Sun salu­ta­tions on a trop­i­cal beach. White, warm sand between your toes. The crack­le of a beach­side bon­fire in the distance. 

A crisp glass of wine awaits you fire­side, ready for shared sto­ries of the day’s epic moun­tain bike adven­ture through the quaint vil­lages of the Gua­nacaste Province of beau­ti­ful Cos­ta Rica. This is Pura Vida.

On this pre­miere women’s moun­tain bike adven­ture, we will guide you from the seren­i­ty of the rain­for­est at the foot of the Rincón de la Vie­ja Vol­cano, to grand water­falls, nat­ur­al min­er­al hot springs and sparkling blue vol­canic rivers, to our final des­ti­na­tion: the shores of Las Catalinas.

Lush jun­gle rid­ing, views of tall and majes­tic vol­ca­noes, scin­til­lat­ing cul­tur­al expe­ri­ences and trop­i­cal beach­es are just a few of the high­lights this amaz­ing Cos­ta Rican moun­tain bike retreat has to offer!

Check out the PINKBIKE arti­cle HERE. 

Check out the Pho­to Jour­nal HERE. 

Is This Ride For You?

You are an adven­ture-seek­er by day, and a Yogi by night (or will­ing to try it out!). You love to explore oth­er cul­tures and try new things. You don’t mind get­ting out of your cul­tur­al com­fort zone, on bike or water. You’re a phys­i­cal­ly fit woman with inter­me­di­ate moun­tain bike skills, hap­py to ped­al 3 hours per day. You like the heat and don’t mind some big days of climb­ing if it means views of vol­ca­noes, lush jun­gle for­est and the ocean. Check out our Skill and Fit­ness Rat­ings HERE.

Itinerary

DAY 1. Wel­come to Cos­ta Rica!

We will pro­vide com­pli­men­ta­ry air­port pick-up at 3:00 p.m. as well as com­pli­men­ta­ry pick-up at 3:45 p.m. from the Hilton Gar­den Inn by the Liberia Inter­na­tion­al Air­port.  At the air­port, meet your shut­tle adja­cent to Cus­toms, just out­side the glass doors on the out­side pick-up plat­form. Please note, addi­tion­al shut­tle times can be arranged for an added cost. Please see the Ride Add-ons tab for details. 

You will be trans­port­ed from Liberia Inter­na­tion­al Air­port to our moun­tain eco-lodge, where we encour­age you to unwind, set­tle in and rest up for the week’s moun­tain bike adventure!

At 5:00 p.m., we’ll meet up to build our bikes and review some bike main­te­nance tech­niques while we’re at it. Bike rentals will be assigned to those who rented.

Tonight, the group will con­vene for a deli­cious din­ner and a meet-and-greet, review­ing what our week has in store!

DAY 2.  Ride Oropen­du­la to Jacarun­di and Ziplin­ing Through the Rainforest

Rise and shine!  After an ear­ly buf­fet break­fast, we’ll gear up for the epic day ahead. 

Today’s moun­tain bike ride takes us through the rain­for­est along the flanks of the Rin­con de la Vie­ja Vol­cano. This is a half day sin­gle­track ride with a scenic detour to a spec­tac­u­lar water­fall when we get to the top of the climb!

After a curvy fun and flowy down­hill, we’ll enjoy a hearty buf­fet lunch over­look­ing the rain­for­est. This after­noon the group will head out on a moun­tain adven­ture to zipline through the canopy of the rain­for­est and get wet in the cool rush­ing waters of spec­tac­u­lar waterfalls!

Tonight we’ll have a fresh and refu­el­ing din­ner back at the eco-lodge. 

DAY 3. Ride Guachipelin Aba­jo and Sun­set Yoga

After an ear­ly buf­fet break­fast, we’ll gear up for anoth­er adven­ture packed day.

We will spend the morn­ing rid­ing more great Cos­ta Rican sin­gle­track. We’ll get a chance to step it up a bit with some more tech­ni­cal climbs and descents, while also enjoy­ing some super fun flowy downhill!

