offwegooo.com
Travel guide
Monteverde
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: December to April (dry season)
offwegooo.comPrint it, fold it, take it with you
Welcome
Monteverde, in a few days
A ridge at around 1,400 metres where the trade winds hit the continental divide and condense into near-permanent mist. The cloud forest, protected since 1972, holds some 400 bird species, and the resplendent quetzal is easiest to see in spring.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve · 2 to 3 hAbout 10,500 hectares astride the continental divide, in fog almost daily, every trunk covered in moss, bromeliads and orchids.
- Afternoon · Curi-Cancha Reserve · 2 to 3 hA former farm of mixed old and regrown forest where wildlife is easier to spot; guides come here for quetzals between February and July.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Arco Iris Lodge€90 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The climb up Cerro Amigos free · 2 to 3 hA steep track to the area's high point at 1,842 metres, topped with antennas; on clear days the view reaches Arenal volcano and its lake.
- Afternoon · A night walk in the forest · about 2 hTwo hours by torchlight with a guide spotting tarantulas, red-eyed tree frogs, sloths on the move, kinkajous and snakes.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Monteverde Country Lodge€100 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Monteverde Cheese Factory · about 1 hFounded in 1953 by Quakers from Alabama who settled here in 1951; their choice to protect the watershed above their pastures led to the reserve.
- Afternoon · The 1,590-metre zip line · about 2 hA cable of 1,590 metres high above the canopy, part of a circuit of around ten lines with a Superman-style run and a Tarzan swing.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Poco a Poco€115 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Selvatura hanging bridges · 2 to 3 hThree kilometres of trail with eight suspension bridges at canopy height, the longest over 170 metres, for a bird's-eye view of the cloud forest.
- Afternoon · Santa Elena Reserve · 2 to 3 hA reserve run by the local secondary school since 1992; higher and windier than its neighbour, with stunted, moss-covered trees.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Trapp Family Lodge€120 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Gallo pinto: rice and beans, cooked together. Breakfast, every day.
- Casado: a plate of rice, beans, meat, salad and fried plantain.
- Ceviche: fish cured in lime, eaten cold at the beach.
- Tropical fruit in quantity: mango, papaya, and pejibaye, the palm fruit eaten with mayonnaise.
- Café de altura: high-grown coffee, among the best in the world and cheapest at the farm gate.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Take a four-wheel drive for the unsealed roads, and check the insurance excess.
- Leave nothing visible in a parked car, above all at trailheads and beaches.
- Rip currents are the main danger on Pacific beaches. Swim where others swim.
- Do not feed the monkeys or the coatis. It makes them sick and then aggressive.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Spanish
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Hello | Hola |
| Thank you | Gracias |
| Please | Por favor |
| Yes | Sí |
| No | No |
| Excuse me | Perdone |
| Goodbye | Adiós |
| Do you speak English? | ¿Habla inglés? |
| I don't understand | No entiendo |
| How much is it? | ¿Cuánto cuesta? |
| Where are the toilets? | ¿Dónde están los baños? |
| The bill, please | La cuenta, por favor |
| Help! | ¡Socorro! |
| Cheers! | ¡Salud! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyCosta Rican colón (CRC)
BudgetAbout €115 a day, mid-range
Best seasonDecember to April (dry season)
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink in towns
Tipping10%, often already on the bill
Emergency911
EntryNo visa for stays of up to 180 days with a passport, for EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian citizens. An officer sets the number of days on entry, so check the stamp, and you may be asked to show an onward ticket.
HealthHepatitis A and typhoid are recommended. A yellow fever certificate is asked for only if you arrive from a country where it circulates. Malaria risk is low and limited to the lowlands; dengue is the real reason to use repellent.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/monteverde
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.