Costa Rica had been on our wish list seemingly forever. I even found a guidebook we had purchased in 2008 in the hopes of visiting this wonderful and magical place. We’re not quite sure why it took so long, there are multiple daily short 3-hour direct flights from Miami to both San Jose and Liberia making it an easy destination for us to visit.
We had originally thought about combining a few days of scuba diving on the coast but ultimately ended up cancelling that and limiting our visit to a weeklong trip split between the Monteverde Cloud Forest and the Arenal Volcano areas. Our prime objective was to see nice colorful birds and wildlife along with some hiking just to enjoy the scenic landscapes.
Monteverde Cloud Forest
The area’s cloud forest has become a popular destination in Costa Rica and considered one of its natural wonders. The vast 26,000-acre Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is one of the region’s main attractions.
There are also many adjoining nature reserves and attractions allowing one to experience ziplining and canopy bridges and more. The area is thought to have the largest number of orchids with as many as 500 types that have been catalogued. Some as small as 1mm in size!!
Additionally, there are almost 100 species of migratory birds and many more local ones making it a birders paradise.
Senda Monteverde and Aguti Reserve
We selected the Senda Monteverde hotel for our stay in the cloud forest area. It was a wonderful 4-star hotel nestled up to the Aguti Wildlife Reserve.
Aside from the numerous birds on the beautiful grounds of the hotel we would see agoutis and coatis roaming around. We were at first concerned because of the lack of air-conditioning, but the nights in Monteverde were cool and we didn’t miss it.
The resort itself had a great restaurant with a talented chef that made some delightful meals using local ingredients and flavors. Every meal was a treat.
The resort had a network of trails that joined up with the Aguti Wildlife Reserve. We spent much of our first day hiking the Aguti reserve trails which were quite steep.
We got our workouts in and after one week my watch registered almost 65 km in total with almost 100,000 steps! Not sure that was enough to work off the chef’s delicious deserts, but it must have put a dent in those calories.
Our initial thinking was that being adjacent to the Aguti Wildlife Reserve and having only a couple of days, we would explore the neighboring paths at Aguti and not travel to the main Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve. In retrospect however, we think that could have been a mistake.
While the adjacent reserve was a nice hike, the national parks and preserves are usually the jewel of any given area. Even if they likely have many of the same birds and animals, they have a larger budget for building out the park and are further from the city noises. Should we ever return we would make it a point to visit the national park instead of a smaller local reserve.
Selvatura Adventure Park
One must do for us were the hanging bridges. We opted for the Selvatura Park treetop walkways which we were told had some of the finest hanging bridges in Monteverde. This did not disappoint. First, there was plenty of parking and having our own car made it easy and convenient to visit and spend as much time as we wanted here.
The circuit of 8 hanging bridges through the cloud forest was spectacular. Taking us up hundreds of feet to the tops of the mature and massive trees of this forest we had a bird’s-eye view of the lush forest and surrounding greenery.
We had worried that the bridges might be wobbly or swinging like some of the rope bridges we had experienced elsewhere. Not so here, the heavily reinforced bridges were quite solid. You would feel a little movement as others walked across but nothing in any way worrisome. Some bridges were hundreds of feet long.
It was wonderful and definitely one of our highlights of Monteverde Cloud Forest. We saw some toucanets here and while we could hear birds everywhere the forest was so thick they were often hard to spot.
We opted to also visit the on-site Sloth Sanctuary, Butterfly Garden, as well as the Reptile and Amphibian Exhibit. These were only done as guided tours but if you bought your tickets all at once the same guide would take you through each of the sites spending about 40 minutes at each one. The local on-site restaurant was also great!
Santa Elena, Costa Rica
We also visited the town of Santa Elena and ate at the famous treehouse restaurant. Built around a huge banyan tree it was quite an experience. We had a quick lunch here, but it looked like they had music and a more elaborate dinner menu.
Also in town was the small but spectacular Orchid Garden. With what seemed like hundreds of varieties we were told to look at each leaf and sure enough discovered orchids growing under leaves, sometimes just 1-2 mm in size. They actually lend you a magnifier to take a closer look.
