The Pacific Rainforest Lodge is situated on the Osa Peninsula on its own 500 acre rainforest reserve adjoining the largest and most pristine national park in Costa Rica, Corcovado National Park. It is a wonderfully isolated reserve and accessible only by boat. The captivating beauty of the forest, sparkling waterfalls and miles of uninhabited beach is the setting for a superb wilderness adventure. It is an idyllic location for hiking, horseback riding, photography, nature study, or swimming along miles of pristine beaches. The rainforest and beaches of the reserve alone have over 5 km of trails. Guests can explore the incredible diversity of plant and animal life with self-guided pamphlets or in the company of an experienced guide. Among the nearly 400 species of birds that inhabit the area are bright Scarlet Macaws, secretive Great Curassow, and the rare Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager. Guests also commonly encounter noisy troops of monkeys and occasionally a three toed sloth.

Like all the trips offered by Ecotour, the program here has a thoughtful emphasis on natural history while at the same time permitting the guests to enjoy themselves and have fun. There are several guided tours included in the price of the package, all of them guided by knowledgeable naturalists. This lodge offers the best of two worlds, guests can experience the exotic rainforest and are also able to visit a tropical Pacific paradise.

The Osa Peninsula
The Osa Peninsula has long been famous for its biological riches. The superb rainforests there are among the most impressive in the world. You can find over 100 different kinds of trees in a single hectare. Huge lianas climb giant buttressed trees and are draped with bromeliads. The size and isolation of the Osa peninsula have served to preserve many creatures which are rare or absent in the rest of Central America. Although they are not easily spotted, large animals such as tapirs, jaguars, white-lipped peccaries, and caiman are still abundant in this remote and undeveloped area. The Osa contains the highest density of scarlet macaws in all of Central America.

In the most remote section of the Osa lie both our Pacific Rainforest Lodge and Corcovado National Park. Corcovado is one of the most important natural reserves in Central America because of its large size and because it remains the least developed park in Costa Rica. It is one of the last refuges for many rare rainforest animals including Jaguars, Giant Anteaters, Tapir, and White-Lipped Peccaries. The high plateaus of the forest have trees towering over 200 feet and support hundreds of species of ferns, bromeliads and orchids. This spectacular rainforest combined with the nearby palm swamps and mangroves make Corcovado a naturalist’s dream.

Excursions Available During Your Stay
Guests can choose to explore the wonderful beaches and rainforests themselves, or take part in several different guided excursions included in the stay at the lodge. The schedules of the excursions still permit guests time on their own to relax on the balconies of their bungalows or explore the miles of uninhabited beaches on their own. The three main excursions are a walking tour within the lodge reserve that leads to the lovely and remote Rio Claro, a full day exploration of Corcovado National Park and an excursion to Costa Rica’s richest coral reef that surrounds Caño Island in the Pacific. At Caño Island guests can go snorkeling on the reef and /or explore the island itself where there are beautiful forests and ancient archeological sites. Please see below for more detailed descriptions of each of the excursions.

Accommodations
Guests stay in artfully designed cabins built of bamboo and wood and situated on a high hill overlooking the Pacific. Each cabin has a balcony facing the waves and vista of the deep blue of the ocean. The back of the lodge faces the rainforest and guests are treated to the wonderful natural sights and sounds of the wilderness forest. Gentle sea breezes enter through the large windows and balcony doors keeping the rooms cool at night. The quarters are simple, but are clean and comfortable. All have private and modern bathrooms and balconies with panoramic views of the ocean. The generator operates every evening from 5:30pm to 10:00pm and the power provided is the same as we use in the USA. The rooms are cleaned every day by lodge staff.

Meals
All meals at the lodge are included in the price and guests are able to try out the splendid cuisine of Costa Rica. Meals are served family style in the airy dining room that is rests high on a hill with wonderful views of the Pacific. All the ingredients are fresh and great care has been taken to make all the dishes safe for American digestion. Cold beer, wine and soft drinks are also available at modest additional cost. If the arrangements made for you by Ecotour include hotel nights in San José, breakfasts for the entire stay in Costa Rica are also included.

What Days do the Trips Operate?
Trips can be taken to the lodge starting any day of the week, year round. Just give us a call with your preferred travel dates and we will make all the arrangements.

How Long Are the Trips?
Guests normally travel on our 7 Day Full Package which includes two hotel nights in San José and 5 Days and 4 Nights at the lodge. But many guests also choose to extend their stays at the lodge or in San José by a few days. There is a shorter program available, 4 Days/ 3 Nights, but if at all possible we recommend that guests stay for the longer program since they will be able to take advantage of several of the excellent excursions and have time in the forest to see more wildlife. Please see the following section Practical Details for more pricing for each of the packages. Below there is also a sample itinerary for the week long Full Package.

