The most remote (and beautiful) corner of Costa Rica

by Iva Skoch on

If you want to experience Costa Rica for its natural parks and avoid beautiful-but-touristy places (such as Quepos) head over to Osa Peninsula, home of Corcovado National Park, which is the largest park in the country (and much of Central America). I was just there in November and would recommend it to anybody who is looking for adventure travel. November is a good time to go, too, because it is the end of their rainy season but not quite their high season yet. You will end up doing a lot of trekking–both in jungle and on the beach–so plan accordingly and bring a lot of sunscreen.

We took a local flight on Sansa from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez and rented a 4X4 car from there. You can also take a “colectivo” shuttle bus (cheaply) or a taxi (expensively). It is about a three hour drive to Carate. This is where “the road ended” and we hiked 3 miles on the beach to the eco lodge. The beaches are amazing and so are most of the eco lodges. Still, the key here is modest: tents, simple meals and lots of scenery. Anyone looking to get “eco-pampered” with a massage in the sunset should probably go to Quepos instead.

Costa Rica is a beautiful country that has so much to offer to different types of travelers. Don’t get discouraged just because your neighbor told you it is getting touristy. There are still real gems to find in Costa Rica.

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Also: Check out the story + gallery (below) of Gadling blogger Jerry Guo catching bats in Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica: Jungle for The Masses

by Iva Skoch on

Costa Rica has done a great job marketing itself as an eco-tourism country. It has been generally good to the rain forests. The country is beautiful, well-developed and super-easy to travel around.

The jungle of the Manuel Antonio park in Quepos, on the Pacific Coast, is breathtaking. It is, however, wide open to the tourists and therefore you are getting the clinically clean, safe, Disneyworld-version of the rain forest: sidewalks, safety signs, guides with telescopes and all that. No, I am not complaining. I guess that’s what you get when you want to prevent the rain forest from being cut down in order to grow coffee. So, once you can get past the Disney-quality of it, please do invest in a jungle guide (he will not come dressed in a Mickey Mouse costume, I swear). For an untrained eye, it is hard to see any animals, aside from the monkeys.

The park fee allows you to access the private beach within the park, which is small, clean and very romantic. Keep in mind that the Pacific beaches in Costa Rica are typically black, not like the white Caribbean beaches.

Speaking of coffee – make sure to stop by in Cafe Milagro in Quepos for a cup of freshly roasted, locally grown coffee. Yum.