A visit to Costa Rica is, in my opinion, not complete without experiencing the intense wildlife and fauna of Corcovado National Park has to offer. To have an unforgettable experience, I advise you to sleep in the middle of the jungle at La Sirena Station.
This is why I have created this complete guide to Corcovado National Park that brings together all the information you need about an overnight experience at La Sirena Station so that you can enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime adventure to the fullest!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Where is located Corcovado National Park?
Corcovado National Park is located in the Osa peninsula, the most remote and wildest part of Costa Rica. Situated in the most Southern part of the country, the park recovered most of the peninsula.
With more than 3% of biodiversity, Corcovado National Park is the best place in Costa Rica to spot wildlife! In addition to rich and diverse animal species, this is the ideal place to experience a thrilling adventure through primary and secondary forests.
How is Corcovado National Park divided?
Corcovado National Park has only 1% of the park with trails. The rest of the park is pure primary and secondary forest, which you cannot access. As Corcovado National Park is a protected reserve, the area is watched by Rangers all time (mainly because of poachers). Inside the national park, there are different Rangers stations. Here are the two most famous ones:
- San Pedrillo: located close to Drake Bay in the Western part, this station is ideal for hiking lovers since it offers a huge primary forest with great chances to see pumas in it.
- La Sirena: located in the Southern part, this station is perfect to spot wildlife with a beautiful secondary forest so this is also the ideal place for photography lovers.
That is to say, you are not allowed to enter freely into the park and you must have a guide with you at all times. Moreover, to protect wildlife and fauna, the number of people accessing the park is limited to 170 people per day.
“That is why I strongly recommend booking a tour as soon as possible to book your spot.”
How to get to La Sirena Station in Corcovado National Park?
As per my experience, the best way to get to Corcovado national park La Sirena station is from Drake Bay. I advise you to read my complete guide about Drake Bay here to get all details you need!
From Drake Bay, you will take a boat at 6:00 am starting from the main beach with wet-boarding (put on water shoes and shorts!). The boat ride lasts about one hour through the ocean. At this time of the day, you get good chances to spot marine life such as dolphins or humpback whales, so watch out for those gigantic marine creatures. We were lucky enough to see a humpback whale mum with her baby (they even show us their tale once!). As always, it was magical to see them in their element.
There are two other possibilities to get to La Sirena Station in Corcovado National Park if you cannot make it to Drake Bay.
- From Uvita – the town is located in Costa Ballena (read my full guide here to have all details). Some tour operators offer a 1-day tour at La Sirena Station. The boat rides will last much longer (of course), so you will have less time in the park. However, that could be a great option if you have very limited time in Costa Rica and don’t have time to get to Drake Bay (as this place is very remote).
- From Puerto Jimenez – the town is located on the East part of the Osa Peninsula. When people visit the Osa Peninsula, they either stay at Drake Bay or Puerto Jimenez. Different tour operators offer a 1-day or an overnight tour at La Sirena Station. They will drive you to La Leona Ranger Station by car. Then, you will have to walk a few kilometers before reaching La Sirena Station.
“Frankly, it is definitely up to you! But as said above, I sincerely believe that Drake Bay is the best option.”
Why you should do an overnight tour at La Sirena Station?
Having the opportunity to stay overnight in the wildest part of Costa, surrounded only by jungle and wildlife, is a great and unique adventure to do once in our life!
Indeed, Damien and I had the chance to experience an overnight stay at La Sirena station with Sukia travel and it was one of the best experiences we had in Costa Rica.
The first thing you will do is head to the station and drop off the extra luggage you have for the night. On our way to the station, we already saw a coati, of birds, monkeys, and lizards. After dropping off our stuff (there is no locker in the station), we started our first hike through the jungle for about 2,5 hours. We spotted so many different species, it was crazy!!! In fact, from the large group of spider monkeys to the smaller colorful birds, we got our eyes full of wonders.
The purpose of the hike was to spot wildlife, so the pace is very slow and you have time to take (a lot of) pictures. After this fantastic hike, time to eat a delicious lunch (vegan burrito with fruits). Then afterward, because is too hot to walk into the jungle at that time of the day, you have a 2-hour break. We appreciated enjoying the view from the terrace of La Sirena Station. Cherry on the cake, we even saw a group of spider monkeys jumping from tree to tree.
