Pura Vida Ecolodge

UNBELIEVABLE. The Pura vida ecolodge blew us away. The villa had everything we could have dreamed for and more. It exceeded all expectations. By far, the most beautiful and most amazing Airbnb I have ever stayed in. My husband and I had the most amazing time spent here, from enjoying the infinity pool, to fresh baths overlooking the valley and sunset, to brewing our own coffee each morning, and enjoying all of the beautiful wildlife that surrounded us during this peaceful & secluded stay. We never wanted to leave! You can tell how much love was poured into this special and cherished gem in Tres Rio. Special thanks to Joe & Kika for a sharing their beautiful home with us. We can't wait to come visit again!

I’ve been dreaming about coming to Costa Rica and specifically Pura Vida for a long time and I’m so happy that this was the year. It was an absolutely magical experience. You can easily sit and stare at the view forever, appreciating the changing light and watching the clouds come in. I loved looking at the view whilst eating delicious fresh papaya on the deck after an amazing sleep.
We were the first ones I think to try out the baths that have been installed on the deck. It’s such a simple but really original idea. Just lying there, looking at the stars, being so enveloped in the sounds of nature with the steam coming out of the bath was so blissful.
Everything has been built with nature in mind and I love the use of bamboo throughout and especially the sofa! It feels like it’s been built in harmony with nature and with a lot of love. I would definitely recommend the mangrove trip to the secluded beautiful beach. It’s a proper adventure with no one around. And of course drinking the Pipa’s! I can’t wait to come back again soon. I could just keep writing!

Pura Vida Ecolodge is a dream! We stayed for 10 days and fell in love with C.R.

This little hidden gem makes you feel like you’ve been whisked away to a jungle paradise with it’s breathtaking views, open air feel and refreshing plunge pool.

The host, Joe, was very responsive, friendly and helpful with questions and recommendations.

The lodge exceeded our expectations and we can’t wait to go back! What a perfect place to disconnect and reconnect. Pura Vida!

This was an amazing place to stay on an amazing vacation. The experience we had was greatly helped by the welcome pack information that gave us hints and ideas of local places to go for dining, adventure and culture.
The house is an amazing semi open air design to allow you to truly feel a part of the beautiful surrounding jungle. The views of the jungle and the ocean in the distance allow for a calm and serene experience. We enjoyed manny quiet mornings while sipping hand pressed local coffee and looking over the forest.
Juan Carlos who works with Pura Vida Ecolodge is around via WhatsApp in case you have any issues. He also took us on the waterfalls tour which is highly recommended!
Pura Vida Ecolodge did a wonderful job of helping make a memorable vacation getaway experience. The supplemental information is extremely helpful for those wanting a local experience .
Hints:
Use Vamos for your car rental.
Definitely get a real four wheel drive.
Explore the area!

We had an absolutely Amazing stay @ Pura Vida Ecolodge! It’s a beautiful jungle home away from home, every detail has been thought about and delivered in the most thoughtful, sustainable way :)

If you’re looking to get off the beaten track and experience the wild Costa Rica then we can highly recommend! Local beaches are amazing and you get them practically to yourself during the week… Absolute musts are the canyon rappelling and the river boat / beach tour through the mangroves - great days out!

Thank you Joe & his team for all the shopping, comforts and extra help during our stay!

M&L.

Pura Vida Eco Lodge is absolute heaven, I used this word a lot (everyday) during our stay here, in fact writing this I am already missing it and wondering when I can return.
You will love staying here, the incredible surroundings, the magical views and being fully immersed in all the nature will have you hypnotised during your stay, I spent an entire day deep sighing watching the clouds change formation while Toucan spotting and listening to the sounds of the jungle, it was probably one of my favourite days of our trip around Costa Rica.
Pura Vida Eco Lodge has been designed by Joe with so much soul and love, with intention and attention to detail of the highest of standards, I promise you as soon as you walk in you will feel relaxed and very much at home, and your entire being will be immediately soothed, get ready for the best nights sleep and best slow mornings you could imagine.
The baths in the garden are incredible and you lose hours unwinding, daydreaming and taking in the mesmerising sunrises and sunsets. Everything about our stay was perfect. If you want to get away and lose yourself in the most beautiful part of the world then you need to stay here, and also please eat at the Soda at the end of the road, it is DELICIOUS!
I could keep writing for ages but to summarise... please stay here, your future self will thank you for all eternity.
Thank you to Joe for being a wonderful host and I hope we can return very very soon x

