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A great tree hung with curtains of aerial roots above a pebble beach on the Osa Peninsula

Sample journey · 9–11 days

Where Costa Rica runs wild: the road south to the Osa

San Gerardo de Dota, Uvita & Marino Ballena, Drake Bay, Corcovado & Puerto Jiménez

Photo: Eelco Böhtlingk / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

South-west Costa Rica is a different country from the Arenal and Monteverde routes. The journey begins high in the Talamanca mountains, where a fire is lit in the evenings and mornings are spent waiting quietly under the oaks for a quetzal. Then the road drops to the Pacific, to Uvita, where at low tide a sandbar shaped like a whale's tail rises from the sea. Finally comes the Osa Peninsula: a boat through the Sierpe mangroves, Drake Bay with no road in, and Corcovado, one of the country's wildest forests.

This is a journey for those who want wildlife up close and don't mind humidity, muddy trails or a wet landing from a boat onto a beach. Stays here tend to be small: mountain cabins, eco-lodges in the forest by the sea where power can be limited and the only night sounds are the forest's own. We'd shape the pace, the season and the balance between forest and sea around you.

The route

The journey

  1. San José
  2. San Gerardo de Dota
  3. Uvita
  4. Sierpe
  5. Drake Bay
  6. Corcovado
  7. Puerto Jiménez
  1. A resplendent quetzal, green and red with long white tail feathers, perched on a mossy branch in a Costa Rican highland forest

    01Days 1–3 · San Gerardo de Dota

    Oaks, mist and waiting for a quetzal

    After the long flight, a night near San José, then about two and a half hours south on the Pan-American Highway, over a pass above 3,000 m and down into the Savegre river valley. It's cool here, especially at night, and the forests are old oaks draped in moss and epiphytes. Early in the morning you go with a local guide to where the quetzals feed; in the right season a sighting is fairly likely, but never certain. In the afternoon, a trail along the river to a waterfall, and trout for dinner.

  2. The whale-tail sandbar of Marino Ballena National Park from above, with forested mountains behind

    02Days 4–5 · Uvita & Marino Ballena

    A whale's tail at low tide

    About two hours down from the mountains, and the air turns suddenly warm and humid. In Marino Ballena National Park you can walk out at low tide along a sandbar whose shape, from above, is a whale's tail. Humpback whales visit this coast in two seasons, roughly July to October and December to March, when a boat trip with a responsible guide is worthwhile. The next morning, the Nauyaca waterfalls in the forest behind Dominical, or simply a long, empty beach.

  3. A fisherman casting a net into the surf off the rocky Osa Peninsula shore

    03Days 6–7 · Sierpe & Drake Bay

    Down the river through the mangroves, where the road runs out

    About an hour and a half by road to the little town of Sierpe, then by boat down a broad river through mangrove forest, past herons and, with luck, caimans, and out through the river mouth into the open sea. At Drake Bay the boat usually lands you straight onto the beach, so carry your shoes. The eco-lodges here sit in the forest above the water, and from the veranda in the evening you hear macaws and howler monkeys. One day can go to Caño Island, a protected marine reserve where you snorkel among coral, turtles and shoals of fish.

  4. A scarlet macaw perched on a lichen-covered branch in the rainforest of the Osa Peninsula

    04Days 8–9 · Corcovado National Park

    A forest where the guide sees more

    Corcovado may only be entered with a licensed guide, and that's all to the good: they'll hear what you would walk straight past. Early in the morning a boat runs down the coast to a ranger station, and from there it's a long, hot day on forest trails and beaches. A tapir may appear, or scarlet macaws, all four of Costa Rica's monkey species, or an anteater, though the wild makes no promises. For those wanting to go deeper, a night at the simple ranger station in the heart of the forest, if permits and season allow: a genuine adventure, not a comfort.

  5. An old wooden dugout in a dark creek between dense greenery on the Osa Peninsula

    05Days 10–11 · Puerto Jiménez & the Golfo Dulce

    A calm gulf and a flight over the forest

    From Drake Bay to Puerto Jiménez runs a road across the peninsula that can be very hard going in the rainy season, so how you make the crossing depends on the time of year. The Golfo Dulce is a deep, calm gulf between the peninsula and the mainland: a morning kayak through the mangroves, sometimes with dolphins nearby, and in the evening the sun going down over the water. On the last day, a small plane from Puerto Jiménez to San José, looking down on the forests you've just walked through, and a connecting flight home.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    Quetzals in the Savegre valley

    Early mornings in mossy oak forest with a guide who knows where the birds feed.

  2. 02

    The whale's tail

    A walk along the sandbar at low tide and, in season, humpback whales offshore.

  3. 03

    By river to Drake Bay

    By boat through the Sierpe mangroves and straight onto a beach no road reaches.

  4. 04

    Corcovado with a guide

    One of Costa Rica's wildest places, best understood beside a sharp-eyed naturalist.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • Slower and more comfortable

    An extra night at Drake Bay or on the Golfo Dulce, a more comfortable eco-lodge and a day with no plan at all.

  • More adventure

    A night at a Corcovado ranger station and a long hike between two park entrances, only for those fit and ready for the heat.

  • With the Caribbean coast

    From the mountains, head first to the Tortuguero canals in the north-east and only then south, adding a few days.

  • Less road, one more flight

    If long drives don't appeal, fly to Drake Bay by small plane straight from San José and shorten the mountain stay.

Practical considerations

  • The dry season in the south-west, roughly December to April, is usually the most comfortable; September to November is the wettest, when roads and park trails may close and some lodges shut.
  • Corcovado National Park is visited only with a licensed guide, and permits and ranger-station beds are limited, so they're worth arranging early.
  • Drake Bay is reached by boat, often with a wet landing, and the small planes allow very little baggage, so it pays to travel light.
  • Mountain nights are cool while the Osa is hot and humid: bring warm layers, light quick-drying clothes and shoes that can get wet.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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