The Perfect 3 Day Itinerary for Monteverde
Monteverde is an area in the mountains of Costa Rica, famous for its beautiful cloud forests. You’re exploring a forest that is thousands of feet above sea level, filled with rare animals and plants that can’t be seen anywhere else in the world. Even though the reserve is called Cloud Forest, it’s actually mist, not clouds that form in the forest. The mist comes from the high altitude, as well as the humidity in the forest, creating a high level of biodiversity. Walking through the cloud forest feels like walking through the avatar world, a piece of paradise for nature lovers.
„Cloud Forests only make up 1 percent of all forests worldwide.”
How to get to Monteverde
Getting around in Monteverde
It’s tricky to get around in Monteverde if you don’t have a car. The only other option you have to see the Cloud Forests, is to book a tour with your accommodation or with a travel agency, but it’s definitely more expensive. In Santa Elena you can easily walk to restaurants and shops, but to get to the Cloud Forests you will need a car or shuttle bus.
3 Day Itinerary Monteverde
Day 1: Colibri Cafe, Monteverde Cloud Forest, Hot Tube
Visit the Colibri Cafe
Before you explore the famous Monteverde Cloud Forest, you should stop by the Colibri Cafe. Apart from the great coffee and amazing banana bread you can get here, it’s the best spot to watch hummingbirds in Monteverde. The cafe has a little patio where you will find the hummingbirds and you can see them really close, because they’re used to people. It’s open from 8am – 4pm and a good place to have breakfast or to buy a snack for your hike in the Cloud Forest. I could have spent hours here to watch the hummingbirds, but there is more to see in the reserve.
Explore the Monteverde Cloud Forest
After admiring the beautiful little hummingbirds you can just walk over to the Monteverde Cloud Forest, because it’s right next to it. The day pass for to the Cloud Forest costs 25 USD and the park is open from 7am – 4pm. As mentioned earlier, this is the most popular place to visit in Monteverde. Cloud Forests only make up 1% of all forests worldwide, which means you will find rare animals and plants here you won’t see anywhere else in the world!
The mist and humidity creates a haven for wildlife species. You will walk on hanging bridges, see beautiful waterfalls and spot birds, reptiles, butterflies and more. If you really want to see a lot of rare animals I would recommend you to book a guided tour. The guides are experts in spotting animals and they know where to find them. In this area you can also see the rare Quetzal, which is the most famous animal in this area. There are several hiking trails in the forest you can explore, so the more you want to see, the more time I would plan for this hike.
Enjoy the Hot Tube
After a long day of hiking and possible rain showers, the best thing you can do is to enjoy sitting in a hot tub to warm up. It can get pretty chilly in Monteverde, especially at night. If your accommodation doesn’t have a hot tub, I would recommend sitting in front of the fire with a hot drink.
Go hiking in the Reserva Bosque Nuboso Santa Elena
There are basically two cloud forests in Monteverde and this one is less popular, but more beautiful. I would recommend booking the guided tour here, because you will be able to see more animals and learn about rare plants. This forest is also the highest point in Monteverde, so it feels more like walking in the clouds. Exploring this forest feels like walking through the avatar world in real life. In the end I think it’s worth it to see both cloud forests.
Watch The Sunset From a Viewpoint
If you drive up the hills in Santa Elena you will be able to see a stunning sunset. We found this spot by coincidence while driving and it doesn’t have an official name, but it’s breathtaking!!
Join The Night Walk in Monteverde
The parks close in the afternoon in Monteverde, so you will still have plenty of time to join a guided night walk. If you book this tour they will pick you up at your accommodation and drive you to the place where the walk starts. On the night walk you can see transparent butterflies, lots of frogs, leaf bugs, poisonous snakes, scorpions that glow in the dark and more. If you wonder if it’s worth it to book a guided tour during the day and the night walk, let me just tell you that you will see different animals at night. During the day you will see more mammals and birds, in the night you will see more reptiles.
Day 3: Santa Elena
Eat out in Santa Elena
Before leaving you should definitely have a walk around Santa Elena, because it’s a very pretty town. The best place to eat out and drink cocktails in Santa Elena is the Treehouse restaurant. This restaurant is literally built around a big tree and something really special. It’s also a fantastic spot during sunset, because of the beautiful golden light that comes in.
After exploring Santa Elena you can either book another activity, such as ziplining, horseback riding, do another hike or drive to the next destination. If you’re planning to go to La Fortuna the drive will only take you about 3 hours and the views are really amazing. Make sure to keep your eyes open during the drive, because you might see some Coatis or even sloths. If cars are randomly stopping next to the road, you know where to find the animals.
Where to stay
Selina, Monteverde Cloud Forest
The Selina hostel is a great accommodation, especially for digital nomads with a beautiful coworking space. It really has everything you need for a comfortable stay, including a Yoga studio and hot tubes and it’s 10 minutes walking from the Monteverde Cloud Forest. The only downside is that it’s not in a town, so there aren’t any restaurants or shops within walking distance (except for the Colibri Cafe next to the Cloud Forest).
Santa Elena
Santa Elena is the main town in Monteverde with a lot of budget accommodations, resorts, cafes, restaurants and shops. It’s a beautiful little town in the middle of the reserve.
Watch it on YouTube
Watch my video about Monteverde:
Looking back, Monteverde is really worth visiting and Selina is amazing as always. To see everything I would plan about three days in Monteverde, so you can explore both cloud forests and book some other activities. So I hope you enjoyed reading about Monteverde and if you decide to visit it, I would love to read about it in the comments down below!
