Forest Alive — Local services in Monteverde

We had a brilliant tour with Andy - spotting wildlife is never guaranteed, but if you want to maximise your chances, Andy is absolutely the way to do it.

His knowledge and instincts for where things might be and when, and of local systems, trails, how to navigate the park ticketing timings etc. are all second to none. For example, he checked with the guides we passed that they hadn't managed to see a quetzal to confirm where he thought it was likely to be in its feed/rest cycle and therefore when/where he thought it might be visible, and he was spot on. He was clear that we needed to be lucky with it which we understood, but there was also definitely some art / science to it from him that stacked the odds for us! And the same with various other birds and wildlife he found to show us.

We had our 4 year old and baby with us and he was also very good with them, being patient with our son when he started to get tired towards the end.

The only thing I would say is that they could possibly benefit from a brief, written tour explanation / price list in the shop, as while the reason is partly that Andy will ask your priorities, give his explanation of the options and then tailor the tour to where/what you prefer following that, it was quite hard to work out what was available initially and we nearly didn't go ahead...

We were fortunate to go on two private tours with Andrés from Forest Alive! I don't know where to begin!! What fantastic experiences we enjoyed with THE MOST amazing guide! Andrés is incredibly knowledgeable, energetic, thoughtful and a blast to be around.

We toured Curicancha and were blown away by his expertise on the abundant biodiversity in Monteverde and the connectivity of all living things. We were thrilled to see a Morpho Butterfly (though sad we couldn't get a picture), pizote and toucan.

Our second tour we spent the better part of a day at Selvatura Park exploring the hanging/suspension bridges. The beauty is like nothing we've ever experienced!! Andrés' handy photography skills awarded us with outstanding photos and videos of the howler monkeys and a colony of sleeping bats in a hollowed out tree trunk. His enthusiasm is so contagious and his warmth made us feel like we had been life-long friends. I can't recommend Andrés and Forest Alive private tours enough! What you gain from a private tour is unmatched. Please do yourself a favour; if you're in Monteverde, book this company and take advantage of Andrés' knowledge and thrill for life! You will NOT be...

Our trip to Costa Rica was our first and people and guides like Andreas make us want to return. Andreas is a fabulous guide, full of information and stories as he is quite knowledgeable. The hike was well paced and lots of fun with Andreas taking the effort and being able to spot birds and assorted creatures and with the help of his telescope he considerately brought for the occasion. He does his utmost to make the experience fun and interesting, which it was and he took his time. This is not an ordinary hike since without experience or previous information and knowledge, it is not possible to understand the secrets of the forest. It is one thing to simply go on a hike. It's another thing to know what you are seeing and how things happened the way they do. I am happy to recommend Andreas and his company to anyone...