We arrived on time to have a guide but we were cheap and didn't get a guide. Because we stumbled upon this place accidentally, I didn't read any reviews or research this place beforehand... but we certainly would not have been able to do what we did if we had a guide.
Based on the map that we got when we arrived there, we went according to their paved roads... and it was a little boring since we knew nothing about trees, leaves, animals, etc... so having the guide to tell us this info would've been more interesting... We passed several hanging bridges and the tunnel when we took a turn onto the birding trail and on this trail we saw four spider monkeys playing in the trees. That was one of the highlights of this activity. And we did it without having to pay $12 for a tour guide.

But because we took this trail, we cut across several hanging bridges so we went backwards to see the other bridges and after we did, we turned into another trail that would cut across all the bridges that we saw and would end up on the top. That was the trail right after Puente El Palmito (Walking Palm Bridge) another birding trail... whether you call that a mistake or an adventure depends on ones point of view.

That trail had not been used for awhile... I don't know how often trees fall over in the forest but we had to crawl under logs and step around and climb over tree logs and one wrong step or slip would've taken us off the shallow cilffs. Several times, my husband said we should turn back but we didn't because I didn't relish going through that again but we were nervous as to what we would face next. We were also worried about snakes, poison ivy, bugs, etc... we didn't even enjoy the beauty of the rainforest on that trail. It was all we could do to concentrate because we were already pretty scared.

But we made it back up. We took several little videos and many pics of it. Oh, this is the trip to wear rain clothes, hiking shoes and bring binoculars. Btw, I loved the bridges; wished I could indulge on my childhood urges to jump and swing the bridges.

This was a great tour that I highly recommend! There is some uphill hiking, but nothing to bad, so it is a tour that most people shouldn’t have much trouble with.

The hanging bridges are great. They vary a lot, but there are a few really good ones that are long, shaky, & high-up – everything you would imagine a hanging bridge to be like! That probably sounds a little scary to most people, but when you get on it, you see that it’s not that bad, and the view makes it all worth it. You can see so much from the bridges, and it’s beautiful.

We saw tons of amazing trees & plants while walking through the rainforest. We also saw howler monkeys, a squirrel, a viper (off the path, curled up & sleeping, so it wasn’t a threat), leaf cutter ants, & their national bird (a beautiful large black bird with a bright yellow beak).

Our tour guide from Sunset Tours was awesome. Friendly, funny, good English, and knowledgeable. He pointed out a lot of things we wouldn’t have seen or known about otherwise.

We spent a couple hours at the Arenal Hanging Bridges, which was located right next to the Lost Iguana Resort. Cost was $22 per person. We really enjoyed the time we spent there, although the hike was a little more strenuous than I anticipated (steep hills in some areas). I wore hiking boots and was glad I did. We saw many unique birds and took tons of great photos.

We went to the Hanging Bridges expecting to hire a guide. But we found that the guided tours are only at 8 AM and 2 PM. So we went around on our own, and still enjoyed it, but I think we would have gotten a lot more out of it with a guide. The only wildlife we saw was leafcutter ants and several spider monkeys. We were there at around 11 AM.
The price of admission is $22; a guide is another $12/person.