Mawamba Lodge
Mawamba Lodge
Enjoy the peace, tranquility, and nature of Tortuguero National Park from Mawamba Lodge. Set on a narrow strip of land between the Tortuguero Canals and the Caribbean Sea, this rustic ecolodge offers an exotic and unique location for ecotourists to enjoy one of the most remote regions in Costa Rica. Lodge amenities include a swimming pool and whirlpool, restaurant and bar, coffee room with a put and take library, tropical gardens and trails, and WiFi in some public areas.
Tortuguero is one of the most remote and least accessible regions in Costa Rica. You can only get there by boat or plane. Once there, the canals are the roads and boats are the only method of transportation. Many exotic and rare animals live in Tortuguero. Animals such as green macaws, toucans, sloths, monkeys, and even jaguars live and thrive in the jungle. Endangered sea turtles lay eggs on the beach in front of the village and nesting tours can be reserved (additional fee and subject to availability) from the end of July through the beginning of August.
Mawamba Lodge offers several packages to choose from; 3-days, 2-nights, 4-days, 3-nights, or 2-days, 1-night. Most visitors select the 3-days, 2-nights package. These packages include roundtrip transportation from select San Jose hotels, lodging in selected room style, meals at the lodge, and the standard tours.
Getting to the lodge requires a sense of adventure. The drive from San Jose to the dock takes around 4 - 5 hours including a stop for breakfast (only if taking the lodge's provided transportation - not available in any other circumstance). Then the boat ride (25-pound weight restriction) will take another 1 - 1.5 hours. When you arrive at the lodge, a buffet lunch will be provided. You will visit the village of Tortuguero in the afternoon. Then, you will walk back along the beach trail the hotel (weather permitting).
1-Night Package: On your second day, coffee will be available at 5:30 am. Then, at 5:45 am, a guided boat tour will be provided through the Tortuguero Canals and national park. While there, you will be required to pay the Tortuguero National Park entrance fee which is $15 for adults, $5 for kids 5 - 11, and free for younger children (entrance fees are not included with hotel stay). After a couple of hours, you will return to the lodge, where breakfast will be served at 8:00 am. Those on the 1-night package will leave at 9:00 am.
2-Night Package: On your second day, breakfast will be served from 7:30 - 9:00 am. Then around mid-morning, a guided tour will be provided to the Mawamba Park to see the butterfly garden, river turtle area, and the bio-digestor. After lunch, you will go on the Tortuguero Canals and national park tour. The entrance fee is $15 for adults, $5 for kids 5 - 11, and free for younger children (entrance fees are not included with hotel stay). You will be returned after a couple of hours and have the afternoon to relax before dinner is served in the evening.
The 3-Night Package runs similarly to the 2-Night Package. The third day is a free day without organized activities.
On the final day of the 2 or 3-night packages, breakfast will be served, and then a boat ride will be provided to the docks. Then, you will either continue to San Jose with the hotel's transfer or meet another transfer at a designated location to continue to other destinations.
Mawamba Lodge offers 58 rustic rooms, 54 Standard Rooms, and 4 Superior Rooms. All rooms have a fan, in-room safe deposit box, screened windows, private bathroom, and a porch. The Superior Rooms are larger than the Standard Rooms. These rooms are casita-style with one king bed and a large bathroom with a hot tub in addition to the previously mentioned amenities.
NOTES:
Due to the location, you must make transportation arrangements well in advance.
Tortuguero is humid, hot, and rugged. This is a remote ecolodge.
Swimming is not permitted at the beach due to riptides and generally unsafe conditions. This is not a beach destination.
You must select the correct package based on the number of nights of your stay.
Latitude: N 10° 32' 22.96"
Longitude: W 83° 30' 9.61"
11/05/2023
I loved Mawamba and would have liked to have stayed at least one more night
09/14/2023
It was nice to be close to town so we could walk into town.
08/31/2023
They deserve a higher rank than 10. This place was incredible.
08/15/2023
Nice hotel with community areas very pleasant but rooms were very very basic
07/12/2023
The lodge is dated. But, you are asking for rustic when you go to Tortuguero. The staff was sort handed in the restaurant several days. The hotel grounds and the amenities were nice (hammocks, chairs etc)
06/10/2023
Excellent location, rustic but reflective of the region/rugged conditions. Very nice experience overall, staff was lovely. Would recommend.
12/01/2022
Beautiful setting!
10/08/2022
I loved this place! Excellent experience.
10/01/2022
The staff was great and the overall layout was awesome, but the beds were uncomfortable and there was no AC (it was very hot during our stay). The meals and staff were top notch, the pool and the tour guides were great as well. but the beds and no AC... ouch!
01/09/2022
All of the staff at this lodge were fun, well versed in their area, and constantly went out of their way to make our visit amazing.
07/16/2021
Loved it! One front staff was not very helpful and kept punting us but then we just met another one and went to her instead as she was willing to help.
07/10/2021
We had a nice stay at the hotel, and the experiences doing tours arranged by the hotel and also the meals at the hotel was great. Courteous staff, and we had nice guides for the tours we had there.
03/10/2021
Exceeded expectations. We like the grounds and proximity to the ocean.
02/14/2020
Excellent food and room was comfortable.
12/06/2019
Only complaint was no air conditioner. It rained everyday and our clothes were wet, but impossible to dry with no air conditioner. Loved the hammocks everywhere! Our room was right next to the dock which made for very loud mornings with the boat traffic from the staff shuttles & early morning tours.
11/27/2019
Lovely setting. Room a little dark. Arrival meal was very good but after the first day there seemed to be less care taken and this was a little disappointing after the great start.
08/17/2019
Fantastic place to stay! Staff and property are excellent. The only thing I can think of is it would be nice to have a dedicated bartender at the bar at all times. You could always track one down but sometimes you go to the bar and no one is there to help you.
08/06/2019
Beautiful grounds with lots of flowers and iguanas! Plenty of space so we didn't feel crowded. Some reviews on Trip Advisor said people felt like they were herded like cattle. This was NOT our experience. Variety of food was great, staff was helpful with arranging tours. When we received our bungalow assignment, we found we were next door to some very noisy children. We love kids, but felt the noise would have a negative impact on our experience. We voiced our concern to the Lodge staff, who immediately moved us to a bungalow with no neighbors! Super! The boat tour in the jungle was great and the night turtle tour was amazing. We saw a turtle building a nest and another laying eggs! Magical! Our guide was Brian, who was extremely knowledgeable!
06/13/2019
Was very uncomfortable with the huge Boa Constrictor right under our room. My wife could not sleep during our whole stay thinking of the snake underneath.
There was also so much noise and lack of privacy as there were people coming to see the snake (including hotel staff).
05/01/2019
Great food!
04/14/2019
Never had any hot water in the bathroom. Floor tiles so textured that they are impossible to clean. BEAUTIFUL landscaping! Beds too firm.
03/26/2019
One of my favorite places.
03/15/2019
fantastic eco lodge. full of wildlife, friendly service. bonus was in house frog pond, butterfly enclosure. plenty of in-house iguanas
05/03/2015
It was everything you would expect from an isolated eco friendly lodge. No one would expect white tablecloths, silver, and fine china. It met all expectations.