Another local attraction was the small Frog Pond. With 18 species of frogs and a ticket that is open for a daytime and nighttime visit the ideas was to see the frogs when they are the most active (you can also supposedly hear them as they get active at night). Unfortunately, when we came in the afternoon, we were unable to locate most of the frogs in the large terrariums.
Perhaps a guided tour would be recommended, or it is best to come at night to see the nocturnal species in action.
Wildlife Refuge Monteverde night walk
We also went on a night tour organized by the hotel at the Refugio Monteverde. Our guide was in communication with other guides on WhatsApp and we wandered the reserve with flashlights discovering stick bugs, tarantulas and even a sloth. Other groups also spotted an armadillo and a frog but we didn’t get to see these here. It’s always a bit of luck with what Mother Nature provides and the skills of a good guide that can make a tour good or great!
Overall, we enjoyed our 2 days and three nights in Monteverde. Again, if we could do it again, we would have swapped out the convenience of the local reserve for a short drive to the official national park, the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve.
We would recommend the Hotel Senda Monteverde and definitely the canopy walk. In our opinion 2 days were enough to see the area but perhaps too short for those that want to hike extensively or do many zipline adventures.
Getting from Monteverde to Arenal
When we first looked at the map it seemed that the Arenal Volcano was just next door to Monteverde and that it would be a quick drive, almost not worth staying at two separate hotels. While distance wise this may be true, in reality the drive around the Arenal Lake was over 3 hours. Much of it on gravel roads.
Thankfully, we were there before the rainy season and the roads were dry. We had rented a 4×4 and the gravel roads (likely once paved but washed away and in disrepair) were not that bad and actually quite scenic. Our favorite parts were the beautiful lake vistas and the views of the Arenal Volcano from across the lake.
Arenal Volcano
The massive Arenal Volcano is 5,480 ft (1670 m) tall. It’s actually the youngest of all the volcanoes in Costa Rica with its seismic activity dating back only 7,000 years.
It had a major eruption in 1968 which was sudden and explosive and lasted for multiple days. The resultant devastation buried over 15 square km (5.8 sq. miles) of terrain. 87 people were killed and the villages of Tabacón, Pueblo Nuevo and San Luís on the western side of the volcano were simply gone. Several giant rocks, some weighing as much as several tons were thrown over a kilometer as part of the eruption.
One town on the eastern side named El Borio was untouched, and a popular myth is that this led to the town being subsequently renamed to La Fortuna.
The last eruption was in 2010, which is not that long ago. We saw a small amount of steam or smoke coming from the summit and I can’t say it didn’t make us think about this.
Arenal Observatory and Lodge
We selected the Arenal Observatory and Lodge as our hotel for four nights to explore the area. This location was frequently referenced on birding sites as a favorite destination.
We got quite lucky as the resort was full for our dates but as we persistently looked at our options, there came a time when a room became available. So we were fast to move on it and locked it down. We believe the resort is filled well in advance by birding enthusiasts, especially in popular dry months such as April. We could tell by the multitude of huge zoom lenses and tripods being carried around.
The grounds themselves are basically within the Arenal Volcano National Park. It started as an observatory for scientists monitoring the volcano but today the resort houses a spa, a nice swimming pool and a large restaurant. While the meals were not as fancy as what we experienced at the Senda Monteverde hotel the staff was wonderful and we always finished up what we were served! Of course, walking almost 10 km a day we would have probably eaten anything!
The biggest selling point for the AOL (Arenal Observatory and Lodge) is of course the volcano view and the close proximity to the trails. People can buy day passes to come walk the trails but waking up to singing birds and going out on the organized day and night walks makes staying at the lodge great.
The one drawback we found was the lack of A/C in the rooms. While there were two ceiling fans and large screen doors, we happened to be there during a hot spell and missed the air-conditioning in the evenings to sleep.
