A Step-By-Step Guide To The Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Hey sandrabranum!

The hanging bridges are BEAUTIFUL! One of the best ways to see the rainforest, and with a bird`s eye view! They aren’t for the faint of heart, though, that’s for sure! 🙂

Pura vida!

Hey kate!

Of course! Here are links to the self-guided hanging bridges “tour” at the Mistico Park that you’re looking for:

Adult: https://puravidaeh.ca/discounts/arenal-hanging-bridges-entrance-adult-la-fortuna-mistico-arenal-hanging-bridges-park/
Student (11-18 years): https://puravidaeh.ca/discounts/arenal-hanging-bridges-entrance-student-la-fortuna-mistico-arenal-hanging-bridges-park/
Free Child (0-10 years): https://puravidaeh.ca/discounts/arenal-hanging-bridges-entrance-free-child-la-fortuna-mistico-arenal-hanging-bridges-park/

Pura vida! 🙂

Hey Melissa!

The particular hanging bridges that we describe in the article above (those at the Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park) are about a 15-minute drive away from the Main Sector of the Arenal Volcano National Park, so walking between the two sites wouldn’t be recommended. Other hanging bridges (the Arenal Sky Walk Hanging Bridges) sit closer to the Main Sector of the Arenal Volcano National Park, but the drive to those takes 5-10 minutes so walking still wouldn’t be recommended.

As for whether or not the Arenal Volcano National Park is worth visiting, please see our related blog post Why You Should (And Shouldn’t) Visit The Arenal Volcano National Park, which answers this question.

Pura vida! 🙂

Hey jenny!

Absolutely! The hanging bridges can certainly be visited without a guide. To confirm, the links we provided in our answer to Kate’s question are to the unguided “tour” option (i.e., the option to visit without a tour guide), not the guided tour option. Reservations are required regardless of whether you would like to tour the bridges with or without a tour guide.

Pura vida! 🙂

Hi Anna!

Thanks so much for reading our post about the hanging bridges! Six hours would be more than enough time, and in our opinion, too much time. When we visit the bridges on our own, we typically walk through in about 1.5-2 hours. Sometimes the visit takes longer, depending on the quality of birding. (Ricky is a bird enthusiast, so it’s not uncommon for us to spend 20 minutes standing in one spot, watching a particular bird or listening to its song.) Official guided park tours typically take anywhere from two to three hours to complete, and that includes time for the guide to point out things of interest along the way. If you want to give yourself some buffer time, I would cap this at four hours; with six hours allotted for the park, you may find that the extra few hours would be better spent elsewhere. 🙂

Pura vida!

Hey Amy!

For the self-guided “tour” option, visitors still must pay the entrance fee to the park in order to access the bridges and walk the trails on their own. Our discounts help make the hanging bridges entrance fee more affordable:

Adult: https://puravidaeh.ca/discounts/arenal-hanging-bridges-entrance-adult-la-fortuna-mistico-arenal-hanging-bridges-park/
Student (11-18 years): https://puravidaeh.ca/discounts/arenal-hanging-bridges-entrance-student-la-fortuna-mistico-arenal-hanging-bridges-park/
Free Child (0-10 years): https://puravidaeh.ca/discounts/arenal-hanging-bridges-entrance-free-child-la-fortuna-mistico-arenal-hanging-bridges-park/

Alternatively, if you would prefer a guided tour of the hanging bridges, we have discounts for those experiences too, including early-morning bird-watching tours, regular day tours, and night tours. You can view all of our discounts (for adults, students, children, and free children) for Mistico Park tours here: https://puravidaeh.ca/product-category/tour-operators/mistico-arenal-hanging-bridges-park/

If you are unsure whether you would like to tour the hanging bridges with or without a guide, please see our related blog post Guided Tours: Are They Necessary, Valuable, And/Or Worthwhile?

Pura vida! 🙂