Advice for a late May itinerary to Costa Rica
March 28, 2023 7:55 AM Subscribe
I am looking for some advice on this late May itinerary to Costa Rica for an 11-12 day trip. We are thinking Pacuare River--San Gerardo de Dota-- Drake Bay. We are looking for a less touristy experience with beautiful scenery and wildlife. Does this plan sound reasonable?
We are traveling at the end of May, roughly 5/21-5/31. Outside of transportation to and from the rafting location, which will be provided by the lodge, we will be using shared shuttles or private drivers.
We are interested in hanging out on lodge balconies/porches with great views, hiking from the lodge, and a few tours.
I am mainly interested in whether this looks reasonable for this amount of time and any advice you have on lodging, activities, or logistics for these areas and travel between them.
We are hoping to make it as far as Drake Bay but will substitute Uvita as a backup. Advice on that would be welcome, too.
Thank you for any thoughts you have!
Day 1: arrive in San Jose
Day 2: early morning transfer to raft Pacuare river, stay at raft lodge
Day 3: stay at raft lodge
Day 4: raft out. Transfer to San Gerardo de Dota or de Rivas
Day 5: San Gerardo de Dota area
Day 6: San Gerardo de Dota area
Day 7: early morning transfer to Uvita or Drake Bay
Day 8: Uvita or Drake Bay
Day 9: Uvita or Drake Bay (could possibly add a day here)
Day 10: Transfer to San Jose
Day 11: fly out
I've read through all of the past Costa Rica question, and the information has been knowledgeable and helpful. It's been a while, though, and several of these areas haven't been mentioned.
We are traveling at the end of May, roughly 5/21-5/31. Outside of transportation to and from the rafting location, which will be provided by the lodge, we will be using shared shuttles or private drivers.
We are interested in hanging out on lodge balconies/porches with great views, hiking from the lodge, and a few tours.
I am mainly interested in whether this looks reasonable for this amount of time and any advice you have on lodging, activities, or logistics for these areas and travel between them.
We are hoping to make it as far as Drake Bay but will substitute Uvita as a backup. Advice on that would be welcome, too.
Thank you for any thoughts you have!
Day 1: arrive in San Jose
Day 2: early morning transfer to raft Pacuare river, stay at raft lodge
Day 3: stay at raft lodge
Day 4: raft out. Transfer to San Gerardo de Dota or de Rivas
Day 5: San Gerardo de Dota area
Day 6: San Gerardo de Dota area
Day 7: early morning transfer to Uvita or Drake Bay
Day 8: Uvita or Drake Bay
Day 9: Uvita or Drake Bay (could possibly add a day here)
Day 10: Transfer to San Jose
Day 11: fly out
I've read through all of the past Costa Rica question, and the information has been knowledgeable and helpful. It's been a while, though, and several of these areas haven't been mentioned.
I've been to Uvita a few times for a festival - - the beach is really nice and there's a gorgeous waterfall hike nearby you can get to by taxi. There's a decent grocery store and several restaurants that cater to the hippie / veg crowd.
Have fun! Sounds like a decent itenerary to me.
posted by ananci at 12:18 PM on March 28, 2023
Have fun! Sounds like a decent itenerary to me.
posted by ananci at 12:18 PM on March 28, 2023
Best answer: In August I went from SJO->San Gerardo de Dota->San Gerardo de Rivas->Dominical/Uvita. I did all the planning and traveled with my partner who is fluent in Spanish - we did a mix of public buses, shared shuttles, and one private hired car (for the Dota to Rivas leg - most of the hotels in Dota will offer to arrange this for you).
Some things that stand out to me in your itinerary:
-Unless you're arriving late on Day 1, one full day + 3 nights is kinda a lot of time in San Jose for a short trip. Assuming you'll be arriving by early afternoon into SJO, I'd go straight to either San Gerardo, then Day 2-3 be there, then Day 4 go to Uvita/Drake Bay, Day 5-6 there, then Day 7 to go to San Jose, Day 8 get picked up to raft, Day 9 rafting lodge, Day 10 arrive back in San Jose, Day 11 - depart.
