2nd trip to Costa Rica: What did we MISS the first time??

<<We love enjoying pristine nature...yet I do love my comforts, I must admit. I love walks in beautiful rainforest, and then being able to return to a hotel with comfortable beds, nice showers, etc.>>

Bosque del Cabo! I think you'd love the Osa and Bosque, secluded, tons of animals, great views & food and hot showers & comfy beds for the nights. Your husband would most likely be beside himself there! You could get a cabina or if your family joins you then you could look into the houses there. Btw, the old hotel of Neta's is still there but under different owners.

Yep, Melessa5, it's Bosque del Cabo for you! Perfect. Hands down. Jaco 2 days, stay the rest on the Osa. Iguana Lodge a couple of nights, Bosque the rest of the time.

Iguana Lodge in Puerto Jimenez is a good place from which to kayak and visit the animal sanctuary.

Hope you're having nicer weather there in San Diego than we are in Oklahoma! Yikes--the wind, the tornadoes! My little granddaughters had to be moved to shelter yesterday during naptime! The little one slept through the whole thing!

Of course I agree, it's BdC for you! It would be the perfect spot for you and your husband - beautiful nature and great wildlife spotting, but you can still get a brownie and ice cream for dessert! If you have time, you might throw in two nights in Tortuguero. It's next on our to do list. The Tortuga Lodge looks like it would be a good fit for you. What a great place for a wedding!

Another vote for BDC and IL on the Osa, it's where we ended up on our second trip based on this board's recommendation...it was beyond my expectations and a perfect balance to Jaco.

Shillmac, hope you are ok, saw pics of the tornado in OK last night....

www.corcovado.org a must see...

www.bosquedelcabo.com

www.jinetesdeosa.com

based on budget...

tully, your enthusiasm and information is just what I need to get me launched. I'll look more into both Bosque del Cabo and the Osa. I know we've had our eye on the Osa since our first trip to Costa Rica.

Now, seeing my husband beside himself would certainly be a site to see! Would that be like seeing double husbands?! Pristine nature for him and comforts for me...sounds like a good combination if I can put that together.

I haven't looked into this yet but...are there mosquito problems in the Osa in late January? (We didn't have mosquito problems in Arenal, Monteverde, or Manuel Antonio on our first trip in June a couple years ago.) If mosquitos are a problem I like to be prepared.

shillmac, it's so exciting to hear from you! You know, you are part of the reason I overcame my fears and took the family to costa rica in the first place! I haven't heard of Puerto Jiminez but will definitely look into it. You are the Costa Rican expert, and it may be that your suggestions will work well for us...I was thinking that 2 nights near Jaco for the wedding were enough, and then we'll head for the Osa. Looks like Bosque del Cabo is a winner because now here you are also recommending it, as well as tully.

Sorry about the tornadoes in Oklahoma, stay safe, and those precious granddaughters too!

I'd like to make an announcement...I'm a grandmother-to-be! Yep one of my daughters is expecting my very first grandchild! Wooo-hooo! The baby will be about 9 months old when this cousin's wedding happens in Costa Rica, and my daughter is wondering whether it is doable for her and the baby and her husband to enjoy Costa Rica with a baby that young... Plus there is the challenge of getting the money together.

volcanogirl and owlwoman, thanks so much for helping me out with advice. I can't believe how helpful you all have already been. I tend to approach a new trip with a bit of anxiety, but the experience and enthusiasm of my fodorite friends always launches us into exciting adventures and special times, either as a couple or as a family, on our trips.

It's unanimous...everyone votes for Bosque del Cabo and the Osa! I've got a Costa Rica 2008 book that I got for free because of being quoted, but I think I need a Costa Rica 2009 book, if they are out yet. I like to have the latest info.

qwovadis, thanks for the links. I'll check everything out.

OH, joy! I've finally got another trip to work on!

Can somebody share with me why the Osa is so special? Just answer for yourself, why it's so special for you. Hearing people's personal experiences or viewpoints always helps me to get a clearer focus on a new place. It also fuels my research as it's very inspiring.

Well, I can tell you about my favorite day on the Osa. I was sitting on the front porch of our cabin waiting for the scarlet macaws to fly by - they came by every afternoon like clockwork, and I wanted to get a picture. While I was lying on my lounge chair looking out at the beautiful ocean view, I saw an entire troop of howlers swing by right in front of me; they all followed the same path. Then a troop of capuchins. And then a troop of spider monkeys - huge numbers of them one after the other, and I was the only one there to see it! It was just a gleeful wow moment. For a biologist, it would be heaven I think! You should definitely do the Primary Forest Tour with Phillip; he will tell you about every plant, insect, and animal and how they interact with one another. I think your husband would love it, and you would enjoy it too. They also offer a neat night hike around dinnertime.

