Ocean Forest Ecolodge Retreat — Hotel in Bahía Drake

Our family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids ages 18, 15, 12) stayed at Ocean Forest Eco Lodge for 3 nights. We elected to take the boat from Sierpe as it is considered the rainy season. The boat ride from Dode Jorge was easy to board and cost $30/person/ each way. We paid for parking in Sirepe for $6 / day. Our rental car was kept safe and secure. The landing at San Josecito Beach is wet to your waist, but the crew ensured our bags stayed dry. Once on the beach Jonathan and crew were there to meet us and help us with our bags. On the walk back to the lodge we saw scarlet macaws, toucans, capuchin monkeys, and basilisk lizards. All this in a 15 min walk! Jonathan stopped and told us about the trees and even shared edible fruits with my kids, which they loved and went back to vist several times through out our stay. |Once at the lodge we were shown to our rooms the Solo Bueno Suz and Solo Bueno Norte. These rooms share a wall, but each have their own bathrooms which was great for a family of 5. The bungalows have fans, hot running water, electric plugs and access to WiFi, but are still rustic. You do need to use the provided mosquito nets at night! The best part is the view from the decks. You can sit and watch toucans, macaw, capuchins, crested guans, humming birds and butterflies all while relaxing in your personal hammock. Nature surrounds you and if your lucky enough to watch a lightning storm from your room at night the show is amazing! ||If you decide to buy lunch and dinner, the meals you get are fresh, healthy and a testament to real Costa Rican cuisine. There are not really any other easy options so I would plan on eating all your meals at the lodge. If you have picky eaters beans and rice are always an option which worked well for my kids.||Our family went on two tours that Ocean Forest booked for us. We went to the sirena station in the National Park and horseback riding into the forest. In the park we saw a sleeping tapir and had a great guide, but other than the tapir I think we saw more animals at the lodge. The horse back ride was an unexpected highlight for our family. The views are breath taking and the waterfall swim was so refreshing. I would recommend both tours, but really our best time was spent exploring the grounds around the lodge and on the beach. We swam, listed to the whales, body surfed the waves, watched the sun set, searched for sea turtles and played in the bioluminescent water at night. Overall, Jonathan and his team provided our family with a real Costa Rican vacation. One where you can emerse yourself in the plant and wildlife around you and learn to enjoy all nature has to offer. This is not a tourist trap, instead you are an honored guest in the family and serenity Ocean Forest Eco Lodge...

Our family of 5 (2 adults, kids ages 18, 15, 12) stayed at Ocean Forest Eco Lodge for 3 nights. We elected to take the boat from Sierpe as it is considered the rainy season. The boat ride from Dode Jorge was easy to board and cost $30/person/ each way. We paid for parking in Sirepe for $6 / day. Our rental car was kept safe and secure. The landing at San Josecito Beach is wet to your waist, but the crew ensured our bags stayed dry. Once on the beach Jonathan and crew were there to meet us and help us with our bags. On the walk back to the lodge we saw scarlet macaws, toucans, capuchin monkeys, and basilisk lizards. All this in a 15 min walk! Jonathan stopped and told us about the trees and even shared edible fruits with my kids, which they loved and went back to vist several times through out our stay.

Once at the lodge we were shown to our rooms the Solo Bueno Suz and Solo Bueno Norte. These rooms share a wall, but each have their own bathrooms which was great for a family of 5. The bungalows have fans, hot running water, electric plugs and access to WiFi, but are still rustic. You do need to use the provided mosquito nets at night! The best part is the view from the decks. You can sit and watch toucans, macaw, capuchins, crested guans, humming birds and butterflies all while relaxing in your personal hammock. Nature surrounds you and if your lucky enough to watch a lightning storm from your room at night the show is amazing!

If you decide to buy lunch and dinner, the meals you get are fresh, healthy and a testament to real Costa Rican cuisine. There are not really any other easy options so I would plan on eating all your meals at the lodge. If you have picky eaters beans and rice are always an option which worked well for my kids.

Our family went on two tours that Ocean Forest booked for us. We went to the sirena station and horseback riding into the forest and to a water fall. We saw a sleeping tapir and had a great guide, but other than the tapir I think we saw more animals at the lodgem. The horse back ride was an unexpected highlight for our family. The views are breath taking and the waterfall swim was so refreshing. I would recommend both tours, but our best time was spent exploring the grounds and on the beach. We swam, listed to the whales, body surfed the waves, watched the sun set, searched for sea turtles and played in the bioluminescent water at night. Overall, Jonathan and his team provided our family with a real Costa Rican vacation. One where you can emerse yourself in the plant and wildlife around you and learn to enjoy all nature has to offer. This is not a tourist trap, instead you are an honored guest in the family and serenity Ocean Forest Eco Lodge...

We stated here for 2 nights and the venue is simply wonderful. Just note that you'll either have a 15 minute walk along the beach if dropped off by car, or a 20 minute walk if dropped off by boat, which means the wheels on your suitcase will be useless... We loved the grounds that the accommodation is set in, awesome plants, flowers, trees and lawn areas gave the whole site a beautifully tranquil vibe. There is loads of activity from birds, monkeys & other jungle wildlife which makes for great entertainment both morning and evening. We stayed in a Jungle Suite which was super roomy and had 2 single beds and a double bed, all with mosquito nets, towels and clean linen. The beds were very comfortable and sleeping was not an issue, once you get used to the jungle chorus. The bathroom facilities were more than sufficient but bear in mind the shower is cold water only...which was ideal given the temperatures and humidity during our visit. The room had a ceiling fan which we rarely used but it did also have a wall mounted fan that was used a great deal to cool off after showers. You are in a densely forested area so there was the occasional critter in the room but nothing that couldn't be encouraged back outside. There is power into the rooms so you are able to charge devices if that is needed. The meals provided are ample in portion size. Fixed breakfast options and fruit juice are provided, and for the evening meal you get a soup, main course and sweet. The staff are more than happy to cater for dietary requirements which was also really good to see. The only thing to note is that food is a fixed menu and served at a set time which you will have to work around if you are planning day trips or excursions. There is access to good WiFi in the dining area if needed. There aren't really any other nearby places to eat if you were thinking of going off site for a change, although the next beach to the north has the 'Life for a Life' hostel which includes the Sunset Restaurant if you wanted a different view. There is a coastal trail that you can easily follow to Drake Bay which will give you lots more options but this is likely to take about 2.5hrs to walk (approx 10km, each way) and boat rides/taxi's are expensive due to the remote location. We had a great 2 night stay at Ocean Forest Ecolodge which we used as a proper retreat and relax so weren't too worried about the lack of other properties close by. If you are looking to switch off, this place...