Great CurassowPhoto: Jim Cumming
Central and Southern Pacific Lowlands
The first hotel at Drake Bay, still run by the families who built it, with its cabins at the edge of the water. The boat from Sierpe comes in to the hotel's own dock, so a day that starts on the water starts at your door, with no wet landing on the beach.
This is the lodge for a birder who wants Corcovado more than once. The resort takes its own boats into the park to two different ranger stations, Sirena and San Pedrillo, with certified guides, and the same desk runs Caño Island, a night walk and the mangroves of the Río Sierpe. Three meals a day come with the stay, which matters when the boat goes before breakfast.
It is also the Drake Bay lodge our birders have actually used: four of the birding trips we built in recent years stayed here, and one client called it "our favorite" of the trip.
The resort's cabins sit among garden planting at the water's edge, and its own English-speaking guides lead the birding. The tour list includes a bird watching tour, the La Danta trail, a coastal walk to Cocalito and Caletas, a waterfall walk and a night tour, all with certified guides and subject to weather and tide. The resort's site names no birds and gives no trail lengths; the birds below come from our Corcovado and zone pages.
Photo: Drake Bay Wilderness Resort
Drake Bay
Comfortable Accommodations near Corcovado & Cano Island at Drake Bay Resort!
★★★
The first hotel at Drake Bay, owner-run cabins at the water's edge with a dock instead of a wet beach landing, its own English-speaking guides and three meals a day, close to Corcovado National Park and Caño Island. Four of our recent birding itineraries stay here, and one client called it "our favorite" of the trip.
On a Corcovado day the Scarlet Macaw first, which the park is known for, and the Great Curassow walking the trails. At dusk the Spectacled Owl. Our park notes name the Harpy Eagle too: treat it as a hope, not a plan.
In the forest, the birds found only on this side of the country, each a regional endemic on the official list: Baird's Trogon, Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager and Turquoise Cotinga. Along the streams the Riverside Wren, overhead the Ornate Hawk-Eagle, and on the Sierpe mangrove morning, look for the Yellow-billed Cotinga.
| English | Scientific | Spanish | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Macaw | Ara macao | Guacamayo Rojo | |
| Great Curassow | Crax rubra | Pavón Grande | |
| Spectacled Owl | Pulsatrix perspicillata | Búho de Anteojos | |
| Harpy Eagle | Harpia harpyja | Águila Arpía | |
| Baird's Trogon | Trogon bairdii | Trogón Vientribermejo | Regional endemic |
| Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager | Driophlox atrimaxillaris | Tangara Hormiguera Carinegra | Regional endemic |
| Turquoise Cotinga | Cotinga ridgwayi | Cotinga Turquesa | Regional endemic |
| Riverside Wren | Cantorchilus semibadius | Soterré Pechibarreteado | Regional endemic |
| Ornate Hawk-Eagle | Spizaetus ornatus | Aguilillo Penachudo | |
| Yellow-billed Cotinga | Carpodectes antoniae | Cotinga Piquiamarillo | Regional endemic |
The resort sits on a point of land with the bay in front and the river behind, and that shapes the stay. Cabins are rustic but have modern comforts: air conditioning, a private bathroom, Starlink wifi and a terrace or balcony, most facing the sea. The open-air restaurant cooks Osa food around local seafood and produce, and the bar faces the water, the natural place to end the day. Days start early with a boat out to Corcovado or Caño Island, run by the resort with its own tours, and the afternoons are for the river, a kayak or the porch. Evenings are quiet; Drake Bay village is a short walk over the bridge.
Meals. The resort restaurant, Osa cooking built on local seafood and produce, plus a bar facing the sea. Whether meals are in a package is not stated on the pages read; packages include a set number of tours.
Perfect for: an active couple who want Corcovado and Caño Island by boat and a sea-view balcony at night.
Corcovado and the Osa: 13 major ecosystems in one park, over 400 bird species, macaws and curassows on the trails, our lodges at Drake Bay and Dos Brazos.
See the placeWant to add a luxury stay to your trip? See every hotel we represent on CostaRica.Org (opens in a new window). We plan birding lodges and beach resorts in one trip.
Tell us the birds you want, your dates and how you like to travel, and we will come back with a first itinerary: the lodges in the right order and how many nights each one really needs. That first version is just a place to start.
Or call us: 1 (800) 996-1139 from the US and Canada, +506 4052-2140 in Costa Rica.
Keep going: add more birds, lodges or tours, then turn your Wishlist into a trip.
