A GUIDE TO VISITING MONTEVERDE AND SANTA ELENA, COSTA RICA
After I graduated high school, Costa Rica was the first country that I visited during my first long term trip, and to this day the country is still one of my most memorable adventures. I spent a month exploring around, and it is one off my favorite places that I have hit in Latin America. Monteverde is such a special little mountain town.
During my few days in Monteverde I did not take as many pictures as I would’ve liked, but pictures probably would not be able to do the beauty of this place justice at all. As I reminisce about this beautiful little town, I figured that I would write about my favorite spots, things to do, and all that I wish that I knew.
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MONTEVERDE AND SANTA ELENA OVERVIEW:
Even though Costa Rica is smaller than the state of West Virginia, being around 4,365 feet above sea level, Monteverde feels as if it is countries away from its beach towns.
Around a 4 hour drive from San José, Monteverde lays on the edge of the Monteverde cloud forest, and the Children’s Eternal Rainforest with Santa Elena acting as the main town, with bars, cafés, stores and more.
The most popular reason why people travel to Monteverde is to visit the beautiful, widely ecologically diverse rainforests surrounding the towns that are packed with numerous hiking trails, zip-lining sites, coffee plantations and unreal mountain views.
The town of Santa Elena adds a perfect balanced vibe from the quiet nature in the rainforest as even though the town is smaller, it was so much fun
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It is close enough to the rainforest that it makes a perfect base to stay while exploring, but hilly enough to need to catch a ride or bus to the forest.
I spent four nights in Monteverde, and I easily could’ve spent a couple more exploring. A minimum of two days is probably recommended.
There is a little bit of something for everyone, while still feeling like you are in a small town in the mountains. That is probably one of the biggest factors in what makes Monteverde so special.
BEST THINGS TO DO IN MONTEVERDE AND SANTA ELENA:
Even though Santa Elena as a town itself and all of the stores and more fill up lots of time, there is so much more to do in Monteverde. These are some of my favorites.
MONTEVERDE CLOUD FOREST
The most popular reason that people travel to monteverde is to visit the cloud forest, and it is for good reason of course. With beautiful hiking trails surrounded by unreal views, monkeys, sloths, and well over 1000 other animal species.
In the park there are 6 main hiking trails, the most popular being the sanders camino trail, known for the picturesque hanging bridge over the trees and the layer of fog above them. As of right now it will cost you $20 to get into the park (as costa rica continuously gets more expensive to visit).
THE CHILDREN’S ETERNAL RAINFOREST
As most people only go to the cloud forest when visiting monteverde, I loved the children’s eternal rainforest and I would highly recommend visiting. The rainforest is owned by a costa rican non-profit organization called the monteverde conservation league, who has worked to preserve and study the rainforest for almost 35 years now.
In 1987, an American biologist who previously worked in Monteverde named Sharon Kinsman visited Sweden to teach students about the forest’s biodiversity. While this was happening in the late 1980’s, Monteverde was under the threat of being bought out by agricultural developers, and the area’s residents were campaigning to fundraise in an attempt to purchase and conserve the land.
One of the classes of Swedish students that Kinsman spoke to were inspired by her words and knowledge, and decided to help raise funds of their own to help buy and save the land all of those thousands of miles away overseas.
From that, the Swedish non-profit ‘Barkens Regnskog’ (‘The Children’s Rainforest’) was formed, and over 4 years raised $2 million USD to purchase the land.
The rainforest was bought, and named the Children’s Eternal Rainforest for that class of Swedish students and all that they did to help preserve the land.
SHOP FOR HANDMADE JEWELRY AT BUENO BONITO Y BARATO:
On my first afternoon in Santa Elena, I walked past this small little jewelry store, and I was so pleasantly surprised by a whole little house filled with such beautiful handmade earrings, bracelets, rings, and necklaces.
All of the pieces are made in the store by a very sweet local man, and the prices range from $1 usd-$4 USD. I am not kidding.
One of my favorite things that I brought home from that trip was a ring that he made out of an old Costa Rican coin-I think that I paid $2 for it. I lost it a couple of months ago, and I am still mourning it.
ZIP LINING IN MONTEVERDE:
Zip lining through the jungles of Costa Rica is one of the most unforgettable things that I have done in Central America. The Aventura Canopy Tour is absolutely something that you should do if you are in Monteverde. Not only do you have the opportunity to ride across a bunch of zip lines, you can also do a 150 foot drop on Aventura’s Tarzan swing as well. For $54 USD you get 3 hours of all of that-and that is so worth it.
VISIT THE FERLANDER ARGUEDAS ART GALLERY:
Another cool little spot that I stumbled upon while walking around on my first afternoon was the Ferlander Arguedas Art Gallery, a beautiful space filled with works of art by you guessed it- Ferlander Arguedas, an extremely creative and wise man who has developed a really dope signature art style. It was cool talking to him for a little while and hearing his story.
