 50s before becoming a mental facility for the next 25 years. Since the 1800s, the land has changed hands numerous times from simple farmers and gold prospectors to the government and now back to a group of people hoping to see it rise out of the ashes once more as an eco-friendly, self sustaining community.

Click here to check out local tours in Kamloops with Viator.

Containing over 40 buildings, including a fire hall, a cafeteria, a large scale laundromat, numerous large dormitories and three hospitals including the Old Main Hospital, the Sage Hospital and the Greaves Hospital it’s easy to see that this place was once a veritable city. You can also find a school, their own steam plant, a gymnasium, several caretaker buildings as well as numerous turn of the century abandoned homes on the property. Coupled with their own cemetery and a slew of farm and processing buildings still linked by serviceable roads all of it comes together to form Tranquille.

When we learned that there are kilometers of underground tunnels linking the majority of the buildings together, it left it perfectly clear that at one point this was more than just a community. It was a thriving micro center that employed and staffed hundreds and provided goods and services for all around British Columbia. With the farm as its core, Tranquille once flourished enough that it was literally a self sustaining city at the turn of the century. When the government permanently shut down the doors in 1984, a way of life for a lot of the people around Kamloops shut down as well.

Besides for the opportunity to stock up on some locally grown produce and to get lost in the corn maze, what attracted us to Tranquille Farm Fresh that beautiful fall morning was the historical tour we were signed up for. When we heard Tranquille was leading groups of people through the old community we knew we had to sign up. As we climbed onto the trailer for the sold out 90 minute driving tour, we could hear the excitement in all the guests’ voices. It seems we weren’t the only ones who longed to know more about the history of the place. Everyone was anxious to drive down its forgotten roads and to imagine what life was like all those years ago.

The tour didn’t disappoint and Tim, an on site development manager who has recently finished remodeling one of the old houses into a modern energy efficient home with his wife Annette, did a great job both entertaining and telling us the story that is Tranquille. It is a story of romance, betrayal, government bureaucracy, fame, fortune, politics and intrigue.

From its early days as the prosperous farm home of the Fortune’s and the Cooney’s to the days of the gold rush and well into the sanatorium and government years, the place has enough history to fill volumes. Though a lot of that history has been lost over the years, Tim and Annette are making a valiant attempt to restore what once was lost. They’re documenting everything they can and are quick to lend an ear if someone has any of their own history of the place to share.

We were also pleasantly surprised to hear that Tranquille hasn’t just been gathering dust these past 30 years. Movies, such as the recent A-Team remake and part of Harrison Ford’s movie, Firewall, were both filmed in Tranquille. The decaying site was also used as the backdrop for some eerie shows like MTV’s Fear, and the mini series Alice with their own take on the Alice in Wonderland story.

It seems Tranquille attracts people from all over the world. That list includes paranormal investigators. Looking around the grounds and the current condition of the majority of the buildings easily leads you to believe in the hundreds of ghost stories surrounding the place. As a result, Tranquille is a magnet for any ghost hunter worth their weight in salt. Whether there is any truth to the stories remains unproven.

In truth, that is the saddest part about taking the tour down those empty streets. The neglect and disrepair of so many of the buildings as well as the lost history is almost overwhelming. Whispers of an age gone by and the thousands of people that once called this place home echo in every shattered window and vandalized building.

Over the past 25 years Tranquille has hosted its share of vagabonds, destructive teenage revelers and modern day treasure hunters who have looted the best these historical buildings had to offer. Most that remains are only the decaying skeletons of a town that has seen better days.

On a happier note, as all things end, so do all things begin and it is here that this story truly starts. Going back to its roots, Tranquille is opening its doors to the world once more. Beginning just like it did in the 1800s they’re taking measures to grow this little lakeside community one step at a time. As before, they’re building on the core of what was Tranquille, that of a farming community. Though that hasn’t changed, they’re hoping to attract a slightly more upscale market and re-envisioning the area as Tranquille on the Lake – a master planned sustainable community centered on urban farming.

