Monteverde, Costa Rica first became famous due to a National Geographic article naming them the best place in the world to see Resplendant Quetzals. Thanks to this mention, it’s popularity among nature and bird lovers around the world soared.
This small village up in the mountains of Costa Rica suddenly became a tourist hot spot as visitors flocked to see the Quetzals and explore a very unique ecosystem: the cloud forests. It’s one of the best places in Costa Rica with plenty of adventure and nature. If you’re planning on visiting, here are our Monteverde travel tips so you are prepared for your trip to the village in the clouds.
This post was updated January 2021.
Click the section to skip to it.
- About Monteverde
- Location and Directions
- Best time to visit and weather
- Cloud Forest Reserves
- Things to do
- Where to sleep
- Where to eat
- Tips for visiting
- Map
- Video
Monteverde Facts
It was founded by a group of Quakers from the US, looking for a peaceful place to live in the 1950’s. They chose Costa Rica for having no army and that area for its fresh climate and excellent dairy farming. Additionally, they set aside a large tract of land for conservation which is now the Cloud Forest Biological Reserve.
Selected by popular vote as one of the wonders of Costa Rica, Monteverde is also one of the places to see in the world before it disappears. The cloud forests are highly vulnerable and sensitive to any climate changes.
Location
Map of Monteverde, Costa Rica
Monteverde is located in the Corridor of Tilaran in the province of Puntarenas, 1500-1800 meters (5000-6000 feet) in elevation. Monteverde is 140 kilometers (67 miles) from San Jose and 114 kilometers (71 miles) from Liberia.
How to get to Monteverde
Bus:
From San Jose: There is a bus from San Jose at 6:30 AM and 2:30 PM, it takes 5 hours and costs 2,680 Costa Rican colones. The bus company is Transportes Tilaran and leaves from Ave 7-9.
From Liberia: You will need to take a bus from Liberia to Canas, Canas to Tilaran, Tilaran to Santa Elena. The bus from Liberia to Canas takes 2 hours and there is one every half an hour from 8:30 – 3 PM. Canas to Tilaran buses are at 6, 730, 815, 9, 1030, 12, 1 PM, 1:50 PM, 2:35 PM, 3:15 PM, 4PM and 6 PM. From Tilaran, there are 4 buses that cost 1500 colones: 4 AM, 8:30 AM, 12:30 PM and 5 PM.
From Puntarenas: There is a bus from Puntarenas at 420 AM and 830 AM via Las Juntas Route 145, 5 AM and 130 PM via Sardinal Route 606, 230 PM via Las Juntas 145 and 5 PM via Lagartos. It costs 1,455 colones, takes 3 hours and leaves in front of the Paseo de los Turistas with TransMonteverde.
From Arenal/La Fortuna: Take the 3 hour bus from Fortuna to Tilaran, then Tilaran to Santa Elena. There is a bus at 8 AM and 4:30 PM at the bus terminal in front of the Fortuna park with Transportes Tilaran-San Carlos S.A.
Shuttle
You can take private or shared shuttles. A shared shuttle costs $55 – $65 USD per person one way depending on your pick up location. A private shuttle from San Jose and Liberia costs around $220 USD one way for 1-4 people.
Driving
Monteverde is about a 3.5 hour drive from San Jose through Sardinal Route 606. From Liberia, it is also about a 3.5 hour drive through Las Juntas Route 145. Please read our Monteverde road conditions post for up to date, in-depth and detailed information about Monteverde routes and road conditions because Monteverde is one of the destinations where a 4wd/4×4 is highly recommended. If you plan to rent a car, get our Costa Rica car rental discount here.
Taxi Boat
If you are coming from La Fortuna/Arenal, you can drive or take the taxi boat across Lake Arenal. The trip takes around 3 hours and costs from $25 USD per person. They offer 2 routes a day, one in the morning around 8 AM and one in the afternoon around 2 PM.
How to Get Around Monteverde, Costa Rica
If you do not have a car, you can:
- Take a taxi. There are plenty of taxis in Santa Elena town.
- Uber. We saw some Ubers in downtown.
- Walk if you are close to Santa Elena town or in Cerro Plano. It is quite hilly so put on your good walking shoes.
- Book tours with transportation included.
- Take the bus to the attractions. There are buses to Santa Elena Reserve, Monteverde Cloud Forest and Curi-Cancha Reserve.
