Monteverde Butterfly Gardens: Insectarium and Gardens Tour
4.6
65 Ratings
Monteverde

Discover Costa Rica’s bugs and butterflies with passionate guides. Explore unique gardens, see caterpillars transform, and enjoy unlimited visits during your stay.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Monteverde Butterfly Garden (Jardin de Mariposas) - Here at the Monteverde Butterfly Gardens, we have been teaching people about Costa Rica’s insects and arachnids for over 30 years. We have made it our mission to change the way people think about these small, misunderstood creatures. This may seem like a daunting task, but our bugs and tour…
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What's Included
  • Professional guide
  • Photo opportunities
What's Not Included
  • Transportation to/from attractions
Additional Information

Our tours are a little over an hour in length, and include the following: An introduction to Costa Rica bugs, and an orientation to the Gardens An up-close experience with a variety of insects and arachnids A look at our rearing chamber, where caterpillars are becoming butterflies A stroll through our 3 unique gardens, full of spectacular butterflies….

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Location
Monteverde Butterfly Gardens
Cerro Plano, 20 minute walk or short cab ride from downtown Santa Elena
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(65 Ratings)
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1 star
Staffsgwr
Oct 1, 2024
Great short visit at the Butterfly gardens - The Butterfly Garden was only 20 minutes away so I walked down the steep hill to the Jardin de Mariposas.The others in my party travelled to the Sloth sanctuary nearby.I had to wait a short while to be hooked up with a young guy from Cardiff who definitely knew his stuff.He handled the small insects and creatures with great care and truly loved entimology.It was only a short stay but great care had gone into creating an environment akin to all the creatures homes in this special cloud forest.He made the stay interesting and colourful.Unfortunately for me it was uphill to our stay in the torrential rain.
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Clou132
Jun 13, 2024
Very informative and fun - We learned so much from our guide. We went thinking we were just seeing butterflies, but also got a lot of information about all kinds of bugs and insects. We thoroughly enjoyed this!
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X6234ilsamb
May 29, 2024
Great find one road over from our lodge - Really good activity and our guide was very knowledgeable making it a great learning activity for our boys, one if which who has a fear of butterflies.
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Emmp2013
Apr 13, 2024
Great place! - Really enjoyed the butterfly garden. The tour was informative and enjoyable; there was plenty to see across a the initial room (tarantulas, scorpions, a cute cockroach) and the four butterfly gardens. We could enjoy morphos close by to our hearts’ content, as well as several other species.
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Emmett
Apr 12, 2024
Best butterfly experience of our trip - Not just butterflies! Tour guide walked us through scorpions, stick bugs, tarantulas and more, great overview of bugs in Costa Rica They have multiple small butterfly exhibits, you will get much closer to butterflies here than you do in the large houses. Wide variety of butterflies, great 1.5 hour experience right near town Be aware that the road in has some unpaved bits, and is quite steep
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T5954onedwards
May 20, 2023
A must-see! - Absolutely loved it here! So many beautiful things to see. We took a guided tour with Emmy who was absolutely fantastic, gave us lots of information not just about butterflies, but lots of other insects too. She passed around some examples of the insects exhibited, some living, some not, and we were able to hold them. We were shown around the different butterfly houses, saw many wonderful butterflies. Tour not compulsory but highly recommended. Lovely gift shop on site and very reasonable admission. Great activity for kids.
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J1340vjolivierc
May 7, 2024
Fun quick activity - This was a fun quick activity in Monteverde. Expect to start your tour seeing insects / scorpions / tarentulas (all in aquarium). The guides are all passionate students doing a 10 weeks internship. Since the butterflies are all in closed gardens, you are guaranteed to see them.
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Chuckhh2014
May 15, 2023
Fun with bugs - This was an interesting departure from the adventure activities offered around Monteverde. Driving up and down the hill to the parking area was interesting, especially in the rain. Our guide, Max, was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. All of the staff was friendly and helpful. The lobby was a nice place to wait out the pouring rain or just chill out. The butterflies are most active in the morning so an early tour is best.
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Hélène
Apr 19, 2024
Mixed interest - A little disappointing because few varieties of butterflies in the greenhouses. The guides give good explanations about insects. The 4 greenhouses can be visited in barely an hour. We did the tour twice
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G4522ubsabined
Jun 24, 2024
Price not worth it - Its an exhibition, very small, far too expensive. 20usd for half an hour. Better go and see the butterflies in the Zoo. I would not recommend this visit.
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
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Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).
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