-Your Day 4 is not realistic. Assuming you're staying at Pacuare Lodge, they say that they get back at 6pm to San Jose on the day you leave - so if you're getting into San Jose at 6, it's not realistic to expect to arrive even in San Gerardo de Dota - it's at least 3hrs, plus it gets dark at 6pm, and in the rainy season you are more likely to have rain/fog at night, which makes the roads more dangerous and slower-going. By the time you'd arrive in Dota, every kitchen in town would be closed.
-San Gerardo de Dota vs. San Gerardo de Rivas: they are both beautiful places. Dota has a slight edge on birding, Rivas a slight edge on other wildlife (it's lower elevation, so you get more mammals - we only saw birds in Dota, but saw monkeys and coati in Rivas). Dota is definitely more touristy, but it's a very different type of touristy than most of the country - some of the lodgings cater mainly to Costa Ricans looking to escape the heat and bustle of San Jose, while others cater more to foreigners. So while it's touristy, it's a real mix of locals and foreigners, especially in the rainy season. It's also not hyper developed - it's all owned by 5 families who, if I remember correctly, descend from two brothers who first came to the valley - they've decided to keep it eco-focused, so even if tourism is the main economic game in the valley, it's still fairly undeveloped.
Since you won't have your own car, do note that the road down into Dota is steep. Which mean, you are not going to want to walk far up and down it to get to different spots - wherever you stay, that's around where you'll be doing any activities/eating. Most of the hotels/lodges along the valley road have small trails, but by far the most extensive is that of the Savegre hotel - it's free to access their trails if you're a guest, if not it's $10. They are close to the bottom of the valley. Also near the bottom is a free trail to two waterfalls (though after the first, the trail gets really slick and a bit dangerous if it's been raining). If you go to Dota, I'd recommend staying at Savegre or nearby. We hiked pretty much all there was to hike in one full day (getting up at 5am) + one morning. We splurged on a hiking tour with Savegre, and I'd say it was worth it.
If you go to San Gerardo de Rivas, stay at Cloudbridge. You will likely need to be dropped off at the end of the road by Hotel Mariposa and walk around 30min to get there though - or you can arrange in advance for Cloudbridge to pick you up in "downtown" San Gerardo de Rivas for a fee. But they need at least a few days warning - maybe a full week. You can easily spend two full days hiking in their reserve. This was the highlight of our trip - it's really off the beaten track and deep into the cloud forest. But it is more time/effort to get to. Also, the trails are very steep - I can't stress enough how much like a stair-stepper they are. There are no dining options at Cloudbridge but the cabins have basic kitchens - you can also walk 30min to a nearby hostel that caters mainly to people climbing Chirripo.
-I'd probably settle for Uvita. Uvita was beautiful, and you could easily do a day trip to see the waterfall in Dominical if you wanted, or a half-day tour kayaking in the Sierpe mangroves - so Uvita as a base will easily keep you busy. Drake Bay would no doubt also be beautiful, but will mean you spend several additional hours driving. Also good to keep in mind that the rainy season is region dependent. Even that site I've linked to doesn't give the full picture - for example, when I was in Rivas, I often could see a thunderstorm on the coast, but by the time it came to Rivas, it was just a rain cloud being absorbed by all the trees. This is a somewhat rambling way of saying, if I was going to make the effort to go all the way to Drake Bay, I'd probably save it for a time when you're less likely to potentially get unlucky with a full day of rain.