After lunch, we’ll pack up our pri­vate shut­tle for a scenic dri­ve to our next eco-lodge and spa. Yes, we said spa! (At Rid­ers own expense, options include: Deep Tis­sue or Relax­ing Mas­sage, Vol­canic Mud Facial and much more…Contact us in advance to make spa reser­va­tions for this location).

Late after­noon, we’ll con­vene for a sun­set yoga session.

Tonight, we’ll enjoy a deli­cious group din­ner at the lodge.

DAY 4. Ride Vol­canic Sin­gle­track, Soak in Min­er­al Hot­springs, and Yoga

Today’s morn­ing adven­ture is a loop ride out the back door of our hotel.

We’ll head out on a dou­ble­track road for a quick climb then work our way into a pri­vate trail sys­tem filled with flowy sin­gle­track speck­led with some short tech­ni­cal sec­tions. This is a great day to play around on this new and inter­est­ing vol­canic ter­rain and learn some new moves on your bike.

We’ll take some time to ses­sion some tech­ni­cal sec­tions and enjoy amaz­ing views from a unique lookout.

After a healthy lunch at the lodge, you have the after­noon to spend as you wish! End­less options from riv­er tub­ing to ziplin­ing (for the adven­tur­ous) or for those look­ing to relax those bik­ing mus­cles you can head to the spa for a mas­sage or soak in the nat­ur­al hot pools at our eco-lodge.

Din­ner will be at the in-house restau­rant at our hotel. 

Day 5. Ride Don­key Trail and Beach­side Yoga

We’ll enjoy a relax­ing morn­ing at the lodge before pack­ing up our pri­vate shut­tle and head­ing to the beach­es of the Pacif­ic Coast. 

Along with our bikes, we’ll get dropped off at the trail­head for the Don­key Trail and enjoy a fun, flowy down­hill into Las Catalinas.

After lunch, we’ll enjoy an after­noon at the beach. The SUP around the islands is a must!

After our ride, we’ll have lunch on the beach and enjoy some free time along the water before head­ing to our hotel.

We’ll top this day off with a sun­set yoga ses­sion and a deli­cious din­ner at our beach­side hotel.

Day 6. Ride Pura Vida Moun­tain Bike Trail Sys­tem, Beach After­noon, and Yoga

After ear­ly morn­ing sun­rise yoga, we’ll hit the trails of the Pura Vida Moun­tain Bike Trail System.

We’ll make our way through the scenic sin­gle­track trails with stun­ning views of the Pacif­ic Ocean and the Catali­na Islands. This first ride will be short and allow our group to accli­mate to the dif­fer­ent heat so close to the beach.


After a beach­side lunch, we’ll have the option to spend the after­noon SUP­ing or sea kayak­ing around the Catali­nas Islands or get back on our bikes for some more time on the trail. 

Top off this amaz­ing day with din­ner over­look­ing the Pacif­ic Ocean!

Day 7. Ride Pura Vida Moun­tain Bike Trail Sys­tem and Din­ner on the Town

After an ear­ly beach­side break­fast, we’ll hit the trails of the Pura Vida Moun­tain Bike Trail System. 

Today, we’ll make use of our final day and explore the Big Loop. Chal­lenged by some rolling climbs, you’ll enjoy the fun, flowy down­hills and vis­tas of the aqua blue waters below.

After a well-deserved lunch, we’ll return the rental bikes and pack up our bike bags.

We’ll fresh­en up back at our hotel before head­ing out to our final beach­side din­ner. Tonight, we’ll cel­e­brate the week’s adven­ture, new friends, and life­time memories.

Day 8. So Long, Farewell! Shut­tle to Liberia Inter­na­tion­al Airport

We have reached the last day of our amaz­ing trip in Cos­ta Rica and it’s time to say good­bye to its beau­ti­ful beach­es, lush for­est trail rid­ing and cul­tur­al experiences. 

High five your new rid­ing pals before head­ing back to the airport. 