Santa Elena Bosque Nuboso Shuttle Bus
Santa Elena downtown to Bosque Nuboso Santa Elena: 630 AM, 830 AM, 1030 AM and 12:30 PM. Costs $2 USD per way.
Bosque Nuboso Santa Elena to Santa Elena downtown: 9 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM and 4 PM. Costs $2 USD per way.
Reserve in advance at Monteverde Info Center.
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Shuttle Bus
Santa Elena downtown to Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve: 7 AM, 8 AM, 1030 AM and 130 PM. Costs $3 USD one way.
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve to Santa Elena downtown: 11 AM, 2 PM and 4 PM. Costs $3 USD one way.
Roundtrip costs $5 USD per person. Reserve in advance at Monteverde Info Center.
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Public Bus
Santa Elena downtown to Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve: 6:15 AM, 7:30 AM, 9:30 AM (high season), 1:20 PM and 3 PM.
Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve to Santa Elena downtown: 6 AM, 830 AM (high season), 2 PM and 4 PM.
Costs 700 Costa Rican colones per way.
Driving
The main road through Santa Elena town and Cerro Plano is paved but other than that, all the other roads are unpaved and very bumpy. This is why a SUV 4wd/4×4 is recommended as the roads aren’t in good conditions.
Monteverde Weather and Best Time to Visit
Monteverde has 2 seasons according to the locals: really rainy and less rainy. It actually does experience typical dry and rainy season like most of Costa Rica but due to its high elevation, it is a lot colder and rainier and may rain any time of the year. For less possibilities of rain, January – April are your best months. March and April are the hottest and driest with temperatures in the mid 80s (29 C) during the day and mid to high 60s (18 C) at night.
Even though they are the drier months, there are still spring showers. This area is famous for their rainbows thanks to these sporadic spring showers and drizzles. Dry season starts around mid December to beginning of May and rainy season starts around mid May to beginning of December. But like I said earlier, it can sprinkle or have light rains during dry season.
Our Experiences
We visited for a week in March and had several spring showers, mostly in the late afternoon. It sprinkled a bit in the mornings as well and it got very windy and more drizzly at night. But don’t fret, the showers didn’t last long! It would sprinkle for about 5-10 minutes and then clear up. September, October and November are very rainy months.
We visited in November 2017 and it poured all day. We have also visited once in August, it didn’t rain as much but it was cold, cloudy and rainy at night. When we visited in September, it poured every night. It was sunny in the very early mornings and started raining around 11 AM.
We have also visited mid-January and had two beautiful sunny and clear days. The third day, we woke up to intense winds and light showers.
The best time to visit to see birds and Resplendant Quetzals are February – July since it is the Quetzals’ breeding season. You can also see them around mid January. Whatever time of year you visit, make sure to bring a jacket to Monteverde!
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserves
There are 3 cloud forest reserves: Monteverde Cloud Forest, Santa Elena Cloud Forest and Children’s Eternal Rainforest. If you don’t have time to visit all, you must visit at least one of them. You can go to any of them on your own or hire a guide which is recommended to learn more about the forest and see wildlife.
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve: The most popular cloud forest reserve of the 3. It has well maintained trails that lead to nice viewpoints, a hanging bridge and waterfall. You can spend a whole day walking through this reserve.
Bosque Nuboso Santa Elena: This reserve sits higher in elevation so it’s wetter and cloudier. There is a trail that leads to a spectacular view of Arenal Volcano (on a clear day). You can also spend a whole day in the reserve if you’d like since there are many trails.
Children’s Eternal Rainforest: This is the biggest private reserve in Costa Rica with 4 different stations. We visited Bajos del Toro station which has easy trails.
We personally love Santa Elena the most. The scenery was just incredible and the view of Arenal Volcano is amazing. Children’s Eternal Rainforest is not as crowded so that’s an excellent option if you don’t want to be around a lot of people. Read our guide to comparing the three cloud forest reserves.
Things to Do in Monteverde, Costa Rica
This area has the perfect mix of nature and adventure. The most popular activity is ziplining since it is said to be birth place of the first zipline and you can soar 1 kilometer over the cloud forest! You can find some of the most extreme canopy tours like at 100% Aventura.
