Sky Trek Monteverde: Is it worth paying that much for it?

Several companies offer zipline experiences in Monteverde, Costa Rica, and Sky Trek Monteverde is among the top, but the price tag is much higher than the other ziplining tour companies in the area, and that begs the question; is Sky Trek Monteverde worth paying that much for a zip lining tour? Is Sky Trek Monteverde worth their high price?

Being a local in Monteverde and having experienced these adventures myself, I already had my own conclusion around this question. Still, since this is one of the most frequently asked questions I get from travelers, I dove deep into the topic and developed my own study to help bring light to this question. I analyzed 1,969 online customer reviews, and I compiled my observations on this article.

Compared to other adventure parks in the area like 100% Aventura, Selvatura, and Extremo, it’s hard to justify the high price of Sky Trek Monteverde until you fully understand their unique value proposition. Even though these other parks offer a substantial discount, they perform below par compared to Sky Trek Monteverde, comparing features, customer service, and above all, safety, making it the best option for older folks as well as for families with children between the ages of 5 and 10. 

Zipline Tour Rates in Monteverde, Costa Rica

The following is a quick pre-tax price comparison arranged in descending order according to price across the top 5 zipline tour companies in Monteverde.

Transportation charges change depending on availability; sometimes it’s included, other times is not. So I will not include transportation fees on this table, but you can follow the links to get the most updated information for each zipline.

You can also use the links to check real-time availability, book, and get instant confirmation:

As you can see from the above table, there is a substantial difference in prices between Sky Trek Monteverde and the rest of the zipline tour companies in the area, but as mentioned above, there are tangible reasons that justify this price difference; 

• Sky Trek Monteverde is on real cloud forest
• Sky Trek Monteverde includes a ride on a gondola
• Sky Trek Monteverde is 100% ziplining from platform to platform
• Sky Trek Monteverde features the safest zipline tour in Monteverde

Keep scrolling for more information as I break down these criteria for how Sky Trek Monteverde compares to these other parks to help you decide if Sky Trek Monteverde is the right choice for you. 

Sky Trek Monteverde is on real cloud forest

This may sound a bit odd, as most people travel to Monteverde under the assumption that the entire Monteverde region is a cloud forest, but that is not the case. Monteverde is a town in the mountain region of Costa Rica, and a significant part of this area is a cloud forest, but not all of it.

There are multiple types of forests in Monteverde. The cloud forest is the most famous of them (for more information on this topic, visit the article Why the Monteverde Cloud Forest is famous and popular worldwide).

Not all of the adventure parks in Monteverde are in the cloud forest. For example, on the one hand, Selvatura Park and Sky Adventures Monteverde are part of the cloud forest. On the other hand, 100% Aventura and Monteverde Extremo are part of the tropical forest, which is not as vibrant and gorgeous. 

We went there to do zip line and it was great! It was our first time doing zip lining. We asked many locals before we choose the company and many told us Sky Trek Monteverde was the best one! We were very high and the view was amazing.” LV, Google Review

Sky Trek Monteverde Includes a Ride on a Gondola

Another feature that separates Sky Trek Monteverde from the rest of the zipline tour companies in the area is a service they call Sky Tram, a short ride on an aerial gondola that will take you to the first platform where the ziplining adventure begins. While this is a short ride that only takes about 10 minutes, the views during the ride are astonishing, and you can appreciate them in a much more relaxed manner than you otherwise would while going on a zipline. Sky Adventures is the only park in the area with a gondola ride of this kind, and it’s included on the Sky Trek Monteverde zipline tour. 

Sky Trek Monteverde is 100% Ziplining From Platform to Platform

Sky Trek Monteverde features a “no walking, just ziplining from platform to platform” experience. This means that you do not have to walk in between platforms (as you can see from the above map) which is a great option for folks who are not physically fit and families with kids.

Selvatura Zipline Canopy Tour also features the benefit of simply ziplining without walking. On the other hand, the 100% Aventura Zipline Canopy Tour and the Extremo Zipline Canopy Tour require walking between some of their platforms, which requires you to be in good physical condition.

Selvatura and Sky Trek Monteverde are the only zipline tours where no walking is required, but there are another two features that only Sky Trek Monteverde offers; the fastest zip lines and an automatic brake system. 

Sky Trek Monteverde Features the Safest Zipline Tour in Monteverde

Sky Trek Monteverde features the fastest ziplines, reaching speeds of up to 64km/h. You can safely reach these speeds because they have an automatic brake to ensure things go well, which is the last and main reason Sky Trek Monteverde has a higher price than other zipline tour companies; safety.

At Sky Trek Monteverde, you do not have to worry about applying brakes manually with a gloved hand towards the end of each zip line, which is the case in all other zipline tours in Monteverde.

At Sky Trek Monteverde, you zip down the zipline, and the automatic brake system will stop you before you reach the next platform. This is a huge safety benefit that Sky Trek Monteverde features. At the other zipline tours, you have to wear a glove and break with your hand by applying pressure on the zipline until you stop. Doing this is not that difficult, and you will receive a short introduction on how to do this properly. The problem with this additional step is that you have to worry about doing this right rather than enjoying the views.

Brake too soon, and you will not reach the end of the zipline, and a tour guide will have to “rescue” you and manually pull you over to the end, which is embarrassing and inefficient. Brake too late, and you can get seriously injured by crashing against a tree, a platform, or worse, another person. This happened to one of our customers back in 2017; he got anxious in the middle of a long zipline, got paralyzed, and did not apply enough force to stop. Long story short, he ended up getting 12 stitches on his right foot.

