Tim Hoyland asked 6 years ago
Hi,
My girlfriend and I are travelling to Costa Rica in December 2018. We plan to take the boat from Sierpe to Drake Bay, stay in Drake Bay for a few days, then take the boat back.
We have seen some youtube videos showing small boats going at full speed, jumping over waves where the Sierpe river meets the sea. Some of the boats don’t seem to provide life jackets. There are also some reviews on Trip Advisor which say the trip is pretty unsafe. My girlfriend is very nervous about taking the boat trip. Are you able to tell me how dangerous you think it actually is? Do any boats capsize?
I’ve read that the alternative is a bus journey, but I’m struggling to find where it leaves from. Do you know?
Many thanks,
Tim
Jenn and Matt Staff answered 6 years ago
Hi Tim,
We have done this trip several times and yes it can be quite an adventure getting out of the river mouth. It really all depends on the tide and the size of the waves. Sometimes it is very easy and other times the boats have to wait for the right moment between sets of waves to go through. There are many different boats that will taxi you out and back but the ones we have used have always had life jackets on board. On our most recent trip this year, we were all asked to put them on before the river mouth portion. We brought our own toddler one purchased through Amazon for our 2.5 year-old son (it was the first time bringing him on the boat). This particular boat was booked through our hotel, which was Jinetes de Osa. They use the same company all the time. As we approached the river mouth, the captain did an excellent job of judging the waves. He circled around one extra time to wait for the right timing and then went through quickly when he saw the right opportunity. On the way back, the tide was different and the waves were small so entering the river was no problem at all. We have heard stories of boats having problems but feel that if you choose the right boat (ours was a bit bigger than other ones we saw and had two very strong engines) that you will be in much better hands. Our captain had obviously been doing this for many years.
As for the bus, I believe there might be one that connects from Rincon de Osa (near Puerto Jimenez) but I haven’t found any information about it and don’t know how often it might run.