Lapa Rios Lodge
Over the decades, Lapa Rios has become a model for community‑supported conservation, helping reduce poaching, supporting local education, and demonstrating that responsible travel can sustain both people and forest.
The small settlements of Cabo Matapalo and Playa Pan Dulce are within walking distance, offering access to quiet beaches and local life. This wild corner of the Osa is one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth, and Lapa Rios places guests directly inside its protected rainforest landscape.
Each is crafted from bamboo, hardwoods and palm thatch, with high ceilings, generous decks and natural ventilation that keeps you connected to the ocean breezes and the sounds of the forest. The newer villas offer additional space and wrap‑around terraces, but every room shares the same open‑to‑nature design ethos.
A hillside pool, forest‑view decks and easy access to nearby beaches create quiet spaces to unwind between guided walks and wildlife encounters. Throughout, the atmosphere is one of immersion: a lodge designed to let the rainforest, ocean and light shape every moment of your stay.
- Take a guided walk with a resident naturalist, exploring a forest that holds more than 2% of the world’s biodiversity. Watch for armadillos and sloths, and give skunks a respectful distance.
- Join a sundown walk to see the forest shift into its nocturnal rhythm, then review the lodge’s night‑vision trail‑camera footage the next morning for a glimpse of the creatures you missed.
- Hike along the Carbonera River, swimming in clear pools and, for the adventurous, abseiling beside rainforest waterfalls.
- Explore the Matapalo headland, watching surfers ride Pacific swells, beachcombing for starfish, and scanning the Golfo Dulce for humpback whales during their long breeding season.
- Zip through the canopy on a nearby circuit, moving between platforms on five ziplines and other high‑forest crossings just a short walk from the lodge.
- Meet your guide at dawn for birdwatching, starting with sunrise coffee on the restaurant deck before seeking toucans, macaws and other Osa specialities.
- Walk the coastal trails of Matapalo, following a gentle route through secondary forest and visiting beaches such as Pan Dulce, Backwash, Matapalo and Manzanillo for wildlife, scenery and ocean views.
Its Premier and Lapa Villas, which sleep up to five guests, make it an excellent choice for families, while couples and solo travellers will find the same sense of immersion and connection that defines the whole experience.
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From the Team
“Swaying in a crocheted hammock above a rainforest canopy with the Golfo Dulce shimmering beyond is the perfect end to a day spent spotting scarlet macaws, toucans, kingfishers, parrots, vultures, monkeys, sloths and iguanas; a wildlife roll‑call that never seems to stop.”
Every journey we design begins with listening. Whether you’re travelling as a family, a couple, or across generations, we take time to understand how you want to feel – not just where you want to go. From there, we carefully weave together exceptional places, trusted guides, and seamless logistics to create journeys that flow naturally and feel entirely your own.Every journey we design begins with listening. Whether you’re travelling as a family, a couple, or across generations, we take time to understand how you want to feel – not just where you want to go. From there, we carefully weave together exceptional places, trusted guides, and seamless logistics to create journeys that flow naturally and feel entirely your own.
We prioritise working with properties that collaborate with local communities and address location-specific needs from education to anti-poaching. We assess our partners to ensure the people we work with share our values of ensuring our trips continue to act as a force for good. Here we share some of the positive impacts your stay here contributes to.We prioritise working with properties that collaborate with local communities and address location-specific needs from education to anti-poaching. We assess our partners to ensure the people we work with share our values of ensuring our trips continue to act as a force for good. Here we share some of the positive impacts your stay here contributes to.
Great Places to Combine with Lapa Rios Lodge
Lapa Rios Lodge works beautifully as part of a wider journey in Costa Rica and Latin America. We often pair it with contrasting environments to create a sense of flow and variety.Lapa Rios Lodge works beautifully as part of a wider journey in Costa Rica and Latin America. We often pair it with contrasting environments to create a sense of flow and variety.
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