I brought home some of his prints, and when I am home I see them everyday as they are hanging in my room to this day.
THE MONTEVERDE BUTTERFLY GARDEN:
This is pretty self explanatory. If you are looking for a nice chill activity to do during your time in Monteverde this is a good option.
BEST PLACES TO STAY IN MONTEVERDE/SANTA ELENA:
Stayed here at the Atardecer Hotel, and I loved it a lot. It is a family run hotel, and even through it is not in the center of Santa Elena, it is only a 5 minute walk not the center maximum, with gorgeous views over the town and the hills in the distance. The breakfast is fabulous, and the rooms are big and clean.
Located in the center of Santa Elena, this is the best place to stay other than Hotel El Atardecer. I ate dinner on my own here one night, and brought back a friend later to hang out for a little bit. This was during the time period where travel had just recently fully opened back up after the pandemic so it was not too crowded or lively, but during present day and peak Costa rica Travel Season this place is definitely a lot of fun. I would highly recommend this spot and I will stay here next time I find myself in Santa Elena.
On the pricier side for Monteverde, this stay gives a good reason to cost $150/night. This beautiful bungalow style lodge in the rainforest offers what looks like a beautiful room, beautiful breakfast and amenities. I would 100% stay here if I was not traveling on my shoestring 20-year old budget.
There are so many other great accommodation options available, I could list many more, but to keep it short and sweet I will leave you with these top 3 recommendations. Definitely check out all of your choices available on Booking.com.
BEST PLACES TO EAT/DRINK & CAFES IN SANTA ELENA:
THE OPEN KITCHEN:
Part of the Outbox Inn, the Open Kitchen is a restaurant and bar, with such great food and a really cool atmosphere, I had dinner here one night, and came back with my friend Syd, and we wondered to the bar/lounge downstairs and there was this man painting this absolutely beautiful, unreal work of art to a live DJ? During the peak backpacking/travel season I bet this place is x10 more fun than it already is.
SANTA ELENA COFFEE SHOP (CAFÉ MONTEVERDE):
Right up the hill from Hotel El Atardecer where I stayed, the Santa Elena coffee shop was so great and a life savior with great iced coffee and vegan (!!) bakery goods. The café was very cute inside as well, and again, the location along with all of those other factors made it just so easy to spend money here.
BAR AMIGOS:
Even though I visited Costa Rica during the very beginning of travel coming back after the peak of the pandemic, Bar Amigos was still fun, though definitely not as lively as current day would be. We watched a football game here with a bunch of the locals and a couple of tourists in and out as well. It was very fun.
BEST TIME TO VISIT MONTEVERDE AND SANTA ELENA:
Through out the year, Monteverde’s climate tends to stay the same- around the high 70s° F during the days, cooling down at night, and even though the dry season on the pacific coast is generally from December-April, you will still have to expect misty days and rainstorms during those months as Monteverde sees a crazy amount of rain every year.
I visited during early October, and though it was mostly just overcast I feel that I got super lucky with the weather. There is really no bad season or time of the year to visit.
HOW TO GET TO MONTEVERDE AND SANTA ELENA:
As you get closer to town, you will travel up these insane, windy and narrow mountain roads-most likely through the mist and fog-so any way that you go about traveling to Monteverde is going to be more fun than your average travel day.
BY BUS: Starting with the most economically conscious, and cheapest option of getting to Monteverde, the local TransMonteverde bus is definitely the best way of transportation.
There are two direct buses through TransMonteverde from San José daily, the first at 6:30am, and the second at 2:30pm-both taking around 4 hours and 30 minutes.
There is no way to book your tickets in advance, you will just need ∼$7 USD or ∼3790 Colones (currently) in cash to give to the driver.
BY CAR:
If you are renting a car to travel around Costa Rica, it is an easy ∼3 hour drive from San José along the highway 1, besides the windy rural mountain roads, renting a car is a good option in order to travel more flexibly and easily if you have the money to spend on it
Even though it is a small town, this blog post really only scratched the surface of all of the things to do and see in Santa Elena and Monteverde. This little corner of Central America is an essential stop during a trip to Costa Rica.
THINKING OF TRAVELING TO MONTEVERDE? DO IT.
HERE ARE ALL OF THE RESOURCES I USE TO PLAN MY TRIPS:
FLIGHTS AND ACCOMMODATION: BOOKING.COM IS WHAT I WILL ALWAYS USE TO BOOK FLIGHTS AND STAYS. NEVER DONE ME WRONG.
TOURS, DRIVERS, AND ALL THAT FUN STUFF: VIATOR IS MY GO-TO.
TRAVEL INSURANCE: SAFETYWING HAS ALWAYS BEEN FABULOUS. THE BEST EVER.
RENTAL CARS: WHEN BOOKING ANY TRIP THAT YOU DECIDE TO RENT A CAR FOR, BOOKING.COM IS FABULOUS LIKE ALWAYS.
