|
Discover the
hidden treasures of Drake Bay, Costa Rica with Tracie "The Bug Lady" .
Home
Tour
Basics
Meet the Bug
Lady
Tales from the
Edge
Media
Reservations
Links
With it's iridescent blue
headband and it's long racquet-tipped tail, the Blue-crowned Motmot is one
of Costa Rica's most distinctive birds.
Motmots are frequent
visitors to the resort gardens of Drake Bay. When alarmed, they wave their
tails back and forth like a pendulum.
Every year, between March
and May, they dig underground nests that may extend up to 14 feet into muddy
embankments along rivers, roads and trails.
Male Gladiator Tree Frogs
have an extremely strong paternal instinct.
They construct a watery
nest, adjacent to a stream or pond, and begin their advertisement call.
Once a female joins him, she may lay up to 3,100 eggs in a matter of 10
minutes!
The male will then defend
his offspring from marauding males, often fighting to the death.
Of Costa Rica's roughly
240 species of mammals, less than thirty are regularly active
during the day.
Even excluding
the bats, which total around 109 species, about three quarters of
Costa Rica's mammals are active mostly at night.
|
|
|
the
bug Lady's
guide
to
Drake Bay, Costa Rica ...
Travel to Drake Bay
Given its remote location just north of Corcovado, traveling to Drake
Bay - while not difficult - is certainly more involved than other eco
travel destinations. With your extra effort, however, you will be
rewarded with lush scenery, incredibly rich biodiversity, and one
of the most exotic vacation destination
in all of Costa Rica.
|
Humpback Whale breaching off the coast of
Drake Bay - Megaptera novaeangliae |
Because of the logistics involved in traveling to
Drake Bay, it is important to reserve with one of the area resorts
prior to your trip. Your resort will then help coordinate your
transportation to Drake Bay.
Possible
Itineraries:
Fly San José - Palmar Sur
 Air Transport to Palmar Sur: The
first leg of your travel itinerary begins with a morning flight to Palmar
Sur. This 40-minute flight offers spectacular vistas of the rainforest
and southern Pacific coastline.
Palmar
Sur can also be reached by bus (6 hours) or car (five hours) from San Jose,
if you prefer to travel overland.
Taxi Transport to
Sierpe: After touching down in Palmar Sur, a taxi will be
waiting to transport you to the sleepy riverside village of Sierpe. On
this 20-minute ride, you'll pass through a large expanse of
banana and African oil palm plantations.
Boat Transport to Drake
Bay: Once in Sierpe you'll begin the maritime leg of your
journey - a 25 mile boat ride to Drake Bay. This hour and fifteen
minute ride will take you first through the Sierpe-Terraba Mangrove Reserve,
the largest mangrove reserve in Costa Rica.
With a keen eye and the
help of your captain, you may spot caimans, iguanas, and certainly a variety
of water birds along the river's edge. Then on the final twenty minutes of the trip, you'll
pass through the mouth of the Sierpe River and onto the blue Pacific. The
passage is spectacular with stunning views of Caño Island and the Osa
Peninsula Coast. |
Fly San José - Drake
Bay
While
the adventure of traveling through the Sierpe-Terraba Mangrove Reserve
is lost, flying directly to Drake Bay does offer travelers a
faster route to the area.
Air Transport to Drake Bay:
This flight also takes just less than an hour.
|
|
Taxi Transport to
Agujitas: After touching down in Drake Bay, a taxi will be
waiting to transport you to the village of Agujitas. The taxi
ride takes about fifteen minutes. |
|
Boat Transport to Your Resort:
Unless you are lodging at one of the small hotels
in the village (which are accessible by car), the next leg of your
journey will be a quick boat ride from the village to your resort.
This is a beachside pick up, so you'll definitely get your feet wet boarding
the boat. There's usually not much surf in the village. Even so, it's
a really good idea to have your camera gear protected beforehand.
Airlines with service to Drake
Bay and Palmar Sur
Airlines with service to Drake
Bay
Click
on your airline of choice to book your reseravtion!
|
Gladiator Tree Frog
- Boana rosenbergi |
NEW!!
Overland Shuttle from San José to Sierpe
NEW!!
There is a brand new daily shuttle
service from San José to Sierpe and from Sierpe to San José being offered
this year. Private services are also available. Visit their website for reservations
at: www.shuttlecorcovado.com
or contact them by
email at:
transalvarezso@hotmail.com .
