Complete Mistico Hanging Bridges Review
Hanging Bridges are a super fun activity while in Costa Rica. While there are a few places to choose from, here is a Mistico Hanging Bridges review so you can decide if this sounds right for your family as well!
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Hanging Bridges are a great family-friendly activity. The bridges are long, steel cable walkways over the canopies of the jungle.
We were able to visit a hanging bridge park while in La Fortuna with our 4 kids, and we had a great time. The kids felt more secure than had we done ziplines, which is why we chose it.
In this Mistico Hanging Bridges review, you’ll find what you need to prepare ahead of time and how to make the most out of your visit (aka, learn from our mistakes!)
Don’t Miss: Guide to La Fortuna with Kids
What is Mistico Hanging Bridges?
Mistico Hanging Bridges is one of many adventures that Mistico Park offers. Tours can include anything from gentle bird walks to horseback riding to canyoning.
Hanging Bridges is a great adventure for all ages, which makes it a perfect family activity in Costa Rica.
Mistico Park has 16 bridges which hang on steel cables. They are safe and very sturdy, though there is a slight swing in them when you walk across.
The bridges are built among the canopy of the jungle, giving you great views and easy access from one side of the park to the other.
How to get to Mistico Hanging Bridges
To get to Mistico Hanging Bridges from La Fortuna, continue down the main road (142) towards and beyond Tabacon. You’ll head toward lake Arenal, passing the entrance to Arenal National Park.
Continue on until you are near the lake. At that point, you’ll come to what is a very very sharp right turn (basically a sharp U-turn). Continue up this road for about a mile.
Arriving at Mistico Hanging Bridges Park
When you reach the park, there is an attendant who will make sure you’re going to the park. They’ll open the big arm covering the road so you can continue to the parking lot.
Plan Ahead for Mistico Hanging Bridges
Mistico Hanging Bridges only allows a certain number of people each day, so make sure you get your tickets in advance!
Mistico Hanging Bridges Entrance Fee: $32 for adults, $21 for 11-18 years old. (as of August 2024)
What to Wear at Mistico Hanging Bridges
Wear comfortable, lightweight clothes that you can hike around in.
Closed Toed Shoes are required to go into Mistico Hanging Bridges park. This provides better protections against rocks and other hiking terrain to keep you safe. It also will provide better traction on the bridges rather than flip flops.
Keen closed-toed sandals are great quality and will be well-worth your money for your entire trip to Costa Rica. If that is out of budget, we actually purchased these ones that are half the price.
Mistico Hanging Bridges Entrance Fee
You can purchase tickets ahead of time online (link above). Make sure to bring your confirmation with you! You may or may not have phone service, so I recommend printing out your confirmation.
Kids 0-10 are FREE
11-18 are around $21
Adults are around $32
**Note** – When I went to purchase our tickets, for some reason it wasn’t allowing me to pay (even with the follow up email telling me to pay). However, it did at least reserve our spot. When you arrive and go to get tickets, they will ask if you have a reservation. Luckily, we had a reservation, but just needed to pay still.
Lunch at Mistico Hanging Bridges
When you purchase tickets, it also gives you an option to purchase and eat lunch at the park after your bridge excursion. We did not do this, but kinda wished we did. We were pretty hungry by the time we finished, and the view was incredible!
If you don’t eat at the park, make sure to stop at one of the yummy sodas in La Fortuna for affordable eats!
Do you need a guide for Mistico hanging bridges?
Here’s where the Mistico Hanging Bridges review helps you out as you learn from our mistake.
You can go to Mistico Hanging Bridges on your own and do your own self-guided walk.
But I would definitely get a guide!
We didn’t get a guide and it was still really fun to walk through the jungle and experience the bridges.
But we saw so many people with guides stopped and looking through the binoculars at animals, meanwhile we were like “what are they looking at!!”
The guides are very experienced and know exactly where to look for animals, so it really helps.
If you are in Costa Rica doing lots of jungle hikes and have guides on other hikes, then it might be ok to do a self-guided walk here and just enjoy the bridges and scenery.
But if you’re only doing one or two jungle walks during your family vacation in Costa Rica, then I would definitely get a guide to really experience the animals.
Check out these Guided Hikes:
Combo Tour- Bridges, Arenal, Lunch, La Fortuna Waterfall
A Viper that looks like it had just eaten
Animals at Mistico Hanging Bridges
As I mentioned, we did not have a guide. But we did see a few animals on our own including an unknown snake, a viper snake, and some cool birds.
We actually found the Viper when we saw a crowd of people hanging out. They left, so we moved in to look. Luckily we didn’t get too close because then a guide came up from behind us. He saw what we were looking at and quickly took a step back saying “whoa, guys. That one is very venemous.”
