Monteverde Cloud Forest Private Tour With Original Travel

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Who Are Original Travel?

Original Travel are experts at tailor-made holiday itineraries. As soon as you enquire about a trip you will have a dedicated destination expert who will handle everything. And by everything they mean everything! From a tailor-made itinerary to 24-hour support, they will be your one point of contact throughout your trip.

And you will find that Original Travel think of all the small details too. Including 100% carbon absorption for all the trips they arrange or ensuring you can stay in the airport lounge for free snacks and drinks. If you have kids they will provide kids travel packs and can even lend you a GoPro! Certainly an easier way to travel, without any worries.

We didn’t plan our whole trip with Original Travel, but we did experience a little of their expertise with a private guided tour of Monteverde Cloud Forest.

Do You Need A Guided Tour at Monteverde Cloud Forest?

You can easily enter Monteverde Cloud Forest reserve without a guided tour. You’ll just need to buy tickets at the reception or online in advance. However, the question is whether you will see much alone without a guide?

And the answer is you will probably miss quite a lot of wildlife! The guides are experts at spotting wildlife and are here several times a week, so they know roughly where to expect certain wildlife or where active nests are. If you are hoping to spot a particular animal or bird then having a guide is invaluable. If nothing else they know the bird calls and and can you lead to the right area!

The guides are also great at taking photos and videos of wildlife through the telescope lens. So you will always come back with lots of photos, even if they aren’t perfectly focussed!

So, do you need a guided tour at Monteverde cloud forest? It depends on why you are visiting. If you are happy to walk around and enjoy the scenery, seeing just a few birds and animals then no guide is required. If you would like an expert to show you a huge range of birds, animals and insects, then you will definitely want a guide!

Monteverde Cloud Forest Private Tour Or Group Tour?

A private group is small, but more expensive. Just you and your family, it’s a lovely way to enjoy the forest. The guides can tailor the experience to what you would like to see and really engage the children too. For a family who wanted to see lots of exciting wildlife, it was the perfect choice!

We passed quite a few group tours whilst out walking and definitely saw a difference. The group tours didn’t all get a chance to see wildlife high up in the canopy. Mostly because it’s easier to see through the telescope and you have to wait your turn. So if there are 10 people in front of you then the bird or animal may have moved on! In a small group we could all have a quick look before anything disappeared.

What Will We See At Monteverde Cloud Forest?

Arriving at the entrance to Monteverde cloud forest you will certainly hear the cacophony of bird song! We were amazed by the amount of wildlife in Monteverde cloud forest. Standing in the car park waiting for our guide to collect the tickets we immediately encountered a group of Capuchin monkeys. They were in the tree canopy picking fruit from the tree top.

And the monkeys were just the beginning! We were lucky to see Coati’s, moss camouflaged stick insects, the famous Quetzal birds, squirrels, various insects and huge amount of birds. We would have missed most of this wildlife if it wasn’t for the fantastic guide.

He kept stopping us when we couldn’t see anything, then set up his telescope. Peering through we could see beautiful coloured birds or monkeys high up in the trees. The stick insect was awesome too, just look at the photo below! You would definitely miss it if you didn’t know it was there.

Our Experience of a Monteverde Cloud Forest Private Tour

Our tour began with an air conditioned drive from our hotel, Sibu Lodge, out to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Whilst another company rep picked up the tickets, our guide got the telescope set up so we could see a troop of Capuchin monkeys in the canopy.

From here we quickly saw coati snuffling in the undergrowth and Emerald Toucanets flying in and out of a nest in a tree stump. The trail was busy at the beginning, but the staff direct different groups along the various different trails. This way people are more spaced out throughout the reserve.

Quickly we found ourselves alone with the guide. Listening out for bird calls, there were a select few that certainly stood out. The ‘squeaky gate bird’, I’m afraid I never caught its actual name, was a favourite. Imagine a rusty gate slowly squeaking on its hinges. That’s the exact sound the bird made! Very hard to spot though!

Our guide taught us about the food the different birds eat and the tiny avocado looking fruits that attract the quetzals to the area. Our guide spent time on a hanging bridge listening for quetzals. Then suddenly he started running and shouted for us to follow!

A quick sprint down the path from the bridge and we found a small group huddled round a telescope pointing up to the canopy. They had found a quetzal! Our guide got his telescope quickly set up so we could see it too. A very exciting find, as they are only found in the cloud forests of Central America.

Exploring the rest of the forest was interesting, but after a few hours we were back at the entrance. Next door is the Hummingbird Garden cafe, where you can spot hundreds of hummingbirds using the feeders. It’s excellent for practising photography, but also amazing to watch their wings. Such agile little birds that they have moved sideways out of shot before you even have the camera in position!