Since then, we have opted to outline the potential risks of going on a zipline tour with manual brakes and let our customers make the final call. Even though these situations are not common, they are just not worth taking the risk. Think about the potential repercussions. This customer back in 2017 ended up cutting his Costa Rica trip short by 4 days because he wanted to get medical assistance back in his country.

According to Sky Adventures Monteverde, this automatic brake technology is expensive to buy and maintain, which is probably why none of the other zipline tour companies have implemented it yet, which is why the park claims that they need to charge a higher price tag.

Wonderful time and very safe. Staff is awesome and very knowledgable with keeping safety in mind. My wife and I definitely recommend them.” Luis, Google Review

Enjoyed the self braking set-up and that drove our decision to choose this company. Liked not having to worry about braking and putting our hand on the line.” LT, TripAdvisor Review

If you have never done ziplining before, this would be the ultimate adrenaline rush scenario for you. I was scared to do it, but I am confident that it is a rather safe adventure. Still, the longest cable stretched 770m, and it is 130m high. Once up there, you can see above the treetops. This is the ultimate opportunity for amazing views of the forest all the way to Arenal.” Dennis, Google Review

How Customers Rate Sky Trek Monteverde

Finding online customer reviews specifically for a zipline tour in Monteverde is chaotic. The problem with huge websites like TripAdvisor is that anyone can list tours, resell them and earn a commission.

And TripAdvisor themselves are not good at reviewing and filtering those listings, so there are way too many listings offering the same services with different names, making it very challenging to find trustworthy online reviews for a specific tour.

On the other hand, Google listings do not evaluate services. They consider businesses as a whole. Considering a business as a whole is good to get an overview of a business at a high level but is not beneficial when you are only interested in one specific service.

For example, if you try to look for reviews on Google for Sky Trek Monteverde, you will have to spend a couple of hours filtering out reviews. You will need to look for the tour company, Sky Adventures Monteverde, and then you will need to manually look for reviews that talk about the service called Sky Trek Monteverde.

If you go on Google and only look at the rating of Sky Adventures Monteverde, you will see the overall company rating, but you will not see the specific rating for their zipline tour.

The problem is that Sky Adventures Monteverde offers various services and experiences such as hanging bridges, animal exhibits, nature photography, restaurant services, and a souvenir shop, to name a few, and customers can only rate the park as a whole rather than rating each service on its own.

So if a customer had a 5/5 experience on the zipline tour, but they had a 1/5 experience at the coffee shop, they might end up rating the park as a 3/5 or a 4/5, which does not tell you how the zipline experience was unless you read the full comment.

Another problem is that more than 50% of ratings lack comments. So long story short, without a manual filter and a lot of analysis, the overall ratings on Google will not tell you how good or bad a specific service is.

So, I did a study to gather data specifically around Sky Trek Monteverde, the zipline experience offered by the Sky Adventures Monteverde Park. I analyzed 1,969 online customer reviews and filtered reviews down to those where the customers only referenced the zipline experience.

I did not include the ratings where customers left no comments. Neither did I include the ratings where the customer evaluated multiple services with one rating.

I only considered those ratings where the customer specifically rated the Sky Trek Monteverde experience, and here are the results:

Source: Click here to read the full report with the above reviews and comments.

Cons About Sky Trek Monteverde

Price: There was one 4-star review that mentioned the price was high, and I agree. Even though I get a discounted rate for being a Costa Rican, compared to the other zipline tour companies, the rates at Sky Trek Monteverde are approximately 30% higher, which is a lot. However, I was more than happy to pay the extra fee, so my 8-year-old daughter did not have to put her hand on the line to stop and not crash. I have done all other ziplines in the area, but I have not taken my daughter with me because I am afraid things might go wrong as those other companies don’t have the self-braking set-up Sky Trek Monteverde has, which to me is well worth it. Safety is priceless.

Weather: Two 4-star reviews mentioned that the weather was bad. On one of them, the day was rainy, and on the other was windy. As a general rule, you should always assume that it might rain in Monteverde at any given time, even during the summertime, because the cloud forest weather is very unpredictable. This factor, combined with the waiting times (up next), can affect your experience, so I recommend that you dress in long pants and warm clothing, ideally with a lightweight rain jacket. At the very least, take a small poncho with you and carry it into your back pocket just in case. This tip applies to all parks and activities in Monteverde, not just for Sky Trek. For more recommendations on what to bring for your visit to Monteverde, you can read the article 10 Things You Must Bring To Monteverde.

Waiting times: Two 4-star reviews mentioned long waiting times in between zip lines, which is true. I recall we had to wait between 5 and 15 minutes for our turn to go on every zipline. However, this brings an opportunity to socialize with the guides and make friends with other fellow travelers or catch your breath and enjoy the views while you wait for your turn.

Staff was amazing. There was a little wait time in between zips. We went on a bad day with rain but the zip lines were still fun.” Dan, TripAdvisor Review 

Is Sky Trek Monteverde For You? 

This ends my review on Sky Trek Monteverde. After reading the above information, if you consider that Sky Trek Monteverde is best for your specific needs, you can use this link to check real-time availability, book, and get instant confirmation. On the other hand, if you are not sure if Sky Trek Monteverde is the best option for your ideal zipline experience, you can check out this article to compare the top 5 zipline tour companies in Monteverde.

About the Author

Daniel Lalinde

I am the founder of MonteTours Costa Rica. I live in Monteverde, and I love nature, adventure, and Mountain Biking. My partner and I love spending time in the outdoors and dining out in Monteverde. We have more than 30 years of combined experience in the area, and there is no park, no coffee shop, and no restaurant we haven’t tried at least once!

We love helping visitors, connecting them with the different tours and activities to have a memorable experience in Monteverde.

If you need help planning things to do in the area, send us a message, and we will happily assist you!