We also chose to take a step back at that time.
Hanging out near La Fortuna? You May Also Like:
Awesome hotel for families: Los Lagos
Arenal Volcano National Park – where to hike with kids
How Long does Mistico Hanging Bridges take?
Walking through the park takes about 1-1/2 to 2 hours on your own. With a guide, it is recommended to plan about 2-1/2 hours as you will be stopping and seeing animals along the way.
The Trail at Mistico Hanging Bridges
The entire Main Trail is 3.2 km, or about 2 miles. My little ones didn’t have a problem with this distance or the trail. They loved the hanging bridges in Costa Rica and weren’t scared off by them.
The main trail when you begin is paved and easy. The trail the entire way isn’t paved, but it is accessible and easy to walk. There are definitely some hills, but the smooth terrain makes it doable for kids.
There are areas where you may want (and should!) take a little detour off the trail as well.
For example, you’ll come to a spot where you can detour off the main trail to see a waterfall. There is a decline to get down, not as easy as the main trail. It is a short detour and brings you to Blue Morpha Waterfall.
Also be sure to stop and listen to the sounds in the jungles. There are actually signs along the trail reminding you to do so!
Plus, make sure to enjoy the great views on the bridges. They are incredible!
View from one of the bridges
Mistico Hanging Bridges Review in Costa Rica
Hopefully this Mistico hanging bridges review has helped you see why it’s such a fun experience for families. It’s especially great for younger families that want that canopy experience without hooking into a zipline.
We had a great time and were glad we visited Mistico Hanging Bridges. It’s a great activity for families in Costa Rica, plus we loved that we didn’t have to pay for a few of the kids, making it somewhat affordable, too!
If you’re looking for hanging bridges in La Fortua, you’ll love Mistico!
Check out these fun Coloring Pages around Costa Rica!
Costa Rica has the coolest hanging bridges! Looks like you guys had a great time.
Yes they do, and yes we did! 🙂
I was in Costa Rica once a few years ago. I did a volcano hike that had a few hot springs but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was called. I would love to go back to visit Mistico Hanging Bridges.
ooo I’m not sure but that sounds awesome. I wonder if it was Rincón de la Vieja. They have nearby hot springs that are beautiful!
That is nice that little kids didn’t cost any money! This looks really fun. I would like to hear the sounds of the jungle!
Loved hearing about your adventures at Mistico Hanging Bridges! We saw a baby viper, and my husband (who knows animals well) was very cautious because they can be more venomous than the adults. We had to keep reminding ourselves that we were in these animals’ natural habitat! But what a great adventure!
I”m nervous just looking at these photos, but glad you have shared a cool spot for people who aren’t afraid of heights 😉
Ha, they had a little sway, but felt very safe and sturdy 🙂
What a cool experience! Hiking across that bridge looks amazing. The views of the mountains also look incredible. Costa Rica is such a fun place to explore. Did you see any sloths?
The older I get the more I become scared of heights! But it looks like a lot of fun and a great thing to do in Costa Rica.
I’ll admit that very first step I was iffy, but it was so strong and sturdy my hesitation vanished quickly!
I’ve got Costa Rica on my list! And definitely adding the Mistico hanging bridges to the itinerary. Love the views and the variety of so many.
I always enjoy going on hanging bridges! It looks like you get some great views from these ones.
What a cool way to explore the canopy of the rainforest! I would definitely choose the hanging bridges over the ziplining. That area is absolutely gorgeous. My family would want to look at the viper, too.
You had me sold until you mentioned SNAKES! JK. I would love to go check that out, with a guide though to make sure that I kept a safe distance from all reptiles. 😀.
This looks like quite the experience I would really love to try it, thanks for sharing such important information about it
Ohh I would love to cross a hanging bridge like this one. My boyfriend is scared of heights, so it would be problematic, but I would find a way to convince him haha. Great article like always 😍
The first step is the worst and then it’s not bad at all! He could totally do it! 🙂
I have not been to Costa Rica yet. The hanging bridges look totally awesome. It is the perfect place for enjoying with kids. The rainforest canopy sounds interesting. Adding it to my bucket list. 🙂
Had no idea Mistico Costa Rica was so well know for the coolest hanging bridges! What a fun adventure.
Excellent info for experiencing the Mistico Hanging Bridges! I’d love to visit Costa Rica and explore the jungle up high like that. A guide sounds like a good idea.
We really need to plan a long trip to Costa Rica. We would certainly look at ziplines. But it would be fun to see the jungle from the Mistico Hanging Bridge. We will remember to plan for lunch.
We enjoy finding and going on hanging bridges. There is something about walking to the middle and then looking down.