A Family Quad Biking Jungle Adventure in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

On day three in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica we treated ourselves to a fairly pricey Jungle Adventure Quad Biking tour. My tiny brain let me down; I saw the tour cost $120 and completely forgot it was per person. So, $360 later, it was booked. Ouch!

We met our tour guide, Manfred, an indigenous Costa Rican who's family owns a farm and a large part of the jungle around Puerto Viejo. We hopped on our quad bikes, Archer sat on the back of mine, and after a quick tutorial, we were told we’d be riding on the road for about 10 minutes before reaching the farm. The plan was to take it slow, around 25–30 kph, no rush.

Off we jerked onto the road, but soon got the hang of the thumb throttle. “This is amazing!” came the shout from over my shoulder. Archer was in his element.

After a few minutes, we veered off the main road onto a dirt track. A little while later, we stopped in a clearing. Manfred jumped off his quad and explained that we were now on his family’s farm. They farm only what they need, live simply, and try to protect as much of their land as possible.

“The quad path isn’t easy,” he said with a smile, “because we don’t cut any living trees... we go around them.” When we arrived, the quad tours had only been going for about four months.

He pointed to the top of what looked like a small mountain and roughly explained the route. “We’ll head up there, it’s got a really nice view over Puerto Viejo. But take it easy, no rush. We’ll be safe, and we’ll have fun.”

About a minute into the journey, Manfred suddenly stopped. He hopped off his quad, disappeared into the bush with his machete, and returned holding a long, stick-like plant. He chopped off a piece about a foot long, walked over, and handed it to Archer.

“Now you are giving your energy to this plant,” he said. “This is yucca. When we reach the top, we will plant it.”

He then jumped back on his quad, revved and led us into the jungle, and I do mean the jungle. It was like stepping into another world, unlike anything I’d ever seen before. Towering trees with giant trunks, twisting vines, and shafts of sunlight cutting through the canopy. It made it feel like a mix of Jurassic Park and Avatar, minus the dinosaurs and the lanky blue people. 

We went up and down, left and right; through deep muddy tracks and dry, rocky paths, splashing through small rivers and then not so small rivers. After 20 or 30 minutes of pure fun, Manfred pulled over and walked back to talk us through the next obstacle.

It was a drop into a river, and not a gentle one. A sheer drop. “Trust the quad,” he said. Easy on the way down, no gas. Let it land and settle, a little gas to get back onto all four wheels, then plenty of gas to climb the other side. Gulp!

Thankfully, Steph went first. There was a heart-stopping moment when her quad looked dangerously close to doing a full rolly polly, but it settled and she bounced her way up the far bank. Then it was our turn. I told Archer to lean right back and gently squeezed the throttle. It’s funny how quickly something can feel like a terrible idea! 

We splashed down, let the quad settle, and slowly roll forward until all four wheels were in the river and level. Then, full power up the other side of the bank. “Excelente! Pura Vida!” shouted Manfred as he filmed us bounce up the other side.

Another 20 minutes or so later, Manfred pulled over again. We were right at the top at a small clearing with an incredible view (the top photo in this post). We jumped off the quads and took in the breathtaking surroundings; the dense jungle, the Caribbean Sea, and the town of Puerto Viejo spread out below us. Manfred pointed out the border, and we could even see a fair stretch of Panama.

It was here that Manfred took out the piece of yucca and asked Archer to choose a spot to plant it. He picked a place just to the side of the clearing. “Great choice,” Manfred said. “Now this plant will grow, and your energy will go into the ground. The roots will ripen, small animals will dig them up and eat them, and your energy will move into the animals. When they die, that energy returns to the soil, and soon, your energy will be all over this jungle.”

I thought this was a magical moment and a truly unique way to explain to a youngster how everything is connected.

We carried on, stopping every so often for Manfred to explain another detail about the jungle or its wildlife, every bit of it fascinating and informative. Eventually, he stopped us at the bottom of what he called “the big hill.” It had about a 20 metre run up and climbed steeply, coated in thick, slippery mud.

“Watch how I do it,” he said, before tearing off at full speed, bouncing and wiggling his way up as clumps of mud flew through the air. He reached the top, jumped off his quad, and looked back at us.

Next up was Steph. She gave it a solid go but got stuck about three-quarters of the way up. Manfred trudged back down, offered some advice “Full throttle, then steer left and right quickly”. He positioned himself behind her quad and started to push. “Go, go, go!” he shouted.

Steph hit the gas and slowly inched her way upward. Manfred got absolutely plastered in mud being flung from her tyres. After a final push, she made it to the top.

Manfred rejoined us at the bottom. “You’re covered,” I laughed.
“Yeah,” he replied ginning, “this is the quad bike adventure, if we don’t get muddy, we haven’t done it properly.”

Archer and I lined up for our turn, Rather arrogantly, I pinned the throttle, fully expecting to fly up the muddy track without any trouble. Alas, I soon found myself bogged down in exactly the same spot as Steph.

“You were close!” Manfred shouted. “Back up and try again.”

So we rolled back down and I went for another go. This time standing up, bouncing on the quad, yanking the handlebars left and right. After a generous amount of wheel spinning and mud flinging, we finally bumped our way over the ridge and onto the top.

“Yeah, Jim, you did that like a pro,” Manfred said as we fist bumped at the top.

We spent a bit longer tearing around the jungle before heading back to the farm where we’d started. Sadly our time was up, but Manfred was kind enough to spend another 20 minutes giving Archer a driving lesson. He hopped on the back of his quad while Archer carefully drove around a small clearing near the farm.

It had been a truly magical and authentic tour, and an incredible amount of fun. Well worth the money, all of us loved it and we genuinely couldn’t recommend it enough. 

Manfred also made a short video of our experience which you can watch here and you can check out all his social's here too, if you want to book up for yourself.