Some other activities are:
Monteverde Night Walk: The cloud forest comes alive at night since many of the animals are nocturnal. If you want to see sloths, it’s best to go on a night walk since only 2 fingered sloths live in this area and they are mostly nocturnal.
Bird watching at Curi-Cancha Reserve: For bird watchers, you must go to Curi-Cancha Reserve. This reserve has hiking trails and the bird watching is spectacular. We saw toucans, Resplendant Quetzals, hummingbirds, agoutis and spider monkeys!
There are several eco-adventure parks where you can do multiple activities in one day, perfect if you only have one full day in Monteverde. The most popular ones are SkyAdventures and Selvatura Park. Selvatura Park is perfect for those who only have 1 full day in Monteverde because it has ziplining, hanging bridges, butterfly and hummingbird garden and other activities for a well rounded, fun day in the cloud forest.
Read about our favorite things to do in Monteverde and five awesome free things to do in Monteverde!
Where to Stay
If you love lodges and boutique hotels, this is the place for you. Many of the hotels in Monteverde are small and cozy with beautiful views of the cloud forest. Likewise, there are many hostels and budget options.
Hostel and Budget:
Pension Santa Elena and Sleepers Sleep Cheaper Hostel. A bed in a dorm goes from $10-15. Another is Selina Monteverde. Hotel Claro de Luna is a good clean budget options in town.
Mid range hotels:
Monteverde Country Lodge and Hotel Fonda Vela are two nice mid-range hotels. We stayed at the Country Lodge and really enjoyed it. The restaurant is excellent. Scala Monteverde is a new, 5 bedroom hotel very close to downtown.
High end hotels:
For an upscale hotel with a nice view, El Establo Hotel is one of our favorites. It’s a fairly large hotel with two pools and restaurants. It has very spacious rooms, all with great views of the cloud forest. Hotel Poco a Poco is another great option for those who want city conveniences (ac, fast Internet, heated pool). Hotel Belmar is a luxury hotel with a gym, mountain and Nicoya Peninsula views, elegant wood furnishings a restaurant on a hill. Senda Monteverde is a newer, luxury hotel in the area.
Airbnb:
If you prefer to have a “home away from home” experience, check out Airbnb (get $20 credit here). We stayed at 2 different Airbnbs in Monteverde and absolutely loved it. We had a whole apartment to ourselves and it was dog friendly which was perfect for one of our trips where we took our two dogs. Read our guide to using Airbnb in Costa Rica so you’re prepared.
Where to Eat in Monteverde, Costa Rica
This area has a decent amount of food with lots of traditional Costa Rican places and other cuisines. Even though the area is touristic, it is not crazy expensive as you’d expect. You can still find good priced sodas (traditional Costa Rican restaurants) and a variety of other food. Here are our favorites.
- Restaurante Sabor Tico: Best place for traditional Costa Rican food, not super expensive. Two locations in the plaza and by the soccer field. Dog friendly (outside, the one by the soccer field)
- Toro Tino: Amazing steak restaurant. Also has pasta, salads and burgers.
- Orchid cafe: Great coffee, breakfast, brunch and lunch options. Delicious desserts and bread. One of our favorites.
- Cafeteria Evy’s World: Delicious pastries, bread and cakes
- Tree House Restaurant: Has Costa Rican and International.
- Choco Cafe Monteverde: Yummy salads, sandwiches and coffee.
- Tramonti: Delicious pizza, very nice atmosphere with lights and good wine.
- Panaderia Jimenez: They have two locations, both are great. Taty’s location serves hot breakfasts.
- Taco Taco: Great tacos and burritos. My favorite is the baja del mar.
 What To Know About Visiting Monteverde, Costa Rica
Most people stay 1-2 days. For 1 full day in Monteverde, most people do either a full day at the adventure parks or a full day hiking the reserves. People who stay longer are usually the birdwatchers.
Bring a jacket and long pants. At night it gets cold, especially if it’s windy and this area can rain anytime of the year. There are lots of clothing stores in downtown Santa Elena if you forget to bring a jacket.
If you’re visiting in rainy season and want to go ziplining/bungee jump/etc., make sure to contact the tour company because they may not operate them if it’s thundering, lightning or raining too hard.
Most of the reserves have binocular for rent but if you’re there to see birds/photograph animals, you must have a telephoto lens. I used a 100-400 mm lens on a crop sensor Canon 80d. Make sure you have a good sturdy tripod.