Just like all urban, clean living communities, the folks at the newly renamed site are ensuring that the village’s regrowth is focused on sustainability and as a center for people to not only live and work but also as a place to grow and learn. They’ve already coupled up with engineers and master planners to ensure that as many of the original buildings and homes can be re-purposed and re-used. They’re forging alliances with universities and colleges like TRU so that education and learning remain at the forefront of Tranquille Farm Fresh. It is an exciting chapter in the Tranquille story and I’m anxious to see how it unfolds.

I strongly recommend that if you have the chance, take a tour of Tranquille and get a flavor of what it once was, what it is today and what it one day may become. It’s a fascinating journey as rich in local legends and myths as it is in truth.

Tours happen Saturdays and Sundays and fill up fast. To guarantee your spot, please book in advance. You can contact the people at Tranquille Farm Fresh on their website.

UPDATE!: Check out the Tranquille Farm Fresh page to see if they’re currently offering any public tours of the Tranquille site. 

Click here to check out local tours in Kamloops with Viator.

Special thanks to Tim and Annette McLeod for giving us a tour of Tranquille and letting us satiate our two year curiosity. Good luck to everyone working on the project and we look forward to seeing Tranquille on the Lake flourish in the years to come.

Looking for somewhere to stay?

Check out these hotels in Kamloops.

Tranquille is located at 4600 Tranquille Road, approximately three km west of the airport in Kamloops, British Columbia.

View Tranquille Farm Fresh, Kamloops, BC in a larger map

After a few days getting over that cold, we were ready to really get out and explore the area. What we quickly discovered was that Tamarindo was hot. Not just a “where’s the shade” hot but the “oh my god turn the air conditioning on and let’s never go outside” hot. From 11 to 3 if you’re not near a pool or in the ocean then you will find it almost unbearably warm. Of course the locals will be dressed in jeans and saying stuff like “if you think this is hot just wait until April” but for visitors without a few months to acclimatize themselves you’ll find it warmer than you like. Think warmest day in summer in Canada continually for 4 months before getting really hot.

Another thing about this area is that it is one of the driest in Central America. Not quite desert like conditions but more like mid fall in Canada. Lots of brown grass and leaves falling. Locals say that it might not rain for 4 months and after being here for almost 3 weeks I’m inclined to believe them. The only thing keeping the leaves green and things from drying up is the humidity.

In my previous post I talked about ziplining being popular in Costa Rica. That’s probably a bit of an understatement considering there are literally dozens of places to do it all over the country. We were really hoping to be able to go before we got here but realized that it would be near impossible with Jordan along. That was until we got into a long chat with one of the tour operators out here. It seems that kids can indeed go ziplining. The only caveat is that they need to either go with a guide or a willing parent. In our case, it was both.

We were picked up at 8 in front of our condo and whisked off to the New Monkey Jungle compound. The friendly driver (who also turned out to be the owner) said that it was just us that morning. New Monkey Jungle is the closest operator to Tamarindo and we arrived in about half an hour. On our way we picked up the lead guide (who spoke passable english) and when we got there we were given our climbing harnesses, helmets and gloves. We were also given a quick how-to and then we all jumped (us and our 3 guides) back into the tour van. The tour van climbed a very steep trail up the side of the mountain and we all got out at the highest platform.

One of the nicest things about this tour is that there’s no real climbing involved. What a lot of the tours don’t explain is that some outfits require you to climb up a bunch of very high ladders and platforms before descending the zipline. Some places actually require multiple climbs after each descent. New Monkey Jungle only required climbing up one ladder right towards the end and it’s a pretty short climb. This was one of the reasons we chose that tour. Climbing with Jordan would have been awkward at best.

