Tamarindo (Guanacaste) → Monteverde (Cloud Forest)

Monteverde is a mountaintop community at 1,400 metres, famous for its cloud-forest reserves, hanging bridges, coffee farms and the original zip-line canopy tours. Mornings are cool and misty, afternoons often clear; the resplendent quetzal is the star bird between January and April.

It is a natural stop between Guanacaste and La Fortuna, or between the beaches and San José, and one of the few places in Costa Rica where you will want a light jacket.

The final 30 to 40 km climb from the Pan-American Highway is the reason people book a driver here: steep, winding, partly gravel, and fogged in on many afternoons. From Liberia Airport the trip takes about 3 hours, from Tamarindo or Flamingo about 3.5, and from San José roughly 3. Our vehicles run the road weekly and drivers know every curve. Sit back and watch the landscape change from dry lowlands to dripping forest.

• Pack a warm layer and a rain shell; evenings drop to 12 to 15 °C.
• Reserve entrances (Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Santa Elena) sell out in high season; book ahead.
• Santa Elena is the walkable town with restaurants and shops; lodges out in the forest are quieter.
• Leave early on departure day: the descent takes time and the highway can be slow near Puntarenas.