Bahía Drake Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus & car

A rough dirt road links Agujitas to Rincón, from where you can head south to Puerto Jiménez or north to the Interamericana. A 4WD is recommended for this route, especially from June to November. There are several river crossings, the one at Río Drake being the most significant. (Locals fish many a water-logged tourist vehicle out of the river, see p551). Once in Agujitas, you will likely abandon your car, as most places are accessible only by boat or by foot.

If you are hiking through Parque Nacional Corcovado but you want to avoid the arduous San Pedrillo trail, you can hire a 4WD vehicle to La Palma (US$50) and start the hike there. In theory, a bus also to goes to La Palma (US$5), departing Drake at 4am during the dry season only.

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Boat

All of the hotels offer boat transfers between Sierpe and Bahía Drake. The trip to Drake is scenic and – at times – exhilarating. Boats travel along the river through the rain forest and the mangrove estuary. Captains then pilot boats through tidal currents and surf the river mouth into the ocean. Most hotels in Drake have beach landings, so wear reef-walkers.

If you have not made advanced arrangements with your lodge for a pick-up, you can catch the collective water taxi, which departs at 10am from the dock in front of the Hotel Oleaje Sereno in Sierpe (US$15, 1½ hours).

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Air

Departing from San José both NatureAir (one way/round trip US$87/174) and Sansa (US$80/160) have four flights daily into the Drake airstrip, which is 2km north of Agujitas. Most lodges provide transportation, which involves a jeep or a boat or both.

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