Eco Travel on the Osa Peninsula

The Osa Peninsula is one of the most remote and undeveloped regions of Costa Rica. Towns like Puerto Jimenez and Drake Bay and places like Cano Island and Corcovado National Park are some of the hot spots where thousands of people come every year hoping to see whales, dolphins, tapirs, scarlet macaws and many other unique animals who call the Osa Peninsula their home.

Traveling 'eco style' is relatively easy to do if you consider the following:

1. Getting There and Around
• Consider flying to Drake Bay, Puerto Jimenez or Sierpe on Nature Air, Costa Rica's first carbon neutral airline
• Take a Shuttle from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez or Sierpe - sharing transportation is more ecologically friendly than driving
2. Hotels - Many, many hotels in Osa are eco-friendly in that they offer:
• The choice to not have your sheets and/or towels changed daily (I mean who has fresh sheets at home every night?)
• Propane heated hot water
• Recycling programs (glass, aluminium, plastic and batteries*)
• Biodegradable soaps
• Bio-digesters
• Notices to conserve electricity: Turn off all lights and fans when leaving the room. It does not make the room any cooler to leave fans on while your away than if you immediately turn them on upon your arrival. You might want to always carry a flashlight with you if you leave your room in the late afternoon or after dark.
3. Some Things to Know
• Corcovado national park is the largest track of primary rain forest in Costa Rica. It is NO LONGER permitted (as of October 2008) for people to hike independently from one ranger station to another. A certified guide must be hired to escort you on the cross park trails.
• Costa Rica has a land area of only 51.100 km2 (0.03% of the planet’s surface), but it has more than 4% of the world's biodiversity, much of which can be found on the Osa Peninsula.
• The waters near Drake Bay and Cano Island have the longest humpback whale season in the world as whales from both North and South America go there to breed and give birth. Read more about whale watching in Costa Rica

* - Costa Rica does not recycle batteries. Please take all expired batteries back home with you. DO NOT dispose of them in the trash.

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