Costa Rica may be a small country, but its rainforests, rivers, mountains, coastlines, and wildlife have made it one of the world’s most celebrated destinations for ecotravel. For travelers, that creates an incredible opportunity to experience nature firsthand, and a responsibility to consider how our travels affect the places we visit.
Sustainable travel means considering how your accommodations use resources, how your activities interact with the environment, where your food comes from, who your trip supports, and what happens to the waste you leave behind.
At Rios Lodge, our location in the rainforest along the Pacuare River shapes nearly everything we do. From renewable energy and local sourcing to protecting the land surrounding the lodge, sustainability is closely tied to protecting this remote environment.
Here’s a closer look at ecotravel in Costa Rica, what to look for in an authentic ecolodge, and how you can support more sustainable travel during your stay.
What Does Ecotravel Mean in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica is an extraordinary place for travelers who want to experience the natural world. Although the country accounts for only a tiny portion of the Earth’s landmass, it is home to an estimated 6% of the world’s biodiversity. Costa Rica has also made conservation a national priority, with approximately 26% of its territory protected through its system of conservation areas.
That makes responsible tourism especially important.
Ecotourism is generally centered around traveling to natural areas in a way that minimizes environmental impact, supports conservation, benefits local communities, and helps travelers better understand the places they’re visiting.
How Do You Know You’re Supporting Authentic Eco Travel?
Not every property that uses the word “eco” operates the same way. If sustainability is important to you, look for specific examples of what a lodge or tour operator is actually doing.
Ask questions like:
- How is the property powered?
- Does it protect or restore surrounding natural areas?
- Where does its food come from?
- Does it employ people from surrounding communities?
- How does it handle trash, recycling, and food waste?
- How does it conserve water and electricity?
- Are wildlife encounters designed around the wellbeing of the animals?
- Does it support local environmental or conservation initiatives?
- Is the property transparent about the challenges and limitations of its sustainability practices?
Authentic ecotravel doesn’t require perfection. What matters is a consistent and ongoing commitment to reducing negative impacts wherever possible.
What Sustainability at Rios Lodge Looks Like
An Off-the-Grid Rainforest Location
Rios Lodge sits in a remote rainforest setting along Costa Rica’s Pacuare River. There aren’t roads leading right to our front door. Instead, the river is our primary route in and out. Most guests arrive by raft (some hike in on foot), and all of the materials required to operate the lodge also make their journey to the lodge by river.
Our property includes approximately 350 acres and 2.5 miles of riverfront protected from development, including areas of primary and secondary rainforest. Protecting this land means maintaining habitat while preserving the immersive wilderness experience that makes this part of Costa Rica so special.
Renewable Energy at Rios Lodge
Living off-grid means thinking carefully about every resource we use.
Rios Lodge relies primarily on hydropower and solar power for electricity, with a diesel generator available strictly as a backup.
Our limited resources also influence how we operate the lodge. You won’t find washers and dryers available for general guest use, and we don’t automatically replace towels and linens every day. Daily housekeeping and linen changes aren’t standard unless requested.
These may seem like small choices, but reducing unnecessary washing saves both water and energy. For us, sustainable hospitality means offering guests the comforts they need without assuming that more consumption automatically creates a better experience.
Building With the Rainforest in Mind
Building and maintaining anything in a remote rainforest is an intricate process. There isn’t a delivery truck pulling up to the lodge with supplies. Large materials often have to make their way down the Pacuare River by raft.
That reality makes durability particularly important.
Our original structures made extensive use of locally sourced native wood. But living in a humid tropical environment also teaches you quickly that even beautiful natural materials have limitations. Wood eventually rots and needs to be replaced.
As we’ve updated parts of the property, we’ve looked for longer-lasting solutions where appropriate. Our Eco Rooms, for example, use iron girders to create a more durable structure that won’t require the same frequency of replacement. When we do use wood, we work with locally sourced materials from a local lumber mill whenever possible.
The goal isn’t to make the rainforest conform to the lodge. It’s to continually find better ways for the lodge to exist within its environment.
Supporting Local Farmers & Communities
Sustainable tourism should benefit the people who call a destination home, too.
We work with farmers and suppliers in the nearby Turrialba area to source vegetables, eggs, herbs, and other ingredients whenever possible. Buying locally helps us serve fresh food while supporting the people and businesses within our surrounding communities.
Our team is also overwhelmingly local, with an overwhelming majority of our staff being Costa Rican. Some members of our team have deep connections to Rios Lodge and have grown alongside the lodge itself. Our team understands this river, rainforest, wildlife, and region in a way that can’t be replicated by simply reading a guidebook.
