The 7 Best Day Trips from Uvita

Our small friendly home of Uvita is the ideal launchpad for exploring the rest of the beautiful southern Pacific zone of Costa Rica.

Once you’ve arrived here, you have a number of options for day trips at your disposal. Our area is renowned for its incredibly luscious wildlife, pristine beaches, and natural beauty – it really is spectacular!

Many of the locations that you venture to within our zone are actually within the Osa Conservation Area (OSAC), which serves to protect and preserve these outstanding natural resources that we have here.

Actually, where we surf every day in the Marino Ballena National Park is within this protected area!

We’ve lived in this spectacular part of the country for 14 years, so we certainly know our way around and which are the best places to venture off to for the day.

While researching what are the best day trips from Uvita, don’t forget that there is plenty you can get up to right here in our town and the surrounding area – check out our blog on the must-do activities in Uvita, Costa Rica.

Without any further adieu, let’s dive into the best day trips from Uvita!

Day Trips from Uvita – Guided Tours

Some of the best day trips from Uvita that we recommend are doable without a guided tour – whereby you can freely plan how you want to spend your time at that location and come/go as you please.

A couple of these day trips however are either only accessible or highly recommended, visited as part of a guided tour.

In this section of the blog, we’ll walk you through our favorite day trips from Uvita that you would do as part of a tour.

Bear in mind that these aren’t the ONLY tours that we recommend here in Uvita. We have an entire blog dedicated to the best tours and activities to do here in town – but these aren’t necessarily ‘day trips’, as they’re more local Uvita experiences.

Lose Yourself in Nature at the Corcovado National Park

The Corcovado National Park is one of the most richly diverse places on the planet – it holds 3% of the biodiversity that exists on this side of the world. It’s often referred to as the “most biologically intense place on Earth”.

There are a number of local tour operators here that offer day trips to the national park year-round. We typically recommend that our guests go with Bahia Aventuras – they’re just down the street from us and we’ve been working with them for years.

Fun fact – way back in the day, our friends from Bahia Aventuras used to let Bodhi co-owners Travis and Pilar use their office before we had built our lodge!

• Individual rate: Adults $170, children $110 (4-10 years)
• Duration: Full day
• Start time: 7am
• Book here: Bahia Aventuras
• Includes: A bilingual naturalist guide, mineral water, picnic-style lunch, entrance fees to both the Ballena Marine National Park and Corcovado National Park, a personal flotation device

The Corcovado National Park is only accessed by boat, which takes about 90 minutes each way. The boat leaves from the Marino Ballena National Park and arrives at the San Pedrillo Ranger Station at the Corcovado National Park.

The tour includes two hikes through lush rainforest, where visitors normally see sloths, monkeys, all kinds of birds, insects, and coastal vegetation. The first hike takes about two hours, and the second an hour.

It’s important to note that Bahia Aventuras claims on their website that the hikes are mainly “flat and easy for all types of people.” Aside from Bahia Aventuras, we’ve heard great guest reviews from Dolphin Tours and Ballena Aventuras.

Explore Pristine Marine Life at the Caño Island Biological Reserve

The second of the best day trips from Uvita that require a guided tour is the snorkeling trip to the Caño Island Biological Reserve.

This is another day trip that we recommend choosing Bahia Aventuras for. Just like with the Corcovado tour, a visit to Caño Island requires a boat in order to get there (it’s an island!).

One of the best things about this tour is that it doubles as a snorkeling tour and a dolphin/whale-watching tour. While the main purpose of this tour is obviously to snorkel, the one-hour (sometimes more) boat ride out to the island is a great opportunity to spot some breaching whales and dolphins.

Caño Island is located 17km off the coast of Uvita, and the boats head out from the Marino Ballena National Park. With some of the clearest waters in Costa Rica, Cano Island promises unforgettable encounters for nature enthusiasts and snorkeling aficionados alike.

• Individual rate: Adults $155, children $100 (4-10 years)
• Duration: Full day
• Start time: 7:30am
• Book here: Bahia Aventuras
• Includes: A bilingual naturalist guide, mineral water, snacks and fresh fruit, entrance fees to both the Ballena Marine National Park and Caño Island Biological Reserve, a personal flotation device, snorkeling gear

We’ve had plenty of guests take part in this day trip-style tour over the years, and they’ve always come back raving about it!

