La Selva Biological Station

Very friendly staff. The rooms are basic but comfortable. The property has amazing trails for hiking and abundant birds and wildlife to see.

What a little gem! Great intro to Costa Rica! We saw so many new birds and animals 😁

Cabins are clean and Well stocked. The cafeteria had good food. The place is well organized. But th highlight was the nature walk. There were so many birds there that I haven’t seen before.

Spartan but functional. The main attraction is the natural and wildlife which is stupendous. Food is pretty decent too!

Clean doom with nice bathroom and warm shower

The wildlife along the concrete forest trails.

Room was great with an excellent fan and a fridge! Breakfast was outstanding and the staff was exceptional!

This was our 2nd stay at La Selva, the first being 20+ years ago. It is a biological research station that hosts tourists to help pay for the work, not a fancy hotel. Meals are cafeteria-style. But if you are up for that, it's a wonderful place to stay and see nature. Guides are great, fellow guests are there for the same reason, there are no crowds. Rooms are clean and comfortable. And your tourist $$ are helping to support science. But if you are using Google Maps to get here, search for "OET," NOT La Selva Biological Station - that one takes you to a gate with a sign warning of a dangerous dog, several km away, though the residents were nice and helpful.

Chambre propre mais extrêmement austère et mal équipée.

It was all very good. Staff helpful. Food ok.

Excellent!

Everything was fantastic!

I loved my stay at La Selva and ended up extended it by an extra day. You feel fully immersed in wildlife and free to explore. A memorable moment was being on the hanging bridge in the dark with bats flying everywhere, my torch picked out the eyes of a caiman in the river and a great potoo flew overheard and along the river. Breathtaking!

Excellent séjour, bien qu'étant arrivé après la fermeture de l'accueil, nous avons reçu les instructions nécessaires pour intégrer notre logement. Nous avons également pu nous rajouter au groupe réalisant la sortie nocturne. Une visite de la station avec guide était également comprise avec la réservation de la chambre.

Come here for the wildlife and the birds, they are incredible. The food is good, and the facilities are more than adequate.

This is not a typical hotel or cabin stay. If you want luxury, keep looking. The food and accommodations are quite basic but serve the purpose. The real bonus about staying here is the great access to being very close to the nature of Costa Rica. The purpose of my trip was birding, so please be advised that I speak from this perspective, and fancy accommodations and other excursions were not important to me during this stay. You can do some great birding right around the cabin houses and have an easy stroll to the reception area. There are many kms of marked trails and I’ve probably walked 10 (km) of them in my two stays, and have very rarely run into other people other than near the researchers’ compound. If you stay on site there is a 2-3 hr nature tour with a knowledgeable guide which is good. Morning birding and night tours can be arranged as well. I hope to return one day.

La Selva is a great place for nature lovers. Tropical rainforest with a lot of birds, monkeys etc just outside the window. Cabins are big, charming and clean but don’t expect luxury- you are sharing the place with scientist and other nature lovers. 3 great local meals were included in the room price as well as a guided rainforest walk - a very good surprise.

The forest and the wildlife are the reason for staying here so in that respect this place gets 10 out of 10. We did a birding tour and a night walk and took advantage of the free nature walk. The latter was conducted by Joel and I strongly encourage people not to pass on this even though they may have other tours booked. It was absolutely superb and held our interest for every minute of the 3 hours. The accommodation is simple. The beds were a little hard and the pillows win the prize for the worst in the world but the bed linen was clean and fresh and the fans were effective so overall we slept well. The bathroom was clean and well lit and the shower was probably the best we encountered throughout CR, even in some expensive places. The wifi worked well in the rooms and there was a pleasant balcony at the back of the cabin to sit and watch the birds. Laundry is cheap and efficient and there is a bag in the room for this purpose. Food was served in the canteen and was buffet style. It was pretty much the same every day and I think it was a bit over-priced for what we got. We had a car however so we ate in town for 2 of our 3 nights there. Breakfast was ample and there was free coffee and water all day. There are many trails here that you can follow without a guide and the beauty of being a resident means you have free access to them whenever you want. All the staff here were excellent. We would certainly return but might consider bringing our own pillows next time!

True and non-comercialized Costa Rican nature. A wonderful place to experience native flora and fauna.

Staying at La Selva was a unique experience. The accommodations are very rustic, which fits a research station. The highlight was the 3-hour guided tour that was included in the stay. A great experience for nature lovers.