We’re also proud to have women serving in leadership roles at Rios Lodge, helping shape the future of the lodge and the experiences we provide our guests.
Thoughtful Food & Waste Reduction
When nearly everything has to travel into a lodge by river, you become very aware of what you’re bringing in – and what eventually has to leave.
Our kitchen carefully plans meals and ingredients in advance. Guests enjoy fresh, chef-made meals throughout their stay, with ingredients sourced locally whenever possible.
Careful planning also helps us reduce unnecessary food waste and packaging. Some organic waste can be composted and used in our small garden.
Trash that can’t be composted or otherwise responsibly handled at the lodge has another adventure ahead of it: we raft it back out.
There is no easy “away” when you’re deep in the rainforest. That makes reducing what we use in the first place especially important.
Low-Impact Ways to Explore Costa Rica
One of the best parts of staying at Rios Lodge is that experiencing the surrounding rainforest doesn’t require getting in a car every morning. Instead, adventure starts right outside!
Guests can raft the Pacuare River, hike through the rainforest, watch for wildlife and tropical birds, explore waterfalls, and zipline through the forest canopy.
Our guides help guests understand the landscape they’re moving through, notice details they might otherwise miss, and develop a deeper appreciation for the rainforest.
Ethical Wildlife Viewing
Wildlife is one of the biggest reasons people travel to Costa Rica, and the rainforest surrounding Rios Lodge is filled with it.
Depending on the day, you might spot colorful tropical birds, frogs, monkeys, insects, reptiles, and countless other rainforest residents. But these animals aren’t here for our entertainment. We’re visitors in their habitat.
Responsible wildlife viewing means:
- Keeping an appropriate distance
- Avoiding interference with natural behaviors
- Allowing encounters to happen on the animals’ terms (not searching out an animal, even if you know where their home is!)
Protecting hundreds of acres surrounding the lodge also means protecting the habitat these species rely on. That’s one reason land conservation is such an important part of what sustainability means to us.
Supporting Nature Protection Movements
Protecting the Pacuare River requires efforts that extend far beyond our property.
Rios Lodge supports and celebrates organizations and community movements working to protect this remarkable watershed, including Salvemos el Pacuare and the Pacuare River Guardians. These movements include widespread community support, and are led by locals including the Rivers and Forests Alliance (RAFA), with permanent protection of the Pacuare River as the goal.
Supporting the people working to preserve it is an important part of ensuring future generations can experience it, too.
How Guests Can Travel More Sustainably
Small decisions throughout your trip can help you become a more thoughtful visitor. Here are a few ways you can help:
- Bring reusable essentials. A reusable water bottle and other refillable items can reduce single-use waste throughout your trip.
- Choose your toiletries thoughtfully. Consider biodegradable or environmentally conscious products when packing for a rainforest destination.
- Give wildlife space. Never touch, feed, chase, or attempt to manipulate wildlife for a photo.
- Stay on designated trails. Following your guide and sticking to established paths helps reduce unnecessary disturbance.
- Conserve water and electricity. Turn off lights when they’re not needed and avoid unnecessary towel and linen changes.
- Support local businesses. Seek out locally owned restaurants, shops, accommodations, guides, and other businesses throughout your Costa Rica vacation.
- Learn about the culture. Responsible travel includes respecting the people and communities you’re visiting, not only the natural environment.
- Leave the rainforest as you found it. Pack out what you bring in and follow Leave No Trace principles wherever you explore.
Sustainability Is an Ongoing Effort
We don’t believe sustainability is something you achieve once and check off a list.
Operating an ecolodge in a remote rainforest involves tradeoffs. We still need supplies. Materials eventually need to be replaced. Trash has to be transported out. And while renewable energy provides much of our electricity, we maintain a diesel generator for times when those systems aren’t enough.
Being honest about those realities is important.
For us, sustainability is an ongoing process of learning how to be a better neighbor to the rainforest, river, wildlife, and communities around us.
Experience Costa Rica Ecotravel at Rios Lodge
A sustainable Costa Rica vacation can also be an unforgettable one.
At Rios Lodge, ecotravel can mean waking up to the sounds of the rainforest, eating a meal made with ingredients sourced from nearby communities, hiking beneath the canopy, spotting wildlife with a knowledgeable local guide, and rafting the Pacuare River back to your next destination.
We want you to leave with more than great photos and stories. We hope you leave understanding this remarkable corner of Costa Rica a little better, and caring even more about its future.
Ready to experience the rainforest for yourself? Plan your sustainable Costa Rica adventure at Rios Lodge.
