Playa Flamingo

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Full Day to Selvatura Monteverde Cloud Forest from Guanacaste

Badge of ExcellencePlaya Flamingo, Costa Rica

10 to 12 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Explore one of Costa Rica's most famously diverse ecosystems with a full-day tour from Guanacaste to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Travel into the heart of the country and ascend into a misty, verdant landscape that’s home to an astonishing array of plant and animal species. Admire brightly colored frogs and snakes, and wander through the treetops along hanging walkways. Breakfast, lunch, and round-trip transport from Guanacaste hotels are included.

Full-day tour to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve from Guanacaste
Explore one of Costa Rica's most biodiverse regions
Observe dozens of species of frogs, lizards, and snakes
Walk across the forest canopy on suspended walkways and bridges
Great way to experience one of Costa Rica's natural highlights in a single day
Typical Costa Rican breakfast and lunch included

What's Included

Breakfast
Lunch
All Fees and Taxes
Private transportation

Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
DVD (available to purchase)

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

06:00 AM

Pickup details

we do pick up also in playa hermosa Guanacaste, Coco Beach, Tamarindo and Flamingo.

What To Expect

Prepare for early morning pickup at your Guanacaste hotel in order to make the most of the day. Watch the landscape change dramatically during the roughly 4-hour drive into Puntarenas province. Depart the sunny, tropical rain forest of the coast and travel up steep, winding roads to reach the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, a protected area that sits perched at 4,600 feet (1,400 meters) above sea level. Stop along the way to stretch your legs and enjoy an included breakfast.

After arriving at the reserve, begin with a visit to one of the world’s largest live butterfly exhibits to learn about the amazing lifecycle of the butterfly and observe many native species fluttering around a natural habitat. Next, explore the cloud forest’s amphibious and scaled residents at an exhibit featuring lizards, geckos, frogs, and more than 30 different types of slithering snakes.

Get a bird’s-eye perspective on the towering trees of Monteverde while traversing 1.9 miles (3 km) of suspended walkways and eight different suspension bridges that criss-cross the forest canopy and hanging gardens below.

Relax on the return bus ride as you descend from the cloud forest back into Costa Rica’s central plains and coastal tropics. Stop for a late lunch of authentic Costa Rican fare on the way back to your hotel, where the tour concludes with drop-off in the evening.

Selvatura Park

4 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Butterfly Garden at Selvatura Park

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults
Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
Stroller accessible

A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
Infant seats available
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Mike_T

The cloud forest was amazing! Juan Carlos was an awesome tour guide and took the time with each of us to make sure we saw each animal! The butterfly garden was beautiful with so many different species and colors. This trip was well worth the drive from Guanacaste!

Reviews

5.0

16 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 16 reviews

Beautiful! Don't miss this experience!

Mike_T, Apr 2024

Monte Verde Hanging Bridges

Maggie_M, Apr 2024

The hummingbird gallery was the highlight of my trip to Costa Rica. The driver was knowledgeable and very helpful. He was on time and met all expeectations.

Heat trip

Scott_M, Mar 2024

Trip was long but well worth it. Plus you have stories to tell your friends and family on the road up the mountain

Great time!

Emma_S, Mar 2023

Excellent tour, driver to the tour was very nice and the spots we went to for food were delicious, especially the lunch. We really enjoyed the walk through the cloud forest and the butterfly sanctuary, the guides were very informative. Make sure to bring a raincoat or poncho as it is almost constantly raining in the clout forest. The only damper we can mention is that we arrived at approximately 10:15 and we were given 45 minutes to do both the reptile and butterfly tours (each are suppose to be 40 minutes). So our butterfly tour was cut very short. We had to advocate for ourselves to get to return to the butterfly tour later so we could see the rest of the exhibit without paying additional money. Otherwise was a very nice tour!

An amazing day, do not miss the cloud forest

Susan_S, Feb 2023

Aaron was our driver and he was a wonderful young man who took us to the best restaurants for breakfast and lunch and pointed out beautiful views on the way home for the two of us to take extra photos. We loved the nature walk in the park and the elevated hanging bridges. The guide there was a true professional.

Great way to see the Monteverde Cloud Forest!

