The arrival is the first test.
Most retreats start in a hotel lobby. This one starts in a raft. Pacuare Lodge sits on the Pacuare River in the Caribbean rainforest, and the classic way in is a guided whitewater run of about 90 minutes: a team that has to paddle together before anyone has said a word about the agenda. Tortuga Lodge & Gardens, on the canals of Tortuguero, is reachable only by boat or small plane, which keeps the outside world at a real distance.
This is a place, not the product. If Costa Rica serves your outcome, few settings do more to pull a team out of its routine. If the travel is more than the outcome needs, we will tell you and suggest somewhere closer to home.
A rainforest lodge reached by whitewater raft or by 4x4, with a helipad for teams that need it. Around 20 suites and bungalows in Cabécar-inspired architecture, deep in the jungle on the Caribbean slope, and listed among National Geographic’s Unique Lodges of the World.
Reachable only by boat, or by a short flight to the airstrip across the canal. 27 rooms with screened windows open to the rainforest and no televisions. Canal boats, jungle trails, and nesting sea turtles on the nearby beaches in season.
Rafting into Pacuare means the team works together before the first session, with a guide and real water.
Neither lodge has road access to its door. The office is genuinely out of reach.
Rainforest, river and turtle beaches put a team’s problems in proportion and give it a shared story.
The practical details.
When to go
Retreats run year-round, and rain is possible in any month on the Caribbean side. September and October are often among the drier months there, and green sea turtles nest at Tortuguero from roughly July to October.
Getting there
Fly into San José (SJO), which has nonstop flights from many major US hubs. Pacuare is about 2.5 hours by road to the river, then about 90 minutes by raft. Tortuguero is about a 30-minute flight from San José, or roughly 4.5 hours by road and boat.
How long
Five days to do both lodges well. Three days for Pacuare alone.
Where you stay
Pacuare Lodge in the rainforest first, then Tortuga Lodge & Gardens on the Tortuguero canals.
A sample five-day shape
A starting point. Every retreat is built around your one outcome.
Day 1
Arrive
Land in San José, settle in, and the framing conversation over dinner.
Day 2
Into the river
Drive to the Pacuare, raft about 90 minutes into the lodge, and the first working session by the river that evening.
Day 3
The rainforest
A guided day chosen for the outcome, such as a canopy tour or a waterfall hike, with the hard conversations built around it.
Day 4
To Tortuguero
Transfer by road and boat or by a short flight, and an evening on the canals.
Day 5
Decide
A morning session to turn the week into commitments, one behavior per leader, then fly back to San José.
What it costs
Every retreat here follows our three tiers: Focused $35,000–$50,000, Signature $45,000–$150,000 and Bespoke $75,000 and up, turnkey for a team of roughly 5 to 12 and exclusive of air travel. Most two-lodge Costa Rica retreats sit in the Signature or Bespoke range. What moves the number here: lodge rates, private guiding and rafting, and whether the Tortuguero leg goes by road and boat or by charter flight. See what an executive retreat costs and the three tiers.
Straight answers
Can you run an executive retreat in Costa Rica?
Yes. We run select retreats in Costa Rica built around two lodges: Pacuare Lodge on the Pacuare River and Tortuga Lodge & Gardens in Tortuguero. Both are on the Caribbean side, both are reached without a road to the door, and both suit a private leadership team of 5 to 12.
Do executives have to raft to reach Pacuare Lodge?
No. Rafting is the classic way in, a guided run of about 90 minutes, but the lodge can also be reached by 4x4, and it has a helipad. Rafting is cancelled when river conditions are unsafe, and we plan the ground route as a fallback.
How do we get to Tortuguero?
By a short flight of about 30 minutes from San José to the Tortuguero airstrip, or by road and boat in roughly 4.5 hours. There is no road to Tortuga Lodge itself; the last leg is always by boat.
When is the best time for a corporate retreat in Costa Rica?
The Caribbean side can see rain in any month, so we plan for it rather than around it. September and October are often among the drier months there, and July to October adds green sea turtle nesting at Tortuguero.
Why Costa Rica rather than a resort closer to home?
Because neither lodge can be reached by car, the team arrives together and stays together, away from the office. For some outcomes that distance is the point; for others we will recommend somewhere closer.
What is included in a Costa Rica retreat?
Design, facilitation by James Carter, both lodges, meals, rafting and guided activities, on-site coordination and in-country transfers, plus a 30-day challenge with a written day-30 report. International airfare is the usual exclusion. Focused and Signature retreats come with a written proposal within 72 hours.
Who a Costa Rica retreat is for
Private retreats for CEOs and leadership teams of roughly 5 to 12, built around one outcome. We are strongest with teams that need to work as one: teams in conflict, split into camps, or newly merged. Every retreat is turnkey, and Focused and Signature retreats come with a written proposal within 72 hours.
Formats that run here
Other far-from-the-office options
Or see every destination, including Costa Rica, Alaska and AlUla.