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Playa Nicuesa

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A beautiful and secluded eco-lodge in Costa Rica’s lesser-known Piedras Blancas National Park.

Playa Nicuesa is an isolated lodge set within a 165-acre private reserve bordering the Piedras Blancas National Park and the calm waters of the Golfo Dulce. It’s only accessible by boat, either from Golfito or Puerto Jimenez.

The main lodge is essentially a large treehouse, crafted in a variety of salvaged hardwoods. On the upper floor is an open-air restaurant where tasty meals are served communally with the opportunity to meet like-minded travellers.  Accommodation is in a handful of beautifully constructed wooden cabins, which are simply but attractively furnished. Each cabin features large louvred windows and a wraparound veranda, as well as open-air showers, creating a very natural environment. There’s no air conditioning, but a ceiling fan and screened windows ensure the cabins are well ventilated and you can hear the sounds of the jungle. There’s no need for an alarm clock here – the howler monkeys will let you know when it’s time to wake up!

The lodge has an extensive network of self-guided trails for you to explore and guests have complimentary use of kayaks and standup paddleboards. Naturalist guides cost extra and can be booked locally. Sustainability has always been part of Playa Nicuesa’s ethos and electricity is provided by a hydroelectric turbine and solar panels.

Bartolome, Galápagos

What our clients say

  • Everything was amazing...This is the best family holiday we have ever had. Even our 20 year old daughter, who has travelled extensively, agreed that Costa Rica is wonderfully unique. The…

    RW, Cheltenham Aug 2016
  • Highlight: All of Osa - the guided walks in the forest, the early bird-watching trip, the food, watching spider monkeys from the beach and toucans from the balconies, the friendly…

    DH, London Feb 2016
  • Although the transfers were quite long the mix between eg driving and taking a boat were good and made us feel we really saw the country. 

    ME May 2011
  • Highlights?: Very hard to select 1 or 2 things. However would probably say Travelling to and staying at Tortuga Lodge and the excursions into the Jungle (in 3 days we…

    TW, Glasgow Apr 2018
  • So hard to pick out an individually memorable part. If pushed then we would have to select the two river wildlife trips (Tortuguero and Cano Negro) and overall the friendly…

    SY, Solihull Jan 2019
  • Highlights?: The drive Ranch Margot round Lake Arenal, staying there, seeing humming birds feeding from flowers a metre from our bungalow veranda, kayaking in the shadow of the amazing volcano.

    JH, London Dec 2016
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Our Expert's Opinion

Hannah
Hannah Waterhouse - Travel Expert

Hannah had an early introduction to Latin America when her family moved to Ecuador and she returned to study in Buenos Aires for a year before backpacking across the continent.

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Bartolome, Galápagos

Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Kathryn
    Kathryn Rhodes - Travel Expert

    Kathryn backpacked across Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru before joining us. She has a degree in Philosophy and French and is a keen netball player.

  • Maggie
    Maggie Wilson - Travel Expert

    Maggie visited Latin America on her first backpacking trip when she was 19. Since then, she has taken every opportunity to travel, and has managed to explore a lot of the region in subsequent trips.

  • Charlotte
    Charlotte Daubeney - Travel Expert

    Charlotte's fascination with Latin America began with a family holiday to Belize. She went on to study Spanish in school and at university before spending a year living in Santiago, Chile.

  • Finn Clennett
    Finn Clennett - Travel Expert

  • Sophie
    Sophie Barber - Travel Expert

    Sophie lived in Chile before joining us and has travelled extensively across Latin America, from Mexico to the furthest tip of Patagonia and beyond to Antarctica.

  • Chris
    Chris Rendell-Dunn - Travel Expert

    Anglo-Peruvian Chris grew up in Lima and spent much of his adult life in between London and Cusco as a tour leader, before settling permanently in our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours sales team.

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