This is a nice, small, inexpensive lodge designed especially for birders. It is on a side road off Ruta 34, east of Crocodile Bridge. Thus you are sort of close to both the Tarcoles River Tours and Carara National Park, though not nearly as close as Villa Lapas which is right there by both.
They have bird feeders by their little restaurant and a garden trail you can walk to photograph birds. They can schedule a good guide to take you through Carara Park or Tarcoles if you wish, though you don’t usually need a guide for Tarcoles, as the boat has one who knows the birds. For the non-birder, there is a swimming pool and a little porch on your room for relaxation and reading. Read more about this lodge on their own website: Cerro Lodge Hotel
Would I Return?
Yes. But I can afford, and prefer, the more expensive Villa Lapas adjacent to the park and across the highway from Tarcoles. This is a good, inexpensive base from which to see birds at Carara & Tarcoles, especially if you have a car, because it is further away.
Likes
- Very affordable price for a nice clean room and good basic food.
- Fairly close to two hot spots for birding, Carara NP & Rio Tarcoles.
- Helpful management that got me a good guide with transportation since I have none.
- Lots of Birds in the combination of Carara & Tarcoles. Just a few at lodge.
Dislikes
- Not as close as Villa Lapas nor with the bird-rich grounds they have nor the other amenities of Villa Lapas including better food, more trails, and more birds & other wildlife. To me, it is worth the higher price to go to Villa Lapas.
BIRDS Slideshow – Carara NP & Cerro Lodge . . .
Nature & Other Activities
- The grounds are nice, if small, with trees and flowers and a few birds, which their bird feeders help attract.
- There is a vista of the surrounding hills and the Pacific Ocean if you go out on the road in front of the lodge. 🙂
- Helpful management to make sure you get your birds, with a list of guides they can call.
- Swimming pool.
Rooms & Food
- Good, basic, clean rooms.
- Good, basic tasty food.
- Reasonable price!
Getting There
- About an hour drive from Atenas. Google Maps say 42 km, 59 min.
- Public bus users would need to find which bus to Jaco or other further places (Quepos, Uvita) would stop at the exit road for Cerro Lodge. Many buses (not all) are considered “locals” and will stop anywhere to let you off. Then you call the lodge for a ride up the hill, probably a km or more. To find buses passing this way use the Bus Schedule at: https://thebusschedule.com/cr/ and you can call the suggested bus company to see if it will stop for Cerro Lodge exit. Or the website might say.
- I use Walter Ramirez as my transportation to places like this, Walter’s Taxis & Tours, or call/WhatsApp him at: 8873 4266.
My Trip Gallery
- See the Trip Gallery for this lodge at: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2016-May-2223-Cerro-Lodge-Carara-Park
My Related Photo Books
- CLICK the Cover Image to see a free preview. The main focus of this 2017 book is birds photographed in both Carara NP and on Tarcoles River from the two lodges I’ve stayed at in Tarcoles, Cerro & Villa Lapas. See free preview at: https://www.blurb.com/b/7747505-carara-national-park-tarcoles-river-birds
- A newer book, 2019, is also focused on Carara NP/Tarcoles area, but as seen from 2 hotels in Jaco and the Macaw Lodge on the mountain behind Carara NP. Thus photos from all 3 of those hotels. See a free preview of it by clicking the cover image or going to this address: https://www.blurb.com/b/9601292-jaco-carara-birding-hotels
¡Pura Vida!