I've written a lot, but feel free to MeMail me if you have more questions.
posted by coffeecat at 3:04 PM on March 28, 2023
Some things that stand out to me in your itinerary:
-Unless you're arriving late on Day 1, one full day + 3 nights is kinda a lot of time in San Jose for a short trip. Assuming you'll be arriving by early afternoon into SJO, I'd go straight to either San Gerardo, then Day 2-3 be there, then Day 4 go to Uvita/Drake Bay, Day 5-6 there, then Day 7 to go to San Jose, Day 8 get picked up to raft, Day 9 rafting lodge, Day 10 arrive back in San Jose, Day 11 - depart.
-Your Day 4 is not realistic. Assuming you're staying at Pacuare Lodge, they say that they get back at 6pm to San Jose on the day you leave - so if you're getting into San Jose at 6, it's not realistic to expect to arrive even in San Gerardo de Dota - it's at least 3hrs, plus it gets dark at 6pm, and in the rainy season you are more likely to have rain/fog at night, which makes the roads more dangerous and slower-going. By the time you'd arrive in Dota, every kitchen in town would be closed.
-San Gerardo de Dota vs. San Gerardo de Rivas: they are both beautiful places. Dota has a slight edge on birding, Rivas a slight edge on other wildlife (it's lower elevation, so you get more mammals - we only saw birds in Dota, but saw monkeys and coati in Rivas). Dota is definitely more touristy, but it's a very different type of touristy than most of the country - some of the lodgings cater mainly to Costa Ricans looking to escape the heat and bustle of San Jose, while others cater more to foreigners. So while it's touristy, it's a real mix of locals and foreigners, especially in the rainy season. It's also not hyper developed - it's all owned by 5 families who, if I remember correctly, descend from two brothers who first came to the valley - they've decided to keep it eco-focused, so even if tourism is the main economic game in the valley, it's still fairly undeveloped.
Since you won't have your own car, do note that the road down into Dota is steep. Which mean, you are not going to want to walk far up and down it to get to different spots - wherever you stay, that's around where you'll be doing any activities/eating. Most of the hotels/lodges along the valley road have small trails, but by far the most extensive is that of the Savegre hotel - it's free to access their trails if you're a guest, if not it's $10. They are close to the bottom of the valley. Also near the bottom is a free trail to two waterfalls (though after the first, the trail gets really slick and a bit dangerous if it's been raining). If you go to Dota, I'd recommend staying at Savegre or nearby. We hiked pretty much all there was to hike in one full day (getting up at 5am) + one morning. We splurged on a hiking tour with Savegre, and I'd say it was worth it.
If you go to San Gerardo de Rivas, stay at Cloudbridge. You will likely need to be dropped off at the end of the road by Hotel Mariposa and walk around 30min to get there though - or you can arrange in advance for Cloudbridge to pick you up in "downtown" San Gerardo de Rivas for a fee. But they need at least a few days warning - maybe a full week. You can easily spend two full days hiking in their reserve. This was the highlight of our trip - it's really off the beaten track and deep into the cloud forest. But it is more time/effort to get to. Also, the trails are very steep - I can't stress enough how much like a stair-stepper they are. There are no dining options at Cloudbridge but the cabins have basic kitchens - you can also walk 30min to a nearby hostel that caters mainly to people climbing Chirripo.
-I'd probably settle for Uvita. Uvita was beautiful, and you could easily do a day trip to see the waterfall in Dominical if you wanted, or a half-day tour kayaking in the Sierpe mangroves - so Uvita as a base will easily keep you busy. Drake Bay would no doubt also be beautiful, but will mean you spend several additional hours driving. Also good to keep in mind that the rainy season is region dependent. Even that site I've linked to doesn't give the full picture - for example, when I was in Rivas, I often could see a thunderstorm on the coast, but by the time it came to Rivas, it was just a rain cloud being absorbed by all the trees. This is a somewhat rambling way of saying, if I was going to make the effort to go all the way to Drake Bay, I'd probably save it for a time when you're less likely to potentially get unlucky with a full day of rain.
I've written a lot, but feel free to MeMail me if you have more questions.
posted by coffeecat at 3:04 PM on March 28, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ananci at 12:15 PM on March 28, 2023