Morpho’s Restaurant

This restaurant’s architectural design attracts attention from those who come to the La Pension Backpackers hostel in Santa Elena. The area’s nature and wildlife has been painted using organic paint.

The restaurant has a pleasant atmosphere and offers a wide variety of dishes, including typical Costa Rican cuisine, pasta, meat and fish dishes, as well as vegetarian options and quick bites such as soups, salads, sandwiches, and hamburgers.

Sabor Tico Restaurant

As this restaurant’s name suggests, Costa Rica’s gastronomy is represented in its dishes. It uses traditional recipes and cooking techniques.

The meals offered here are generally quite healthy and well balanced, with meat and fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices. If your family is on a strict diet, eating here won’t be a problem as you can enjoy meals that can be customized for you without losing their Costa Rican flavours.

The Fig Restaurant & Sunset Lounge

This restaurant is located in the Ficus Sunset Suites Hotel. You can bring your family here to enjoy the excellent family friendly environment. Here, you can try excellent contemporary Costa Rican dishes, as well as gourmet meals and tropical sangria. The best thing about this restaurant is that you can see spectacular views while enjoying the best Costa Rican fare.

The Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve
and the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve

As stated by the ICT, the Monteverde reserve is internationally known as being one of the “most outstanding tropical wildlife sanctuaries on this side of the world”. It extends up to the slopes of the Costa Rican Caribbean and Pacific regions, so the combination of its climatic and geographic conditions create considerable temperature and humidity changes within relatively short distances.

The reserve is also home to six different vegetation communities, more than 100 mammal species, 400 bird species, 120 amphibian and reptile species, 2,500 plant species (including 500 kinds of orchids) and tens of thousands of insects.

The Santa Elena Reserve is also an area dedicated to the protection of the cloud forest, and the improvement of education in the surrounding community. It is managed by the Professional Association of Santa Elena, which uses the income from the park to protect the forest and carry out educational projects.

Its prime geographical location allows native species from the Atlantic and the Pacific to thrive here. At both reserves, you can go on guided hikes to go bird watching or learn about natural history.

The Children’s Eternal Forest

This protected area was founded more than 30 years ago, using donations made by children, adults, schools, and Swedish organizations. It’s currently the largest private reserve in Costa Rica.

They state on their official website that more than 60 amphibian species, 101 reptile species, 425 bird species, and 121 mammal species are protected here. There’s also a wide variety of plants, including 3,021 vascular species. To observe them, there are two biological stations, a visitor reception center, classrooms, and a forest nursery.

Selvatura Park: ziplines and hanging bridges

This adventure park is located just 2 kilometres from Santa Elena. It’s the safest park in the area, as its construction blueprints are backed by the Association of Architects and Engineers of Costa Rica. It’s definitely a place that the whole family will enjoy.

There are many diverse activities to do here, and we recommend the zipline and hanging bridges.