• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
MytanFeet

MytanFeet

Costa Rica Travel Information

  • Home
  • Start
  • About
  • Blog
  • Deals
  • Contact
    • Work with us

Incredible Things to Do in Monteverde to Experience the Best of the Cloud Forest

May 7, 2019 By Sammi 16 Comments

Not sure what to do in Monteverde? Check out our list of incredible things to do in Monteverde! We’ve visited multiple times and it’s an incredible destination for hiking, birding and adventure.

On a budget? Check out our five FREE things to do in Monteverde post. And if you want to do any of the activities below, please contact us for more information.

Extreme Ziplining

Did you know Monteverde is known as the birth place of the zipline? Now there are a handful of ziplines in Monteverde that will fulfill any extreme adventurer’s adrenaline needs!

Not only can you zipline over the cloud forests at Selvatura Park or Sky Adventures Monteverde Park, you can also bungee jump 143 meters into the forest, tarzan swing 45 meters down or superman zipline 2 kilometers. Whichever one you choose, your excitement level will be through the roof!

The superman ziplines at 100% Aventura are hands down the most exciting and fun ziplines we’ve ever done. They also have a crazy 45 meter tarzan swing which you can see below!

If you love adventure and are looking for an exciting activity, this is definitely one of the best things to do in Monteverde and worth every penny!

See Resplendant Quetzals

National Geographic named Monteverde as the best place in the world to see Resplendant Quetzal, a stunning bird in the trogon family. For many years, the Quetzal’s immense beauty with iridescent green feathers and a long slender tail has captured the hearts of many, even becoming the national bird of Guatemala and name of their national currency.

As these birds live in high elevations mostly in cloud forests, Monteverde is one of the best places to see them. During mating season (about February – June ish), it is common to see males dancing and flashing their vibrant colors to impress females.

Things to do in Monteverde - See Resplendant Quetzals
Male Resplendant Quetzals

To see the Quetzals, you should go with a guide. Though these birds are colorful, they are small and can be difficult to see in the trees. In our personal experience, the best place to see these birds is in Curi Cancha Reserve. We saw 5 Resplendant Quetzals in one tree in March!

You can also see toucans, hummingbirds and many other birds in the reserve, so we highly recommend going with a guide. Plus they carry telescopes which you can use to take pictures with your cell phone with!

Hike the Cloud Forest

The tropical cloud forests are one of the most amazing places in Costa Rica. Since there are only a few countries where these forests exist, it’s also one of the most spectacular places in the world. As these forests sit more than1500 meters (5000 feet) above sea level, the vegetation is completely different. You won’t feel like you’re in a tropical country at all!

There are 3 cloud forest reserves in Monteverde: Monteverde, Santa Elena and Children’s Eternal Rain Forest. The most popular one is Monteverde and though we loved all 3, our favorite is Santa Elena. Less people, higher in elevation, more mossy and cloudy. It truly feels like you’re walking through a fairytale!

Things to do in Monteverde - Hike Cloud Forest Reserves
Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve

There are trails of varying lengths and beautiful view points in each reserve so no matter which one you go to, it’ll be a great experience. You can read our guide to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserves to see which one is right for you.

Walk the Hanging Bridges

Monteverde owes a large part of its popularity to the hanging bridges in the cloud forest. Get up high in the forest canopy by way of these bridges which range up to 800 feet long and 2400 feet in altitude (240 meters to 730 meters).

Hanging bridges in Selvatura Park, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Hanging bridges in Selvatura Park

Many of the adventure parks have their own hanging bridges and the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve has one long one. This is one of the best things to do with kids in Monteverde since the hanging bridges aren’t long, the infrastructure is excellent and they can see the forest from a different perspective.

Personally, we love the hanging bridges at Selvatura Park. They have 8 bridges ranging from 170 to 560 feet offering absolutely incredible views of the cloud forest because that park is very high in elevation (higher than all other parks).

Go on a Coffee Tour

Thanks to the altitude and climate, Monteverde produces excellent high quality coffee. In fact, it’s one of my favorite coffees in Costa Rica! There are several coffee tours you can do in the area, the most popular one being Don Juan but we personally love the Cafe San Luis coffee tour in the small town of San Luis.

things to do in monteverde coffee tour
Picking coffee cherries

The owner is a local who has his own small coffee plantation and he specializes in small groups, perfect for private or exclusive tours. Visitors get to see and experience a traditional house and the old school way of processing coffee. His farm also has other trees and fruits such as cacao, oranges, limes and more. And of course, the best part is you get to sample and buy his coffee which is delicious! We highly recommend the honey.

Monteverde Night Walk

Experience the cloud forest when the sun goes down on a guided night walk in Monteverde. It’s a must for nature and animal lovers as you’ll get to learn about the forest life after dark and see the many creatures of the night such as insects, snakes, frogs and more!

things to do in monteverde night walk
Palm pit viper

It’s a fun and educational experience and you get another perspective of the jungle which not many people get. And if you want to see a sloth, this is the best opportunity as 2 fingered sloths are largely nocturnal.

More Fun Things to Do in Monteverde

These are our favorite things to do in Monteverde but you can also go horseback riding, visit San Luis waterfall, go canyoning at Finca Modelo or hike to the El Tigre waterfalls.

What to Do If You Have Only 1 or 2 Full Days in Monteverde

Here are some ideas for Monteverde itineraries.