BdC just has loads of paths that are really well-maintained for hiking, and you are pretty much guaranteed to see amazing things. I like that it all seems so natural. In MA, we saw monkeys eating potato chips, and this just offers a completely different natural vibe.

Our cabin had an outdoor tub which I loved. I was a total Jane of the Jungle.

Thanks everyone for concern and good wishes. Teaching in the Texas Panhandle during the week kept us clear of yesterday's stormy weather. 2 of our kids live in the OKC area, though, so I was a little antsy yesterday. And I guess the worst was last night in the small town of Lone Grove. Gee, it's starting early! Hope that's not some kind of omen of worse to come this spring. I hate the sound of those danged sirens.

Melissa5, Puerto Jimenez is the little town you fly into when visiting the Golfo Dulce part of the Osa. It is also the location of Iguana Lodge, right on the long and beautiful Playa Plantanares. I'll send you some pics--e-mail me.

mickydee53@gmail.com

Bosque del Cabo. . .one of my favorite times is Happy Hour and evening meal when everyone gathers to share stories and get acquainted. If you're a people person, it's great. Even my more introverted DH enjoys it--and it's been good for him.

As much as I enjoy being there with him, I absolutely LOVED staying there alone a couple of years ago for 4 nights. One of my favorite memories: standing alone for several minutes on the Titi Trail. During that time, a flock of Great Currasows came along, undisturbed by my presence. There was a collared forest falcon in a tree above me. Squirrel (titi) monkeys all around, and a huge family of coatis wandered through. All I needed was a stray puma. . .I'll see him/her this summer!

Just returned from 3 weeks in the Osa. We stayed 7 nights at the Yellow Coco, 4 Nights at the BDC, and 5 nights at the Black Turtle. Yellow Coco and Black Turtle are next to the Iguana Lodge in Puerto Jimenez.
(We spent the rest of the trip across the Gulf in Zancudo)

I second the idea of breaking the trip into a few days at the BDC and Puerto Jimenez. 4 nights at the BDC seemed perfect for us. Do your homework to determine which of the Puerto Jimenez hotels best fit your needs. All 3 are good choices.

In answer to your mosquito question. We saw very few if any. All the beds have mosquito netting but we did not have cause to drop the net.

The Osa is great.

Rich

We had mosquitoes, but we were there in July during the green season. You should have better luck in January. They weren't bad for us, but when we walked through the tropical garden area the grass was long, and they were swarming our ankles. We wore repellent every day and didn't have any problems.

Shillmac, glad to hear you are all alright. BTW, you beat me to it, Happy Hour was one of our favorites at BDC too (especially that addicting popcorn), loved sharing stories, meeting new people and having a couple of cocktails before dinner.

Also loved just hanging at the cabin, reading and watching all the wildlife.

Don't miss a massage with Jutta in the jungle, there was a hummingbird nest next to the table with a baby in it, the Mom came by to feed it while I was there. We just love the whole communing with nature thing.

We were there the last week of January last year, I don't remember being bitten (and mosquitos loooove me). I think we bought an expensive can of Off in Arenal for our walk in the Hanging Gardens and then never used it again.

Hope that helps

ok I have to get back to work so I hope this makes sense and not too many typos.... mmmm what makes the Osa special? One of the few places I've been with such abundant, thriving and growing (in numbers) wildlife, pristine, peaceful, relaxing, all those things that many of us strive to get but can't cause the phones ringing, the tv is on, the car alarm going off etc. The Osa was the first place I truly grasped what noise & light pollution meant. The staff are so well picked, there are many that have been there for years and not just cause they are good, but they make a sincere effort to get to know you, to learn your name, to practice their english. One of the cool things from last trip was a person staying there with pics of a puma he'd shot pics of, the whole kitchen emptied out to see as well as all the other guests, they were just as excited as we were. Go watch them during lunch play soccer, or join in if you want. The commitment to nature & conservation, not just saying but truly doing it and teaching it and hoping a little bit stays with each guest. The excellent biologist Philip they have on staff. The patios and decks of the cabinas looking out over the water. I have so many fave moments but I have to go! Just one though - after dinner, back at the cabina, sitting on the deck watching a huge t'storm roll in with big booms of lightening and thunder. Beautiful.

What about BdC for a first visit to Costa Rica? I have been trying to persuade my husband to visit Costa Rica and he has been so resistant. We love hiking and wildlife and being outside. I really think he would love it. I thought Arenal and Manuel Antonio for our first trip.

When we went out last night, Costa Rica came up in conversation (it keeps happening like that) and my husband said, "I suppose we will get there--she's on a mission"--gotta love hearing that.

BDC is great for a first trip. I went on my first trip and was so glad I did! I was doing a lot of obsessive research and planning at the time, and didn't start looking into the Osa until near the end. Now it's a repeat destination.