This was our 1st stop of a month long vacation. We stayed here for 5 days and we loved every minute of it! The views are INCREDIBLE!!! The sunrises, the sunsets, even after dark we could see the silhouette of the tree at the edge of the yard, the sound of the birds in the morning and the nighttime creatures...it was all quite magical! Even the drive up and down the mountain was an adventure! We can't wait to come back!

Of the 11 places we stayed, this was our favorite. It was close to everything you could want to do in Costa Rica, but tucked up on the side of a mountain away from the busy city streets. It was perfect! Pura Vida!!

My husband and I celebrated our wedding week at this beautiful ecolodge retreat. It was the beginning of rainy season so the jungle was lush and very much alive. It was incredible to wine down in the evenings listening to live orchestra from the frogs, crickets, gekkos, the other nocturnal animals. In the mornings it was so nice to wake up to the birds chirping and opening our eyes to views of the hills of Tres Rios with the distant view of the Osa Peninsula. We saw so many exotic birds fly by. We truly enjoyed our escape to this beautiful place. We celebrated our wedding on 4.28.22 where we had our photographers take photos of us at the lodge, and visited El Pavon Waterfall and a nearby beach. When we got back we feasted with an amazing meal prepared by the Private Chef which Joe helped coordinate for us with a local guitarist. We also had a amazing massage at the pool deck the morning of our I Dos. It was truly a magical place to be and a week we will never forget.

Pura vida Ecolodge was the perfect ending of my husband and I’s pura vida honeymoon.
The lodge itself is tucked away in the most peaceful place in the jungle and is equipped with everything (and more!) for an extremely comfortable stay. Photos cannot justify the beautiful surroundings and view.
Many days even prior to check in, Joe was extremely responsive and easy to communicate with. He went above and beyond to ensure that our stay was perfect, including organizing rides/shuttles, excursions, private dinners and heavenly massages.
We hope to come back someday again to stay at this slice of jungle, ocean-view heaven!

Words will never do this magical place justice...it is everything we imagined it would be and more. The views were absolutely stunning, spanning the lush rainforest and beautiful beaches, with birds and bats adding additional interest to the skyline. Inside (if you can rip yourself away from the view) the beds were comfortable, the bathrooms were beautiful and the kitchen was well equipped, including a blender to make your own smoothies.

Even the journey to the lodge was fantastic (you really do need a 4x4), and at the base of your journey is a beautiful river that locals visit to cool off. As if this place needed to give me more reasons to come back...

Fantastic communication before, during and after. My only complaint is that we could only stay for 2 nights as it was fully booked. So my advice, if you're here reading this review, and you're thinking about it...don't wait, book it! You won't regret it

What a magical place. Its an adventure worth taking just to experience the magic hour of the jungle. The lodge offers all the luxuries of home with privacy and breathtaking views. Pura Vida!

Our stay at Pura Vida ecolodge was a true vacation!!! Coming from a busy city (Los Angeles) we were excited to be surrounded by nature and reconnect. Pura Vida offered us an incredible stay in the jungle (my favorite part is there is a little hiking path attracted to the house into it!) we even saw a Tucan over the pool!!!

I can go on and on but if you are looking to reconnect with the natural world on a true vacation in Costa Rica
Then this is the MORE THAN PERFECT place!

P.S. also incredible to stargaze on the balcony if you are into the stars too 😌😌😌

Just fantastic, I totally recommend it!!!

The facilities & style, the location with views and access to wonderful beaches... Even they can help you to get organized cool activities&visits in the surroundings with local contacts!

We had a fantastic time at Pura Vida Eco Lodge. We loved the incredible views and being immersed by nature. It’s such a relaxing place, perfect for slowing down. The house is spacious and beautiful, and the staff is lovely. We got very delicious food delivered to the house and enjoyed a romantic sunset dinner at the lounge. We highly recommend staying here. It’s truly the embodiment of Pura Vida!

