Visit Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge

From the moment we were met on the dock in Puerto Jimenez until we returned to it 4 days later everyone my sister and I met at Nicuesa Lodge was welcoming, friendly and helpful. Sven, the manager, is a very unique person who you can tell truly loves the rain forest, nature and the environment and enjoys sharing this with his guests. I cannot say enough about our guide Valeria! She was an enthusiastic, patient, lovely person who did everything possible to make our experience enjoyable. The grounds of the lodge have a tropical beauty and very walkable. The shoreline is rocky but many of the rocks are laced with quartz and are beautiful. To swim you just walk to the end of the dock. The main lodge was very comfortable with sitting areas on the lower level and the bar, dining area and observation platform upstairs. The food was delicious and wonderful fruit juices were available at the each meal. The cabin was very private and you truly felt you were in the jungle. The shower/bathroom was partially open but there were screens between that area and the sleeping area. The porch was spacious and the roof overhang large enough to keep dry during the downpours. The outdoor bathroom was a little challenging at night since bugs and spiders can come in. You have to remember to take your shower before dark! Overall I'd like to thank everyone at Nicuesa - we both had a wonderful experience

I lived in this area from 1983 to 2004, so for me to return is always pleasant. We, my brother, and my granddaughter spent a few nights in June and although is rained a good bit we enjoyed the nature and quite. Although there are many animal noises, that is not what I consider noise. There was a small group there and so we were able to talk with the other guests and enjoy their company and the staff are always pleasant and helpful. It is one of the most beautiful places in Costa Rica and a wonderful and unique place to visit

Our connections from landing in Golfito were right on time, with the short taxi ride to the awaiting boat launch over to the property. The welcoming party could not have been better scripted from a movie, with Sven, the General Manager himself awaiting our arrival accompanied with some staff members, one of which immediately handed us our welcoming tropical drinks - straight out of Fantasy Island. We were casually escorted up through the winding walk paths, past beautiful flowers, exotic plants, and tropical trees up to the main lodge. We were briefly shown the lounge bar and eating area, the latter on the second floor providing gorgeous overlooks of the area and out to the bay, then promptly brought to our Guest House. Each room was spectacular, all open air (screening in the main/sleeping area, including mosquito netting), amazing outdoor showers for that back-to-nature feel, large wrap-around porch with comfortable lounging chairs to watch the forest divulge some of its interesting creatures. Since its in a rainforest, they even had umbrellas at the ready, tucked neatly just outside the door, to grab before heading out to the restaurant or to explore. The whole enterprise is geared towards sustainability, so it felt great seeing all the recycling, minimal energy usage, and low carbon footprint they leave. They use local sources for everything from food to soaps and deet-free insect repellent. I liked their bin that contained between-meals snacks for those of us who need pick-me-ups throughout the day, and all healthy choices. Our son needed something a little more, so one of the cooks whipped up a nice cheese, bread, and cut-fruit plate in minutes for him. The food was excellent, the bar was always open as needed, and the staff of cooks, waiters, waitresses, and bar-tenders were super friendly. All speak english, but we would also dabble in our limited espanol to their delight. There were all sorts of activities available, including guided and self-guided tours around the property (day and night - highly recommend the latter!), yoga in a beautiful raised platform wooden structure overlooking the water, paddle-boarding, kayaking, as well as an extended hike outside the property that was explained to us as a more wild area of the jungle culminating in a beautiful waterfall. We did not have the time available to do this trip, but we already know this place deserves a return trip and will definitely do on the next visit. Saw lots of tree & poison-dart frogs, lizards, beautiful birds (toucans, paired macaws flying over head - always in pairs, they mate for life!), butterflies, howler monkeys, miniature tree possums, the hard-working leaf-cutter ants, and spiders - lots of them. Sven was super nice and friendly, spending time with all of us, answering all our questions, pointing out things we wouldn't notice, always helpful and concerned for our every need, personally showing us around when we asked about something, and ate many of his meals at the table with us. He exuded a pure love of his lodge, his staff, what they're doing for the area ecology, and personally saw us off on our last day, right to boarding the boat we left in - you could not ask for a better host. A truly enjoyable time in this little paradise of Costa Rica

We went back to for a 2nd stay because of our 1st experience at P Nicuesa. This is a very special place; the huts are beautiful and at one with the jungle surrounding them. You wake up to the howler monkeys 1st and then the birds as morning rises. It is steps away from great swimming and magical to just float in the water watching the ever changing sky and listening to the toucans and jungle noises. The fishing trip was awesome and the kitchen cooked what we caught that evening. The food and drinks are also wonderful served under the open canopy . This is NOT a touristy fancy lodge but if you want to connect with nature in a very pure way while still having comfort of a beautiful place , P Nicuesa is one of the eco lodges we've enjoyed the most