In the middle of nowhere in Costa Rica you can find the Corcovado Adventure Tent Camp. Well, maybe not exactly in the middle of nowhere, but at least it’s quite remote. Right beside the Corcovado National Park at the beach, which meets the jungle directly, you can spend the night in a high quality tent. You won’t have to put up your own tent, no, everything will be already set for you to use right away. The idea of camping at the beach near the jungle sounds really amazing and so I decided to visit the tent camp for two adventurous nights.

Glamping

I have two wooden beds standing in my tent. That means I will use one for my backpack to sleep on and the other bed will be entirely for myself. I also have a fan, so yes, I have electricity in my tent. Yay! It all starts to fit the word “Glamping” a lot better than the regular camping.

A hammock hangs in between two palm trees in front of my tent, the sound of the ocean gives it all a great and relax vibe while the many crabs at the beach are crawling over my feet. Then, all out of a sudden, it starts to rain. I realize that I am in a tropical paradise where some rain might sound like good news meaning that tomorrow there will be more wild animals appearing!

How to stay entertained at the remote Corcovado

I had already heard some great stories about Corcovado National Park, so a visit to the official park felt like a good obligation. The people from the tent camp organized my guided visit.

To be able to see as much animals as possible I had to wake up on time to get breakfast and hop on the boat ride to the national park. Hoping no big Boa Constrictor snake had entered my tent at night I got out of bed and looked for my toothbrush. I walked to the shared bathrooms where I brushed my teeth and got a sign from the restaurant that my breakfast was ready.

Sirena Ranger Station at Corcovado National Park

After breakfast the manager walked with me to the beach where we waited for the boat to pick me up. The guide, named Roy Sancho, welcomed me on board together with about eight other tourists as soon as the boat arrived.

After about an one hour boat ride we reached the Parque Nacional Corcovado. Roy walked with us through the jungle for many hours to try and spot as many animals as possible. At first it felt like as if I was not going to see a lot of animals, but then I realized that I had already seen about thirty monkeys and a bunch of birds!

Roy was very keen on being the first on of all the guides walking around in Corcovado to spot a new animal. On this day he wanted to find the Tapir. We started walking to the riverside where some mangroves seemed to be the perfect shelter for the Tapir. Roy started exploring the area and quite soon after he told us to come one by one to see the sleeping Baird’s Tapir.

Sleeping Baird’s Tapir

One of the other guides passed us by, annoyed that he wasn’t the one to find the Tapir, and explaining about a snake he had seen on the other side. We decided to all walk to the place he had explained about and try to find the poisonous snake.

Eyelash pit viper snake ready for attack

Here is the list of all the wild animals I saw during my hike through Corcovado National Park:

• Baird’s Tapir
• Geoffroy’s Spider Monkey
• Mantled Howler Monkey
• Central-American Squirrel Monkey
• Coati
• Banana Spider
• American Bird Grasshopper
• Eyelash Pit Viper Snake
• Collared Peccary
• Northern Tamandua Anteater
• Blue Morpho Butterfly
• Black-headed Trogon
• Keel-billed Toucan
• Turkey Vulture
• Common Black Hawk
• Great Tinamou
• Scarlet Macaw
• Great Curassow
• Jezus Christ Lizard
• Hermit Crab

Not included in this list are some birds that I could not identify.

The quite nosy collared peccary

Two Scarlet Macaws

The banana spider

How’s the food at camp?

The breakfast is pretty good. From fruits to eggs to pancakes. To be quite frank I wasn’t very thrilled with the lunch and dinner being served at the restaurant due to small proportions. However, the lunch for take-away during the tour was pretty good. The day before the Corcovado tour the people from tent camp asked me which kind of sandwich I wanted to bring along. I could choose between ham and cheese, tuna or peanut butter for two sandwiches and also got a peeled orange, some cookies and a bottle of water in my lunch bag.

How on earth do I get there?

Many people skip a visit to Corcovado National Park because it is a remote place, which actually only makes it more unique and less touristy. However, if you feel like going on a short adventure then you can easily get to the park.

The national park is an one-hour boat ride away from the Corcovado Adventures Tent Camp and the tent camp itself is about 1,5 hours away from the bus stop in Palmar Norte. What you do is the following:

Are you coming from San Jose, Quepos or Uvita?

Take a local bus, which is pretty cheap and still comfortable, to Palmar Norte *CR$ 2.500, followed by another bus or taxi to Sierpe *CR$ 2.000.

If you are taking a shuttle van *CR$10.000 from Uvita you can get directly to Sierpe.

In Sierpe you’ll find the harbor. Ask for the boat transfer to Playa Caletas *CR$ 7.500, where they will leave you in front of the tent camp.

* = price of transport.

Watch my Corcovado video

Details & information

Accommodation: Corcovado Adventures Tent Camp
Cost: US $299 for two nights, three meals a day and the Corcovado National Park tour.
Note: Of course it is also possible to spend more nights and to visit other places around such as the Cano island for snorkeling or diving.

*This post was sponsored. However I would never endorse a product or service I did not actually use & believe in. Reader trust is much more important. Learn More..

About Renate Rigters

Ever since I left my home country I felt at home at any other place I went to. I enjoy getting to know more cultures by talking to strangers and hearing their philosophy about life. Speaking with gestures when you can not find a shared language, finding places only the locals go to and learn about their customs and values. Hanging out with local people makes me happy. The experience of every new place is a step out of your comfort zone where I like to wander around until it feels like a second home.

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