Carate is the southern gateway to Corcovado National Park and is a forty minute walk along the beach from the La Leona Ranger Station. It is the closest point of road access to any of the park entrances. Besides being a conduit to Corcovado, Carate is a destination in its own right. Boasting miles of abandoned raw Pacific coastline and a backdrop of steep mountains, the Carate region is teeming with waterfalls, wildlife, and a variety of activities for visitors.

Believed to be a port used by Sir Francis Drake in the seventeenth century and location of one of the British pirate's fabled hidden treasures, Drake is one of the most remote and primal tourist destinations in Costa Rica. The town of Agujitas (Drake) has a population of about 1,000 residents, and tourism is the economic base of the community. Drake is not on the beaten track, and is a destination. It can be reached by highway only during the dry season. Boat service up the Sierpe River and air travel connect Drake to the rest of the world during the rainy season.

The Cape Matapalo is located at the mouth of the Golfo Dulce where it connects to the Pacific Ocean. Located 29 kilometers south of Puerto Jiménez, Cabo Matapalo is one of its most popular destinations on the peninsula with a wide variety of activities. Boasting three world-class surfing breaks, spectacular beach and rock seascapes, and montane primary rain forest, Matapalo is mostly a residential area of vacation homes and wilderness lodges.

There is a wide range of delightful full service lodges along the Golfo Dulce from Golfito northwest, all the way to Rincón. Since any of these are boat access only and therefore remote, they are very private and bound pristine rainforest-many of them bordering Piedras Blancas National Park. The northeast side of the gulf is characterized by dense forest and very steep mountains rising from a rocky coastline.