15 Awesome Things to Do in Monteverde with Kids

Did you know that less than 5% of all forests in the world are considered cloud forests? You need to experience it!

Plus, there are some really unique things to do in Monteverde with kids on your family vacation.

Monteverde is hands down my favorite place in Costa Rica. It’s unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been. And we spent almost three months exploring Costa Rica, so we saw a LOT of the country!

Cloud forests are exactly what they sound like. The clouds basically come down to cover the top layer (aka: canopy) of the forest.

You’ll often see the fog or mist surrounding the upper forest canopy before it condenses onto the leaves and trees.

Monteverde literally means “green mountain” and refers to the entire cloud forest region. The Costa Rican town of Santa Elena is where you’ll find many hotels, restaurants, and activities.

Note: We refer to Monteverde, not Santa Elena, in this post since it’s the more popular name.

Monteverde is small and easy to get around on foot, but you will need transportation to many of the activities that are located a few kilometers from the downtown area.

So let’s jump in and explore all the best things to do in Monteverde with kids!

What to Do in Monteverde with Kids

Whether you stay for a few days or an entire week, your biggest problem in Monteverde with kids will be deciding what you have to skip when you run out of time. There are some really fun things to do there!

1. Hanging Bridges Canopy Tour

Walking on suspension bridges through the tree tops is one of the more popular things to do in Monteverde with kids. In fact, there are several different amazing options from which to choose!

Be aware that these bridges are really high up. I don’t generally have a fear of heights but felt a bit anxious when we first started our hanging bridges walk.

2. Night Walk

Because the cloud forest ecosystem is so rare, many people visit it to see all the different types of wildlife it has to offer. One of the best ways to see a lot of unique animals is at night.

Taking a night walk, also called a night hike, in Monteverde is one of the best ways to do this. These tours always include a guide, who is trained in spotting different creatures at night.

Pro Tip: Even if you have your own car, use the offered transportation option for a night walk because the roads are narrow, twisty, and poorly lit.

3. See the Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are amazing creatures, and the cloud forest is one of the best places in Costa Rica to see them.

There are actually a couple of different places to find hummingbirds when visiting Monteverde with kids.

Wherever you go, make sure to take your camera! You may luck out and get some great shots when they land or hover at one of the many feeders put out to attract them.

4. Coffee Tour

Coffee is a major part of Costa Rica’s agricultural industry. The country’s coffee plantations typically grow over 1.5 million bags of 60 kilograms each!

👉 The Don Juan Coffee Tour is a great chance to experience firsthand the Costa Rican coffee-growing tradition.

The farm has a typical ox-drawn cart that you can take a ride in. The tour lasts two hours and involves a .5 km walk along an easy trail.

They show you not only how coffee is grown and made but also teach visitors about cacao and sugar cane plants, too.

They even explain to guests all the processes of these three products and also allow you to taste each one of them. This chocolate tour/coffee tour is a hit with kids!

Families will love that all of the trails are made of cement, so families with physical limitations or strollers can easily navigate them. Plus, the smooth trail surfaces allow the tour to easily take place rain or shine.

5. Horseback Riding

Monteverde’s stunning environment turns an ordinary horseback riding tour into an exploration of the area’s natural beauty and rich biodiversity.

Going off the main roads and sidewalks, you’ll see places that most visitors never get to see by car or on foot.

You’ll get to ride past beautiful viewpoints of the Gulf of Nicoya as well as over streams, and next to waterfalls with your guide through the Monteverde Cloud Forest.

👉 This horseback riding tour is an ideal excursion for people who can’t or don’t want to walk a lot, like kids!

Tours depart at three different times that are best for different types of activities: bird watching, clear landscape views, or sunset skies.

Look out for toucans, parrots, monkeys, and other wildlife as you peacefully trek through the forest.

