5 cheap or FREE things to do in Monteverde, Costa Rica!

Looking for cheap or free things to do in Monteverde? In this video we show you five free spots in Monteverde! They are San Luis viewpoint, Mirador Valle Escondido, Hotel Mirador San Gerardo Lodge viewpoint, hollow ficus and the Ficus Root Bridge.

**Update as of March 2021: they have fenced off the property to the hollow ficus tree and aren't allowing people to enter anymore **
*Update November 2023 for Ficus Tree Bridge: the entrance has changed and it now costs 1000 CRC or ~$2 USD per person and they have a short path down to the tree bridge
*Update Nov 2023: Hotel Mirador San Gerardo Lodge is closed.*

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TRANSCRIPT:
Good morning everybody, today we are in beautiful Monteverde one of our favorite places in Costa Rica and in this video were going to show you five free things to do in Monteverde.

The first free thing to do is the ficus tree bridge, very close to downtown Santa Elena with the entrance by the Hotel Felix Room. Youll walk down to a river and right there is an amazing natural ficus root bridge. You can climb up the bridge and it{s a very photogenic and unique spot.

The second free thing to do in Monteverde is the Cerro Plano lookout point. Its right off the main road in front of the CPI Spanish School and is a great place to watch the sunset or enjoy the view of the Gulf of Nicoya.

The third spot is at the Monteverde Volcano Lodge and you'll need a car for this one. They have an incredible view of Arenal Volcano and Lake Arenal, one of the best in the area. You can come up here to take some beautiful photos and videos and they also have a restaurant open to the public if you want to grab a bite to eat with this breathtaking view.

The fourth spot is the hollow ficus tree. This tree is actually completely hollow and is big enough for a person to climb up to the top. The hollowed out tree root system provides easy to find handles and grips and if you make it to the top, you'll be rewarded with a beautiful view of the valley below.

The last free thing to do in Monteverde is the San Luis lookout point. This is another amazing viewpoint that is on the way to the town of San Luis. You can see the surrounding mountains, cloud forest, a waterfall and the Gulf of Nicoya. It's another excellent spot to watch the sunset.

We hope you enjoyed our video on free things to do in Monteverde. Don't forget to click on the links in the description for more information and directions on the spots in this video. Thanks for watching!

[GOHOBO]

1. Ficus Tree Bridge
2. Cerro Plano Viewpoint
3. Monteverde Volcano Lodge
4. Hollow ficus Tree
5 San Luis Viewpoint

[sherylneckritz]

Hollowed out ficus tree is now surrounded by barbed wire. And there are cameras put there by property owners. They blocked tree off inside so you can't climb anymore

[mytanfeettravelblog]

TIME STAMPS

0:15 FICUS TREE BRIDGE
0:37 CERRO PLANO LOOKOUT VIEWPOINT
0:55 MONTEVERDE VOLCANO LODGE
1:19 HOLLOW FICUS TREE
1:46 SAN LUIS LOOKOUT POINT

Which one is your favorite? Let us know!

[BucketListTravellers]

Wow! The trees in Costa Rica are very impressive! Love the bridge and the hollow tree 🤩

[rtproductions-]

Great video! Happy to see you guy are back!

[GOHOBO]

Owwww! I love the Hollow ficus Tree😍 hahaha looks super fun to climb it haha😂

[jerryshaubel]

Darn! We were there about a month ago and would have loved the root bridge and hollow tree. Planning to be in CR two more months, (maybe more or less depending on how we adjust to new restrictions on returning to Canada) so maybe we’ll head back that way.

[johnehmer]

My computer desktop picture is a photo from the Cerro Plano viewpoint that I took last February.

[jessegiesbrecht]

We went to the Ficus tree bridge in November and there was there someone collecting a toll for it. It was a mill per person.

[viniciusreis]

I didn’t found the exactly place on maps from Monteverde Volcano Lodge, i really like to go there and see that view? Do u have more references for i get there?

[HongNguyen-dulk]

Can I ask how far is the walk from the entrance to the ficus tree bridge?

[pabling]

Is this the off road past selvatura adventures???

[gracewang]

Do you need a car to navigate around Monteverde, or is walking/public transportation/Ubers good?

[MrPhilipRoberts]

I feel like going inside trees is asking to be bitten by a snake/spider

[stephen]

Thanks, very helpful, but what a shame you didn't use traditional Costa Rican music as the soundtrack.