Since Monteverde is high in elevation, mosquito repellent is not necessary.
A common question we get is if they should visit Monteverde or Arenal. Both are very different so you will need to read up on them to decide. Check our post comparing Arenal and Monteverde to see which one is right for your itinerary. If you can, visit both!
What to Pack for Monteverde, Costa Rica
Warm clothes and a waterproof rain jacket. This is an absolute must. I love my North Face rain jacket.
Closed toed hiking shoes. If you wear trainers or running sneakers, they will most likely get wet and muddy. Bring a good pair of hiking shoes especially if you’re planning to hike the cloud forest reserves. When we visited Selvatura Park, we wore our KEEN hiking sandals which was fine since we were mostly walking on hanging bridges.
Waterproof gear: backpack, phone cover, etc. This is a must especially if you are a photographer and carrying around camera equipment. You can also get a rain cover for your backpack if it’s not waterproof. We brought our Aqua Quest waterproof backpacks which worked spectacularly.
They sell ponchos at the souvenir stores.
Monteverde, Costa Rica Video
Check out our short video to see Santa Elena town, some of the cloud forest reserves and wildlife taken in 2017.
Read other Costa Rica guides here!
This post has affiliate links.
Shweta says
are the parks free of cost or they need a ticket
Sammi says
They all have entrance fees
Martin says
Hi Samantha and Yeison,
your blog about Costa Rica is awesome and very helpful for our vacation planning 🙂
I have a general question: The Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve as well as and many National Parks in Costa Rica are open until 4pm. Is this time only referred to entry of the park/reserve (i.e. you could stay 1-2 hours longer in park) or does it mean that you have to leave the park by 4pm since they close the gates to the parking lot etc. by then?
Thanks for your help!
Martin
Sammi says
Hi Martin, that is the time the park closes so everyone needs to be out of the park by that time. Usually about 1 hour before, the park rangers will start going around telling people to leave. For most parks, they won’t admit anyone into the park after 2 PM if it closes at 4 PM.
Sammi says
Hi Murray, you can check the photo of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve shuttle bus in this section
But I would go to the Monteverde Info Center in Santa Elena to triple check because schedules in CR change all the time and that schedule was last checked a year ago.
Murray says
Hi Sammi,
Re Transport to and from Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, I was looking for the shuttle that picks up from and returns to hotels. Do you have the link handy? We will be taking the 11:30 Nature tour but I am thinking of taking a 07:30 shuttle, exploring, going for our tour and then returning to Poco a Poco. That would likely mean the 16:00 shuttle. Do they get full? Are there taxis there if necessary? Thanks for your help and great website! Murray
Elizabeth says
Your map is super helpful! I was wondering what the pick-up times mean, the ones listed under Selvatura Park? (https://89675e09f433cad538fb4f31-mytanfeetcom.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Monteverde-travel-tips-map.jpg)
Are those pick-ups from Santa Elena Centre, and is it a stop for the same bus line that goes to Santa Elena? Or, without a car, are there shuttles or buses to get to either park? Hope you can clarify.
Sammi says
Hi Elizabeth, the pick up times under Selvatura Park are the times the park offers their transportation. Selvatura Park offers clients transportation from hotels in Monteverde.
The transport to Santa Elena and Monteverde is a local bus that goes from Santa Elena town center to the cloud forests and those are the schedules on the top right corner.
Ling Ma says
Hi, we’ll be in Costa Rica at the end of March. We’ll be taking the taxi-boat-taxi from Arenal to Monteverde, stay there for 2 nights. Without a car, is it possible to visit the hanging bridges without joining a tour? We’ve booked a tour for Monteverde Cloud Forest morning hiking tour the next day. Wondering if we should do the hanging bridges in the afternoon after arriving or the next after walking in the cloud forest. Or maybe the hanging bridges in Arenal? We’ll stay 2 nights at each place and have about 1.5 days to tour each after arriving.
Sammi says
You can book hanging bridges at Selvatura, 100% Aventura or Sky and I believe they include/offer transportation and you don’t have to join a tour. You can do it self guided (we did it self guided at Selvatura) and you can also do both cloud forest reserve and hanging bridges in one day.
Alice says
You mention having a high car, would a Hyundai Creta be good?
Sammi says
Hi Alice, yes in dry season a Creta works!