Pura Vida Ecolodge is pure paradise. The view on the ocean, on the jungle are spectacular. What an enchantment to wake up with this view and so our Mo ring yoga outside on the solarium, then jump in the pool, fresh and exquisite. The house is beautiful, very well equipped and comfortable. If the road is challenging to find, we were glad Juan welcomed us and showed us the way to Pura Vida. Ideal for a few days. Highly recommend.

What an amazing experience!! My husband and I stayed here for our honeymoon and it did not disappoint! Joe was an excellent host and was quick to answer any questions we had over email. Juan Carlos, the caretaker of the property, was amazing and took great care of us. They really made our honeymoon feel so special. We arranged dinners a few nights through the lodge and they were so delicious!!! Would definitely stay here again!!

We - a family of 5 - had the most wonderful stay in Pura Vida Ecolodge. The place is a unique and peaceful getaway and a lovely way to be in touch with Costa Rica’s magnificent nature. We enjoyed waking up to the sounds of a thousand birds and other animals and was thrilled to see some of them - for instance a couple of tucans. The communication was excelent, the house is fully equiped and there is put a lot of love and good vibes in the house! We strongly recommend it to everyone who is looking for a peaceful place in the middle of nature!

We cannot say enough about the Ecolodge! From the location to the view to the privacy, everything was perfect. You do need a true 4x4 to get there, which they made very clear upon booking. The property as a whole is beautiful and there are many ways to enjoy it, tons of things to do on the property itself. You will see tons of wildlife, we saw falcons, parrots, blue jean frog, dart frogs etc. We may have even heard a monkey or two. There will be house guests (bugs, geckos, hornets and the occasional bird) but this just adds to the experience of being one with nature. All in all, we would go here again in a heartbeat. We loved everything about our stay there. Also, the welcome dinner is highly recommended as it supports the locals and was a great treat on our first night.

The perfect restorative holiday experience
We absolutely loved our stay at Pura Vida Ecolodge, we didn't want to leave and definitely, in hindsight, should have stayed on longer! The view is totally breathtaking. The house sits within the jungle canopy providing a real sense of open-ness and space - overlooking the tops of the trees and out towards the ocean. Gersan greeted us with warmth and smiles (as did the local wildlife!) and the welcome pack really does tell you everything you need to know - Joe and Kika have thought of everything. The lodge is full of beautifully crafted little touches, which really do make it such an easy place to relax. We woke early to the sounds of the jungle, did a little yoga workout on the platform as the sun was rising, delicious fruit and coffee for breakfast, and did some amazing excursions during the day - Gersan's boat tour through the mangrove forest is a MUST. Seeing parts of the natural habitat you can't otherwise access - and where else can you get hundreds of meters of beautiful beach to yourself? Such a memorable experience. In the evenings we enjoyed cooking our own food back in the lodge, sipping a cold ron con piña and dozing off not too long after the sun goes down. The Coco-Mat beds were AMAZINGLY comfortable! Stepping away from a hectic city working life, to the luxury of space and time, uncomplicated living and nature, really was the break we needed and now feel totally rejuvenated. Thank you to Joe, Kika and Gersan (and to the Pura Vida lifestyle of Costa Rica!) for making this all possible. We will be back!

If I can do more than 5 starts I would!!! We booked a stay for a week with a total of 6 people all different ages and EVERYONE was mesmerized with the amazing views of the Ecolodge we didn’t want to leave! Especially with the views every morning right outside the bedrooms, they were breathtaking! The kids favorite part was the swimming pool of course but also going on an adventure to the waterfall located right at the ecolodge. Everything was clean, organized and fully stocked! they didn’t miss a beat. Juan Carlos the housekeeper was very helpful guiding us and recommended nearby towns to visit. I definitely recommend opting in for the “welcome meal” it was delicious! In addition, renting out a 4x4 vehicle is a must. The first time going up the hills was a bit intimidating but it’s really not that bad. Make sure to use WAZE for gps. We will be booking here again next time we visita the beautiful Costa Rica! Thank you Joe & Kika! You exceeded our expectations!!