Rio Agujitas Eco Farm Hostel and Tours

The farm's rustic accommodations bring you close to nature, and the warm hospitality made me feel at home. It's surrounded by primary forest, with a chance to see toucans, tapirs, and all kinds of other animals. I especially recommend the night tour with Elmer or Emilio, who are sharp at spotting wildlife. Expect to get wet and sweaty, and to get close to animals you might never see again. This felt like the most authentic Oso Peninsula tour I could do, and a very special place with very special people. You're also supporting a multigenerational family farm that lovingly manages the surrounding forest and keeps its way of life going. I'll never forget my time here.

Sleeping in the rainforest and getting so close to nature made this one of the highlights of our Costa Rica trip. Elmer was a wonderful host, and his food was amazing. We saw loads of wildlife on his night tour, including six snakes, spiders, all sorts of frogs, an owl, and more. I definitely recommend Rio Agujitas Farm.

The camp is more like camping than a standard hostel. There's an open-air wooden lodge with some areas set aside as private rooms, but most accommodation is tents with mattresses and good rain cover, apart from a couple of rustic cabins. Though it isn't exactly deep in the jungle, since bananas and cacao are planted around it, there is well-preserved forest nearby in every direction. I can't say whether it's primary forest, and there weren't many really big trees in the more natural areas, though there's a huge kapok/ceiba near the buildings. For wildlife on a backpacker budget, this is probably the best place in Costa Rica to see a tapir. They visit the banana farm around the hostel nightly. We spent two days without getting lucky, but other guests saw them, and I found plenty of footprints. At night, experienced naturalists can also spot some interesting mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. It's a mixed experience for serious birders. Elmer is a hero for offering such a good jungle camp and five-star cooking at this price, and I believe he and his brother are doing worthwhile conservation work. Elmer and Wilbur were both kind and tried to point out wildlife even outside tours. But the dogs followed us on hikes and made birdwatching much harder. That also made daytime searches for ground animals mostly pointless. Elmer offered to stop the dogs, but gave up almost right away. Thankfully they're mostly kept inside at night. The night walks work well for beginners, but I wouldn't recommend them to experienced people looking for wildlife in the forest at night. Our guide was described as “the best of the best”; I found about as many animals as he did. He seemed to know snakes and frogs well, but casually misidentified several insects and even a bird, and did so badly. There's also a serious trail issue. Staff need to listen to guests and stop saying the trails are easy to follow. A volunteer got lost in the forest at night while trying to reach the hostel for the first time. Waist-deep flowing water is no joke, and even as a skilled hiker I couldn't find the entire waterfall route. No one warned us that fallen trees nearly blocked it in two places, or that it was a round trip of several hours. I'm adding the trails to OpenStreetMap, so they should soon show up in offline map apps. Elmer's cooking is exceptional, though he won't be home from now until December 2024.

We volunteered here for two weeks, and I'd come back if I return to Drake's Bay. The owners were kind and always tried to make us comfortable. There are hikes, trips to the river and waterfall, and different animals to see in the forest. The food they cooked was delicious. If you enjoy nature and good company, this place is for you.