A com­pli­men­ta­ry air­port shut­tle to Liberia Inter­na­tion­al Air­port will be offered, arriv­ing at the air­port by 12:00 p.m. fol­lowed by a 12:45 p.m. drop-off to the Hilton Gar­den Inn by the Liberia Inter­na­tion­al Air­port if you are stay­ing an addi­tion­al night. Addi­tion­al shut­tle times can be arranged for an added cost, please see the Ride Add-Ons tab. 

If you are look­ing to stay longer in Cos­ta Rica, check out our option­al Add On trips to enhance your Cos­ta Rican adven­ture!  Just click on the Add-Ons tab  for more info. 

Photos & Videos

Book Pura Vida and Mountain Bike Retreat Now

Dates chosen: Dec. 31, 1969—Dec. 31, 1969
Skill Rating: Blue Square
Fitness Rating: Blue Square
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Skill Levels
Green Circle

Typically, green Rides are safe for beginners. Green Rides may have both avoidable and unavoidable obstacles. Trails are generally low grade, wide, consistent surface texture and have minimal features. You are likely to come across unavoidable obstacles 2-inches or shorter, which is small enough for mountain bike tires to simply roll over. More challenging than tarmac, but in general, a wonderful Ride for those riders new to mountain biking or looking for a casual experience.

Blue Square

In general, Blue trails are narrower than green trails, encounter unavoidable obstacles such as roots, rocks, and drops that are up to 8-inches tall. You will want to have a solid understanding of the fundamentals of mountain biking including body positions, powerful braking, cornering, riding on varied terrain, steep sections and experience riding trails that requires line choice. Airtime is not mandatory, but you will find yourself on trails with alternate lines giving you the option.

Black Diamond

The Black Diamond Rides are  suitable for riders looking for that edge. Maybe it’s the edge of a drop, the edge of a cliff, or singletrack requiring focus and fast reactions developed from extensive experience riding “the edge”. You will find yourself on steep trails of varied surfaces. In the Pacific North West that could be slick roots and loam, in Nepal you will find exposed granite in the Mustang Valley and in Guatemala it maybe narrow stairways through cliffside villages. While airtime is rarely required, the ability to find the backside or clean a tabletop should be comfortable or in a state of progress. Obstacles on Black rides are likely to be outside the range of your bikes ability to cover your goofs with its awesome suspension and grip.

Double Black Diamond

A Double Black ride is for those that already know they are looking for a Double Black. It’s going to be very hard and require advanced bike handling skills. You will find yourself on trails with sections most non-riders would look at and say, “that’s totally nuts!”. You will know how to look at a line and contemplate where it will work and where it won’t. Drops of a couple feet should be comfortable and getting your bike off the ground should feel predictable and fun.

Fitness Levels
Green Circle

You should be ready to spend 2-4 hours per day on the bike. Mileage may be up to 30km/20 miles and elevation gain will be under 500m/1500feet. On e-MTB tours, numbers will be higher, however the approximate effort would be considered similar to a standard Green Circle ride. If you get on your bike once a week, you will be just fine. However, when preparing for a Ride, you will benefit from more rides and time in the saddle.

Blue Square

Blue should be considered a good deal more effort than our Green Rides.  You should be able to handle 3 to 5 hours in the saddle covering up to 45km/30miles and be able to pull off a big day of 1000m/3000feet of elevation gain. Managing fuel is important as well.  You should have a good understanding how your body responds to multiple days on the bike. We will help with positive coaching, a manageable pace and plenty of trailside snacks.

Black Diamond

A Black Fitness ride will test you. Aside from needing to be able to manage up to 6 hours on the bike, day after day, including distance up to 50km/30miles and elevation gains up to 1750m/5000feet of climbing, you will be adding extra challenges along the route like periods of hike-a-bike and the extra effort required by the whole body to safely dance with your bike over technical terrain. Generally, riders who are up for a Black Fitness ride, likely spend time on the bike a couple times each week.

Double Black Diamond

A Double Black will be for those with the strength and endurance to get to the top of anything they want and understand the term “turning the screw”. Distance could be quite high on some routes and elevation gain numbers could hit 2000m/6000 feet+ in a day. You are likely riding multiple days a week during the dry periods and have a trainer or belong to a gym for the rest of the year.