When we were all gathered and ready the guides explained the process. Cole would go with the first guide and then Micki on her own. Jordan would follow with another guide followed by me on my own and then the last guide. Within moments Cole was strapped onto the line with his own pulley and the first guide was right behind him. They took off like a bolt and Cole was grinning like a fool. Micki quickly got strapped in and whisked away over the treetops. Her shouts of glee could be heard throughout the valley.

The next one up was Jordan. She had been a little cranky that morning and it was at that moment that she chose to let it all out. After a few minutes of consoling, she was doing better. There was no way that she was willing to go with the guide though. That wasn’t a problem further down the tour when the cables were shorter and slower but the first two lines were not only the longest but also the fastest. Reluctantly, the guide strapped Jordan in and me right behind her. He then attached his pulley to the line and we took off like lightning. Jordan’s cry of protest was almost as loud as Micki’s but not in a happy way.

By the time we got to the platform Cole was already on his way down the next line. Micki got set up and continued on her way. Jordan fought tooth and nail and if I could have I would have stopped right then and there. However, we were now fully committed and there wasn’t any turning back. So we took off down the second line. Jordan’s screams weren’t half as bad as the first time though.

Micki was feeling bad that I wasn’t getting to enjoy the tour so she took Jordan down the rest of the lines (there are 7 lines in all with the first two being the best). By the last line Jordan was not only not crying but laughing and applauding. When she got to the last platform she was ready to keep going and was actually sad it was over.

For those thinking that she was scared don’t worry. Jordan is fearless. What she isn’t is a pushover. If she doesn’t want to do something she will literally fight you tooth and nail until you relent. She is the happiest girl in the world as long as the world isn’t forcing it’s happiness on her.

Cole, on the other hand, is happiest when others give him a goal and he’s running towards it. He absolutely loved ziplining and if given the chance he would have gone back for seconds and thirds. Bar none it’s been the highlight of his trip. I agree that is was lots of fun (even with Jordan screaming) and would totally recommend it for any ages above 4. At that age you can probably talk them through it if they’re having any problems.

After the ziplines, they had something called a Tarzan swing. Basically you climb a tall tower, hook your harness up to a long cord tied high on a tree and have one helluva swing over a small ravine. Cole really enjoyed it and both Micki and I had a turn while Jordan stayed on the ground. It was almost as good as the ziplines and if I had the proper tree at my cabin I would consider setting up something similar.

All in all it was good day and a nice way to spend a morning. The owner was nice enough to even offer a free second round on the ziplines with the next tour that was coming but we declined. I think Jordan would have been fine but I wasn’t willing to test that theory out at the time. There’s a good chance that we go again somewhere else in the country but I think this time we’ll only take Cole and leave Jordan behind. The only real question remaining is which lucky parent gets to enjoy the thrill of the zipline and which gets to hang out with Jordan. Anyone have a double headed coin they can lend me?

While we were in San José last week we decided that we were going to go take a tour or two. Most people that come to Costa Rica fly in to San José, stay a few days, go on a bunch of tours then get their arses to the coast and the beaches. Though San José doesn’t offer much to do in the big city proper, there are some of the best sights in the country within an hour or two of the city limits. To be more exact, San José is in the center of the country and because of Costa Rica’s smaller size, almost anything in the country can be reached and experienced in one day. Of course, some of those days will be excruciatingly long but they can be done nonetheless.

Since we have a two and five year old with us, a lot of the more common day trips weren’t going to cut it. As much as I would have enjoyed rafting class 4 and 5 rapids, rappelling down a majestic waterfall, galloping horses through a jungle or even ziplining down a 1/2 inch wide cable a mile long while precariously hanging a hundred feet in the air those just aren’t in the books for us this go around. Cole could probably do a few of them but Jordan is just too young. Micki and I toyed around with splitting our small group up but we decided against it for this trip.

