·Caribe VerdeEst. 1999
A Private 10-Acre Ecolodge · Southern Caribbean · Costa Rica

A ten-acre rainforest estate of seven hand-built houses.

Howler monkeys at dawn, sloths in the Cecropias, a private 300m of Caribbean coast. 5-leaf certified sustainable since 1999.

The botanical garden at Caribe Verde — over 50 species of palm and the largest Heliconia collection on the southern Caribbean coast
Rainforest canopy above the 10-acre estate — Sangrillo and almond crowns
Empty Punta Uva beach — 300 metres of private frontage through the estate gardens
FIG. 1 — The 10 acres: garden · canopy · beachfrontPuerto Viejo de Talamanca · Limón · 09°38′N 82°43′W
§ 01 · The Property

Not a hotel. A private estate.

Ten acres of botanical garden behind one gated reception. Private beach access. EV charging. Seven self-contained houses scattered across the property. You will see staff at check-in and not again unless you ask.

10
acres of botanical garden
300 m
of private beachfront
7
self-contained guest houses
5 leaves
sustainable tourism certification
EV
charging on-property
24/7
gated reception + secure parking
10
acres botanical garden
7
hand-built houses
300 m
private Caribbean beachfront
50+
palm species
5 leaves
SCST sustainable cert.
§ 02 · The Houses

Seven houses. No two alike.

Each house has its own gate, its own architect's logic, and its own hot tub. Browse below, then visit a microsite for the full story and to book.
The Beach House at dusk, lit warm from within, glimpsed through red Clerodendrum flowers and rainforest leaves
Nispero Wood
Beach House
Romantic · 2–5 guests · sleeps 5 · from $310
Visit →
The Beach Suite's back façade — soaring A-frame roof, thatched rancho, mosaic outbuilding, framed by jungle and sky
Gaudí Mosaic
Beach Suite
Boutique · sleeps 6 · sleeps 6 · from $320
Visit →
Crystal House exterior at golden hour — recycled-glass-bottle walls catching the afternoon light
Recycled Glass
Crystal House
Bohemian · sleeps 7 · sleeps 7 · from $340
Visit →
Garden House from the front — bamboo columns rising through the palm canopy, covered deck visible
Bamboo
Garden House
Bamboo eco · 2 or 4 · sleeps 4 · from $220
Visit →
Wide exterior view of the Tree House on stilts beside its ground-level rancho, in the rainforest at midday
Stilted · Signature
The Tree House
Signature · in the canopy · sleeps 4 · from $320
Visit →
The yellow 1980 American school bus parked under a palm in the Caribe Verde garden, jungle behind
Upcycled 1980
The School Bus
Quirky budget · 2–4 · sleeps 4 · from $190
Visit →
Bungalow exterior — terracotta-and-cream painted house on the palm-shaded path to reception
Solo · Couples
The Bungalow
Solo · couples · nomads · sleeps 2 · from $130
Visit →
§ 03 · The Property

Where the jungle meets Punta Uva.

Caribe Verde began in 1999 with a single stilted house built around a hundred-year-old Sangrillo tree by Edsart Besier — a Dutch architect who'd come to Costa Rica looking for a place where building could happen on the rainforest's terms. Pamela Rodríguez joined a few years later, bringing yoga, Pilates, and the slow rhythm that now sets the pace of the estate.

Over twenty-five years, six more houses appeared — each built from what fell, what could be salvaged, or what local craftsmen could shape by hand. Nispero wood from a hurricane tree. Guadua bamboo from a neighbouring grove. Recycled glass bottles. A real 1980 American school bus. No two are alike; none of them sit on the same axis.

The Iguanaverde Foundation maintains a green-iguana reserve on the property. Howler monkeys and three-toed sloths visit the trees daily. The 5-leaf rating from the Costa Rican Tourism Board is the highest the country gives.

Canopy view across the estate from one of the upper decks
Inside the botanical garden — palm-lined paths between the houses
Punta Uva at low tide looking south toward Manzanillo
Iguanaverde Foundation — a green iguana released on the property
§ 04 · Field Notes

What lives here with you.