The tour includes two snorkeling sessions in two different locations around the island, which amount to about two-and-a-half hours of snorkeling in total. Visitors also have the opportunity to enjoy 30-40 minutes of beach time on the island.

Guests on this tour have seen many different forms of marine life, including:

• Sea turtles
• Stingrays and manta rays
• Parrot fish
• Pufferfish
• Reef sharks

Aside from Bahia Aventuras, we’ve heard great guest reviews from Dolphin Tours and Ballena Aventuras.

Kayak Through the Labyrinth of Mangroves in Sierpe

One of the best ways to spot some of Costa Rica’s world-famous wildlife is by cruising through our jungle rivers.

Through the Uvita Information Center, you can book a kayaking tour where you take a leisurely paddle through the winding canals of the river Terraba-Sierpe.

One of the highlights of this tour is that these canals are lined with crucial organisms for our marine ecosystems – mangroves.

Mangroves play a huge role in keeping these ecosystems healthy. They offer coastal protection, whereby they protect coastal areas from erosion from waves, tides, and storm surges. They are also incredibly important for marine biodiversity, as they provide vital habitats and breeding grounds for a wide variety of fish, crustaceans, birds, and other marine life.

Did you know that mangroves also have beneficial impacts on us on land? Mangroves store significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. They are considered “blue carbon sinks” whereby they store large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in their soil, contributing to climate change mitigation.

Taking part in this kayaking tour allows you to get up close to these mangroves and learn more about their importance to the planet!

• Individual rate: By inquiry
• Duration: 3 hours
• Start time: Any time between 7am and 2pm
• Book here: Uvita Information Center
• Required: Ability to swim, must take water, a hat, and sunscreen
• Includes: A bilingual naturalist guide, drinks, all equipment, life jackets

As you’ll see above, the tour lasts about three hours. The reason that we still count this as a day trip, however, is because you’ll have to travel to a town about an hour south of here called Sierpe.

The tour takes you through the river Terraba, which is the main attraction of Sierpe. The naturalist guide will give you instructions on how to use the paddle and control the kayak, as well as point out various different forms of wildlife along the tour, including herons, parrots, and monkeys.

Day Trips from Uvita – Explore at Your Leisure

Now let’s get into the best day trips from Uvita that you can head off to on your own accord, with no guide or tour required.

These are trips to locations here within our area that many of our guests venture off to for a day or so after their time with us.

We do recommend hiring a car in order to best access these places and others, as access via bus can be very limited depending on where you’re going. Taxis are of course an option, but they can be costly and some of these locations don’t have a strong enough phone signal to be able to call for your return pickup.

Having said that, visitors here to Uvita can easily rent a car from a number of trusted car rental companies here in town, including:

• Enterprise Rent-A-Car
• Alamo Rent A Car
• National Car Rental
• Hertz Rent A Car

Cool Off at the Impressive Nauyaca Waterfalls

A trip to the Nauyaca Waterfalls should definitely be on anyone’s list who has some extra time in or around Uvita, Costa Rica.

Spending a day adventuring around these waterfalls allows you to experience and observe the beauty of the tropical rainforest while marveling at one of Costa Rica’s most spectacular waterfalls.

The best part is that the Nauyaca Waterfalls actually consist of two waterfalls! You first arrive at the lower waterfall which has a natural pool that you can swim in. You can then follow a path to the upper waterfall, which consists of a flat area that you can sit on and enjoy your surroundings while listening to the thunderous roar of the falls.

But you have to work for it! This isn’t one of those waterfalls where you drive to the entrance and boom, you’re there. The waterfalls are located about two miles (4 km) from the parking lot, requiring a hike in order to reach them.

It’s worth noting that on their website, Nauyaca Waterfalls states that they do NOT recommend that pregnant women, the elderly, or young children do this hike.

The Nauyaca Waterfalls are located on a private family-owned piece of land. The family that owns it has been dedicated for years 

Important information about the Nauyaca Waterfalls:

• Location: Google Maps pin
• Hours of operation: 7am – 2pm
• Entrance fee: $10 for foreigners, c3,500 colones for locals
• Suggestions: Pack plenty of water and snacks, wear sneakers

Beach Hop in Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio is a town near Quepos, about an hour north up the coast from us here in Uvita.

