Monteverde Wildlife Refuge
Monteverde Wildlife Refuge
Monteverde Wildlife Refuge
4
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Monday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Tuesday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Wednesday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Thursday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Friday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Saturday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sunday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
About
Is a 55 acre property of which 44 acres form a premountanous wet forest. Twenty seven acres are used for the guided walks and 17 acres are not tampered with at all to preserve the biodiversity. The remaining 11 acres are still pastures in the process of reforestation. The Refuges’ location on the top of the Tilaran mountain range and in between the pacific dry forest and the Monteverde cloud forest makes it a very important biological corridor used by many species daily in search of food or refuge. This makes it an ideal location for birwatching for species like the quetzal, bellbird, mot-mot, manakin, toucan, oil bird and many more; land animals of various species like monkeys, agoutis, coatimundi, olingo, sloth, wild cats, frogs, snakes and a large variety of insects. The Monteverde Wildlife Refuge is also one of the pioneers of the guided night walks in Monteverde.
Duration: 2-3 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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32 within 10 kms
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
237 reviews
Excellent
135
Very good
52
Average
26
Poor
14
Terrible
10
Travelbugreviewer
new jersey74 contributions
Nov 2023 • Couples
Overall a good evening nightlife tour. Luckily it did not rain (that would have been miserable!). Booked the tour on line and the company came and picked us up from our hotel and dropped us back afterwards (we were in a centrally located Santa Elena hotel). We went on the earlier evening tour - there were two time slots. There were a lot of people and they divided us into small groups - 8 in ours. They give you torches, but they are not the brightest, so if you happen to have your own bright torch, it's worth taking it. Our guide had eagle eyes and pointed out loads of animals and reptiles. He was very knowledgeable and passionate and clearly enjoyed taking people round. He had a spotting scope and helped take closer photos through the lens for people. He made sure everyone got to see things. He spoke great English. From a sleeping Toucan in the tree, sloths, an armadillo (amazing), spiders (several types), keel billed toucans, many bugs, ants and several snakes. There seemed to be snakes everywhere lurking in the trees or hanging above the frog ponds! The only negative is whilst we were a nice group with a lovely guide, there were quite a lot of other people on the property, so it was quite busy at times passing on trails, with lots of flashing torches. Overall I enjoyed it, but think I'd prefer a small quieter tour with less people around.
Written 9 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Haritha
5 contributions
Feb 2024 • Solo
Worth it. Guide made a huge effort to show us a lot including a sloth, tarantula, green viper, sleeping birds, insects of the night.
Written 5 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sunny_JLa
Harringay, UK262 contributions
Dec 2023 • Couples
We went there for the guided night tour. It was very interesting and we saw 10 animals which is a lot for a night tour. Our guide impressed us with his ability to spot birds and animals in the dark.
Written 12 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SJP
16 contributions
Dec 2023 • Couples
When we arrived everything was organised and easy for us. Our guide was fantastic and very knowledgeable. We saw a pygmy frog, giant stick insect, tarantula, sloth, viper, and many different sleeping birds. The area is an easy walk. I would certainly recommend this tour. Great value for money.
Written 6 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
p0d17
Bournemouth, UK13 contributions
Nov 2023 • Family
Wonderful night tour with our guide Justin, he was great with our 3 year old and we really enjoyed our private tour. Saw lots of animals and he was so passionate about his work it was infectious.
Written 12 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TravelingGayPanda
New York City, NY86 contributions
Mar 2023 • Couples
We came here for the night tour. Stephen was our tour guide who seemed pretty bored about the tour but guided us through the forest and answered our questions. You’re given flashlights to help your footing. The tour lasted about 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs and was easy. The trails are not challenging (which is great since it’s in pitch black) and not very steep. We luckily saw a couple of sleeping birds (toucans), a pit viper, sloths, and a sleeping monkey. I felt safe throughout the whole tour and even found the darkness comforting at times … at least until Stephen pointed out the pit viper.
Written 27 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
redkayak77
Whitby, Canada52 contributions
Mar 2023 • Family
We enjoyed this tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable and it was fun hiking through the forest at night, although admittedly if we didn’t see a couple cool species at the very end of the tour we may not have enjoyed it as much. For the first hour and a half we saw a sloth very far away, a couple frogs, 2 sleeping toucans and grasshoppers. However right near the end we were able to see a viper and a tarantula, which were the highlights. Obviously there are no guarantees of spotting wildlife on these tours so be sure to manage your expectations.