1 Full Day in Monteverde

We recommend to visit one of the nature parks because you can experience the best of Monteverde all in one day: ziplining, hanging bridges and cloud forest. We personally recommend Selvatura Park for those who want to experience the most because they have ziplining, hanging bridges, a butterfly and hummingbird garden, a sloth center, a reptile and amphibian exhibit and a restaurant. Get the most bang for your buck at Selvatura Park!

For those who want more extreme adventure, Xtremo and 100% Aventura are great choices because they have bungee jumping, an extreme tarzan swing and superman cables. Definitely more for adrenaline junkies!

2 Full Days in Monteverde

On day 2, we recommend to do a cloud forest hike or a birding tour, or both! We did Curi Cancha Reserve in the morning for a birding tour and then hiked Bosque Nuboso Santa Elena by ourselves in the afternoon. You can also go to Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

Another idea is to do a guided walk of the cloud forest in the morning, coffee tour in the afternoon and then night walk.

Read about other things to do in Costa Rica below!

10 Things to do in Guanacaste

13 Things to do in Jaco

Things to do in Puerto Viejo

10 Things to do in San Jose

Things to do in Dominical & Uvita

Things to do in La Fortuna/Arenal

10 Things to do in Sarapiqui

Filed Under: Activities and tours Costa Rica

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Patty says

    March 11, 2023

    If we have booked Sky Adventures for their 3 activities…ziplining, sky tram and guided hanging bridges walk do you recommend going to the hanging bridges in Selvatura or anywhere else in Monteverde as well? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      March 14, 2023

      Sure, you can check this specific post for things to do in Monteverde.

      Reply
  2. April says

    June 12, 2021

    Thank you for all the information on Costa Rica. I love all your sights. Do you know what days the Monteverde farmer’s market is open?

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      June 13, 2021

      Not sure if it has changed due to COVID but Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM

      Reply
  3. Heather says

    February 10, 2021

    Thanks for your blog post! We are planning on spending two days in Monteverde at the end of March – the first day we’re going ziplining (so excited!) and the second day we plan on birdwatching and wandering around in Curi Cancha and one of the cloud forest reserves, though we haven’t quite decided which one yet. We would like to get a guide to help spot birds and other wildlife, but due to our budget, we probably will only get a guide for one of these places.
    If you had to choose, would you recommend a guide for Curi Cancha or for one of the cloud forest reserves? Which one would you do in the morning? We were planning on Curi Cancha in the morning and then the cloud forest, but we’re open to suggestions. Thanks in advance for any advice.

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      February 11, 2021

      If you want to see birds, get a guide for Curi Cancha. That is a great place for birdwatching and go in the morning when birds are more active.

      Reply
  4. Jessica says

    December 30, 2020

    Hi! Where is the Cerro Plano View Point located? Thanks for all the great info on Costa Rica!!

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      December 31, 2020

      It’s on the main road in front of the CPI Spanish school, there are some benches along the sidewalk.

      Reply
  5. Claudio says

    February 14, 2020

    Hi! Thank you so much for your website! It has been so useful for our trip in Costa Rica 🙂

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      February 15, 2020

      I’m glad to hear that Claudio! Thanks for your feedback.

      Reply
  6. Ginette Bourque says

    December 3, 2019

    Hi, we love to bird watch and want to do a hanging brige hike with a guide in one afternoon in december. (Going to Curri Cancha in the morning with a guide). Which park do you suggest? A hummingbird galery would be a bonus…. Does Sky adventures sky walk have one? I know Salvatura has one but … that guided tour is so expensive…

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      December 4, 2019

      Sky also has hanging bridges too and they also offer guided walks.

      Reply
  7. Jessica Ton says

    July 25, 2019

    Hi, thanks for all the info! Once inside the forest, we can access the hanging bridges? There’s no need to book tours in order to go on the hanging bridges? Thanks!:)

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      July 25, 2019

      Hi Jessica, the hanging bridges are only inside the adventure parks like Selvatura or Sky. Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve only has 2 short hanging bridge. If you want to do the hanging bridges walk, you will need to buy tickets to them at the parks.

      Reply
  8. Arleen says

    July 31, 2018

    I live your Costa Rica blog it has answered many of my questions. Thank you so much! Now for the skywalk tour, do you recommend any tour groups? We had used jacamar for Arenal and La fortana, do they have tours available in Monte verde also?

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      July 31, 2018

      Hi Arleen, Jacamar only operates in La Fortuna. For Monteverde tours, you can book directly with the park like SkyTrek for it. If you want to do other tours like night walks, birdwatching, etc. we recommend Three Brothers Tours in Monteverde, they’re our favorite for birdwatching and nature walks.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

About Mytanfeet

Hi! We are Yeison and Samantha

Mytanfeet is full of local tips, detailed guides, photos, videos and maps to help you plan the perfect ​trip to Costa Rica.

Our Costa Rica City Guides

Tamarindo Costa Rica Travel Guide


Costa Rica Destinations Map

Special rent a car rates for Mytanfeet readers

Check Rates or Reserve


Get Exclusive Costa Rica Travel Tips and our Free Travel Guide Straight to You!

Yes, send me the tips

Footer

About

Who are we ?
Contact us
Our Instagram
Copyright & Disclaimer

Travel

Start here
Destination Map
Join our YouTube Channel

Exclusive deals

Car rental discount and freebies
7% off Arenal tours
White water Rafting special
See all our exclusive deals

Mytanfeet LLC Copyright© 2013 - 2023 - Thank you for supporting our Travel Blog!

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}