The lodge has won awards for its eco-tourism and for being sustainable so we don’t believe that they will add A/C any time soon, but you never know. While we simply loved staying there this may be a showstopper for a subsequent visit.
Night walks done right
The lodge trails included a frog pond, and we did their night guided walks twice. Their in-house guide Christian was amazing. He spotted small vipers in the trees that we could barely see even when he pointed them out. We will never look at a tree trunk the same way!
We also saw dozens of frogs including the beautiful red-eyed leaf frog that was one of our hopes to see on this trip. Simply a beauty!
We even saw a small eyelash viper. Tucked into the foliage it made itself look like a yellow flower in the hopes of attracting its prey. Christian even explained how the young snakes were the most dangerous as they hadn’t learned to control the output of poison yet.
A mature snake uses its venom sparingly using just enough to kill its prey, a small one not knowing any differently uses it all at once and that would be enough to kill a human in 2 hours. He also told us it’s about a 1.5-hour trip to the hospital with no traffic, so no messing around!!
Wear closed shoes and don’t touch anything! And bring a flashlight to walk back to your room in the dark.
Check out another marvel of nature in this butterfly that has disguised itself with what looks like an owl’s eye, if you look at the edge of the wing it also looks like a snake’s head. Enough to discourage a bird that may come to eat him.
Another find was this amazing pauraque. A ground-nesting bird that lies on the ground disguised as what could be a frog or a snake. Mom and Dad take turns sitting on the eggs until they hatch. The snake-like appearance is designed to scare away predators. Isn’t nature amazing?
Things to do at the Arenal Observatory
While the Arenal Volcano area also offers hot springs, canopy hanging bridges, and ziplining, river rafting and kayaking, we spent all three of our days here at the observatory enjoying the grounds and doing hikes.
The hotel offered free morning hikes with a guide who helps to point out wildlife and explain some history and more. We were lucky to have Christian for all four of our hikes and we would like to hike with him again.
The evening hikes were nice, however it’s important to be quiet on these hikes if you want to spot anything really cool such as an ocelot or some of the other cats known to be in the area.
While we hoped to get lucky, we had some curious and noisy kids on the night walk tours that would have scared away any cat in the neighborhood. One of the other guides reported seeing an ocelot so you might get lucky, and it may have been better to organize a private tour.
Birds and birds and more birds
As home to 4 types of toucans and 53 different hummingbirds we now know why the Arenal Observatory and Lodge is loved by birders. By the restaurant, the lodge puts up a chandelier like device filled with slices of papaya and watermelon high up into the air. Birds of all kinds come for a snack and birders on the terrace with high-powered zoom lenses snap away.
Christian told us that in the summer months this fruit display had to be changed hourly. In April it was nesting season, so the birds were coming less often to feed.
During our short visit we were lucky enough to see four types of toucans. Three of them at the observatory and one on the hanging bridges at Monteverde.
There was no shortage of beautiful birds. Birders called out their names and talked about their rarities but even as non-experts we just enjoyed seeing them and listening to them. So many beautiful butterflies too.
We also loved seeing the beautiful and famous frogs as well as some of the snakes of the Monteverde and Arenal Volcano areas.
Good to know:
1- Getting there
We found a great deal on points from Miami to Liberia. But given a choice, we would recommend San Jose unless you are planning to spend time on the coast. There is really not much to do Liberia itself and getting to the attractions can take multiple hours (and more if hampered by weather). For that reason, many opt to spend a night near the airport on their way out.
Going through San Jose would give one an opportunity to spend a day or two in the city itself exploring historic sites. The roads to the Arenal Volcano area are also better and the route therefore faster.
That said, arriving at Liberia was easy and simple. Customs was quick and the rental car counters were right outside the arrivals area. There was a shuttle to get to the car, but it ran every 10-15 minutes.
2- Getting around: renting a car or not
We found that the shuttles organized by the hotels we had selected were quite expensive. Almost $300 for each one-way transfer. Staying at two spots with a transfer in between would add up to $900 and we’d be forced into their schedules and have no car for local excursions.
