Hi, I'm planning my family's vacation to Monteverde, and I wanted some advice regarding activities. Everyone in the group is between 16 and 50 years-old.

We will be arriving from San Jose in the early afternoon of 1/2/2006 and leaving on 1/4/2006 (time to be decided). This was what I had planned to do, but I'm not sure if it is too packed.

1/2/2006:
Travel to Monteverde from San Jose
Visit the Butterfly Farm
3:30 - Horseback Tour (any recommendations?)
7:00 - Santa Elena Cloud Forest (?)

1/3/2006:
Monteverde Reserve:
Sky Trek Canopy Tour
Sky Walk
Hummingbird Gallery
7:00 Santa Elena Cloud Forest (?)

1/4/2006:
Cerro Amigos Trail
Leave for Tamarindo

Are the Monteverde and Santa Elena Cloud Forests both worth seeing? Am I missing anything that could be fun? Also, my brother really wants a chance to see sloths, is there anywhere in Monteverde to see them?

Thanks a ton!

Hi Stephanie,

I'm most definitely not an expert on Monteverde but have a couple of comments.

Allow plenty of time to get to Monteverde from San Jose....travel in Costa Rica seems to always take longer than one expects!

Santa Elena is worth seeing but with your very limited time I would suggest just sticking to Monteverde. Are you aware that by 6pm it will be DARK? Something to keep in mind when planning your days and your travel time to Tamarindo.

If you have any questions about Tamarindo and area, please advise -we know that region fairly well.

cheers

Jerry [in chilly, drizzly Toronto....]

My only advice is to not try to be on such a strict schedule.

Travel time will (as mentioned) take a good portion of your day. Are you driving or being driven? EX. The year we traveled to Monteverde, at one point we had approx 20 miles to go, this 20 miles took us over 2 hours, both going up and coming down.

With only a day and half, my belief is that you are trying to pack too much in.

Hiking in the Cloud Forest, would be the must for me as I am not into thrill rides. But am totally in awe at the giant vegetation, mystical sense of the forest, birds and animals.

It would certainly be nice if you could allow another night in Monteverde. But if you can't, just slow down a bit, you may not pack it all in. Just enjoy.

Ask around while in Monteverde for any evening musical concerts. We had a great evening at the Balmar Hotel Galleria listening to tangos and latin jazz. Superb! It was a wonderful way to end the day after our hike in the forest. Clasical concerts are often put on also.

We will be driven from San Jose to Monteverde by one of the private shuttle companies. I am still deciding which one to go with, but my impression is that it will take about 5 hrs...

I agree that we are probably trying to fit too much in, so I'm trying to figure out what activities will be the most interesting. Also, I know that the sun sets around 5 or 6, but some reserves had post-sunset tours that sounded interesting. Has anyone taken any of these?

I'm trying to get somewhat of a schedule because it seems that some of the activities need reservations... Am I incorrect in that assumption?

I'd love to hear more advice on which activities people found the most interesting...

Maximum time from SJO to Monteverde should actually be about 4 hours. Try to focus on just a few activities, because you won't have time to do all that you are planning--as you have already discovered. For sure, schedule the Monteverde Reserve and SkyTrek.

I would suggest that, as soon as you arrive you book a tour through Monteverde Reserve for the morning of January 3. Also, at the same time, reserve the Sky Trek Canopy Tour for the afternoon of the 3rd.

If the times don't allow you to piggy back these two main (and need to be reserved) activities, then try to schedule one for the morning of the 3rd and the other for the morning of the 4th before you leave.

Fill in the rest of your time with the Hummingbird Gallery, the Butterfly Farm, possibly the Cerro Amigos Trail, and some odds and ends like visiting the Cheese Factory, the Coop, or just walking and looking, etc.

If you can schedule a night tour of the forest, that is always an enjoyable activity--amazing. Horseback riding--not sure where you could fit that in, but the afternoon of your arrival sounds as good a time as any. Check with Desafio? You can also do this at Tamarindo (or just about anywhere else in the country).