That being said, before we even got into Costa Rica we were perusing the guides and online travel sites finding things to do while in the capital. Seeing that I was just getting over a nice Christmas cold the first few days we decided to spend acclimatizing ourselves to this country. It was a shame that not only was everything closed for New Year’s (which was a bit of a surprise since everything in Mexico was still running full steam ahead Christmas day) but everything was also closed the second as well. Here we had budgeted 2 days to check out the sites, sounds and smells of San Jose and besides for long walks down quiet streets and 3 ice cream breaks in two days we barely got a feel for life in this Central American town. It just goes to show that we should have listened to one of our own credo’s, never travel on or near a holiday in a foreign land.

Ask us about the time a few years back when we had gotten into a lot of trouble leaving a country in Asia a few days too late because we never realized that the country almost literally shut down for 3 days during one of their many festivals. As a result we overextended our passport visas and had a hell of a time getting through immigration. Let’s just say we had to grease a few palms to continue on our journey. And then there was the time we were travelling through the Philippines and stumbled upon a local festival that was barely a footnote in any of the travel books we carried. It turned out that every town in that area was completely booked up months in advance and people were literally renting out half their bed to make a few extra bucks. We were lucky that we generally always have a backup plan when we travel but those extra 4 hours on a bus and then a ferry weren’t exactly expected when we had gotten up that morning. Since then we always check to see what’s going on ahead of time and always plan our travel dates around the holidays.

In some ways the few days of quiet were good because it gave me a chance to fully recover and left us time to plan our next steps. Those steps would take us on a lengthy day trip to some quintessential Costa Rican areas. There are literally three things that pop into my head when I say the name Costa Rica: jungles, volcano’s and coffee. We were lucky enough to stumble on a day trip that encompassed all three. We booked our trip late the night before and packed our day bag as well. Though Costa Rica is on the Equator and is considered hotter than hell on the coasts, the reality is that San José and it’s environs are mountainous areas. Though you’re closer to the sun, the temperatures don’t usually get over the mid 20’s. I wore shorts and a t-shirt the first few days in town but almost everyone else was wearing jeans and a shirt. At night when things cooled off it wasn’t uncommon to see people bundling up with jackets and thick sweaters.

We knew that the volcano and other areas we were planning to see might be a little cooler than in downtown so Micki and I decided to wear our jeans and bring our jackets. We did throw some shorts in the day bag  just in case we needed them but it turns out we chose wisely. The bus that was picking us up in the morning showed up a 6:15. Yes, that’s AM for anybody that knows me. There’s usually a better chance that I go to sleep at that time than wake up but since the kids are usually up around 7 it wasn’t too bad. We were all excited for the trip and it clearly showed that morning. Since we were in Heredia which is a little north of San José we met up with a bigger bus coming from that direction. The areas we were going to were all North of San José proper.

Once we were all settled into our new bus and starting to head towards the coffee plantation, the kids took a short nap while Micki and I chatted with some of the other tourists that day. We got to know a Winnipeg couple very well over the course of the day. Nothing like travelling  5000 km’s to get to talk to people you might have once called your neighbor! Our first stop was the Duzu Coffee Plantation. We all got off the bus and had a very nice breakfast overlooking the fields of coffee beans.

After eating, our tour guide for the day Paula gave us a tour of the plantation. We learned all about the beans (almost like a berry with two beans per pod and very sweet straight off the tree), the harvesting (every bean is hand picked only when they are ripe and red), the de-shelling (done by large machine), the drying (rows and rows of the beans are left in the sun for days almost constantly being raked, moved around or shoveled back in at night or when there’s the smallest threat of rain and all done by hand) and finally the roasting process which I found out is usually done in whatever country has bought the beans. I also found out the differences between all the roasts and then we all got to sample the coffees to our hearts content. Micki enjoyed it tremendously but since I’m not a coffee drinker, the kids and I went to town on the chocolate covered coffee beans. Jordan only had the chocolate but Cole had a few of the beans and we found out he shakes just as much as I do when he eats them. Micki and the rest of the group bought a bunch of beans in the gift shop and we all got back on the tour bus.

