The tiny town of Santa Elena is the gateway to Monteverde and the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, 6km (3 3/4 miles) outside of town along a windy road that dead-ends at the reserve entrance. As you approach Santa Elena, take the right fork in the road if you’re heading directly to Monteverde. If you continue straight, you’ll come into the little town center of tiny Santa Elena, which has a bus stop, a health clinic, a bank, a supermarket, and a few general stores, and a collection of simple restaurants, budget hotels, souvenir shops, and tour offices. Heading just out of town, toward Monteverde, is a small strip mall with a large and prominent Megasuper supermarket. Monteverde, on the other hand, is not a village in the traditional sense of the word. There’s no center of town—only dirt lanes leading off from the main road to various farms. This main road has signs for all the hotels and restaurants mentioned here, and it dead-ends at the reserve entrance.

Getting Around

Five or so daily buses connect the town of Santa Elena and the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. The first bus leaves Santa Elena for the reserve at 6:15am and the last bus from the reserve leaves at 4pm. The fare is C500. Periodic van transportation also runs between the town of Santa Elena and the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve. Ask around town and you should be able to find the current schedule and book a ride for around C1,000 per person. A taxi (tel. 2645-6969 or 2645-6666) between Santa Elena and either the Monteverde Reserve or the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve costs around C6,500 for up to four people. You may have to pay about the same for a ride from Santa Elena to your lodge in Monteverde. Sorry, no Uber of Lyft in this part of Costa Rica. Finally, several places around town rent ATVs, or all-terrain vehicles, for around $65 to $100 per day.

Fast Facts

The telephone number for the local clinic is (tel. 2645-5076; for the Red Cross, (tel. 2645-6128; and for the local police, (tel. 911 or 2645-6248. The Farmacia Monteverde (tel. 2449-5495) is right downtown. A Banco Nacional (tel. 2645-5027) is located on a prominent corner in downtown Santa Elena, and has a 24-hour ATM.

City Layout -- The tiny town of Santa Elena is the gateway to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, 6km (3 3/4 miles) outside of town along a windy road that dead-ends at the reserve entrance. As you approach Santa Elena, take the right fork in the road if you’re heading directly to Monteverde. If you continue straight, you’ll come into the center of tiny Santa Elena, which has a bus stop, a health clinic, a bank, a supermarket, and a few general stores, plus a collection of simple restaurants, budget hotels, souvenir shops, and tour offices. Heading just out of town, toward Monteverde, is a small strip mall with a prominent Megasuper supermarket. Monteverde, on the other hand, is not a village in the traditional sense of the word. There’s no center of town—only dirt lanes leading off from the main road to various farms. This main road has signs for all the hotels and restaurants mentioned here.

Getting There

By Car: The principal access road to Monteverde is located along the Inter-American Highway (CR1); about 20km (12 miles) north of the exit for Puntarenas is a marked turnoff for Sardinal, Santa Elena, and Monteverde. From this turnoff, the road is paved for 15km (9 1/2 miles), to just beyond the tiny town of Guacimal. From here, it’s another 20km (12 miles) to Santa Elena, the gateway town to Monteverde.

From San José, you can either take the Inter-American Highway (CR1) north all the way to the turnoff, or first head west out of San José on the San José–Caldera Highway (CR27). When you reach Caldera, follow the signs to Puntarenas and the Inter-American Highway (CR1). You will actually follow signs for Liberia and San José, which are, in fact, leading you to the unmarked entrance to CR1. This road (CR23) ends when it hits the Inter-American Highway. You’ll want to pass under the bridge and follow the on-ramp, which will put you on the highway heading north. This latter route is a faster and flatter drive.

Another access road to Santa Elena is found just south of the Río Lagarto Bridge. This turnoff is the first you will come to if driving from Liberia. From the Río Lagarto turnoff, it’s 38km (24 miles) to Santa Elena, and the road is unpaved the entire way.

Once you arrive, the roads in and around Santa Elena are paved, including all the way to Cerro Plano, and about halfway to the reserve.

To drive from La Fortuna to Monteverde, head past Tabacón and over the dam to Nuevo Arenal, continuing on along the well-marked, paved road that hugs the lake all the way to Tilarán. From Tilarán there is a rough dirt road that is marked at critical intersections. Keep following the signs to Santa Elena and Monterverde.

By Bus: Transportes Monteverde express buses (tel. 2256-7710 in San José, or 2645-7447 in Santa Elena) leave San José daily at 6:30am and 2:30pm from Calle 12 between avenidas 7 and 9. The trip takes around 4 hours; the fare is around C3,000. Buses arrive at and depart from Santa Elena. If you’re staying at one of the hotels or lodges near the reserve, arrange pickup if possible, or take a taxi or local bus. Return buses for San José also depart daily at 6:30am and 2:30pm.

Three daily Transportes Monteverde buses depart Puntarenas for Santa Elena at 7:50am, and 1:50 and 2:15pm. The bus stop in Puntarenas is across the street from the main bus station. The fare for the 2 1/2-hour trip is C1,600. A daily bus from Tilarán (Lake Arenal) leaves at 12:30pm. Trip duration is 2 hours (for a 40km/25-mile trip); the fare is C1,200. The express bus departs for San José daily at 6:30am and 2:30pm.

Tropical Tours Shuttle (tel. 2640-1900) also offers daily shared shuttle minibus services between La Fortuna and San José’s International Airport, for $59 per person, with two daily departures.

To reach Liberia, take any bus down the mountain and get off as soon as you hit the Inter-American Highway. You can then flag down a bus bound for Liberia (almost any bus heading north). The Santa Elena/Tilarán bus leaves daily at 7am.

Alternative Transport

You can travel between Monteverde and La Fortuna by boat and taxi, or on a combination boat, horseback, and taxi trip. See “Boats, Horses & Taxis,” in the La Fortuna Travel Guide, for details. Any of the trips described there can be done in the reverse direction departing from Monteverde. Most hotels and Desafío Adventure Co ★★ (tel. 2479-0020) can arrange this trip for you. Desafío offers multiday hikes from Monteverde to Arenal; you spend the night in rustic research facilities inside the Bosque Eterno de Los Niños. It also offers transfers to Pacific-coast beach towns combined with a day rafting on the Tenorio River.

Keep Exploring