Camping in Corcovado National Park

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
10
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
1
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
8
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
7
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
2
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
7
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
80 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
53rd/457
Top 20%
continent
North America
country
Costa Rica
Length of time
1-2 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$130 (typically $100 - $160)
Time of year visited
April
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Bird spotting Camping Jungle
All Tags
Adventure Beaches Boat trip Hiking River swimming Sunsets Swimming Waterfalls Wildlife - Baird's Tapir Wildlife - Blackhawks Wildlife - Coaties Wildlife - Crocodiles Wildlife - Monkeys Wildlife - Parrots
Wow Factor
Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100.
⭐⭐⭐

Summary

Even in a country that prides itself for its abundance of wildlife, Corcovado National Park stands out in Costa Rica as the premier wilderness experience.  The park’s sheer size, remoteness and restricted number of visitors means that your group will often feel like you have the park to yourself to go adventuring.  And with the the diversity, concentration of wildlife and stunning views, you’re unlikely to be disappointed.

A word of warning though – this is walking and camping in a remote rainforest.  Getting there alone takes the best part of a day from the more connected parts of the country.  Although the campsites are clean and the guides incredibly helpful, the facilities are basic.  So, get yourself ready for . . . well . . . camping in the jungle i.e. hot, wet, muddy . . . but a fantastic experience and, in my opinion, the highlight of Costa Rica.

Highlights

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#1 Seeing some of the very cute local wildlife, such as the coaties that tend to wander around in big families with young ones in tow

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#2 Camping and watching the sunset by the gorgeous Playa Liorona

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#3 Being surrounded by the last large chunk of virgin tropical rainforest on the Pacific side of Central America

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#4 Following the trails of exotic animals over jungles and beaches, and to see where they take you

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#5 Being lucky enough to see sightings of some of the rare species, such as Baird's Tapir

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#6 Swimming in the wonderfully refreshing waterfalls after a long day of hiking in the jungle

Itinerary

  • You’ll typically leave from Agujitas in Bahia Drake by speedboat early in the morning to be dropped of at the entrance to the National Park on the beach
  • Spend the day exploring the park and having lunch at one of the ranger stations
  • Towards the middle of the afternoon (if you are not sleeping in the Sirena Ranger Station) you’ll jump back on a speedboat to the Playa Liorona to check out the waterfall, crocodiles and any other wildlife your guide spots
  • Camp on the stunning beach
  • Wake up very early to check out some more of the wildlife
  • Leave by speedboat around midday to head back to Agujitas

Travel Tips

Booking and where to stay – you’ll read that you have to book way in advance, and indeed this will help.  But my main tip is that if you haven’t thought so far ahead and are unable to get a spot for the night in the Sirena Ranger Station, the Corcovado National Park Ranger station by Playa Liorona is also a fantastic experience.  You’re not in the heart of the park, but the beach is beautiful there and, in this part of Costa Rica, there is still wildlife absolutely everywhere around you.  Just in that spot we saw crocodiles (whilst camping . . . . hmmmm), Spider Monkeys, Harpey Eagles, Sacrlet Macaws, Coatis and a heap of others.  There is also a very cool waterfall nearby that you can go swimming in – gorgeous after the day of hiking!

You must have a guide for entering the National Park – whilst some may see this as restrictive, it really isn’t.  In reality you are going to need someone to show you round (it would need a fair bit of experience to head off on your own); organise your accommodation and food etc.  But the biggest thing is having someone trained to spot and show the wildlife to you – genuinely amazing what they are able to spot.

Activities nearby – the National Park really is amazing and represents the clear highlight, but also be sure to check out the canopy zip-lining and night time creepy crawleys walk near Agujitas (see Zip-lining and night-time creepy crawly tours in Bahia Drake (near Corcovado National Park) for more details).  The chances are you will probably need to spend the night in Agujitas before heading into the park anyway and both activities are a different way to see yet more of the wildlife.

Experiences nearby

Wow Factor Score Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100. LowHigh
  • Elite, unmissable
  • World-class, downsides
  • Meets the Wow Factor
  • Worth it
  • Meh
  • Gash

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences - from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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