- Main streetSodas, the bank, and macaws overhead are the town. An hour is enough, and morning is when the street works. The park is the rest of the day.
- Golfo DulceCalm water sits in front of the dock. Paddle it in the morning. The afternoon breeze chops the surface. This is not the open Pacific at the tip.
- CorcovadoFrom town you go by boat or the Carate track, with a guide. You will not do the park after lunch, and the station is not on this street.
- CarateThe rough road ends, then a beach walk enters the park. Go in daylight. It is slower than the map, and shops at the far end are not a plan.
- MacawsLook up at first light, when they cross between fruit trees. By late morning they are in the forest, and a street walk will not find them.
- Gulf kayakStay near the mangroves and go early. Do not chase dolphins offshore. The gulf is wide, wind comes later, so turn around before it rises.
- Playa PlatanaresThe gulf beach is calm enough to swim, not a surf break. When nesting happens, it is at night with a guide. By day it is sand and water.
- MatapaloThe tip is a long rough road and a separate day. Leave while you can see, and do not clip it onto a park morning. That wave is not the town swim.
- Drake BayReaching the bay is a real morning boat, not a taxi across town. The village is at the end of that ride. You cannot do it in an hour.
- Sunset on the gulfEvening light sits on the gulf. Walk the dock. The sun drops behind the hills, and the water stays calm. This is not a point surf check.
The landscape is a gulf dock, mangroves, and rainforest toward the park. You are likely to see scarlet macaws, howler monkeys and dolphins. The plants around them are lowland rainforest, coconut and beach almond.
Around Puerto Jiménez, look for macaws in the first hour of light. Later they are harder to find.
Corcovado National Park protects the forest beyond town. The gulf mangroves are part of that edge.
In Puerto Jiménez, stay out of the mangroves in a kayak, and do not feed the macaws in town.
The climate is tropical wet. It is hot and humid, about 24–32°C. Little rain falls from December to April. Afternoon showers fall from May to November. Puerto Jiménez 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.
The nearest airport with a road out is Juan Santamaría in Alajuela. The drive follows the coast south, then crosses to the Osa, about six hours. A small plane also flies into Puerto Jiménez.
The last hour is slower than the map says. Do not start it late. Buses, shuttles, and rental cars are compared in getting around Costa Rica