There were also specialized tour companies that offered transfer services. A bit less pricy than the hotels but their quote came out to about $700 for all three legs of our trip.
Our weekly rate with extra insurance was about $450. Our initial quote was $300. But we were told that the local law was that we were required to take liability insurance (this is NOT covered by the credit cards) so check the rate you’re quoted. We had to pay almost $20 more a day for the insurance. I’m still not sure if it was the law or a convincing sales tactic.
We were at first intimidated by some of the reviews about bad roads but as we researched this more, we saw that most of the roads didn’t seem that bad and believed we could manage.
Aside from the cost savings, we appreciated having the added flexibility of having our own car to do our own excursions at our own pace and to stop for scenic views where and when we wanted to. While we didn’t actually use the car that much it was nice for the few excursions we did do. Parking was free at our resorts.
3- A few things to note about the car
We were not asked for an international driver’s license. Gas stations are also different in that you have an attendant do the filling (not optional so don’t jump out and try and grab the pump). Be prepared to leave a dollar or two tip.
We were also warned not to park on any yellow lines. The rental agent explained that what the police sometimes do is simply take your license plate. You are then required to go to the local precinct to get it back. One rental car site even says that if you get a ticket, you must pay the fine at a state bank or at the car rental office by presenting the ticket. And if you fail to do so, immigration may not allow you to leave the country. We did see a few cars with no plates and fortunately we didn’t have to live that ordeal ourselves.
4- Don’t take Google Maps for granted
The scenic drive into the Monteverde Cloud Forest was supposed to be 2 hours according to Google Maps. But with a few photo stops and some extra care navigating the bumpier terrain it took us more like 3 ½ hours. It made us glad that our outgoing flight was a late one giving us extra time to get back to the airport.
Unsure of the cellular coverage we would get, we downloaded our maps and stored them locally. This worked well. In fact, there was no coverage in many of the remote areas we visited. So we basically kept our phone on airplane mode and used Google Maps offline. There was very little signage on the roads, so a GPS map is a good idea.
The locals also said we would be better with Waze instead of Google Maps, but we were not sure how to use stored maps with Waze. We didn’t have any issues with Google except one time when it tried to route us through a ‘faster’ dirt road that had 1-2-foot-deep ruts and bumps to the point that even our 4×4 RAV4 had trouble getting through. Instead of risking getting stuck, we turned around and took the ‘longer’ way that cost us 5 more minutes but was a nice two-lane paved highway all the way. A good trade off.
Tip: If leaving from Arenal to Liberia. Stay on the 142 instead of taking the short cut, I can’t imagine navigating that after heavy rains!
5- How about currency and payments?
We brought US money and credit cards and never once had any trouble paying in US. Everything from the restaurants, hotels, gas stations and even arts and crafts stores took credit cards and Apple Pay. It was handy to have some small bills for gratuities.
We did get a glimpse at the colorful local currency, and it looked quite nice!!
What a magical place!
We only spent a week in Costa Rica and feel that we saw a lot of wildlife in that short time. It was reminiscent of our Galapagos trip or even a safari.
There are over 100 species of snakes of which 32 are poisonous. There are so many different types of birds, orchids, frogs, butterflies. One species of vine, uses grappling hooks to get up into the sunlight climbing over other trees. Walking palms, actually migrate along the forest floor on what look like stilt roots to find patches of sunlight as the forest grows.
We met a woman on this trip that was spending over a month visiting multiple areas. For sure there is more to see in Costa Rica than what we could pack into our weeklong adventure.
San Jose looks like a lovely town to visit and a great spot to spend a day or two on the way in or out of the other area attractions. There are the coastal areas on both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, multiple volcanoes, as well as cloud forest and rainforest areas throughout Costa Rica. We may sample a few more of these on a future trip.
In fact, it’s even possible to drive up to the edge of the rim of the Poás Volcano and look inside the water-filled crater from the viewing platform. How cool is that?
We have a feeling that we just might be back in Costa Rica sometime soon!