BY CAR
When you rent your car at the airport, obtain a map for how to get to the AUTOPISTA BRAULIO CARRILLO A LIMON (Braulio Carrillo Highway to Limón). If you come to our lodge directly from the airport, obtain directions using the road which takes you through the suburbs of URUCA (oo-ROO-cah) and TIBAS (tee-BAHS). This saves you the trouble of driving through downtown San José. If you're not starting out at the airport, just ask for directions to the highway without specifying the suburb through which you wish to be led.

Also, obtain cash at the airport for road tolls and incidental phone calls. For phone calls from public phones you will need coins. It is a good idea to have a small collection of 10-colón coins with you at all times.
(Miscellaneous: tips to skycaps at the airport can be given in dollars [$1-$1.50] or colones [500-750 colones]. Other tips along the road [gas station attendants, waitresses, etc.] should be roughly the same.)

Driving in San José can be unpleasant because the city is so congested and poorly marked, but once you get out of the city things aren't bad except for the potholes and the occasionally unclear or missing signs. You will also notice people passing other cars in impossible places and at impossible speeds. Mild-mannered Costa Ricans often become rude fellows when sitting behind a steering wheel!

If you don't wish to deal with traffic in a foreign city at all (it IS a PAIN to drive in or near San José if you don't know the territory), one suggestion that has worked well for others is to hire a taxi to lead you to the highway that goes to Puerto Limón. To reassure the taxi driver that he will get paid, one person in your party could ride in the taxi. It costs about $15 (about 3,600 Costa Rican colones) to hire a taxi to take you from the airport to the highway. It is well worth spending this money. You will save yourself great frustration and time.

If you decide to do this, tell the taxi driver:

POR FAVOR LLEVENOS A LA AUTOPISTA BRAULIO CARRILLO,
POR EL CAMINO MAS CERCANO
TENEMOS QUE IR A LIMON Y NO SABEMOS COMO LLEGAR A LA AUTOPISTA.
NUESTRO CARRO LO SEGUIRA HASTA LA AUTOPISTA,
PARA QUE USTED NOS MUESTRE POR DONDE SEGUIR.

(I write this just in case you don't speak Spanish. Please don't be offended. It means: "Please take us to the Braulio Carrillo highway by the shortest route. We need to travel to Limón and don't know how to get to the highway. Our car will follow you to the highway, so that you can show us the proper road to follow.")

Once on the highway, drive to Limón from San José should take about 2 1/2 hours. It is an easy to drive, assuming no landslides have occurred. Should the main highway be closed, you can get to Limón via the old road over Cartago and Turrialba (4-4 1/2 hours, very curvy, but also pretty).
As you enter Limón, look for a big white sign (on the right) to Sixaola, Cahuita,Bomba, and Panama. The sign will direct you to take a right.
You will turn right (=south) and drive on a paved road which roughly parallels the coast. You will pass over several rivers. THIS ROAD HAS UNEXPECTED POTHOLES IN THE MIDST OF GOOD STRETCHES! Several of the bridge crossings are somewhat rough (ever since our severe, 1991 earthquake), though a sedan can certainly handle them if you drive slowly.

The only potentially tricky intersection along this road is the intersection with the town of Bomba, not too far after Limón. There should be road signs directing you to Cahuita, etc., but if not, simply take the curve to the left and follow the road in that direction.

Roughly 18 km along this road (=main road between Limón and the border with Panama), you will drive over the bridge that crosses the Río Vizcaya (Vizcaya River).

After the Vizcaya River you will see a blue-roofed house on the right side of the road. Then you will see a set of large, green road signs signaling to a variety of destinations (Cahuita, Sixaola, etc.). These signs are roughly 1 km after the Vizcaya River. (You are now about 8 miles or 35 minutes from the lodge, under normal road and river conditions).

Turn right shortly after the large, green signs (this is the first road after the Vizcaya River which goes inland) and drive over a ravel road for about 4 km, mostly through banana plantations, to the small town of Bananito Norte.

Cross the railroad tracks, and shortly after the railroad tracks look for a sign on the left that reads "SALON DELIA." This is the local bar & restaurant.

HERE AT "SALON DELIA," IS WHERE YOU WILL MEET THE SELVA BANANITO STAFF IF YOU ARRIVE IN A SEDAN, OR IF THE RIVERS ARE FLOODED. Here you can also order a drink and a snack or lunch.

If the rivers and creeks are at normal level, continue along the gravel road past the railroad tracks (see MAP). We recommend you print out the map to go along with these verbal instructions.

After a little over 3 km pass Salon Delia, you will cross your first creek. Continue. When you reach a "Y" in the road, take the left arm. DO NOT TAKE THE RIGHT ARM. Follow the signs to the lodge, passing a steel bridge and driving up several steep slopes until you see the sign indicating to turn right. Once you get to the gate please open with the following number: two – one – six - four, at the gate you are 4 kilometers away from the lodge, please follow the signs. DO NOT CROSS THE RIVER IF FLOODED. You may encounter one or two wire gates after the main wooden gate. If these wire gates are closed, please close them again after you drive through.

There will be one more river crossing before you reach the lodge. The terrain becomes rather rough right at the end due to the recurrent floods that constantly change the course of the river.

You made it! The directions might sound scary, but getting to us is actually not all that problematic. Welcome

NOTE:

In Costa Rica, it gets dark between 5 and 6 p.m. every day. If you plan to arrive around that time or later, please carry a flashlight with you.

Always try to contact us beforehand to touch base, especially if you have a problem along the road. The number at the San José office is 253-8118 (voice, answering machine). The cell phone number at the lodge is 375- 4419 (it works about half of the time).
If you only get an answering machine or no one answers, please leave a message with the beeper service for CONSELVATUR AND CONSELVATUR 2. The number for the bilingual beeper service is 224-2400. Ask for an English-speaking operator ("POR FAVOR, UNA OPERADORA EN INGLES"). Another number for the beeper service is 225-2500.

Public phones are relatively easy to find in most of Costa Rica. You need to obtain 10-colón or 20-colón coins to make phone calls from public phones. Some phones only accept calling cards, but there are always some nearby that take coins. There is one phone right at the bus station in San José, and also one on the same block as the bus station in Limón. There is also one in the town of Bananito. Ask for the "TELEFONO PUBLICO."