As an adventure-seeking couple, e-biking across Costa Rica from coast to coast was a ride that offered it all to myself and my girlfriend Iulia – cycling on every terrain possible, seeing a lot of wildlife and discovering the country on two wheels. This was not our first Much Better Adventure – in 2025 we had hiked across the island of Madeira – but it was our first e-biking holiday. Before this trip, we hadn't done more than two days of cycling in a row.
This was our biggest concern: how to handle a full week of pedalling with high temperatures and humidity (not to mention the fact that we might encounter wild animals blocking our path along the way). I have to admit that a few days before the trip started, I was a bit unsure of how to feel. But as soon we saw the full group and got the bicycles we would be riding, the joy of the trip kicked in.
The whole adventure felt very complete, because it had it all: amazing campsites, refreshing rivers and waterfalls, exciting river and bridge crossings, lots of different wildlife...
While we love hiking, the reason we wanted to travel by bike this time around was that we wanted to see more of a country in our precious vacation time.
When we saw trips with e-bikes we thought that fitted us even better, because you are also are not so exhausted after each day. It is the perfect way to see a country. You can stop for photos or videos easily, but you are still fast enough to cover a lot of the diverse landscape.
The start of the adventure was on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, and it was an amazing place. I could not imagine a better start for e-biking than cruising along the coast line. The real challenge was to look at the ocean and the bike track at the same time and not cause an accident!
Our guide Fez told us that the hardest part of the journey was right on the first day, within the first hour. So, after we kissed the ocean and relaxed, the toughest part came immediately. If you've never cycled on train tracks, this is your chance... but you soon find out why no one is doing it regularly.
It is very frustrating. And just when we thought it wouldn't get worse, Fez told us that there could be a real train coming along behind us – but there was no need no panic, he said. It would honk to alert us it was there. While pushing forward on the train tracks, we heard a howling noise from all around us that was nearly as intimidating as a train. It wasn't a locomotive but the local howler monkeys.
The most enjoyable part of this section of route was the last part of the track – a train track bridge. It is basically a piece of wood, and then some thin air, and then another piece of wood. And probably crocodiles waiting in the river below?
Starting at the Caribbean and finishing at the Pacific Ocean is an amazing feeling.
Now we understood why this is called an adventure.
Thankfully, we managed to get across safely (without getting wet), and we were very glad that the hardest part of the trip was already behind us.
I was looking forward to the river crossings on this trip, as I thought we could cycle through them, but in the end it was a more of a manual job than expected. Anyway, it was a refreshing experience. And after the train tracks we were proud to master also the river crossing challenge. It was like collecting medals for bravery. We owe a big thanks to our guide Fez, who did most of the heavy lifting – carrying the e-bikes, and sometimes even lifting two e-bikes at once.
We heard that we had to cross some bridges on the second day, but admittedly, we had no idea what state those bridges would be in.
Back home in Austria, these bridges would not be in existence. And if there were to be such a bridge, there would be a whole lot of safety signs before it. In Costa Rica we had Fez to tell us how to cross safely, and as we had trust in our guide, we crossed them with faith. He was even nice enough to assist Iulia the whole path of the bridge.
Living in Austria, we are aware of road signs that show if there is an animal danger. Fortunately, the only danger in Austria is a cow. Costa Rica is a different level. Instead of one animal they put three wild animals on their signs. And these three animals change depending on where you were in the country. Some of them we didn't spot for real, but other, we were lucky enough to see – sloths, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, coatis, toucans, iguanas, dart frogs, armadillos and lots of different birds. It's an amazing country to visit if you love wildlife.
Out of all of these experiences, the best encounter for sure was the sloth. It was the cutest animal that we have ever seen. We were crossing a river and got out of the boat when we saw the sloth climbed up onto a nearby fence in slow motion. We took thousands of photos and videos. This sloth quickly became the best documented sloth in all of Costa Rica – explored from every angle possible.
In general we had a very good mix of terrain to ride on throughout the trip.
I liked especially the diversity of the country, as we started in a more humid and green landscape and finished on a drier and desert-like one.
The gravel-like terrain was the most fun; especially the downhills where it felt really like racing sometimes. In our group were four mountain bike enthusiasts from California and it was a pleasure to race with them up and down the hills.
But what really stood out was the friendly Costa Ricans that we passed by. Most of them greeted us with joy, waved or even gave us a high five. We experienced that throughout our journey across Costa Rica. The people are so nice and friendly and most of the time very happy fellows. It felt quite different to Europe!
As the climate is hot and humid here, it is even more important to eat and drink whenever you can. Fez was very helpful in that challenge, as we stopped very often for fresh fruit juices, coconut drinks or short supermarket visits. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were always amazing. We loved the Costa Rican food. The mostly humongous portions were really needed to fuel up our body batteries.
Still, at the end of each day our bike – and our own – batteries were sometimes very low. There was one day, with a lot of ups and downs and a big up at the end of the day, where my e-bike battery was basically empty mid-mountain.
The second half of the mountain was tough and at the top there was not much left: no battery, no water and no energy in my body. But on all other days there was sufficient battery to finish quite comfortably.
On the last day we were challenged by a very hot and dry climate, and lots of street traffic. So, we were really happy to see the ocean again, this time the Pacific.
Starting at the Caribbean and finishing at the Pacific Ocean is an amazing feeling.
The whole adventure felt very complete, because it had it all: amazing campsites, refreshing rivers and waterfalls, exciting river and bridge crossings, lots of different wildlife each day and a fantastic bike team including our guide Fez and our driver, Darwin.
Feeling inspired? Grab a spot on this e-biking adventure, or check out all of our adventures in Costa Rica.