Linda, why is your husband resistant? I am sure the people on this forum could give you lots of info to help you persuade him!

The only place we have visited in Costa Rica is BdC. We knew it fit exactly what we are looking for, and we loved it. Someday, when we can take a longer trip, we will try to tear ourselves away from the Osa and explore more of the country.

Linda, I think you would love BdC. I would pair it with another destination like Arenal so you get to see two different parts of the country. Both have a lot to offer. Suck your husband into it; he will love you for it!

Thanks for the suggestions. I just think he has never even considered Costa Rica. His first response was "Costa Rica!!!"

He also doesn't understand why I love the Fodor's Forums. I can't even imagine not using the Forums to plan our trips. When he asked me to marry him 30+ years ago he was taken aback when the first question I asked him was if he loved to travel. That should have been a clue to him that I was a bit obsessed.

Linda, you sound like me! On my first date with my husband he told me that he and his buddies take a trip once a year, and he's always the planner. Then when we went on our first trip together, he showed up with SEVEN guide books. I knew I had met my dream man! Regarding CR, I have yet to meet anyone who has been there that doesn't want to go back, and I think that really says something.

I wouls say OSA OSA OSA loved it1

The bus/mosquitoes are more of an issue during the green season. Not all during the dry season.

Hi, I'm the original poster. If we go to the Osa in January 2010, this will be our second trip to Costa Rica.

The first trip was a family trip to Manuel Antonio, Monteverde, and Arenal.

The second trip for January 2010 would be just my husband and I...first to a wedding near Jaco, then we'd venture down to the Osa.

Fodors guidebook says NOT to drive down to the Osa due to bad roads? Even in the dry season? Since I have tendonitis in my shoulders traveling a long ways on bumpy roads could be painful. But I'm a nervous flyer so that's a bit scary...

But the Osa sounds wonderful...thanks for everyone's description of their experiences there. Did you all fly or drive down to the Osa? What did you think of the experience of getting down to the Osa?

If we drive down to the Osa I would have to spend the night somewhere halfway, both ways. (I wouldn't be able to handle the long drive without an overnight somewhere...) Perhaps flying is better?

Thanks for your invaluable help and advice! I'm excited and nervous.

I would much rather fly than drive. You can fly either Sansa or Nature Air; the drive would be fairly long over some not so great roads. You take a small plane, and it lands next to a cemetery on a little gravel strip. The airport looks like a bus stop. We thought it was great. Just the ride to BdC from the airport made me glad we didn't drive it. It took us about 45 minutes to go a short distance and we encountered small streams we had to drive through, cattle in the road, construction, trees across the road etc. It was sort of a little adventure, but I wouldn't have wanted hours of it. The flight is quick and painless.

It's a very short flight. Very long drive--and everyone is a nervous car passenger in CR.

Melissa -- Sounds like you're a good candidate for flying. No sense winding up with a sore body by the time you get there! I've flown to Osa twice, once from Quepos, once from San Jose, with no problems. However, I do believe it's the road between Manuel Antonio and Dominical that's the really bad part of the road...not positive. I'm meeting up with another Fodorite in June in the Uvita/Dominical where we'll take the drive this year so we'll find out first hand!

Thanks for confirming what I have suspected...that we'd be better off flying down to the Osa, and not driving.

However I am rethinking the idea of going to the Osa. I have been reading parts of trip reports and reading about accommodations in the Osa. I think maybe it's not the place for me. While the nature experience sounds very special... I can't see myself sleeping at Bosque del Cabo. Sounds like their cabinas, even their deluxe cabinas, are open enough so that the wildlife could actually come in. I like nature, but not in the house where I'm sleeping. I'm not sure that I could sleep at all, knowing there was so little barrier between me and the rainforest creatures. I can handle them in the daytime, when I can see them coming...but I don't want to wake up in the dark and hear a rainforest creature right in the room with me! I also have poor night vision, which would make rustling sounds in my bedroom seem even more scary.

We stayed at El Sapo Dorado in a cabin and visited the amazing Monteverde Cloud forest. We stayed at the Lost Iguana in Arenal and visited the Hanging Bridges and other wonderful rainforests. We also stayed at Hotel Si Como No, which was a great hotel, but the Manual Antonio national park wasn't my favorite as it was too disturbed by man. I was comfortable sleeping with walls around me at El Sapo Dorado and the Lost Iguana.

One person notes in their review of Bosque del Cabo that an animal (I think it was a coatimundi, it's on tripadvisor) came right into their room at night. While my husband the biologist might find this amusing, I think the thought of being "invaded" at night would prevent me from sleeping at every little rustling sound.

I don't mind snakes, being married to a biologist/herpetologist...but I'm not sure I can sleep knowing it would be so easy for one to crawl into my bed...

