Private Nature Tour in the Monteverde Cloud Forest with Entrance Fee Included
Reserve entrance fee already included in the price
Prefer the other option? See the guided-tour-only version (entrance paid at the gate)
Private departure · admission included
24-hour booking cutoff · admission refundable up to 48 hours before the tour · rain or shine: 50% of the guide service and purchased entrance fees are non-refundable · 2-person minimum, solo guests get 50% of the second-person charge refunded.
- Start time
- Per admission time; 7:30 am when available
- Modality
- Private only
- Where
- Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological ReserveMap: Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve
Requests close 24 hours before the tour. Cancel at least 48 hours in advance for a reserve-admission refund — cancellation policy
Photos from this tour
8 photos by our guidesOverview
The Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve works on timed admissions, which is the part most visitors find fiddly. On this product that piece is handled with your booking: your admission is included and secured for the confirmed time, and your guide walks in with you.
What you get inside is the private Cloud Forest experience — tall primary forest, moss-loaded trunks, tree ferns and the ridge of the continental divide, interpreted for your party only, with a spotting scope for the canopy. Because nobody else shares the departure, the route follows your interests and pace.
Reserve rules still apply on this all-inclusive version: the group leaves the reserve when the guided walk ends, so plan it as a self-contained half day rather than an open ticket for the afternoon.
Guided by Nasua Tours' certified naturalist guides, led by founder Oscar Castillo Mejía (license #1090) — read more about the team. Still comparing options? The Monteverde planning guide explains how this tour differs from the others. Travelling for birds? Check the quetzal, bellbird and manakin seasons.
Itinerary
Admission already arranged
Your guide meets you at the entrance for the confirmed admission time with your included ticket in hand — no ticket window, no extra payment.
Under the tall canopy
Interpretation of the primary cloud forest: epiphytes, strangler figs, hanging gardens and the species that live only in this life zone.
Ridge and cloud
At the divide, wind-shaped trees and passing cloud show why the forest looks the way it does on each slope.
Scope views and exit
Telescope views of the morning's sightings, then the guided tour closes and the group leaves the reserve together.
What to expect
On this product the reserve admission is already included in the price — there is nothing to pay at the gate.
What's included
- Professional bilingual guide, officially certified by the Costa Rican Tourism Board
- High-end spotting telescope shared among your party for crystal-clear wildlife observation and smartphone photography
What to bring
- Reliable waterproof jacket or poncho
- Sturdy hiking shoes or trail sneakers
- Fully charged camera or smartphone for telescope-magnified photos
- A reusable water bottle and insect repellent
Optional or not included
- Transportation
- Meals
Not a mass-market tour
This is an exclusive experience run in small groups or fully private — never a large commercial departure. You walk with one of our certified naturalist guides, led by Oscar Castillo Mejía, at your pace, with professional optical equipment on the trail and your reserve admission confirmed for you when you choose the all-inclusive option.
- Small groups or fully private — no crowded buses
- Personal attention from a certified naturalist guide
- Professional spotting scope and quality optics included
- Reserve admission confirmed for you when included
What guests said about this tour
Read all reviews“We took a private day tour with Oscar, and it was an absolutely amazing experience. Oscar conveyed boundless enthusiasm about all the nature we saw, making it an unforgettable day.”
Jaymee CoonjobeeharryGoogle · 2 years ago“We hired several wildlife guides during our three weeks in Costa Rica, but Christian from Nasua Tours was the best — an excellent eye for wildlife and impressive knowledge. If you book only one guided tour in Costa Rica, make it this one.”
Jim LTripadvisor “This was one of the best eco-tours I've taken to date. A first-rate guide, highly knowledgeable about indigenous wildlife and flora of Costa Rica and Monteverde, and about the specific preserves where you might find the species you hope to see.”
Josh Pelta-HellerFacebook
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Booking & cancellation policies
These terms apply to every Nasua Tours booking and you accept them before your request is sent.
Booking cutoff: 24 hours
Requests close 24 hours before the tour starts, so admission and guiding can be arranged in time.
Reserve admission is refundable up to 48 hours before the tour
Cancel at least 48 hours before the tour starts and the reserve admission (entrance tickets) is refunded. With less than 48 hours' notice the entrance tickets are no longer refundable.
Rain or shine — 50% of the guide service is non-refundable
Monteverde weather is unpredictable, so tours run rain or shine. If the tour is cancelled, 50% of the guided-service charge is non-refundable, and entrance fees already purchased are non-refundable.
Minimum booking: 2 people (solo guests welcome)
Every tour is sold from a 2-person minimum, so a solo guest books the service for 2. If only one guest travels, Nasua Tours refunds 50% of the extra charge for the second person.
Questions about this tour
- What does the all-inclusive price cover?
- The reserve entrance fee is already included in the price of this product, so there is nothing to buy at the gate on the day of your tour.
- Does the included admission let us stay after the tour?
- No. This reserve requires groups to leave when the guided walk finishes, whether or not the admission was bought with the tour. Curi-Cancha is the reserve where staying on is allowed.
- Can we stay in the reserve after the tour ends?
- It depends on the reserve. In the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve you leave the reserve when the tour ends — staying on afterwards is not allowed. In Curi-Cancha Reserve you are welcome to stay on your own after the tour; the reserve closes at 4:30 pm.
- How long is the nature tour and when does it start?
- In Curi-Cancha the walk runs 7:30 am to 10:00–10:30 am. In the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve the start depends on the admission time available; when possible we also start at 7:30 am.
- How is it different from the birdwatching tour?
- The nature tour is a natural history walk: your guide interprets how flora and fauna are intertwined, with wildlife sightings along the way. The birdwatching tour starts earlier and is built specifically around finding and scoping birds.
- Can I choose the reserve?
- Yes. You can pick Curi-Cancha or the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, or ask Nasua Tours to recommend one for your interests.
- Are reserve entrance fees included?
- You choose. "Tour with admission included" covers the guided service plus the applicable reserve or activity admission with 13% tax, so there is nothing to buy at the gate. "Tour without admission" covers the guided service with 13% tax only, and you pay the reserve entrance yourself. Infants 0–3 are free on both options.
- How much does the tour cost?
- Both options show a live total in the request panel, with 13% tax already included. Prices per guest depend on group size, whether the tour is private or shared, and — for the all-inclusive option — which reserve you visit, since admission differs by reserve and age. Children 4–10 have their own rate and infants 0–3 are free. You confirm the exact total with Nasua Tours before anything is booked.
- Is a guided nature tour better than walking the reserve alone?
- You can walk the trails alone, but most wildlife is quiet, camouflaged or high in the canopy. A certified naturalist guide interprets what you are seeing and uses a spotting telescope to show details you would otherwise walk past.
- Do I need any experience or special fitness?
- No experience is needed and the pace is relaxed on maintained reserve trails. Tell Nasua Tours about mobility or pace concerns in your request so the route can be adjusted.
Continue your Monteverde experience
You can combine tours to see different sides of Monteverde. These pair well with this one:
Night Walk Tour
The walk finishes late morning, so the 5:30 pm night walk can work that same evening — the same forest with an entirely nocturnal cast.
Private Full Day Tour
Travellers who want more time on the trails often move up to the nine-hour private day across two reserves.
Build a multi-tour itinerary
Send us the tours you like and the dates you are in Monteverde. Oscar sequences them realistically around start times and reserves, then replies with the current rates and one combined plan.
About 3 hours
Entrance fee included