Costa Rica Itinerary: Day 16 Monteverde, Santa Elena

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Last Updated on January 14, 2025 by Carolyn

Day 16

I had a good night’s sleep in the ever-so-comfortable bed, Wally tossed and turned all night regretting making a property offer, early buyer’s remorse?

Hotel Claro de La Luna

Our hotel room included breakfast and what a breakfast it was! We walked through the lush gardens to the dining hall and couldn’t believe our eyes when we walked in. Breakfast was a complete hot buffet! 

At this point, I think both Wally and I were thinking why buy property if we could just live at Hotel Claire de la Luna for less than $1,000 a month?

Just before we headed out for the day’s adventures Wally received a response from the seller of the property he’d made an offer on, he was way off what the seller needed, so that worry was solved. He could stop fretting and enjoy the day.

We decided to book another night’s stay at Hotel Claire de La Luna.  We couldn’t get quite such a good deal on the second night but it was still a steal at only $40.00.

About Monteverde

First, let’s reveal some facts: Monteverde is a Canton (region), not a town. Within this region lies the Monteverde Biological Station and several other nature reserves.

Santa Elena is the popular tourist town located within the Monteverde Canton. The  population of the Canton of Monteverde is about 5000 people, with about half of that population living in Santa Elena.

One thing you can count on in Monteverde is changeable weather. One minute it can be sunny and warm and the next windy and wet. “Pelo de Gato” (loosely translates to “Hair of the Cat”) is what the locals call the fine mist that swirls in and shrouds the area with the moisture that feeds the numerous orchids and other arboreal plants of the rainforest.

The Monteverde Biological station is at an altitude of 1500 meters. High temperatures hover in the high 70’s with lows in the high 50’s most of the year. 

Monteverde is also known to be windy year around but especially from November to February when the winds gust strong daily.

The name “Monteverde” was bestowed on the area in 1949 by 4 Quakers who were formerly jailed for not fighting in the Korean War. These men brought their families to Costa Rica to pursue the sustainable life they dreamed of and settled in Monteverde. They built schools, farms, and the renowned Monteverde Cheese Factory which is still making great cheese today!

Santa Elena has grown into a thriving town offering the ¼ million tourists who pass through the area a variety of accommodations from hostels to 4-star eco-lodges and has an abundance of restaurants to please any palette.

Adventure seekers can get their thrills zipping over the tree canopies at one of the many ziplining tours in the area, or perhaps opt for a rafting and rappelling tour. For a little less adrenaline rush, one can partake in a hanging bridge tour and view the forest from a completely different perspective. Other Monteverde attractions include a butterfly garden, an orchid garden, coffee and chocolate tours, and night hikes.

The Monteverde Chamber of Tourism has a handy map for finding activities in the area: MonteverdeMap.com.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve

The only thing on our days agenda was a visit to the famed Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. We brought our rain gear with us as the forecast wasn’t very promising and the clouds were already swirling around us.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve is world-renowned for its biological diversity. It is home to over 2500 plant species including over 100 varieties of orchids, 100 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, and 120 reptilian and amphibious species.

We toyed with hiring a guide but opted not to because we didn’t want to be amongst a group of tourists. This was probably a mistake as most of the guides are quite willing to take small groups out and it might very well have been just the two us and a guide.

Animals tend to be habitual and the guides know where they live and what they like to eat. Guides also carry telescopes so you can see the animals from afar. 

We were learning that in Costa Rica most of the animals are quite shy as they haven’t learned to beg for food from humans. In  Costa Rica, feeding wild animals or even posing with them in photographs is illegal. 

The trails were well-marked in the forest and we enjoyed hiking through the lush moist rainforest. We were disappointed that we didn’t see much wildlife, just a pretty hummingbird, a guan, some interesting insects and caterpillars, and a few monkeys swinging in the canopy.

The weather did get worse and we donned our rain gear. The clouds blowing in amongst the trees and the mist that shrouded us, along with the unfamiliar flora including giant trees and ferns that towered above our heads, made us feel like we’d been transported to another world.

We spent about 4 1/2 hours hiking around the reserve. It was 3:00 pm when we returned to our car and we were ready for warm showers and dry clothing, so returned to our hotel.

Hummingbird Cafe (Café Colibri)

Had the weather been more conducive we would have stopped at the Hummingbird Cafe located at the entrance of the Biological Reserve. 

Here you can see a huge variety of hummingbirds including Violet Sabrewings, Green Hermits, Lesser Violetears, Green Crowned Brilliants, Coppery Headed Emeralds, and a slew of others humming about between the feeders.  If you’re a birder or photographer, a stop here is a must,

Plans For Our Final Day in Costa Rica

After we’d showered and changed,  we opted to not venture out for dinner since the rains seemed to have settled in for the night. We had our leftover pizza for dinner and made plans for the following day.

We had heard that the climate around Lake Arenal is almost perfect so we wanted to at least drive through that area and see the towns of La Fortuna and Arenal.

 To get to those towns from Monteverde you can go by taxi boat or drive around Lake Arenal. The taxi boat does not accommodate cars so driving around the lake was our only option.  The drive around the lake is about 3 ½ hours, but we didn’t mind as it would enable us to see more of the area.

The downside was that we wouldn’t have much time to stop anywhere as we needed to finish the day within an hour or so of the airport as we’d be flying out the following morning.

Not a Place to Call Home

Though Monteverde is certainly beautiful, the climate and location didn’t appeal to us as a place to live. Monteverde is remote with the only access being via a potholed twisty road, and I believe the rain had dampened our enthusiasm for the region.

Costa Rica Adventure

Are you just joining our Costa Rican adventure where we explore Costa Rica looking for a place to hang our hats in retirement? The first post in the series is here: Retirement Dreams. Perhaps you’re planning a vacation to Costa Rica, “Planning a Trip to Costa Rica” should help you get started planning the perfect vacation.

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