Outside our room at Arco Iris

In Monteverde, we stayed at the Arco Iris Ecolodge. The accommodations and the grounds were very nice. The staff is also very friendly and can help you book tours and plan your activities in the area.

Treetop Walkways at Selvatura

We did the Tree Top Walkways tour at Selvatura, instead of the canopy tours. It was an interesting experience walking up above the trees. It allows you more time to linger around and soak in the beauty when you aren’t ziplining through it. However, we didn’t spot much wildlife up there. Maybe a guide would have been able to spot the wildlife better, but it seemed like the screaming zip liners had scared them all away. :(

Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve

Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve

Owlie

Beetle

Orchid

The staff at the lodge helped us arrange a guided hike of the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve. Our guide, Adrian, was very knowledgeable and we learned so much about the cloud forest and how it differed from the rainforest.

He taught us a lot about the plant life in the forest and spotted quite a few animals. An amazing part of the tour was walking across the continental divide, which cuts across the reserve. Within just a few steps, the weather changed from cloudy and wet on the Pacific side to sunny and warm on the Caribbean side. The opposite happens during the dry season.

Leaving Monteverde and Santa Elena

We were lucky that weather cooperated with us for the most part in Monteverde. We were told they had just come off a long stretch of rain.

Tip: In October, the middle of the green (rainy) season, I brought a light fleece jacket and raincoat and used them both. Also, be prepared for muddy trails.

Monteverde to San Jose

Returning to San Jose is cheap and easy using public transportation. It’s a good idea to buy your return ticket in advance from the Transmonteverde office in downtown Santa Elena. You’ll want to be sure to reserve a seat for this 5-hour ride.

We spent our last night at Kap’s Place, a guesthouse in San Jose. We stayed in their Annex which is also very nice and they have a helpful FAQ for first-time visitors. The staff was friendly and they really helped us out of a bind when we realized, after we got to the airport, that we had left some things in the room safe.

We did so much in Costa Rica, but I feel like we only scratched the surface. Ten days is definitely not enough. I look forward to returning to this beautiful country. Pura Vida!