What’s great about Manuel Antonio is that, just like Uvita, the town sits at the feet of a beautiful national park – the Manuel Antonio National Park.

It consists of four beaches, making Manuel Antonio the perfect beach-hopping day trip from Uvita.

You can easily kill a whole day exploring the pristine beaches, walking the jungle trails, and maybe even tagging along to a tour! Some of the most popular tours that take place in and around this national park include zip lining and white water rafting, which you can book directly on the park’s website.

The Manuel Antonio National Park also offers guided tours that take you through the trails of the national park, where visitors have the chance to spot various forms of wildlife including sloths and monkeys.

Pro tip: watch out for the monkeys, they’ve been known to take things from people’s unattended bags!

It’s also worth noting that there are a number of restaurants around the national park and the town, and it is prohibited to take your own food into the park.

Important information about the Manuel Antonio National Park:

• Location: Google Maps pin
• Hours of operation: 7am – 4pm every day, closed on Tuesdays
• Entrance fee: $18.08 for adults, $5.65 for children (aged 2-11)
• Suggestions: Buy your ticket online before arriving at the park

Get Off the Beaten Path at Eco Chontales Waterfall

This is one of our absolute favorite places in all of Costa Rica. Eco Chontales Waterfall is located just over an hour from us, making it a perfect day trip from Uvita.

We had our entire Bodhi Surf + Yoga team do this day trip last year, and we all loved it!

Eco Chontales isn’t as well known as the aforementioned Nauyaca Waterfalls, but it by all means is just as spectacular. It’s a little trickier to get to than Nauyaca, but it’s also far less busy.

In order to reach Eco Chontales you’ll need a car with 4×4 drive. Once you turn off the main highway you drive along a very bumpy, windy, and steep road for about 20 minutes – but the drive is absolutely spectacular.

This part of the drive takes you through an area called San Juan de Jesus de Barú, which genuinely feels unreal. Its rolling hills and farmland look like a magical made-up land!

Be sure to take your swimsuit, as this waterfall also consists of a couple of natural pools and streams that you can swim in.

You’ll also want to wear sneakers as there’s a small hike from the entrance/parking lot in order to reach the waterfalls – about 15 minutes. There’s a restaurant on the property, so no need to pack lunch!

Important Information about the Manuel Antonio National Park:

• Location: Google Maps pin
• Hours of operation: 8am – 4pm daily
• Entrance fee: c3,500 colones (for nationals), c5,000 colones (for foreigners)
• Suggestions: Take a towel, sneakers, and bathing suit

Spend the Day Strolling Around Dominical

Dominical is the closest of these day trips from Uvita – it’s about a 20-minute drive.

You could easily hit Dominical in half a day, but we’ll add it to this list as you could just as easily spend the whole day or a number of days here.

‘Domi’ is a small beach town just north of Uvita. It’s popular amongst intermediate-advanced surfers for Playa Dominical – a beach known for its glassy but intense waves.

Apart from its beach, Domi has a lively nightlife scene. It’s not party central, but there’s a bit more going on there in terms of parties, bars, and clubs than here in Uvita.

There’s also a farmer’s market on Fridays, and plenty of delicious restaurants and cafes there for you to enjoy.

A favorite amongst some of our (younger!) staff here at Bodhi Surf + Yoga is the Fuego Brewery. They produce some of the best craft beer in all of Costa Rica, they have their own coffee roastery, and on Friday they have their ‘Latin Night’ – whereby a band comes to play live music, mostly salsa.

Domi is a fairly small town. It consists of two main streets – one that goes through the center of the town, and the other runs parallel to the beach. This means it’s easy to get around and see all there is to see in this town, making it a great day trip from Uvita.

Important information about Dominical:

• Location: Google Maps pin

Suggestions: Take care when swimming at Playa Dominical, as there are large waves and strong currents

Your Dream Vacation Awaits You!

Now that you’re aware of some of the best day trips from Uvita, you can start planning your trip!

Over the many years that we’ve been running our surf + yoga camps here in Uvita, Costa Rica, we’ve developed a whole catalogue of resources to help you plan your dream trip to our community.

Our mission is to empower you to have a safe and positive experience here in our home, and to do so while being responsible travelers.

We invite you to surf over to our Instagram page, YouTube channel, and blog to discover these carefully and intentionally crafted resources!