Santa Elena (Costa Rica)

Santa Elena is a city in Costa Rica.

Travel to Santa Elena (Costa Rica) - Visa Requirements

Santa Elena is located a little over 100 miles from San Jose Costa Rica. You can get there by bus, they say 4 1/2 hours but it often can take 5 or 6 hours. The cost for bus transport is very little around $4.00US. Easier and faster transport is by Interbus which takes 3 hours and costs about $29US. Interbus will take you door to door from hotels in San Jose and Santa Elena.

Tours and Getting around Santa Elena (Costa Rica)

Santa Elena is a very small mountain town located in the cloud forests of Costa Rica. The main part of town is where three roads come together forming a single block triangular center to the town. Everything in Santa Elena can be seen on foot. Busses and taxis queue up along one street for transport to nearby Monteverde and the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. In the center there is also a "discoteque" which offers music, a bar, and karaoke. Although it can be a fun time it is often occupied by drunk locals looking for a good time with a female tourist.

Santa Elena (Costa Rica) tourist attractions and sightseeing

• Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve
• Monteverde Coffee Coops
• Children's Rainforest
• Zip Line tours of Cloud Forest Canopy

Santa Elena (Costa Rica) city tours

The cloud forest is the big attraction.

Santa Elena (Costa Rica) souvenirs and shopping

There really isn't too much in the way of tourist junk to buy. There is a local super market and many hostels, several places to eat and a bakery.

Santa Elena (Costa Rica) Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

• Kako's Pizza serves pizza, Italian food, and Casados for reasonable (if a bit touristy) prices. Service, while typical Tico service (they take their time!) is friendly and not terribly inefficient. It is located behind the bank, up a driveway. If there is a futbol game on the TV, the staff can get caught up in that instead of cooking however!

• M&F Burgers located just below the center of town serves typical Tico food. The special burger comes on a tortilla, with ham and many interesting toppings not found at McDonalds! Also, very cheap casados.

Santa Elena (Costa Rica) nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

Santa Elena (Costa Rica) cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

• Pension Santa Elena is a good choice for low budget travel. The staff is extremely helpful and there is a shared kitchen and the lobby / dining areas are always full of fellow travelers with interesting stories. Located right in the heart of Santa Elena, it is a great jumping point for any and all activities in the area.
• El Establo is situated in the heart of the touristic zone of Monteverde 7 km from the Santa Elena Rain Forest and 4 km from the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Quaker friendship awaits you in the hotel, set in a private 150 acres farm (50 % protected primary forest) adjacent to the Monteverde Reserve.

Get out

Recommended is the Jeep/Boat/Jeep trip to LaFortuna. This trip takes about half a day. Also consider horseback/boat/jeep to LaFortuna. Ask at the desk at Pension Santa Elena, they know everything about the area

This page was last edited by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by Stacy Hall, Evan Prodromou and John Barrie, Wikitravel user(s) Morph and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license