- AgujitasThe village is where the boat ends: one street and a few places to eat. Walk it when you land. The park is the day. The street is not the outing.
- Corcovado National ParkYou enter with a guide, by boat. A late start misses animals and the tide window. You do not go in alone, and this is not a beach hour.
- Caño IslandThe snorkel boat leaves in the morning, when water is clearer. The island has no shop. Do not leave it for after lunch. The ride is open water.
- Drake beachSwim when the bay is calm. If swell is running, stay very close to shore in front of the village. This is not a surf town. Shade is thin at noon.
- Cocalito trailThe coastal path leaves the village. Walk it early. At high tide the rocks stop being a path. Turn around rather than climbing a wet face.
- Night walkA guide takes you out after dark, when the forest shows what the day boats miss. Wear closed shoes. Do not try this with a phone light.
- Sierpe boatThis is the boat in and the boat out, through mangroves and a river mouth that can be rough. Morning is when it runs. It is not a dusk cruise.
- Dolphin toursMorning trips run toward the island. A sighting is luck, not something you can book. Stay in the boat. That water is not a swimming stop.
- Puerto JiménezThe gulf town is the other side of the peninsula, by boat or a very long loop. It takes the day. It will not fit between a swim and dinner.
- Sunset in Drake BayThe bay faces the dropping sun. Come down to the sand early. After dark the path is uneven. Be out of the water before you need a light.
The landscape is a small bay, a rocky shore, and rainforest up to the park. You are likely to see scarlet macaws, monkeys, dolphins and reef fish. The plants around them are lowland rainforest, beach almond and coconut.
Around Drake Bay, look for macaws in the first hour of light. Later they are harder to find.
Corcovado National Park and Caño Island Biological Reserve protect the rainforest and the water in front of the bay.
In Drake Bay, park landings are with a guide. Stay on the marked trail, and do not feed what you came to see.
The climate is tropical wet. It is hot and humid, about 24–31°C. Little rain falls from December to April. Afternoon showers fall from May to November. Drake Bay sits at sea level.
In the greener months the morning is still usable, and the rain tends to wait until afternoon. The countrywide calendar is in the best time to visit Costa Rica.
There is no road to the village. A boat leaves from Sierpe after the drive down the coast, and a small plane flies into the strip. You start at Juan Santamaría in Alajuela.
Build the boat or the flight into the day. You cannot drive the last stretch. Buses, shuttles, and rental cars are compared in getting around Costa Rica