Alice says
We plan on ziplining and then going to the hummingbird garden afterwards. Is driving our own vehicle throughout the park allowed (From Original Canopy to Selvatura?) or is there one big parking area?
Also, will an admission fee be charged even though we already bought the canopy tour tickets?
Sammi says
Hi Alice, if you’re going to Selvatura Park only, you’ll walk from the zipline to the hummingbird garden as it is in walking distance, no need to drive. If you already bought zipline tickets, you’ll need to buy hummingbird garden tickets if you haven’t already
Alice says
Thank you, your blog has been so helpful!
Sammi says
you’re welcome!
Hollie Hughes says
Your blog is so helpful! 23 days and counting until I arrive 🙂
Have you done the Sky Walk in Monteverde? I was wondering if my Keen sandals(closed toe) would be enough since it mostly looks like hanging bridges. Their website says hiking or tennis shoes, but it seems you have been able to do a lot in your hiking sandals.
Sammi says
Hi Hollie! We have done it and we work our KEEN closed toed sandals. The hanging bridges are very nice and the rest of the trails are dirt, they usually say fully closed shoes for the most protection but we’ve worn out KEEN closed toed hiking sandals all over Monteverde including the hanging bridges and they were great. Just don’t stray off the paths (don’t want to be stepping on any ant hills or anything!)
Mufid AlShalabi says
Hi,
We are staying at Samara for a week as our main base, would you suggest doing a day trip to Monteverde or staying there for a night? We are going to rent a car and driving is not an issue for us. We are interested in ziplining, and doing the hanging bridges walk at Monteverde or Arenal? Would you suggest one over the other?
Thank you for all this great information. Amazing website.
Mufid
Sammi says
I would definitely stay a night if you can. Monteverde is amazing and it’s worth staying a night!
Sammi says
Hi Heidi, you’ll have to take the bus first to Tilaran (every day at 7.00am. Approx 3 hours.), then Canas (should be one every hour from 5 AM to 1030 AM and then every other hour or so, very popular and common route), then to Liberia (also a popular route, usually one every thirty minutes from 830 AM to 3 PM. It’s the same as Liberia to La Fortuna except at Tilaran, you’ll go to Liberia instead of La Fortuna.
Heidi says
I plan to take the bus from Liberia to La Fortuna and then the water taxi to Monteverde. Do you know the bus schedule from Monteverde back to Liberia?
Thanks,
Heidi
Carmel Hiebert says
I’ll be driving from La Fortuna to Monteverde, can you tell me approximately what the travel time would be? and if Waze is up to date with road closures etc and does it give approximate travel times? I downloaded it but haven’t used it yet!
Thank you!
Sammi says
La Fortuna to Monteverde is roughly 3 hours driving, Route 606 is still under construction but you will be going around the lake the other direction but Waze works great and does give you approximate travel times. It works very similar to Google Maps, and has data such as traffic, construction, slow downs, etc. because it’s user generated so you can see live how the traffic or route is.
Daniel says
For those driving from Arenal to Monteverde around the lake:AVOID the German Bakery in Nuevo Arenal. We saw the signs around the road so we went to check it out. We ordered an espresso, a cappuccino and an apple strudel for 7,000 colonos or around 15 dollars. MAJOR tourist trap.
Mary says
Do you recommend going as soon as the parks open for best wildlife viewing. 7:30 seems early for us and we would prefer going to the later 9:15 tour, but don’t want to miss out on the best time for the hike. Thanks!
Sammi says
Wildlife is most active in the mornings at sunrise (around 530 AM) and that’s the best time for wildlife watching. So if you go in the late morning/afternoon, a lot of animals are sleeping by around then and birds are not very active. There’s always a chance to see them any time of the day but your best chances are in the morning.
Marc says
You recommend el Establo as a good place to stay. I was wondering about the evening nature walk at El Establo and the Zip lines at el Establo. How do they compare to the evening walk at Monteverde park and the other local zip lines?
Sammi says
Hi Marc, we haven’t done the nature walk or zipline at El Establo, we’ve only stayed at the hotel so I can’t give a personal opinion on that, sorry.
Lisa says
Thank you for the tips the guide books I have are no very helpful
Sammi says
Hi Lisa, I’m so glad the blog is helpful! Some books aren’t very helpful since they aren’t written by people who have been there unfortunately.