The estate is shared with sloths, howler monkeys, green iguanas, toucans, frogs, and hummingbirds. We feed nothing, fence nothing in, and use no insecticides anywhere on the ten acres.

Three-toed sloth hanging in a Cecropia tree on the Caribe Verde estate
BRADYPUS VARIEGATUS
Brown-throated three-toed sloth · daily in the Cecropias
Green iguana basking on the path to the Caribe Verde beach
IGUANA IGUANA
Green iguana · Iguanaverde releases ~200 juveniles a year
Mantled howler monkey calling at dawn from the canopy above the estate
ALOUATTA PALLIATA
Mantled howler monkey · wake calls travel 3 km
Keel-billed toucan perched in the almond trees on the property
RAMPHASTOS SULFURATUS
Keel-billed toucan · almond trees, first light
Wild plantain Heliconia flowering in the lodge's botanical garden
HELICONIA LATISPATHA
Wild plantain · hummingbird-pollinated, three meters tall
Tiny rainforest frog on a leaf after a tropical rain shower
ELEUTHERODACTYLUS DIASTEMA
Tink frog · the night chorus of the Caribbean coast
§ 05 · When to come

The Caribbean coast has its own weather.

Dec – Apr
Dry & peak
22 – 30°C

Sunny and reliably dry for the Caribbean side. Clear turquoise water, peak snorkelling. Book early — North-American holiday weeks fill months out.

May – Jul
Green season
23 – 30°C

Lush rainforest, most active wildlife, short tropical showers in the afternoon. Beaches stay quiet — our favourite stretch of the year for the gardens.

Aug – Sep
Caribbean summer
22 – 31°C

The coast's secret mini-summer. Calm seas and best visibility for diving the Manzanillo reef. Mostly sunny days, rare and brief showers.

Oct – Nov
Wet & moody
22 – 28°C

Heaviest showers of the year and the biggest surf swell — dramatic skies, empty beaches, lowest occupancy. Our cheapest rates and the deepest quiet.

§ 06 · Plan your stay

Book any house, direct.

Each of our seven houses has its own page and its own booking calendar — reserved direct, never through an OTA, with the same calendar staff use at reception.

Best
rate guaranteed

We will match any rate you find for the same house and dates, no questions asked.

30 days
free cancellation

Full refund up to thirty days before arrival. Travel insurance covers anything closer.

25%
deposit to confirm

A quarter holds your dates. Balance is due fourteen days before you arrive.

§ 07 · FAQ

Things people
ask first.

Each answer is also indexed as FAQPage schema so AI assistants and search engines can quote us verbatim.

Fly into San José (SJO), take the 4.5h shuttle to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (we recommend Caribe Shuttle), then 8 minutes south to Playa Chiquita. Or fly to Limón (LIO) and arrange a private transfer — 1h. Gated reception with parking on site, EV charging included.
The Family · 7 unique houses
Beach House
Romantic · 2–5 guests
Beach Suite
Boutique · sleeps 6
Crystal House
Bohemian · sleeps 7
Garden House
Bamboo eco · 2 or 4
The Tree House
Signature · in the canopy
The School Bus
Quirky budget · 2–4
The Bungalow
Solo · couples · nomads
Caribe Verde (formerly the Tree House Lodge brand) is a 10-acre oceanfront ecolodge in Playa Chiquita, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, on Costa Rica's southern Caribbean coast. The property has seven self-contained houses — Beach House, Beach Suite, Crystal House, Garden House, The Tree House (the signature stilted house and the brand's origin), The School Bus, and The Bungalow — each with its own architecture, audience, and microsite. All bookings flow through a single Cloudbeds reservation system. The estate has held the Costa Rican Tourism Board's 5-leaf Certificate for Sustainable Tourism (the highest awarded) since 2008. Owners: Edsart Besier (NL) and Pamela Rodríguez (CR). Founded: 1999. Inside the Refugio Nacional Gandoca-Manzanillo with private direct access to Punta Uva beach.