Corcovado Tent Camp - help!
 

Message: Hi - wondering if anyone had any input on Corcovado Adventures Tent Camp http://www.corcovado.com. I'm trying to keep away from expensive all-inclusive tour options. How rustic are these sites? Any insight would be appreciated!

Type Corcovado into the search box and you'll get lots of information on the place. I've not stayed there, but I've not read complaints from the people that have.

Hi there. I haven't stayed there myself but I have heard great reviews. Most of the places in the Osa Peninsula include your meals in the cost just because it's so remote. In general, there are not really restaurants down there to speak of so the lodges have to include meals. However, they are not at all like the all-inclusive resorts you'll find in, say, the carribean. They are very individualized trips that allow you to pick and choose any tours you want to go on.

I stayed there in March. The tents are on platforms facing the ocean. About 100 ft from the ocean. Pretty rustic. Two single beds. No electricity in the tents. No electricity anywhere after 9pm (except in the bathrooms I think) Bathrooms and showers are shared. There are bugs and some giant toads (though probably not IN your tent). You will probably be bitten by mosquitos. You are practically in the rain forest. Meals are at long tables elbow-to-elbow with the other guests at the camp. I LOVED it. It's beautiful and the staff was super-friendly. Very fun, but not for people who need a/c, fancy mattresses, private bathrooms, or hot water. (Water is warmish though.) Food is pretty good. More veggies than anywhere else I ate in CR. Corcovado is a beautiful park. There's a lengthy review of this place on the Fodor's site in the Hotels section.

Hey Mabel - thanks for your input. This definitely sounds like my thing to do. Question: I'll be in San Jose initially. How easy/hard did you find your way to the camp grounds?

hello Tiff--sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner. I flew to Puerto Jimenez from San Jose and took the collectivo (a pickup truck that leaves twice a day from a station 2 blocks away from the main street at Super 96). It was cheap. Maybe $5. It's a fun trip. Bumpy road, but beautiful countryside. About 2 hours I think. You can take a charter flight to Carate, which is right by the camp. You can also take a bus to Puerto Viejo instead of flying, but it's a long trip. On the way back to SJ, I hitched a ride with some people I met at the camp. It was about 8-9 hours. Roads are very scary at night. Lots of fog, drivers are crazy, and you're on the side of a mountain when nearing San Jose. I recommend the flight to PV at least one way. Amazing.

I believe the Corcovado Adventures Tent Camp is in Drake Bay. Corcovado Tent Camp which is owned by Costa Rica Expeditions is the one in Carate. I also stayed here and enjoyed it.
It looks like the place that you are looking at in Drake Bay will help you get there. There are flights from San Jose to Palmar Sur on both Sansa and Nature Air. From there you take a taxi to the river dock and then a boat (arranged by the tent camp) down the Sierpe to the tent camp.
Alternatively, now, there is a flight directly into DB. I would assume that the tent camp can also pick you up there.