6. Monteverde Butterfly Garden

While there is a butterfly garden at Selvatura Adventure Park, I prefer the Jardin de Mariposas near the Eternal Children’s Cloud Forest Preserve.

They have been teaching people about Costa Rica’s insects and arachnids for over 30 years.

The entire mission of the organization is to change the way people think about these small, misunderstood creatures.

There is a short presentation before the butterfly tour on other insects including tarantulas, scorpions, and stick bugs.

The tour is $18 for adults and $12 for kids, and its available any time daily from 9am – 3pm. Our tour was led by a college student from the US who was volunteering there during her summer vacation. It was great!

8. Zip Lining

Zip lining canopy tours are incredibly popular throughout Costa Rica, but the zip lining in Monteverde is some of the best because it’s in one of the rarest ecosystems on the planet.

Little Man went zip lining for the first time in Mexico when he was seven. He got stuck hanging on one of the lines, so I’d recommend this activity for older kids who weigh a bit more than a stick of a 2nd grader.

7. Sky Tram

The Sky Tram is a relaxing way to enjoy the cloud forest in Monteverde with kids. A guide will come along with you in the gondola and will tell you about the rainforest and you can ask as many questions as you like.

We’ve taken gondola rides in Mexico (Mexico City and Puebla) as well as Malaysia, but none of them were open-air like the Monteverde Sky Tram.

If your kiddos want to see the tree tops but aren’t up for walking a hanging bridges loop, then the Sky Tram is a great alternative.

👉 Consider combining the Sky Tram, ziplining, and the hanging bridges at Selvatura since the two are next to each other.

9. Sloth Sanctuary

There are two types of sloths living in Costa Rica, the two-toed sloth and the three-toed sloth. However, only the two-toed sloth has the fur necessary to live at higher altitudes with a cooler climate.

In collaboration with the Caribbean Sloth Sanctuary, Selvatura Adventure Park offers homes to 20 sloths that have been rescued from poaching, deforestation, illness, and other circumstances that prevent them from returning to life in the wild.

Visitors can learn about this adorable species, its habits, and why it moves so slow. 

To prevent stressing the animals, the sanctuary sloths can only be observed from a safe distance while they freely roam the sanctuary trees. 

10. Waterfall Hike

Waterfall hiking is a popular outdoor activity in Monteverde with kids. There are several options that are fairly easy trails to accommodate even younger kids.

Little Man said our waterfall hiking time was one of his favorite experiences in Monteverde with kids.

11. Ficus la Raiz

This bridge-shaped ficus tree is a lesser known hike in the area. However, it’s a lot of fun in Monteverde with kids all the same. Just walk or drive to the trailhead.

We ran into one other adventurous couple on our hike at the beginning and another when we were leaving. So it’s relatively quiet even in the afternoons.

The trail is still being built for tourists, so bring a sense over adventure when you go. When we finished this hike, Little Man said he absolutely loved this experience!

12. Monteverde Orchid Garden

The Monteverde Orchid Garden was started over 30 years ago with some flowers that were rescued from the ground when the wind blew them out of the trees.

It has grown to over 450 orchid species in the same place with over 120 in bloom every day.

80% of wild orchids are miniature, meaning the flowers are only 1mm – 3mm in diameter. To ensure you can see and appreciate the flowers, the entrance fee includes a guided tour so you don’t miss anything.

During the 45-minute tour you will learn about wild orchids, hybrids, how to take care of plants at home, and much more.

It is a simple short walk, with accessible trails suitable for all people. This makes it perfect for visiting Monteverde with kids!

13. Monteverde Cheese Factory

The Monteverde Cheese Factory also makes ice cream. We stopped in here after our cloud forest preserve hike. Unfortunately, they no longer offer tours of the facility.

However, Little Man really enjoyed just having a cold snack in between excursions. He wouldn’t even let me take photos of our deliciousness!

There is a small shop next to the ice cream counter that offers various dairy products, including the cheese and butter that they produce in-house.

