Road cycling is a sport that is booming, and more people are choosing to make it a lifestyle. Definitely those who do it for the first time will not want to get off the bike anymore, since this discipline combines exercise, fun, fellowship and of course going out to see new places.
When talking about bicycle tourism, people have the idea of taking a bicycle tour through places of tourist interest, in addition to having the sensation of physical well-being and reducing their personal ecological footprint; characteristics that are typical of the activity are used by the tour operators for their respective marketing.
At the same time, if one takes into account the large number of environmental and health problems and the fact that today’s tourists are more aware of their actions, with higher levels of education, it is possible to affirm that cycling tourism has a great opportunity to position itself within the tourist offers.
However, talking about cycling tourism in Costa Rica is complicated, since currently no data on this activity is handled in the country; many people are unaware of how this activity develops in the region.
The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), the entity in charge of overseeing tourism in general in the country, statistically divides tourism activities into four large groups: ecotourism, adventure tourism, nautical tourism and wellness tourism, which in turn are subdivided into other activities, and cycling tourism is not found in any of the four categories, which makes it difficult to obtain information on the activity.
But a few years ago, the University of Costa Rica carried out an investigation in this regard in 2016, where it indicated that 67% of the guides do not have the training to carry out bicycle tours, 78% do not have an emergency plan.
Room for improvement
Cycling tourism in Costa Rica is a tourism activity that has been lightly developed and analyzed. This situation is due to the fact that there are very few tour operators that offer the activity to national and foreign tourists. At the same time, the national cycling tourism activity lacks monitoring by state entities (ICT, INA, ICODER), institutions that could help the development, positioning and data collection at the national and international level.
Recommended routes
If you are one of the people with fevers who travel the country on two wheels, there are some routes where you can tour and practice road cycling, we leave some routes to do it, that if they are not tours but on your own, is also a valid option.
Guanacaste
Bagaces-Fortuna-Aguas Claras-Guayabo-Bagacesroute. This is a secondary route and it is paved and in good condition.
Bagaces-Guayabo-San Jorge-Curubandé-Liberia route. It is a secondary route, it is paved and in good condition.
Route Papagayo Gulf-Panama Beach-Playa Hermosa-El Coco. It is a primary road, it is paved and in good condition.
Samara-Nosara route. Here you will travel through a primary route and a MTB bike is better recommended, since although there are asphalt sectors you can also find ballast.
Nandayure-Hojancha route. It is a primary route, it is paved and in good condition.
Cañas-Tilarán route. Here you can do road cycling on a primary road, paved and in good condition.
Cañas-Bebedero Route. It is a secondary route, paved and in good condition.
Cañas-Upala-Río Celeste route. It is a primary route, paved and in good condition.
North Zone
Florencia-Fortuna route. Here you can fall in love with nature and landscapes. You can go through a primary route that is paved and in good condition.
RouteChilamate-San Miguel-Venecia-Aguas Zarcas. It is a primary route that connects Sarapiquí with San Carlos. It is paved and in good condition.
Central Pacific
Quepos-Dominical route. Near the warmth of the beach you will travel a primary route, paved and in good condition.
Dominical-Uvita route. It is a primary route, paved and in good condition.
Uvita-Palmar Norte route. It is another primary route, it is paved and in good condition.
Atlantic Area
Cahuita-Puerto Viejo-Manzanillo route. An excellent option to be surrounded by the sea and national parks at the same time. This route is on primary roads, paved and in good condition.
Home Creek-Sixaola Route. Without leaving the Caribbean, you can opt for this other route that is on a primary road, it is paved and in good condition as well.
