Experience the best of Drake Bay

Drake Bay is a small settlement on a wide bay at the north-west edge of the Osa Peninsula, in the south-west of Costa Rica, reached by boat from Sierpe through the river's mangroves or by a small airstrip. The bay is said to be named after Sir Francis Drake, who anchored here in the sixteenth century. Beaches of dark sand curve beneath jungle-covered hills, and there are few roads.

Corcovado National Park lies just beyond, with lowland rainforest where scarlet macaws, tapirs and spider and squirrel monkeys live, and the San Pedrillo ranger station sits at its northern end. Offshore, Caño Island biological reserve has coral reefs for snorkelling and diving, as well as stone spheres left by pre-Columbian peoples. Humpback whales and dolphins pass the coast at different times of year.

Fresh fish, rice and beans, plantain and tropical fruit appear at the lodges, with casado plates of rice, beans, salad and meat or fish a staple of Costa Rican cooking. Days are hot and humid, with rain falling most afternoons from May to November; the drier months from December to April make the trails easier.