It sounds like Bosque del Cabo has the ultimate nature experience, maybe a little too ultimate for me... It is my impression that there is some sort of screen instead of walls?

I haven't yet noted any accommodation in the Osa which would be suitable for someone like me, who likes nature to stay outside of her bedroom at night. (I know there are insects that can easily come into your room, but we dealt with those on our last trip to Costa Rica...fortunately they are mainly attracted to lights so if you turn out your lights they usually won't be attracted to your room...so I'm not so worried about those.)

We are invited to a destination wedding near Jaco, and I really would like to try to use this opportunity to plan a suitable nature adventure which would please both my husband and I.

If he truly wants to be immersed in nature, he goes off on trips on his own now and then, with other biologists or naturalists. This visit to Costa Rica in January/February 2010 would be for the two of us to spend time together, and to attend the wedding.

If anyone has any suggestions or thoughts for me, I'd be glad to benefit from your knowledge and experience.

There are screens & doors on the cabinas at BdC, plus mosquito netting around the beds. If you sleep with your doors open however, anything could come in, most likely a coati looking for food. It's really not something to be missed and putting up with the geckos and lost bugs are worth it.

You'll be fine at Bosque del Cabo. The animals won't be coming into your cabin as long as the door is closed (double louvred doores that pull shut. Screens instead of windows, but also with louvres, right everyone? Help me out here. . . I know you can close them to have some privacy at night.

We have had so little up close and personal with insects in/near the cabinas it's almost not worth mentioning. In several visits. Especially in the dry months (January)--there will be almost NOTHING in the way of insects. And the animals won't be coming in either--you'll have your doors shut, right?

Truly, you should just go for it. It's delightful, and the plane ride down there a real treat (and I don't like flying either).

Melissa, you'll be pleasantly surprised. The only thing to bother you down there in January is the heat--you'll have that at any of the beach areas.

I guess the spelling is louvered doors/windows. Not like the museum in Paris, right?

Yep, the windows have screens and louvered wooden blinds over them that you can close. The front doors are big sliding wooden louvered doors that you can keep closed at all times. Brave people keep them open, but we kept ours shut unless we were there. I didn't want any visitors either. We didn't get anything but little bugs. Some of the cabins have a little opening at the top so a bird or bat could come in, but we didn't get anything like that. The open cabins are in the garden; some don't have walls - avoid those if you're nervous about it. I think you should go! Really I think you'd love it. And you'd get big points with your husband!

We've always slept with our doors wide open. 10 nights there all together there so far...so I'm probably not a good one to follow, but I'd say go for it too. Just keep your doors closed. Had no problems with bugs except one night when I left the porch light on went I went to dinner. What I came home to was an entomologist's dream!

We slept with our sliding doors open, and the only thing that came into our cabin was a bat. When my DH got up in the night to use the bathroom, it flew out. I wouldn't worry about four legged friends coming into your cabin, unless you have food in there (and with the great meals at BdC, you won't need to keep snacks). Maybe you have read some posts from people staying in the casas, where they have food. BdC is such an incredible place and experience, if you have the opportunity, you really should go.

People got a bat in their cabin when we were there too; that's why we ended up being doors closed people - lol.

Oh, you guys are so great! I was getting nervous about staying at Bosque del Cabo on the Osa. I just read all your replies above, and everyone has been unanimously encouraging! Thanks everyone! I also talked to shillmac, and she has done everything short of packing my bags for me...she's great!

I guess I didn't realize the windows have screens and louvered blinds that you can close, and that there actually are front doors that slide shut. To tell the truth I was picturing a sort of tree house...I must have seen photos where they had their windows and doors open! So my imagination went wild.

How hot does it get in late January/early February on the Osa at Bosque del Cabo? Is it hot and humid? I will research that too...but has anybody been there at that time of year? Is it comfortable for nature walks?

Our first trip to Costa Rica was rainy season...in June. Nice weather at Monteverde Cloud forest and also nice weather at Arenal. However we found it too hot for comfortable hiking in Manuel Antonio in June (a few years ago.) We didn't mind afternoon showers in the rainy season at all.

However this January 2010 trip will be in the dry season. I hope it's not unpleasantly hot. (We live in San Diego, where it's ideal temp most of the year, so we're not used to humidity and we're kinda spoiled by weather.)

CAN you FLY to the Osa from QUEPOS??? That would sure be convenient. Hipvirgochick mentioned that above, but I haven't been able to find anything in the Fodors guidebook about flying to the Osa from Quepos. I know you can fly to the Osa from San Jose...but we have to go to an area near Jaco to attend a destination wedding...then we'd head for the Osa...

I have more research to do...but chatting with you fodorites who love Costa Rica really motivates me.

I'm so glad I found this post! I was just looking into BDC.