Written 20 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David
Manchester712 contributions
Feb 2023 • Solo
I clearly just got a bad guide as everyone else loved this tour. He was clearly very passionate and knowledgeable and told us a lot about the few things we saw, that was the problem really he was too passionate. Whilst other groups got a bit of information about the wildlife they quickly moved on to look for others. We ended up watching ants for 15 mins whilst group after group passed us. Then he said ah it’s busy down there now let’s go back and try somewhere else. This happened 3 times. We didn’t make it more than 5 mins from the reception as we kept backtracking. The most bizarre moment was when there was a nice little pigmy frog on a leaf right next to the path. He said let’s not go look at it just yet, let’s look at it through the telescope from like 3 metres away. 5 mins later he said right let’s go and look at it closely. It was bizarre.
Saw that frog, a sleeping bird, ants and a grasshopper and supposedly a sleeping sloth which no one could make out even through the telescope. Other groups seemed to see a lot lot more because they weren’t spending 10-15 mins at each minor sighting talking.
I don’t have a problem with not seeing wildlife if it isn’t there, I get it’s wild, but it clearly was but our guide didn’t seem to want to look for it, just talk for 2 hours…
Saw that frog, a sleeping bird, ants and a grasshopper and supposedly a sleeping sloth which no one could make out even through the telescope. Other groups seemed to see a lot lot more because they weren’t spending 10-15 mins at each minor sighting talking.
I don’t have a problem with not seeing wildlife if it isn’t there, I get it’s wild, but it clearly was but our guide didn’t seem to want to look for it, just talk for 2 hours…
Written 21 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hannah E
2 contributions
Feb 2023 • Couples
We had a great night tour with Christian! We got to see a sloth, sleeping monkey, birds, and many vipers. Thanks for an awesome tour!
Written 15 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Visitor#218
Madison, WI8 contributions
Jan 2023
Great evening. Tarantula, Kinkajoo, different kinds of toucans, tiny frogs, snakes and a lot of other creatures I can't remember.
We were very fortunate that our hotel set us up with an amazing guide, WILL NUNEZ. He grew up in Monteverde, educated in Europe (has a pretty clear english-accent when he's speaking english) and returned to do bird-conservation in his home.
He had a deep knowledge of everything from cutter-ants to the venom dose of "teen" or adult pit-viper. And of course birds. Will seemed to be the first to see all the great finds of the evening.
I didn't know if we were out there for an hour or three. Really absorbing time with a guide that made it happen.
We were very fortunate that our hotel set us up with an amazing guide, WILL NUNEZ. He grew up in Monteverde, educated in Europe (has a pretty clear english-accent when he's speaking english) and returned to do bird-conservation in his home.
He had a deep knowledge of everything from cutter-ants to the venom dose of "teen" or adult pit-viper. And of course birds. Will seemed to be the first to see all the great finds of the evening.
I didn't know if we were out there for an hour or three. Really absorbing time with a guide that made it happen.
Written 23 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gary Randlett
DeLand, FL4 contributions
We are visiting in February. Would like to do a day hike and a night hike. Wondered how we can reserve ahead, and if a guide can be requested. We took a tour with Ricardo a year ago and he was wonderful.
themagpie13
White Plains, NY
Where did you get the night guide for the night walk at Monteverde WIldlife Refuge and how much was it?
Thanks,
Margie
SUHELLER
Santiago, Chile234 contributions
Te agradezco enormemente por tu comentario....pienso igual que tu...ver a los animales molestandolos y estresandolos no es la manera, lo encuentro horrible...100% util tu opinion. Gracias
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Claim your listingMONTEVERDE WILDLIFE REFUGE: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
Frequently Asked Questions about Monteverde Wildlife Refuge
- According to Tripadvisor travellers, these are the best ways to experience Monteverde Wildlife Refuge:
- Private Night Hike In The Woods (From R 1 126,17)
- Package | Monteverde Cloud Forest + Curi-Cancha Reserve + Night Hike (Private) (From R 4 223,13)
- Monteverde Rain Forest Night Walk (From R 713,24)
- Night tour in Monteverde Tropical Forest (From R 750,78)
- Forest Night Tour in Monteverde Refuge / Guide & Entrace fee. (From R 938,47)
- Hotels near Monteverde Wildlife Refuge:
- (0.05 km) Casa Luna Monteverdeis the perfect tranquil and accommodating modern
- (0.09 km) Cabañas Hoja Verde
- (0.25 km) Casa Rayo de Luna
- (0.30 km) Casa Campo Verde
- (0.32 km) Hotel Miramontes
- Restaurants near Monteverde Wildlife Refuge:
- (0.46 km) Monteverde Brewing Company
- (0.73 km) Bistro Bon Appetit
- (1.26 km) Mar y Tierra
- (1.47 km) San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience
- (1.28 km) Raulito's Pollo