Prices are a little high, at ~$2 USD/scoop. However, it’s a smaller operation and we respect that a small business needs to cover its operating costs. And we love supporting locally owned businesses as we travel!

14. Bat Jungle

The Bat Jungle is a non-profit in Monteverde that takes in injured bats and rehabilitates them. If a fruit bat can’t be released back into the wild, they are given a permanent home with the rescue.

After a ~20 minute presentation on cool bat facts, you get to go into the “cave” that the bat cave owners have made for the bats to live in.

It’s really a dark room inside a building but they have done a lot to make it feel as naturally cave-like as possible.

The bat’s home is kept light at night and dark during the day, and tours are done at feeding times so visitors can see them in action!

15. Cloud Forest Reserve

There are several private forest reserves throughout Monteverde. The most well known ones are the Curi Cancha Reserve, Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve, Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, and the Children’s Eternal Rainforest Reserve.

Each reserve has its own pros and cons. If you want quiet contemplation in acres of primary rainforest with huge trees, visit Santa Elena.

If you want open spaces of fields and some secondary forests to go birdwatching, visit Curi Cancha.

If you want to see a little bit of everything, including a single hanging bridge and waterfall, visit Monteverde.

If you want to see the largest cloud forest preserve in Costa Rica, visit Children’s Eternal Rainforest.

Getting to Monteverde

The easiest way to get to Monteverde with kids is to hire a driver or shuttle to take you there from your previous destination. You get picked up from the airport or your first hotel or vacation rental and are driven to your next one.

👉 I suggest this shuttle service to Monteverde from the airport.

The roads in Costa Rica are no joke. And we’ve driven in every country in North and Central America.

Once you get off the highways, the roads are narrow and aren’t always paved. During the rainy season, this can be extra challenging.

We drove from a friends’ place on Lake Arenal to Monteverde and it took over three hours! If you decide to rent a car in Costa Rica, make sure it’s a 4×4.

👉 I recommend using Discover Cars for renting a car on your trip!

I’ve never seen so many cars with snorkels on them. Even the tourist shuttle vans have them!

These weird-looking additions are exactly what they sound like: snorkels that allow the vehicle to operate in extra deep water without flooding the engine.

If you drive from the Pacific coast or San Jose, your drive will likely be on mostly paved roads. If you drive from the Arenal or La Fortuna areas, however, be prepared for dirt road driving.

Where to Stay in Monteverde with Kids

Because the area is one of the more touristy parts of Costa Rica, there are a lot of hotels and places to stay in Monteverde with kids. These are some of the highly rated spots for families at a variety of budgets.

Luxury Recommendation: Monteverde Lodge & Garden

Located on the edge of Santa Elena, Monteverde Lodge and Garden is close enough to town to be able to walk to shops and restaurants but far enough that there isn’t any annoying traffic noise.

It caters to families by offering a pool, free breakfast, and allowing kids to stay for free. There are also gardens and a terrace to explore after you’re done sightseeing for the day!

Mid-Range Recommendation: Hotel Boutique Fondavela

This boutique hotel near Monteverde Biological Reserve offers a restaurant, coffee shop, covered pools, and free wifi.

You can easily walk to both the reserve and to Cafe Colibri from here, but you’ll need transportation to elsewhere in Monteverde.

Families will love the garden and terrace to relax after excursions as well as the TV in the room. Plus, kids stay free here!

Budget Recommendation: Selina Monteverde

Although it’s classified as a hostel, the Selina Monteverde offers family and quadruple rooms with private bathrooms that sleep four people. It offers family-friendly amenities like a pool, laundry services, and free wi-fi.

The hostel even offers a business center and breakfast (at an extra cost). This three-star accommodation is an excellent option for families on a budget.

Where to Eat in Monteverde with Kids

As a tourist destination, Monteverde has a lot of restaurants. These are some family-favorites you may way to try when visiting Monteverde with kids.

