We did the trek to Diamante and took advantage of the zip line and animal park. Included with our Adventure pass was a buffet lunch with a variety of foods to choose from such as pizza, chicken, rice, beans, salad, fries and sides – plenty of options for most any pallet or diet.
I’m not a huge zip line fan but I feel it my duty to know all the zip lines well so I can recommend the right one to our friends who come visit. So this was our second one after the one at Hacienda Guachapellin in Rincon de la Vieja. It’s quite a bit different than that one in that Diamante’s are all canopy and longer and Guachepellin’s were shorter but over a raging river in a canyon. Both are beautiful as the Diamante one has an ocean view back drop but for the money, the Adventure Pass at Guachepellin is a far better value.
Diamante’s zip line consists of 5 lines:
- The first is a short line from the main lodge to get on a bus
- The bus takes you up a steep and windy road to the longest zip line where you’ll ride superman style for a mile reaching speeds as high as 60-80 mph. Yes, it takes less than a minute to get across the mile-long canopy stretch.
- Then you’ll ride normal style again on a zip line that takes you back to the lodge. You might stop on this one. If you do, keep yourself from going backwards by grabbing the cable behind you and holding yourself in place until they come get you. You’ll be right by the restaurant so you’ll have an audience.
- After that line, you take another line to the controlled free fall. It’s a short fall but that first half second that you let go and jump backwards is definitely a rush.
- Finally you take the last zip line to the Crocodile exhibit where you’ll take a hanging bridge over to get to the end. This is where you can tip the guides if you want (there’s a tip box).
From here you can go straight into the animals Plenty of snakes, frogs and iguanas as well as tucans and cats – ocelots, jaguars, etc. And no one can forget Lucy the sloth who is the highlight. Don’t get too excited about that. She’s usually asleep and looks like a furry next in a tree. Stay for her feeding at 12:30 and you’ll get to see a little movement.
The Butterfly exhibit is beautiful as there are hundreds
of Blue Morphos flying around at all times. Some will even land on you if you hold still. Into bugs? Go inside from the butterfly exhibit and there are lots of (mostly dead) bugs on display that are indigenous to Costa Rica.
They also offer horse back riding and some beach stuff but we didn’t partake in that so I have no advice to give there. Some friends did horseback riding the week before though and gave it a thumbs up.
How to get to Diamante
If you’re in Brasilito or the surrounding area, take the Monkey Trail (highway 911). It’s a short cut and you get to take part in the charm of Costa Rica by driving a steep, windy gravel road with shallow rivers.
This route takes about 45 minutes each way.
Drive north from Huacas or Brasilito, veer right in Flamingo to head toward Potrero. Drive through Surfside, taking a right at El Castillo and then a left at Perlas (basically follow the paved road). Soon you’ll come to a T intersection with a blue wall in front of you. Take a right there and you’ll be on the Monkey Trail. It’ll be gravel for 20 minutes and then you’ll come to a paved road where you’ll take a left. That road will take you to Diamante – as well as the Riu.
What to bring to Diamante
I always wonder when I go to one of these adventures what I can/should take with me from the car. Do they have lockers? Can I carry my backpack with me? Here’s my advice for Diamante if you’re doing the zip line.
First, take your backpack because they give you a locker at check in.
You have to wear close toed shoes for the zip line and horseback riding but I recommend taking flip flops to keep in your locker for after the zip line.
You could take your phone on the zip line for photos as long as you have a pocket that zips. I wouldn’t recommend having it out while you zip line but I’ve seen people do it.
The longest zip line won’t allow for photography because your arms are totally strapped in. Instead take a pic of the people in front of you with the view. Also, there are photographers there so if you want to buy pictures at the end you can for a fee.
Bring a hat to wear under your helmet for two reasons: (1) you’ll like having the shade coverage over your face and (2) you never know who wore it before. We had a lice breakout at school so it’s top of mind.
Bring money. Ideally you could bring it on your person so you can tip at the end but there’s also a snack bar down by the Butterfly exhibit, Lucy the sloth and the animal sanctuary. You’d be surprised how good a cold beverage sounds at 10:30 am after the zip line.
There’s a gift shop near the locker area but it has all the same stuff as every resort gifts shop and grocery store and it costs more.
We got there early (like 8:45) at the advice of experienced Diamanters as if you get there late, I’m told you can wait a long time for the zip line.