THE HIGHLIGHTS TOUR

From Caldera to Rivas, 7 days of paragliding adventure await pilots wanting to fly Costa Rica’s best sites and experience the land of Pura-Vida

2025 Tour Dates Coming Soon

Tour OVerview

Packages start from $2000

Escape the cold winter of the Northern hemisphere and head to Costa Rica to experience the best flying sites and hidden gems of the jungle on Zion Paragliding’s Highlights Tour. Our team of professionals will be your guides in the air and on the ground as we make our way from Caldera, along the friendly flying sites of the pacific coast Jaco and Dominical, and up to Rivas in the Central Valley.

Your Guides

Get to know the fun and qualified crew that will be guiding you in the air and on the ground as you tour along the beautiful South Pacific coast of Costa Rica

ZION SUSANNO

Owner and Founder of Zion Paragliding, APPI Paragliding Instructor, APPI Pro Tandem Instructor

XC and Paragliding World Cup Pilot

  • Zion has been flying since the age of 15, giving him a total of 12 years flying, over 10,000 flying hours and has flown with more than 2000 passengers in tandem. Zion is a qualified instructor through APPI, which offers the highest standard of instructor training international. As an instructor and a Costa Rican, you are in the best hands when it comes to local flying knowledge combined with expertise for teaching and in-air guidance. Outside of teaching and flying tandems, Zion enjoys XC paragliding, competing and hike and fly missions - what can we say except the guy loves to fly and that’s why he’s the World record holder for the fastest ground speed on a paraglider, and longest distance and triangle in Central America.

  • Owner and founder of Zion Paragliding

    APPI Paragliding Instructor

    APPI Pro Tandem Instructor

William Pardis

Advanced Paragliding and Tandem Instructor, Tour Guide

XC and Paragliding World Cup Pilot, All Round Adventurer

  • Will, a dual national of the USA and the Philippines, learned to fly in 2015 and has been hooked ever since. In just 6 years will has racked up over 2000 flying hours and gone from a novice, to tandem instructor, competition pilot and now a serious hike and fly pilot, hoping to make it into the X-Alps one day. Will has been working with Zion since 2018 and has extensive knowledge of flying in Costa Rica. Will’s precision in flying and his calm, laid-back demeanour, translates in the sky to a relaxed flight when under his guidance.

  • Holds USHPA Advanced and Tandem Instructor Ratings in the USA

    World Cup Competitor

    Gin Gliders R&D Test Pilot

    Number 1 ranked pilot in the Philippines

    First Aider

    Bilingual in English and Filipino

Next Tour Dates

2025 Tour Dates Coming Soon

About The Tour

Paraglide across the best flying sites of Costa Rica under the guidance of our Professional instructors. Each flying day of the tour starts with a site briefing, observing the conditions together and answering questions. As we make our way along the coastal flying sites, we hope your flying advances as the sites allow for you to discover new paragliding skills.

The first stop on the tour takes the group to Caldera, a small port town on the pacific coast. This soaring site has a nice south west breeze, easy beach landings and is the perfect place to get acclimatised to flying in Costa Rica and ease you back into the sky.

From Caldera the tour moves on to the exciting town of Jaco, just a short 1 hour drive away. Here, the flying is dynamic, with both thermals and soaring depending on the daily conditions. Jaco provides the first opportunity for a 1-to-1 session with one of our instructors where you will get the chance to discuss any goals you would like to work towards on your trip.

Dominical is the next town and flying site we will visit and is a firm favourite with locals and foreign pilots. With second-to-none views of the turquoise ocean and jungle covered mountains, you will never want to land. This is the best place in Costa Rica to advance your thermalling technique and practise staying up in low cycles. Our time in Dominical also gives you a chance to explore some of Costa Rica’s nature, with free time for optional waterfall tours, surfing lessons or simply a wander through this sleepy beach town.

As you start to feel more confident in your flying we head up to Rivas in the Central Valley, this site offers pilots a great introduction to mountain flying with its smooth tropical thermals and here we offer an awesome day of learning in our XC clinic for those that wish to join.

The final leg of the tour makes its way back to Dominical for the last day of flying before the tour comes to a close with a final group lunch and tour debrief.

The Destination

Costa Rica is best known for its eco-tourism, biodiversity and friendly locals. As you travel along the coast on this 7-day tour you will get to see for yourself the rich nature this land is home to. With plenty of free time for optional activities like waterfall tours, surf lessons and beach time, you will fall in love with nature too as we spot birds, sloths, monkeys and much more wildlife together.

What makes Costa Rica so special for paragliding is its consistent weather conditions from December through to April, making flying possible almost every day in the dry summer season. We also believe Costa Rica is a bit of a hidden gem when it comes to flying, especially in the mountain zone of Rivas, meaning minimal to no queues on take-off, plenty of air space for everyone and uncharted potential for what pilots can really achieve here.

The FlyinG

As this tour progresses along the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, we hope you're flying does too. The Pacific coast in Costa Rica provides us with beautiful gentle breezes, smooth tropical thermals and the perfect location for pilots of all levels to improve their flying technique.

Flying starts early here compared to temperate climates. You can expect to arrive at the launch for 9am where we have time for the daily briefing and questions before getting ready to launch when the day switches on, normally around 10am.