Since international air flights to Cost Rica arrive in the evening and flights from Costa Rica to the United States depart in the early morning, all stays at the Pacific Rainforest Lodge require a minimum stay of two nights in San José. Most of our passengers ask us to make these hotel and airport transfer arrangements for them, and we call this the 7 Day Full Package.

How Do We Get There?
There are daily flights to San José, Costa Rica from Miami, Florida and a few other selected cities in the United States. Transfers to and from the lodge are included in the price of the stay there. We will pick you up at your hotel in San José and take you to the lodge via plane and boat. Since the lodge is located in one of the most remote regions of Costa Rica, the final leg of the trip to the lodge is one hour and forty minute boat ride. We will pass through some beautiful mangrove forests and skirt the shoreline of primitive rainforests. Due to the wild nature of the region, there is no dock at the lodge and guests will land directly on the beach on arrival---the best way to begin your journey to the rainforest! The guides will be there to assist you with your bags and in every other way possible, so your trip to the rainforest will be a comfortable and safe one.

Tours Included While at the Lodge
1) Rio Claro
This full day tour begins right after breakfast and is accompanied by a naturalist guide. We will walk in the forest and observe the creatures there and also discuss the ecology of the rainforest. The trails are relatively steep in places, but the pace is slow. The trails are good ones for plantlife and animals and we are likely to see toucans, parrots, and other exotic bird species. We have a good chance also of observing up to three kinds of monkeys.

The hike will lead us the mouth of the Rio Claro, a lovely natural fresh water swimming pool right next to the ocean. Another half hour down the trail we arrive at a beautiful beach called San Josecito. Following lunch the afternoon will be without activities and guests can choose to snorkel on the reef or rest on a hammock under the shadow of the palms. A boat will come to pick up all of the explorers in the mid afternoon and return to the lodge.

2) Corcovado National Park This tour takes up a full day and takes place in Costa Rica’s largest and wildest rainforest park. Corcovado has several types of forests including the towering rainforest of the high plateau forest and also the dense palm swamps and mangroves close to the Pacific shore. A skilled naturalist will accompany the group on our exploration in the northernmost section of Corcovado. We will be able to observe several fascinating and very different types of forest with a tremendous diversity of wildlife.

Our trip will begin with a 15 minute boat trip to San Pedrillo Ranger Station, the northernmost ranger station of Corcovado National Park. There we will walk on the beach for around an hour to reach a forest trail that leads up to the Rio Pargo. In this area, in the deep forest of the park, we have a good chance of seeing the tracks of large mammals, including jaguar and tapir. We will be in the depth of the high rainforest--surrounded by giant rainforest trees with Gothic buttresses and the trail will be in the deep shade of the interwoven canopy. The trunks of the limbs of the trees will be draped with liana vines and epiphytes.

By midday we will return to the beach and have a packed lunch. After lunch we will return to San Pedrillo for a ride in a dugout canoe ride up the San Pedrillo River, a stunningly beautiful rainforest river. Along the way we will stop and walk a short distance into the forest to see a cascading waterfall. We will return to the lodge in the late afternoon.

3) Caño Island On this tour we will venture out onto the Pacific to see one of the most beautiful coral reefs in all of the Americas. We will go by boat to Caño Island where we can optionally snorkel. Equipment is available from the lodge for a very modest fee. We will have time to swim off the deserted and immaculate white sand beach and visit the island’s ancient indian village. At this archaeological site there are strange and mysterious stone spheres which have yet to be dated and about which little is known.

We will have a buffet picnic lunch served at a ranger station on the island. After lunch we will visit the forest on the island itself. This forests is very different from the forests on the mainland, and our naturalist will help us point out and observe them. After perhaps one more swim, we will take a freshwater shower followed by the trip back to the lodge for arrival in the late afternoon.

Includes 4 airport transfers, 2 nights at a good hotel in San José, round trip transfers from San José to the lodge by air and boat, 5 Days/ 4 nights at the lodge, meals as indicated in the itinerary, assistance of naturalists, and the three following guided tours: Corcovado National Park, Rio Claro, and Caño Island. Prices are per person. There is a 30% discount for children under 12 years old. Luxury accommodations are available in San José at additional expense. 7 Day/ 6 Night Full Package: Double Occupancy: $1,350
7 Day/ 6 Night Full Package: Single Occupancy: $1,525