Stella’s

Stella’s has been operating in Monteverde for over 30 years. While it’s open for all three meals daily, the restaurant is best known for its baked goods and breakfast.

It actually started as a bakery before expanding to offer meals.

They don’t have a kids menu but they do offer kid-friendly favorites like pancakes and waffles. Plus you can order a basket of fresh pastries to accompany your meal.

Taco Taco

We discovered this place after visiting the Monteverde Butterfly Garden.

The restaurant gives all their food waste to the garden to use as compost, and offers patrons of the butterfly garden a 10% meal discount when you show your receipt for garden entry.

It also helps that the food is tasty. While their focus is obviously Mexican food, they also offer other kid-friendly options like burgers with fries.

Morpho’s Restaurant

Morpho’s recently moved to a new location and offers an amazing sunset view! This two-level restaurant is a Monteverde favorite because of its varied menu combining local ingredients with international favorites.

It also gets consistently high reviews for both its food quality and its customer service, which is always a huge bonus. Plus, it’s pretty reasonably priced.

Sabortico

While it’s well known in Monteverde for having a great brunch menu, we really enjoyed it for dinner.

We ate here our first night in town and Little Man spent the next few days asking if we could go back instead of trying somewhere new.

I guess his burger and fries there really made an impression on him! They also serve local food including empanadas. Everything we tried here is really tasty.

In addition, it’s very reasonably priced especially for Monteverde.

Tico Y Rico

Tico Y Rico gets high reviews from families visiting Monteverde with kids. It’s especially popular because it offers kid-friendly menu options like burritos, pasta, and pizza.

However, do note that the burritos include beans. If your kids are like mine, beans are a no-go in burritos.

I don’t know why but Little Man is really particular about that. If this is an issue for your kiddos, stick with one of the pasta or pizza choices.

Tree House Restaurant

Who doesn’t want to eat lunch in a tree?! Ok, you aren’t actually sitting in the tree to eat. It’s really a restaurant built around the trunk and branches of a massive tree.

So you’re sitting at regular tables on a normal floor with branches all around you. But still, it’s a lot of fun!

The food here is on the pricier side and it wasn’t the best we ate in Monteverde. So if you’re on a budget, stop by here for a milkshake or an appetizer so you can still enjoy the ambiance. That’s worth it!

Travel Tips for Visiting Monteverde with Kids

☑️ Toilet paper shouldn’t be flushed here. This is due to sensitive septic systems and is common throughout most of Central America and Mexico.

☑️ If you experience car or motion sickness, pull out the medicine when driving to or within Monteverde.

👉 Get Dramamine for everyone! There’s even a chewable version available for kids.

☑️ Whenever possible, avoid driving at night. The roads are narrow and poorly lit.

☑️ It’s much cooler in the mountains! You’ll need pants and jackets, even in the summertime.

☑️ Sidewalks are rare and not very smooth. Leave your stroller at home and plan to babywear instead if your kiddos aren’t up for walking.

👉 I recommend the Tula Carrier for its durability and comfort. Plus it has different carriers that fit little ones from 7-60 pounds.

☑️ Wildlife is plentiful so always have your camera handy.

☑️ Contrary to what some blogs may tell you, mosquitos can (and do) live at high altitudes. Always have bug spray on hand.

Conclusion: Monteverde with Kids

Even if you only do a fraction of the kid’s activities in Monteverde Costa Rica on this list, chances are your kids will still be talking about it when you get home from your family travels.

While many people skip Monteverde in favor of La Fortuna, Arenal, or Manuel Antonio I hope that this post about visiting Monteverde with kids will convince you otherwise.

After spending over two months in Costa Rica, I know we still barely scratched the surface of everything the country has to offer. But I also know that Monteverde was one of our favorite destinations as a family.

👉 While we have global health insurance for our day-to-day lives, we also elect travel insurance with SafetyWing for our spurts of fast travel adventure!