Our next stop was Poás Volcano National Park. The bus driver spotted a large 3 toed sloth in a tree as we drove to our destination (we all stopped to take some pictures) and a few great views across the valley. When we climbed out of the bus, we were glad we wore our long pants and brought our jackets. It was cold! Though the area never froze, it could easily drop to 3 or 4 at night. Our group slowly made our way up to the crater rim. It was a bit of a hike (especially carrying Jordan) but the group wasn’t in a hurry. When we got to the rim, the wind was blowing something fierce. In a way it was good because it afforded us a nice view into the active volcano. Because of the heat, sulfur, gases, height, etc. some days you can’t see anything. We got to see the green sulphuric water, the fumaroles (steam and gas vents) and the entire rim. We quickly snapped a few pictures and then barreled back down the hill to get out of the stinging wind. We got quite a few laughs watching other people complain of the cold as they made their way up with nothing but a t-shirt and shorts and not knowing that the temperature was about to drop another 10 degrees by the time they reached the rim.

As we left the park we got to stop off and buy some fresh strawberries. It seems that the area isn’t only good for growing coffee! We quickly wolfed a bag down and continued onto our final destination of the day, the La Paz Waterfalls. More than any of the other things we had seen that day we were looking forward to La Paz. Though the main attraction there is it’s series of 5 jungle waterfalls, it also contains a zoo like section with some of the best examples of Costa Rican wildlife in the country. We knew the kids would really enjoy that part of it.

The rain was threatening to come down as we walked into the place but our excitement was high. We knew that the area was known for it’s daily rains but we were hoping for the best. We managed to visit the majority of the park before the clouds let forth their over abundant bounty. In simple terms, we got wet. Before that though we got to see the bird exhibit including a bunch of very tame toucans. We got to see the monkey exhibit that included capuchins, spider monkeys and even a few marmosets. We explored the butterfly garden with thousands of them everywhere and we even got to see a few leaving their chrysalis. We saw frogs and snakes and then the hummingbirds. These were amazing because there were hundreds of them zooming everywhere around you. I think they were Jordans favorite. Cole really enjoyed the jungle cats. They had an impressive display with the small Ocelots and Margays and the Jaguarundi. This last is also known as the otter cat because it looks more like an otter than a cat. The last two groups were the Pumas (cougar, panther or mountain lion) and the king of the tropics, the Jaguar. The Jaguar was actually frightening in it’s size and speed. Not to mention that I swear it looked at you like you were breakfast.

After checking out most of the animals we all stopped for a really tasty late afternoon lunch. Once we were done eating the buffet the rain finally set in. We were partially ready for it but only had 2 plastic ponchos with us. Luckily for us another one of our group had a spare to lend us. With our ponchos on we headed out on a long march. The majority of the walk was down steps as there was only a short distance between each waterfall and most of that distance was height. We were already a little tired once we reached the first waterfall but they were gorgeous and we really wished that it was nicer out so we could fully appreciate them. As we continued our downward journey we got to walk under one of them and got even more wet. When we finally emerged we were hot, tired, soaking wet and glad to see our bus waiting for us. As tiring as the walk down those steps was, it would have been murder to have to go back up again.

There was a large group of wild white nose Coati (like raccoons but with long noses) hanging around the bus hoping for handouts and the kids enjoyed watching them as we climbed aboard the bus back to our place. All in all it was a great day and both us and the kids enjoyed it tremendously. They both fell asleep on the ride home and we finally got to the hotel around 7. Considering we were under 150 km’s at the most from our hotel at any time, it was definitely a long day.

To that end, we finally got to see the wild side of Costa Rica and started to understand the spell that this country holds over all who visit it. It is a nature lover’s paradise with mountains, volcanos, jungles, rainforests, raging rivers and lakes surrounded by warm tropical oceans on both sides. If you love the outdoors, this place if for you. Just don’t forget to bring your rain jacket…

Tamarindo Vacations