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Jagua Arts & Crafts (2735-5267; 8am-5pm) A great collection of art and jewelry by local and expat craftspeople, including some amazing painted masks.

Osa Army Navy (8am-7pm Mon-Sat, 9am-4pm Sun) Your one-stop shop for sportswear, boogie boards, fishing gear, bug nets, knives, backpacks and other outdoor gear.

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Getting There & Around

AIR

NatureAir (www.natureair.com) and Sansa (www.sansa.com) have daily flights to/from San José; one-way flights are approximately US$100.

Alfa Romeo Aero Taxi (2775-5353; www.alfaromeoair.com) has light aircraft (three and five passengers) for charter flights to Golfito, Carate, Drake, Sirena, Palmar Sur, Quepos and Limón. Prices are dependent on the number of passengers, so it’s best to try to organize a larger group if you’re considering this option.

BICYCLE

Rent a bike at Ciclo Corcovado (2735-5429; per hr ₡500; 8am-5pm).

BOAT

Two passenger ferries travel to Golfito (₡3000, 1½ hours), departing at 6am and 10am daily. Note that these times are subject to change; in this part of the country, schedules often fall prey to the whims of the captain.

A better option than chugging away on the ferries is to hire a private water taxi to shuttle you across the bay. You will have to negotiate, but prices are generally reasonable, especially considering that you’ll be free of having to rely on the ferry. Fortunately, waters in the Golfo Dulce are sheltered and generally calm, though it’s still good to have a reasonable degree of faith in the seaworthiness of both your captain and his ship before you set out.

Taboga Aquatic Tours (2735-5265) runs water taxis to Zancudo for ₡25,000.

BUS

Most buses arrive at the peach-color terminal on the west side of town. All of these pass La Palma (23km away) for the eastern entry into Corcovado. Buy tickets to San José in advance.

Neily ₡2000; three hours; departs 5:30am and 2pm.

San Isidro ₡3000; five hours; departs 1pm.

San José, via San Isidro (Autotransportes Blanco Lobo) ₡5900; eight hours; departs 5am and 11am.

CAR & TAXI

Colectivo Transportation (8837-3120, 8832-8680; Soda Deya) runs a collective jeep-taxi service to Cabo Matapalo (₡2000) and Carate (₡3500) on the southern tip of the national park. Departures are from Soda Deya at 6am and 1:30pm, returning at 8:30am and 4pm.

Otherwise, you can call and hire a 4WD taxi from Taxi 348 (8849-5228; taxicorcovado@racsa.co.cr) or from the Central Taxi Center (2735-5481). Taxis usually charge up to ₡37,500 for the ride to Carate, up to ₡15,000 for the ride to Matapalo, and more than ₡50,000 for the overland trek to Drake.

You can also rent a vehicle from Solid Car Rental (2735-5777).

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CABO MATAPALO

The tip of the Osa peninsula and the entrance to Golfo Dulce lies just 17km south of Puerto Jiménez, but this heavily forested and beach-fringed cape is a vastly different world. A network of trails traverses the foothills, which are uninhabited except for migrating wildlife from the Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce. Along the coastline, miles upon miles of beaches in pristine wilderness are virtually abandoned, except for handfuls of surfers in the know.

Although facilities in this remote corner are extremely limited, Cabo Matapalo is home to a number of luxurious lodges that cater to travelers searching for peace and seclusion. Of course, it’s hard to feel lonely out here given the breadth of animals about: scarlet macaw, brown pelican and all breeds of heron are frequently sighted on the beaches, while four species of monkey, sloth, coati, agouti and anteater roam the woods.

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Tours

Naturalist Andy Pruter runs Everyday Adventures (8353-8619; www.psychotours.com), which offers all kinds of not-so-everyday adventures in Cabo Matapalo. His signature tour is tree climbing (US$55 per person): scaling a 60m ficus tree, aptly named ‘Cathedral.’ Also popular – and definitely adrenaline inducing – is waterfall rappelling (US$85) down