Rana Roja Lodge

The room was basic as noted in other reviews, and it does get hot and stuffy at night. That said, we really enjoyed our stay. My son LOVED the natural pool with slide and we saw a sloth, spider monkey and capuchin monkeys from the pool area. At night you could hear the sounds of the forest. Tour guide Antonio gave us an amazing canoe tour in the morning and night walk one night and tour guide Alexis took us out to look for turtles (which we saw in mid/late June). We also enjoyed hiking on our own on the national park trail. Owner was a fantastic help organizing everything. I also want to note that in Tortuguero the town my son was bitten by a dog and the owner helped us arrange getting out and to a place with rabies shots available within 24 hours of the bite, which took a lot of phone calls and extra effort. We stayed 3 nights, and I’d recommend at least two nights to enjoy the place. We loved it. Oh, and we had read reviews suggesting there wasn’t enough food provided here but we found quite the opposite. Food portions were huge and some meals we asked for two plates for three of us to avoid throwing some of it out. Basic Costa Rican fare but it was hearty and what we expected. Staff were friendly and helpful.

Rana Roja is co-located with the Evergreen Lodge near Tortuguero town. Unfortunately we found Rana Roja to be understaffed to meet our needs in arranging tours and transport to the town. We ended up using the Evergreen staff/reception to arrange outings after missing two tours. If budget is a limiting factor and you will be staying at Rana Roja, know that you can use the more upscale accommodations at Evergreen including their pool and bar. The Rana Roja bar was overrun with capuchin monkeys when bar staff wasn't present (often), eating the garnishes and breaking glassware. The walkways through the property are incredible if you are looking to experience wildlife including monkeys (howler, spider, capuchin), amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, etc. I recommend hiking past "cabin 20" where there are abandoned walkways going through the jungle There is no lighting or outbuildings, allowing for a wonderful experience in nature. The cabins at Rana Roja are essentially open-air. When we were there in February, the humidity was incredible and it rained multiple times per day. It was very helpful that our next location had both air conditioning and laundry facilities. The serving/kitchen staff were incredibly friendly and hospitable. Meals were plain and satisfying. Public washroom facilities were lacking in soap/towels and I'd recommend bringing your own hand sanitizer/wipes. We booked a Tortuguero national park boat tour through the canals with Alexis, a low-key, professional, knowledgeable guide. I can't recommend this enough. We saw so much wildlife: green basilisks, caiman, all the herons, a sloth, monkeys, many water birds... If you are prepared to suffer a bit with respect to accommodation quality, Rana Roja is a reasonable home base from which to experience this incredible part of the world.

Beautiful, rustic cabin in the woods. The family that run it provided such warm, personable service, it was even better than expected. We had originally planned a stay in a more expensive hotel, but am so glad we didn’t - this place provided a very viable alternative and you got to have more agency around your activities.