Accomodations near Corcovado?
 

Hello again,
Still more questions are coming up about our upcoming trip to CR.

We decided to fly to Puerto Jimenez so that we can get to the good stuff right away :) We are really excited about going to Corcovado park andplan to spend a few days there.
My question now is:
What is the most economical way to get there from PJ?
What are our options for budget hotels near Corcovado?
(Somebody menitioned that thre is a research station in there, but it seems to me that it would be pretty hard to get to it, plus, we would have to bring our own food and supplies.)
Is it possible to get from the park to Drake Bay or Sierpe (we would want to continue on towards Manuel Antonio).
I know these are very specific questions and I really appreciate any help with this. Thanks!
M

The cheapest way to get to Carate from PJ is to take the collectivo. Runs about $5 if I remember and the times.....you'd have to double-check, they run 2x per day in each direction and I want to say they leave around 6 am & 1 pm but again, check on that. Budget hotels depend on what your budget is, I think Lookout Inn is cheap but if that's more than you wanted to spend you could look into Le Leona or the Corcovado Lodge Tent camp. Not sure how you'd get from Carate, thri the park and out the other end at Drake's, may be easier to backtrack to PJ and see if you can catch a flight to Quepos.

thanks tully! I'll look into it.

It is a full day hike to Sirena station from Carate. A hot hike that has to be done with the tides low because there are some river crossings.

Do you really want to stay in Corcovado? Most people just stay at one of the lodges nearby. The animals don't really know the boundries. Luna lodge is lovely, Look Out is nice and right by the beach. Just slightly up hill so you can look down on the macaws in the trees. The tent camps are right off the beach and the sounds of the surf are incredible at night. These are about a 30 minute hot walk up the beach to the entrance of the park. Luna Lodge has less expensive tents there as well. All of these lodges are on the edge of the park.

The only ways to get into the park itself is to fly ($$$) or hike.

http://www.corcovado.org/
http://www.soldeosa.com/corcovado%20park.htm

Playa Preciosa on the beach just outside of Puerto Jimenez would be a good place to take day trips from.

There are some inexpensive places to stay in town if you just want a place to spend the night before catching an early morning colectivo.

thanks for your help suzie2
We don't have to stay in the park, just near enough so we can see all the animals.
A few more questions:
Is it neccesary to go into the park itself or can you still see the wildlife exploring the areas around the lodges in Carate or even near Puerto Jimenez?
If we do decide to go into the park, is it necessary to book a tour of the park at one of the lodges (seems really expensive) or is it possible to just go to the park and get a guide at the entrance (or are the prices the same?)?
Playa preciosa looks lovely! Are there animals to sea around there (I am a little obsessed with seeing monkeys and frogs) and is it possible to go into Corcovado from there?
Thanks a bunch in advance!