Free or nearly free
in Osa

How to use this guide

This is for time in Osa between tours, or on a small budget, walking, swimming and seeing towns without paying a guide. The selection is split between Drake, the Golfo Dulce shore and Palmar Sur. In Drake, the Drake Bay coastal trail runs south from Agujitas and needs no guide: Cocalito beach is the first beach and San Josecito beach (Drake), beyond the Río Claro, the last. It is about 2 to 3 h one way without many stops; with photos and swims it can take most of the day.

If you only have a morning, stop at Cocalito. With a full day, leave early for San Josecito, the best snorkelling spot on the Drake coast after Caño. Naguala waterfall needs another day: up to about 4.5 h round trip, much of it walking in the water.

On the gulf side, Puerto Jiménez town has services, a seafront and nearby beaches such as Platanares, and scarlet macaws and monkeys are often seen around it. From there, Carate lies at the end of the south coast road, which crosses rivers and needs a 4x4 or the shared colectivo; from Carate you walk about 3 km along the beach to La Leona, but entering the park requires a booking. The Finca 6 Museum Site (stone spheres), in Palmar Sur, fits if you are on the road to Sierpe: on weekdays foreign adults pay $7, and on Saturdays and Sundays it is free. If you are short of time, skip Carate.

Tips

• Cross the Río Claro at low tide: at high tide the current is strong.
• Some boats coming back from Caño take walkers back to Drake for a small fee, which saves the walk back.
• Past Cocalito the signage is sparse, but the path follows the coast. If you go to San Josecito on your own, bring your own snorkelling gear.
• At Naguala the mossy stones are slippery; if you would rather not walk up the river, the trip is also offered on horseback.
• In the gulf the tide changes by up to about 3 m: to swim at Puerto Jiménez or Platanares, go at high tide.