The jewel of Central America, Costa Rica contains tropical rain forests, active volcanoes, hot spring spas, unspoiled white sand beaches, rivers and waterfalls, and many national parks.

Contributor Harriet Bernstein recently visited Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge, an adventure travel destination in the southern part of Costa Rica that strives for total sustainability.

The Lodge is surrounded by untouched coastal jungle inhabited by howler monkeys, pumas, wild ginger, scarlet macaws -- and perhaps the two of you on your honeymoon or next romantic getaway.

It is hot, with 95 percent humidity and no air conditioning. Rain falls frequently in torrents, late in the afternoon. Trees are heard crashing from time to time. Palm fronds thud to the ground. There are snakes and bugs and poisons, no TV, no phone, no internet, not even any access to the internet. And no road out. But if you are still reading, you will love this lodge.

Accessible only by boat from Golfito or Puerto Jimenez, Nicuesa is an adventure travel destination that strives for total sustainability. A cross between a mini Club Med and a summer rental with friends, it is eco-everything without the preaching. In fact, the whole sustainability side of Nicuesa is underplayed.

Solar power, organic food, biodegradable soaps and shampoo, composting (everything is recycled at Nicuesa) doesn't get in the way of resort-like comforts such as hot-hot water, flush toilets, and clean towels. Nor does it inhibit the young staff from providing top-notch service all day long.

Nicuesa is located on the pristine Golfo Dulce, a bowl of ocean water surrounded by untouched coastal jungle in the southern part of Costa Rica near Panama. The two-story, open-plan lodge is hidden behind an unassuming beachfront of black rock and sand. It reminds of a tree house, but has the substantial feel and inviting quality of an Adirondack lodge without walls.

In its backyard are 14,000 acres of national park home to howler monkeys, pumas, snakes, wild ginger, scarlet macaws, and poisonous frogs among other forms of wildlife. The staff is prepared to help you get on site, offer you a welcome fruit drink upon arrival, and provide information about conducting yourself in the jungle and a host of activities. With a 24-guest capacity, the staff-to-guest ratio is just about 1:1. Three are resident guides.

With the same feel as the main lodge, the adequately sized guest rooms at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge feature high ceilings and big windows that keep the outdoors always in sight. Only local hardwoods that had already fallen were used in construction, even for the tasteful matching furniture.

The sweet open-air shower area, with its miniature indoor garden, offers a good supply of water on demand that gets quite hot. Have some laundry to do? There are plenty of hooks, some made of branches, from which you will be tempted to hang things to dry; don't be surprised if they remain jungle-damp. A solar drying area with clotheslines is available. Items dry there in a couple of hours. Just leave wet clothes in the laundry bag for this purpose and the cleaning staff will take care of them for you.

From your private deck, you can watch and listen to the rain forest. Howler monkeys will wake you up by dawn; a roaring hum of cicadas will lull you to sleep at night. The fragrant smell of ylang-ylang will fill the air in late afternoon by the yoga platform.

Graceful mosquito netting over the bed, solar-powered electricity, compact fluorescent bulbs, quiet overhead fans and two garbage pails - one for recyclables - rounds out the amenities. A biodegradable, sweet-smelling shampoo is provided, but not in little throwaway bottles.


The dining area is on Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge's second floor. Guests remove their shoes before ascending the wide staircase. A cozy bar area and the visible kitchen anchor a large area that holds a very long table where communal meals are served.

Staff will ask about your dietary restrictions and is well prepared to accommodate vegans, vegetarians, the lactose intolerant et al.

A constant supply of freshly cut watermelon, pineapple, bananas, and papaya is present at all times. Juices can be drawn out of the cooler all day. Alcoholic drinks are available as well, for an extra fee. Water bottles with fresh, potable water and ice are yours for the asking. Filtered tap water can be enjoyed fearlessly.

Three times a day, healthy, homemade meals are served that are clean and lean and revolve around fresh fish, chicken, rice, beans, cheese, omelettes, and a variety of vegetables and homemade desserts.


Raw vegetables at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge can be consumed without concern. Most of the food is brought in by boat from nearby organic growers.

Choose Nicuesa if you want to experience nature. This region is one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet, hosting more species than most anywhere in the world.

Hike into the jungle from the back of the lodge with a guide or on your own. There are birds and reptiles, butterflies and spiders, frogs and insects, trees and plants and a host of mammals including popular howler monkeys whom you will see if luck and the season are on your side.

The front yard is the Pacific Ocean (actually a gulf off the ocean) with warm salt water in which you can snorkel, swim or kayak. Or you can fish, inshore or offshore, with a remarkable local guide who raised his family in the jungle on what he caught from the area's land and sea. Offshore you will find marlin, sailfish, mahi-mahi. The kitchen can cook it for you that night.

Other activities include early morning and late afternoon yoga on a platform built right at the water's edge. Get a massage or take one of a few tours of the place. There's a tour of Nicuesa's sustainability, and another of Nicuesa's medicinal plants that concludes in the preparation of that night's dinner meal.


For all its emphasis on sustainability and respect for nature, one might expect Nicuesa to offer more education about its exotic environment. Visitors wouldn't want to lose any of the resort feeling of the place. It is not elaborate, and the bit of luxury that is there is nice to come home to after a sweat- or rain-drenched hike into the forest. But a daily list of birds and notes on other species spotted by guests each day, and more emphasis on learning about the natural surroundings, would be appreciated by guests.

We'd have liked an informal mention before dinner as to what species were seen each day -- what they eat, what their territory consists of, how they are being preserved.

Easier access into the water for swimmers would make a difference. As for room amenities, the addition of a full-length mirror would be an asset.