FAQ’s

Our day tours to Corcovado National Park, Caño Island, Whale & Dolphin watching and the Mangrove tour begin from the beach at Drake Bay. We will depart from the beach below our office, and if you are staying further away we will pick you up on the beach closest to your hotel.Our shorter tours i.e. the night tour, horsebackriding, etcetera will begin either from your hotel or a central location in Drake Bay (for your convenience).

All tours include a bilingual guide who is fully certified by the ICT (Costa Rican Tourism Institute), for park tours guides bring along a spotting scope. Also included in day tours is your boat transportation, lunch (picnic or lunchbox style lunch, depending on which tour you choose) and entrance fees.
The overnight, in addition to what’s listed above, includes the camping fee, all camping equipment, linen and all meals.

The guides at Corcovado Info Center are a core group of highly knowledgeable and experienced guides, all locals of the Drake Bay area. See our guide profiles for more information.

Drake Bay lies at the northern edge of Corcovado National Park, the crown jewel of Costa Rica’s extensive national park system. You can choose to visit one of the 2 ranger stations on the coast, San Pedrillo or Sirena, and explore the trails around these stations. You can choose to do a day hike to either of the stations or an overnight (overnights are at Sirena station).

The park can only be reached by boat from Drake Bay, the journey to San Pedrillo takes 30 minutes and the journey to Sirena 1 hour and 30 minutes.

San Pedrillo and Sirena differ in two main aspects, their distance from Drake Bay and the type of rainforest that dominates each area. San Pedrillo is 30 minutes from Drake Bay, whereas a journey to Sirena takes 1 hour and 15 minutes (see map below). At San Pedrillo, primary forest dominates. San Pedrillo also has a waterfall where it is possible to swim. Those interested in experiencing pristine primary rainforest that has never before been cut as well as birds and smaller mammals are reccomended to visit San Pedrillo. At Sirena the secondary rainforest is dominant, which is drier with more open space between trees. It is also at Sirena where you will have a higher chance of seeing larger mammals. As the trees in the secondary forest give off more fruit, this attracts animals which eat the fruit as well as their predators.

According to our guides, an overnight in Corcovado National Park is the best way to see the park. This tour gives you the opportunity to see the rainforest at all of its daily stages (including a pre-dawn hike starting at 4:00am, a hike ending at sunset and the opportunity to stargaze with zero light pollution at Sirena station). You will also get to explore up to 4 different trails around the Sirena Ranger station, including hikes in the secondary and primary forest and a hike to the Claro river. For more detailed information see our tour descriptions.

Here is a list of things to bring on a day trip to the park:

Park Checklist

• Dry bag
• Hiking boots
• Insect repellent
• Long socks
• Rain poncho
• Sandals (to get in and out of the boat)
• Snacks
• Suncreen
• Water Bottle

For the overnight and two-night tour, here is what you should bring:

Overnight Checklist

• Bathing suit
• Cash (if you want to buy water, there is an option to refill yet water is not filtered)
• Change of clothes
• Dry bag
• Flashlight and batteries
• Hiking boots
• Insect repellent
• Long socks
• Medicines/Medications
• Rain poncho
• Sandals (to get in and out of the boat)
• Snacks
• Suncreen
• Toiletries and towel
• Water Bottle

Of course don’t forget to pack your camera and batteries as there will be plenty of opportunities to get great pictures.

As our guide Kenneth says, the only real danger with going to Corcovado is not wanting to return to “reality” afterwards. As you will be with a guide in charge of your safety, there is very little to worry about on your tour. Poisonous snakes exist in Corcovado National Park, however as long as you take the neccesary precautions (good footwear, flashlight, watch where you step) you have nothing to worry about. Also be sure to drink plenty of water and wear appropriate clothing (light, breathable), as the jungle can get quite hot during the day.

To reach Drake Bay you have three options; fly, boat or drive. Both Nature Air and Sansa (see below) make daily flights to Drake Bay from San Jose, from the Drake Bay airport to town it is approximately 15 minutes by taxi. To boat in, you will need to catch a boat from Sierpe that leaves at 11:30am or 3:30pm from the restaurant Las Vegas. If you are traveling with the national bus company Tracopa (below), you will arrive in Palmar Norte and then take a taxi from there to Sierpe. You can also choose to rent a car and drive to Drake Bay. Keep in mind the roads are not paved and you will be crossing small rivers, a 4X4 is highly reccomended.

Domestic Airlines

• Nature Air
• Sansa

Bus Itinerary

• Bus Itinerary

There are many places to choose from in Drake Bay, ranking from budget accomodation to four star resorts. Most accomodations in the town of Aguajitas (Drake Bay) will be in cabinas, whereas the higher end resorts are located along the coast just past the town. Take a look at our packages for options including accomodation, transportation and tours.

Drake Bay and Corcovado National Park are fantastic places for an adventurous family vacation. Many of our tours are well-suited for families of every shape and size. Some tours that we reccomend for families:

• Snorkeling at Caño Island (if you would like to do a short hike as well, consider our Combo tour: Caño Island & San Pedrillo Ranger Station)
• Corcovado Canopy tour
• Corcovado Overnight, this is an unforgettable adventure and we have had the pleasure of hosting several families. See a tripadvisor review from one of these trips.

All of our tours are great for solo travelers, our guides create a relaxed and open atmosphere and our guests end up socializing and making new friends. Our overnight requires a minimum of two people, if you are an interested solo traveler email us as soon as possible so that we can give you the best possible options to join an overnight tour. You also have the option to hire our guides for a private tour, contact Kenneth with your requests.

There are plenty of tours that are easy on your wallet, some reccomendations are night tours, local hikes in the Drake Bay area, surf lessons, canopy tours (ziplining). All of these “mini tours” are offered by Corcovado Info Center. However, if you are able to put away some extra funds for a day hike to Corcovado National Park, it is an unforgettable experience and a must see while in this area of Costa Rica.

Our day tours all begin between the hours of 6:00 and 7:30 am, this is to ensure that we get to the spots early enough to see wildlife before the hottest hours of the day. If you are arriving in the afternoon or are late-risers on a relaxed vacation schedule, consider doing an afternoon birdwatching tour, a night tour through the local primary forest or an afternoon horsebackriding tour.

Of course this answer will differ significantly depending on your interests. For those interested in wildlife and hiking, a Corcovado National Park tour is an absolute must. Corcovado, and Sirena Biological Station in particular, has been named “the most biologically intense place on Earth in terms of biodiversity” by National Geographic magazine. An overnight is by far the best way to see the park as visitors spend 2 days hiking and get the opportunity to see the park in all of its phases. For divers and water-lovers, a day trip to Caño Island is a must. It is the second best dive site in Costa Rica (the first being Isla de Cocos, 532 km off the coast of Costa Rica) and offers visitors an amazingly diverse array of fish, sharks, rays and other sea creatures. For birders, a tour through the Terraba-Sierpe mangrove forest will satisfy your curiosity.