Good luck and enjoy!

Our night tour was very interesting. I highly recommended light hiking boots with some ankle support as you're walking on trails, not sidewalks. There are hills, slopes, slippery spots, roots, etc. A simple twisted ankle can ruin a vacation.

Personally, I prefer Santa Elena Reserve over Monterverde Reserve. Yes, I know, it doesn't come with all the cache (and price!) of Monteverde, but why are you going to a cloud forest? To say you went to THE "Monteverde" Cloud Forest or to be able to see and experience a cloud forest? Santa Elena is run by the tico community as a non-profit project to support the local schools. It is not cheezy, it is absolutely equal in comfort and amenities to Monteverde. It is much less crowded - you won't be tripping over other noisy tourists who are scaring away all the critters (many times in the high season you must wait hours just to be able to ENTER Monteverde because of the crowds) - and Santa Elena costs less - and it is the VERY SAME cloud forest!

One other point, Santa Elena is located very near Skytrek & Skywalk, to which you can walk after your visit. Monteverde Cloud Forest and Skytrek/Skywalk, on the other hand, are many kilometers and quite an expensive taxi ride, apart from each other.

We were at Monteverde in January and never saw any crowds of people. Were we just lucky?

I like that you have a night walk on your itinerary in Monteverde. I suggest doing one of those each night you are there. There are 4 different ones. They were spectacular. We got to see the most animals on these tours.
Have fun.

Stephanie1984, Costa Rica is a beautiful place that lingers in your memories long after you're home. I have to say my #1 favorite experience was our early morning walk through the Monteverde Cloud Forest preserve, on our own, with binoculars and my hubby the biologist. We arrived very early, at opening time, and asked the helpful guy at the desk if we could start on the end of the path instead of the beginning so as to meet less people. This seemed to work, plus the fact that we were so early helped. It is a very dense cloud forest, so dense you will see mostly an amazing variety of flora, some very old trees that remind me of the ents in Peter Jackson's LOTR movie, they look like they might get up and walk away, huge vines hanging down...and some smaller things like insects, birds. Before noon the mist started to descend, creating a mystical atmosphere. My daughter and I stopped to write poetry, we were so inspired. It was an unforgettable experience.

The hummingbird gallery is actually nearby the Monteverde Cloud forest preserve, but it's not easy to spot. It's very close, I believe it was next to a gift shop but kind of hidden. At night bats come to the hummingbird feeders, which are included on the night tour. In the daytime you can see the hummingbirds for free, if you can find the spot. Can't see it from the road even though it's very close. Didn't see the Santa Elena Cloud forest, I heard the Monteverde cloud forest is more dense so that's why I chose it for hubby (biologist). Had no problems with crowds, just get up early and have breakfast at Stella's, order at the counter, get to the cloud forest about 10 minutes before it opens. You need a minimum of 3 nights at Monteverde to make the drive feel worthwhile, and besides if often rains in the afternoon during the rainy season so the mornings are your best time for activities.

Arenal also was very enjoyable. SAw the volcano erupt, very cool. Hanging Bridges hike very beautiful and saw howler monkeys. Sky trek/sky tram zip-lines at ARenal were great family fun (I didn't go because I'm afraid of heights and don't enjoy thrill rides.)

The butterfly garden across from Hotel Si Como No in Manuel Antonio was very very nice, we enjoyed the small-group tour.

Most other people we saw were taking all the nature hikes way too fast. That's why they don't see much. If everybody else is passing you on the path, then you are going at the right pace to see anything. WE went slower than the tour groups, and we saw a lot. Found the howler monkeys on our own at the Hanging Bridges. Hubby is a biologist and I learned you have to go slow, stop often, stay quiet, look for movement, then lift the binoculars to your eyes in the direction of the movement. Also listen for sounds, even sounds of branches rustling. We found it exciting to "hunt" for the wildlife on our own. If you go too fast, or you aren't observant, or aren't used to nature, you might need a guide. Hubby trained our kids at a young age to spot wildlife, one daughter is very good at it now.