Vivek_T, Dec 2022

We had an excellent time on this tour. Our guide Carlos picked us up exactly on time, at 6(!), because it's a ~4 hour drive to Monteverde. Along the way we stopped for a very tasty traditional breakfast. Be prepared for some bumps, because the road to Monteverde, especially as you get close, is very bad, it's basically just a chain of potholes! This tour includes 3 guided tours within the Selvatura Park which is in Monteverde. Butterflies, Reptiles, and the Nature Walk with the 8 hanging bridges. It was a rare sunny day when we went, but it was still ~10degF cooler than the plains. The nature walk with the hanging bridges was the most fun, and we had an excellent guide who knew a lot about the plants, trees and birds. We didn't see any animals. The butterflies and reptiles exhibits were also very informative. The guides are enthusiastic and knowledgeable. On the drive back we stopped for another excellent meal, a late lunch of traditional Costa Rican food. All in all a great day! It's a long day, but mostly because the drive there and back takes ~ 8 hours. Well worth the time! 5 stars!!

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Dear Vivek_T, Thank you so much for your awesome review! We are so glad that you had an excellent time and that Carlos was able to pick you up on time. It's great to hear that you enjoyed the traditional breakfast and the traditional Costa Rican food. We are delighted that you got to see the Butterfly, Reptile, and Nature Walk exhibits and that you had an excellent guide. We appreciate your recommendations and your 5 star rating!

Beautiful scenery and amazing guides!

Danielle_T, Nov 2022

This excursion is a bit more expensive but it’s worth it. We didn’t want to make the long drive to Monteverde from Tamarindo ourselves so we decided to book this. Our guide, Elvis, was absolutely amazing. He was knowledgeable, friendly, and expressed such pride and passion for his country. We enjoyed the scenic drive to Monteverde and the traditional breakfast and lunch was great. The hike throughout the hanging bridges was not hard at all, I went with my brother and my mom (she and I who are not athletic at all) and we were fine. It does get chilly up in the mountains so dress warm. Elvis taught us so much about the country’s history, environment, culture, everything. We also got to do a bit of shopping. The butterfly and reptile sanctuaries were cool as well. Our driver, Jose, was also great and we felt safe the entire drive despite the bumpy roads and crazy drivers. Highly recommend if you want to leave Guanacaste but are a bit nervous about making the drive yourself!

Cloud Forest Adventures!

Nishi_P, Jun 2022

We had a great time visiting the Cloud Forest. We saw many animals and had a local lunch at a cute restaurant. Our guide and driver were both very nice, knowledgeable and friendly. I would definitely recommend. Enjoy!

Wonderful Trip

Kim_W, Feb 2022

The forest was lush and quiet. We visited the sloth sanctuary, the butterfly building and the reptiles. All of our guides were friendly and informative. They took us to lunch at an authentic restaurant and the food was very good. It was expensive but we really enjoyed it.

Beautiful cloud forest

Beth_D, Sep 2021

It is a long drive from Tamarindo but our guide took us to eat a typical Tico breakfast and lunch which we enjoyed. The cloud forest is beautiful! We also visited the reptile/frog and butterfly houses. This tour did not include any zip lining which was good because we didn’t want that.

Worth being driven there for a long day trip

fdburton, Feb 2020

Friendly guide and driver. Was a long day (6 am to 6 pm, coming from Tamarindo area) but worth the trip! Don’t go expecting to see tons of animals but the cloud forests are beautiful and the hanging bridges are cool.

Tour Guide 'Santos' Is AMAZING!

Candice T, Jul 2019

This tour is totally private (just you and your family/friends/guests) which makes every penny spent worth it. Our tour guide Santos was a driver, a historian, a botanist, a biologist, just about everything! You get breakfast and lunch included and its in town at local cities so totally authentic. Everything taste so good. I think most people like the convenience of zip lining close by but NOTHING beats Selvatura zip line. Every facility says theirs is the highest, but I dont believe anything can possibly be higher than zip lining above the clouds. Incredible! Be sure to do the superman position on the last line, you wont regret it :) (well maybe while you are up there lol). I cannot wait to come back with my kids and have Santos again. Pura Vida!