Here are the
departure schedules on the San José - Sierpe route as well as the prices:
|
Pick up points on route
San José - Sierpe
|
Departure Time*
|
Travel Time to Sierpe*
|
Rate |
|
San José ( Downtown Hotels)
|
05:30 am
|
04:50 hrs
|
$60
|
|
Alajuela: Rostipollos, located near Casino Fiesta
|
06:20 am
|
04:30 hrs
|
$60
|
|
Jaco: Soda Marea Baja, located 400 mts south of MaxiPali, Ruta 34.
|
07:45 am
|
03:30 hrs
|
$60
|
|
Quepos: Safari Tours Office, located near Poder Judicial
|
08:50 am
|
02:15 hrs
|
$40
|
|
Dominical: Dominical Information, located at the entrance to
Dominical
|
09:25 am
|
01:15 hrs
|
$30
|
|
Uvita: Information Center, located in front of Banco de Costa Rica
|
09:45 am
|
01:00 hrs
|
$25
|
|
Ojochal: Hotel Villas Gaía, located on
Cosatal Highway
|
10:00 am
|
0:45 hrs
|
$25
|
-
Pick up will be provided at your
hotel if you are lodging in downtown San José.
-
If you are not lodging in
downtown, pick up will be in front of Gran Hotel Costa Rica, on Avenida 2
between Calle 1 and Calle 3.
-
Drop off in Sierpe will be at Restaurante
Oleaje Sereno where you can connect with your boat transfer to Drake Bay.
-
Boats depart Sierpe for Drake Bay at 11:30 AM.
-
The shuttle service arrives in Sierpe in time
to connect with the boat to Drake Bay.
Here are the arrival schedules on
the San José - Sierpe route as well as the prices:
|
Drop off points on route
Sierpe - San José
|
Arrival Time*
|
Travel Time from Sierpe*
|
Rate
|
|
Ojochal: Hotel Villas Gaía, located on Coastal Highway
|
09:25 am
|
0:45 hrs
|
$25
|
|
Uvita: Información Center, located in front of Banco de Costa Rica
|
09:40 am
|
01:00 hrs
|
$25
|
|
Dominical: Dominical Information, located at the entrance to
Dominical
|
10:00 am
|
01:15 hrs
|
$30
|
|
Quepos: Safari Tours Office, located near Poder Judicial
|
10:45 am
|
02:15 hrs
|
$35
|
|
Jaco: Soda Marea Baja, located 400 mts south of MaxiPali, Ruta 34.
|
11:55 am
|
03:30 hrs
|
$40
|
|
Alajuela: near Juan Santamaría
International Airport
|
1:40 pm
|
04:30 hrs
|
$50
|
|
San José: Downtown
|
2:00
pm
|
04:50 hrs
|
$50
|
Here are the rates and departure
times if you are travelling from Ojochal or Uvita to downtown San José:
|
Pick-up Points
|
Departure Time* |
Travel Time to San José*
|
Rate |
|
Ojochal: Hotel Villas Gaía, located on Coastal Highway
|
09:25 am
|
04:05 hrs
|
$40
|
|
Uvita: Información Center, located in front of Banco de Costa Rica
|
09:40 am
|
03:50 hrs
|
$40
|
-
Drop off will be provided at your
hotel if you are lodging in dowtown San José.
-
If you are not lodging in
downtown, drop off will be in front of Gran Hotel Costa Rica, on Avenida 2
between Calle 1 and Calle 3.
-
Shuttles arrive in San José in
time to make transfers by bus to Limón, Monteverde, La Fortuna, Guanacaste
and Montezuma.
-
Transfers to other shuttle services departing
San José for Monteverde, La
Fortuna, Montezuma anf Guanacaste can also be arranged.
*Arrival and departure times are approximate and
depend on road and traffic conditions
Overland by bus from San José to Palmar Norte
Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth - Choloepus hoffmanni
TRACOPA runs daily bus services from San José to Palmar Norte. There are two routes
to choose from: via Cerro de la Muerte or via the Coastal Road.
Both routes
are beautiful, but the coastal route is much shorter and does not take you
through curvy mountain roads.
Overland to Drake Bay
There is
a 4WD-dirt road that leads to Drake Bay. Depending on the time of
year, road conditions range from ok to impassable. There are river
crossing without bridges.
If you are considering traveling by car, you
should check with your resort and car rental agency for their advice before
making the trip.
|
|
|
|
|
The Bug Lady's
Guide To Drake Bay ...
Facts about Drake Bay, Costa Rica
Travel To Drake Bay
Drake Bay Area Map
Hotel Information
Tips for Travelers
Tours
Recommended
Reading
|