Once in the air, feel the smooth soaring conditions at Caldera, and Jaco. At the other flying sites of Dominical and Rivas, you will find gentle thermals of no more than 4m/s thanks to the tropical humidity. With patience and skill fly up to cloud base and your guides are always on hand to help you if needed

Tour ItinerarY

Day 1 | Caldera - Jaco

AM

  • Group welcome meeting in Caldera

  • Meet your instructors and the tour group before the flying begins

  • Caldera site and weather briefing

PM

  • Take your first flights in Caldera

  • Post flight group lunch

  • Drive to Jaco (40 mins)

  • Free time to explore, relax and eat

  • Hotel stay overnight in Jaco

Day 2 | Jaco

AM

  • 1-to-1 time with pilots to discuss any goals for the trip

  • Jaco site briefing

  • Morning flights in Jaco

PM

  • Group Lunch in Jaco

  • Afternoon flights in Jaco

  • Free evening to explore, relax and eat

  • Hotel stay overnight in Jaco

Day 3 | Jaco - Dominical

AM

  • Early arrival to Jaco launch to allow time for questions, observations and daily briefing

  • Morning flights in Jaco

PM

  • Group Lunch in Jaco

  • Drive to Dominical (Approx 2 hours)

  • Free afternoon and evening to explore, relax and eat

  • Hotel stay overnight in Dominical

Day 4 | Dominical

AM

  • Early arrival to Dominical launch for briefing and to allow time for questions and optional 1-to-1 time with instructors

  • Morning fights in Dominical

PM

  • Group lunch in Dominical

  • Afternoon flights in Dominical

  • Free evening to explore, relax and eat

  • Hotel stay overnight in Dominical

Day 5 | Dominical

AM

  • Early arrival to Dominical launch for daily briefing

    • Optional XC Clinic for those wishing to improve their long distance flying

  • Morning flights or guided XC in Dominical

PM

  • Group lunch in Dominical

  • Afternoon flights from Dominical

    • OR optional free afternoon for surfing lessons or Whales Tail tour.

  • Hotel stay overnight in Dominical

Day 6 | Dominical - Rivas

AM

  • Early drive to Rivas ( approx. 1.5 hours)

  • Early arrival to Los Indios flying site in Rivas for site briefing, observations and questions

    • Optional XC Clinic for those wishing to improve their long distance flying

  • Morning flights or guided XC in Rivas

PM

  • Group lunch in Rivas

  • Drive back to Dominical (approx 1.5 hours)

  • Group Dinner in Dominical

  • Hotel stay overnight in Dominical

Day 7 | Dominical

AM 

  • Morning flights in Dominical with daily site and weather briefing

PM

  • Final group lunch in Dominical and tour wrap-up

The Itinerary is subject to change based on the weather and flying conditions at the various sites.

Tour Details

What’s Included

  • 7 days of guided paragliding in the best flying sites in Costa Rica

  • 6 nights accommodation in hotels or airbnbs throughout the different locations on the tour.

  • Daily site briefings on launch

  • Launch fees

  • 1-to-1 time with an instructor to discuss your current level and any goals you are working towards.

  • Optional XC Clinics on days 5 and 6

  • Shuttles between the different flying sites and hotels

  • Daily shuttles to the launch site, landing zone pick-up and retrieve

What You Need

  • Minimum IPPI ParaPro2 paragliding certification or national equivalent such as USHPA P2

  • Your own paragliding equipment including:

    • Certified EN B paraglider or above

    • Harness

    • Reserve parachute

    • Helmet

    • Dual-band VHF radio - we recommend the Yaesu FT-65

  • Ability to confidently take off and land on your own

  • USHPA does not cover third party insurance outside of the USA. Travel insurance - find out more

  • Clothes for paragliding that protect from the sun

  • A full kit list is provided in our detailed itinerary

Who is the 7-Day Adventure Tour Right For?

  • IPPI P2, P3 and P4 Pilots or national equivalent license holders, who want to learn and improve their thermalling technique and XC skills - From experience, we have noticed that all pilots learn more when in a group of mixed abilities

  • Pilots who want to explore the paragliding in Costa Rica with a guide that knows the local area

  • Pilots who can launch and land with minimal or no help

Not Included

  • Shuttle between San Jose and meeting and departure points

  • Flights to or from Costa Rica

  • Food and drink (except where breakfast may be included in the hotel stay, our detailed itinerary will let you know once you’re booked)

  • Cost of any additional or optional activities

  • Insurance

  • Any additional nights accommodation if you arrive early or leave late

  • Covid-19 tests for travel

Pricing

All prices are subject to local tax at 13% for card or paypal payments

$2400 Shared Room

What’s Included

  • 7 Day Tour

  • 6 Nights Accommodation in a shared room

  • Includes everything listed under tour details

$2800 Private Room

What’s Included

  • 7 Day Tour

  • 6 Nights Accommodation in a private room

  • Includes everything listed under tour details

$2000 Tour Only

What’s Included

  • 7 Day Tour

  • Choose and book your own accommodation if you’re coming with family, a partner or prefer to do that

  • Includes everything listed under tour details except for accommodation

Register Your Interest

2025 Tour Dates Coming soon

Use the form below to ask our team any questions about the tour and to be the first to find out when new dates become available to book.