Corcovado National Park OSA PENINSULA, COSTA RICA Park Permitting and Guide Service

CORCOVADO NATIONAL PARK PERMITS AND RESERVATIONS

Single Day

For day visitors not planning to camp or to hike to Sirena, there is a day use fee of $10 for foreigners, C1.600 for nationals.  This is included in the rates charged for most guided tours originating in Drake or Puerto Jimenez, but self-guiding parties must present themselves at the entry points to pay this to the ranger in charge.

Multiple Day

The general public is allowed a maximum of five days and four nights inside the park during any given visit.  Exceptions can be made for visitors that have reason for staying beyond the five day period.   Rates for day use, camping, lodging, and food service are shown below.

Historically, visitors intending to camp and prepare their own meals have been allowed to enter the park without pre-arranged reservations.  However, all the ranger stations have maximum camping occupancy, and there is no assurance without having advance prepaid reservations that admittance will be granted to walk-in campers.  This is especially true during the dry season months of December-April, when the park routinely operates at peak occupancy, as well as during the months of July and August.  To ensure availability all persons planning to camp in Corcovado or wishing to lodge in Sirena must make reservations in advance.

The Park Service does not make reservations more than 30 days in advance of anticipated arrival.  Therefore, it is not possible to plan and secure your Corcovado travel more than one month in advance.  You may obtain your park permits directly from the Park Service but must travel to Puerto Jimenez to prepay and pick up your permits.  That's the hard way.  The easy way is to pay me $30 to do it for you and send your final permits directly to you, saving you from busywork here in town later on.  Details follow.

Make Reservations Directly Through the Park Service:  The Hard Way

1)  Call the Park Service at +506 2735-5036 or send an email to pncorcovado@gmail.com and provide your name, group size, arrival date, whether you will want camping or dorm lodging, and the desired meal plan.  Provide an email address to receive the pre-pay reservation sheet.

2)  Upon receiving the prepay reservation sheet and confirming that the reservations made correspond with those requested, you may pay with an international wire transfer.  Since food payments and use fee, permitting, and lodge payments must be made into two separate accounts, you will need to make two separate wire transfers and add in enough money to cover the Costa Rican wire transfer fees, which vary according to your bank's affiliations and cannot be anticipated.  In practice this is a tedious and frustrating manner in which to proceed, but the Park Service does not have a facility for accepting credit cards.  Upon making the wire transfer in the correct amounts, fax or email the confirmation to the Park Service and wait to receive the park's prepaid reservations voucher authorization.

3)  For those unwilling to pay the relatively high costs of two wire transfers ($60-80 to cover fees assessed by the sending and receiving banks), you must plan to travel to Puerto Jimenez and pay at the bank.  Banking hours are from 8:30 to 3:45 Monday through Friday, and lines typically are 30-90 minutes, so bring a book as you wait.

4)  Once you make payment at the bank, then proceed with the bank payment receipts to the Parks office in Puerto Jimenez--again during business hours, though the Park Service (unlike the bank) now has weekend hours as well--to present your proof of payment.  They will issue your prepayment voucher while you wait.  You may NOT pay in cash at the Park Service office.  You may NOT pay cash at the Park itself.

5)  You must have both your bank payment vouchers AND your Park Service issued prepayment voucher to present to rangers at both the station of entry as well as the station(s) at which you will be overnighting.

Make Reservations through CafeNet El Sol:  The Easy Way

Just fill out the form below, and let me get your reservations for you.  I will send you the pre-pay reservation form and billing.  You pay by credit card, and I make the bank deposit and secure your final park confirmation voucher and send it to you, normally within 48 hours of your initial request.  The paperwork I send is all you need to proceed directly to the park.  My fee for the reservation service is a one-time $30 for packages up to $300, and 10% of total for group reservations.  In addition to this, there is a 5% credit card payment fee assessed by the bank.  If you have questions, you may write me at info@corcovadoguide.com.  If you are ready to request your park permit reservations, simply fill out the form below.

Please make reservations for me the EASY way!

FULLY GUIDED CORCOVADO EXPEDITIONS

At CAFENET EL SOL, I also offer two- and three-day fully-outfitted, guided Corcovado expeditions.  These guided expeditions are all-inclusive, departing from and returning to Puerto Jimenez.  For detailed itineraries click as follows:  TWO-DAY and THREE-DAY fully-guided tour itineraries.  Pricing for these expeditions are given below and includes:  breakfast on Day One, taxi transport to Guadalupe, horses to reach the park boundary, pack lunch first day, all meals and lodging in Sirena, bilingual naturalist tour guide, private taxi transport from Carate back to Puerto Jimenez. 

Because the Park Service does not issue park permits to anyone more than thirty days in advance of expected arrival, it is not possible for anyone to guarantee availability of dorm space and meals for any date more than thirty days in advance.  However, by getting your request for a guided tour in advance, I guarantee that I can do everything in my power to make sure that the necessary permits can be secured as soon as they they first become available. 

ADDITIONAL TRAVEL PLANNING ASSISTANCE

In addition to full Corcovado support and guided expeditions, CafeNet El Sol is a full-service travel agency and will be pleased to assist with domestic air transport, rental car, local accommodations, full-service lodging alternatives before or after your Corcovado expedition, and a wide range of activities in and around Puerto Jimenez.  For general information, browse here, fill out a general inquiry questionnaire here, or simply write me to let me know how I can help with your travel planning.

WHAT TO BRING

The best rule for those that are not camping is that If it won't fit in a day pack, don't bring it along.  You will be hiking at least 38 kilometers, 19 the first day, and 19 the second day.  The first portion of your trip is shaded and not excessively hot; the second portion of your trip is grueling, hot, and tiring.  Both hiking days are physically demanding, and the more you bring, the harder it is.  Bring only the bare essentials, which are the following:

1)  Loose cotton clothing, shorts, t-shirt, hat, one change tops, and plan to wash your day one hiking clothes at Sirena and put them on wet for Day 2 the next morning.

2)  Appropriate footwear is individual specific, but leather is not recommended.  Day One can be done barefoot.  Day Two involves lots of rocks, so you should have something more than Tevas.  I prefer the $5 pair of rubber boots sold locally.  They are tough, have excellent traction in the forest, are easy to take off and put on, and dry very quickly if you go over the top.

3)  Insect protection.  Bring a strong repellant (i.e. one with DEET as an active ingredient).  Two different species of locally present mosquitoes carry dengue fever and malaria.  Also, for optimal comfort at the Sirena dormitory housing, a mosquito net is advised.

4)  Water.  Two-liter bottle is adequate.  Water is heavy; don't get carried away as there is potable water for refills at all the ranger stations.

5)  Snacks and Treats.  Every slightest creature comfort is magnified in the wilderness, so be your own judge, just keep it light.

6)  Sunglasses and Sun Block.

7)  Camera, obviously.

8)  Plastic bags.  One garbage size plastic bag that you can put your pack in to stay dry, one  small plastic bag for dirty clothes, and several zip loc baggies to carry items that must stay dry:  passport, matches, camera, film, SIMS, rolling papers, etc.

9)  Sheet(s).  Sheets are not provided at the dormitory.  Bring a second one to sleep on top of if you want, remember weight when packing.

10)  Basic Essentials.  Knife, lighter, flashlight, spare batteries, ballpoint pen, essential meds (anaphylactic shock remedy, insulin, lithium, birth control, etc.) according to your particular medical circumstances.

11)  Cash.  You will need cash if you want to rent a canoe at Sirena.  Also you will want some dough to buy cold drinks at La Leona Lodge or the Carate Pulperia upon your exit.

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