We were ready to get back into the wild and start our second hike of the day for about 3,5 hours. Again, we were so lucky to see a lot of animals so close. We ended the day perfectly with a beautiful sunset at the beach! Time to get back to the station before 6 pm (one of the rules to follow!) A delicious and generous meal will await you. We got rice, beans, vegetables and meat or cheese tomato for the vegetarian option. Yummy!
After a whole day of hiking in the jungle, time to shower! We had some free time before the lights has been turned off at 8:00 pm.
The next day started with a morning hike very early at 4:30 am, in the hope to see a tapir! We continued hiking the whole morning but this time we left the secondary forest to go to the primary forest. It was fantastic to see all these amazing faunas. Finally, we left Corcovado National Park around 11:30 am to get back to Drake Bay to go to a restaurant for our last meal together.
In other words, I can assure you that by choosing an overnight tour in Corcovado National Park, you cannot go wrong! Indeed, you have much more time to enjoy the park and therefore to spot wildlife. If you do a 1-day tour, you return to Drake Bay at 1:00 pm the same day.
Moreover, spending a night in the middle of the jungle is an incredible experience. La Sirena Station has no walls, so you are immersed in the heart of nature. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Finally, the meals are excellent. We had four in total and all had a vegetarian option!
Things to know before visiting La Sirena Station
- To reach Corcovado National Park, you need to do a wet-landing right on the beach – therefore, I highly advise you to put on shorts and water shoes since there are a lot of slippery rocks.
- You are not allowed to bring single-use the plastic bottles – they have a refill-safe water station, so bring your hiking flask because you won’t survive without water during your hike inside the jungle
- You are not allowed to bring snacks with you – no worries, you can buy snacks in the shop at the Ranger Station. They have amazing banana bread and plantain chips!
- You are not allowed to touch wildlife and fauna (obvious!) – I mean, this is the basics right!?
- You have to stay on the path at all times and cannot hike without your guide – rangers are here to check!
- Showers and toilets are available in La Sirena Station.
- All beds in the dorms have mosquito nets
- All tours operators come to La Sirena station at the same time (7:00 am)
- Rangers will check your bags before you can enter the National Park and they will explain to you the rules and regulations
Why you should book your tour with Sukia Travel?
After spending two entire days with Sukia travel and I can’t recommend enough to book your tours with this local tour operator!
Indeed Sukia travel is a small family eco-tourism company founded by David in 2020. David is a nature and wildlife expert and he’s the most resourceful guide we met so far. We learned so much from him during these two incredible days in the jungle! It was fantastic!
We felt super confident staying in the wild with him because you can immediately tell he knows what is doing and know the surroundings.
As David used to say, the jungle is a very competitive place, so everyone needs to find a way to survive he explained to us all the behavior of each species we encountered, which is exactly what you are expected from a guide.
He speaks fluently English and Spanish (even some French words)! His team is also composed of passionate guides that speak German and some Russian.
On top of having a wildlife and nature expert team, Sukia travel offers tours with fewer people than the other tour operators. As per our experience, we were only 4 during our overnight stay at La Sirena Station (usually is maximum of 6 people). Hence, the overall experience is even more unique this way.
In conclusion
In summary, if you are planning to visit this beautiful country called Costa Rica, you must visit Corcovado National Park. This park is unique in its landscape and packed with so much wildlife. I have never seen so many different species in a day, just by walking through the jungle. To have the best time in the most remote and wildest part of Costa Rica, you should book an overnight tour at la Sirena with Sukia travel, without a doubt!
Anyway, I hope this complete Corcovado National Park helps you plan your next jungle adventure in Costa Rica. Moreover, I sincerely hope you will enjoy your time there as much as we did!
In the meantime, don’t forget to check out all my posts related to Costa Rica here. From the itinerary, and specific travel guides to tips and tricks, you will have all the resources to enjoy your time in Costa Rica to the fullest!
Sending you lots of love,