bosque del cabo or private house in matapalo??

Old Oct 25th, 2014, 09:50 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
bosque del cabo or private house in matapalo??

Hi. We love CR so much this year we are returning next July for 17 days, 6 of which will spent in the Osa. Originally was thinking Drake Bay but concerned about motion sickness with all the boating with son. Now looking at Bosque or a beautiful oceanfront house with a pool, cook etc. Bosque has been very accommodating with price and there is not much of a difference bt the deluxe bungalow and the house. Am even considering Casa Blanca. Kids are 11 and 12. We are thinking 5 nights.
Benefits of house are location, and being able to walk to everything in Matapalo. Love the idea of a Friday night at Martinas, surfing lessons and boat ride to animal sanctuary, and waterfall hike and tree climb, all which we can do walking from house. Seems we would experience more local color. And being on the beach is not too bad either.
But then i think about all the amazing reviews Bosque has and i am hoping to maybe be swayed..
So Bosque lovers, do your best. Thanks
plambers is offline  
Old Oct 25th, 2014, 10:25 AM
  #2  
RAC
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,951
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Bosque del Cabo wins hands down for me. You'll have direct access to their fantastic trail system. The food is great, the views are crazy good.

There is no real town of Cabo Matapalo, so not sure what you mean by walking distance to activities. If you want that kind of experience , I 'd recommend splitting time between Bosque del Cabo and somewhere in the Puerto Jimenez area like Iguana Lodge or Cabinas Jimenez.
RAC is offline  
Old Oct 25th, 2014, 10:32 AM
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
the house is on the main road on the beach and the waterfall, martina's etc are walkable from it. how difficult is it to hike to the ocean?
plambers is offline  
Old Oct 25th, 2014, 12:12 PM
  #4  
RAC
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,951
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I fear you may be overestimating the conveniences and services available (nowhere to purchase food for use at your villa for one) and underestimating the effort to get from place to place-- not only in distance but also in going uphill/downhill. You will almost certainly need a car if you're staying in Matapalo,
From what I can remember, Matapalo beaches are rocky with strong currents--for surfing not wading.

My honest and strong recommendation for someone new to this area is to let someone else take care of you for your first visit, especially during rainy season. No reason not to , really.
RAC is offline  
Old Oct 25th, 2014, 12:49 PM
  #5  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
HI. The house is on backwash bay. The villa supplies the food and cook. I have been told repeatedly that the waterfall and Martina's are a 20 minute walk.
Am leaning towards Bosque...
plambers is offline  
Old Oct 25th, 2014, 12:50 PM
  #6  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
here is house...http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p377388
plambers is offline  
Old Oct 26th, 2014, 10:07 AM
  #7  
RAC
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,951
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
That looks like a beautiful place. But, after you do the waterfall hike and walk to the local place, what's left to do if you don't surf and don't have a car? You're kind of stuck unless you want to pay $80 round trip to go into Pto Jimenez.

Bosque del Cabo offers all kinds of activities on-site, including rainforest walks with their resident biologist, and trails that go down to the beach.

Lots of people do a split between Pto Jimenez and Matapalo to provide the mix you're looking for. When we did that side of the Osa, we did three nights at Iguana Lodge, 1 night Bosque del Rio Tigre, and three nights Bosque del Cabo.
RAC is offline  
Old Oct 26th, 2014, 06:41 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,256
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I know you're looking to be swayed by Bosque lovers, but nevertheless thought I'd chime in on the other side. Husband and I spent 5 nights many years ago at Casa Linda (part of complex with Casa Bambu and others near Matapalo - googlable if you haven't already checked it out) and we loved every second of it. However, we love hiking and looking at birds and didn't have children with us. But thought I'd read positive reviews of houses in area from others with kids. Therefore checked this out: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...untarenas.html and confirmed that lots of families loved being down near "town" as well - and doesn't look like families lacked for things to do. Guess it depends on how much "independence" you want. (Not that things at Bosque are in anyway regimented/controlled - people choose what they want to do among many activities available clearly). I have looked longingly at Bosque over the years and read all the Bosque stories/reviews. Figure we'll get there some day and always point others to it who are interested in Costa Rica. Casa Linda is probably more basic than the house you're looking at, which looks great. We were carless there. Got supplies on way in, because as RAC says, it's a long drive back to town to get more. But we understood that the property caretaker sometimes made runs to town, that his family was available to hire to cook if desired etc . It sounds like your house deal might be similar. Indeed at Casa Linda/Bambu William the caretaker was also available for hire as guide to park, waterfall, kayaking etc. We walked to Martina's one night for dinner and enjoyed it a lot. However, unless things have changed in the last several years, it's a VERY dark walk. All on the "main" dirt road - but no lights. That in itself was an adventure for us (we were prepared with flashlights etc) - but wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. The beach (essentially Backwash Bay as you noted) was maybe 50 yards from our house. It was lovely and, at least then, secluded, but as RAC noted, not particularly swimmable. We had monkeys and scarlet macaws in our yard every day. We did a lot of walking up and down the road that passes Matapalo and goes to the park. Saw lots of wildlife and local life as well. Enjoyed wonderful eves on the porch.. . . Took a trip into the park with William our caretaker. Didn't see much wildlife in park that day, but that's just luck. It was a very interesting trip. Saw school kids and others along the way. Didn't do the animal sanctuary - or even kayak as we thought maybe we might. See "porch sitting" above.

The thing is this: you can't go wrong. Clearly you and your family will have a wonderful time at the house OR at Bosque.
glover is offline  
Old Oct 27th, 2014, 02:36 AM
  #9  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Glover, we have spoken to Lynn and was considering Casa Linda but not sure if it is a bit too roughing it for us. I did like that William was available to take us on alot of tours and that they had a cook as long as I bought the food. I was told we would need a flashlight if we walked to Martina's and did know about the dirt road.

We were going to do the mangrove tour, the boat ride to the animal sanctuary, the tree climb and waterfall rappel-sure there are plenty of activities to keep us busy RAC. Maybe I should consider splitting the time up. I was also considering Drake Bay but it seems there is much more to do here.

Am still so confused!!
plambers is offline  
Old Oct 27th, 2014, 07:31 AM
  #10  
RAC
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,951
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Mangrove tours and trips to animal sanctuary leave from Puerto Jimenez, not Matapalo. We did the mangroves and the Golfo Dulce boat tour from the Puerto Jimenez area--and we also did some beach time there.
RAC is offline  
Old Oct 27th, 2014, 03:17 PM
  #11  
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 24,832
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I think that house looks beautiful. Can you split your time between the two and have the best of both worlds? We loved Bosque del Cabo and saw all 4 kinds of monkeys from the front porch of our cabin. Like everyone else mentioned, they have an incredible trail system and fantastic guides. The communal dinners are fun. Are you the types to want to be around like minded travelers and chat or more the type that want to be by yourselves? That would help influence my decision. One thing to consider is security, which you may already have checked on. Friends of our rented a house in CR, and it was broken into at night while they were in bed - very scary for them. I kind of like the idea of other people being around for those sorts of reasons.
volcanogirl is offline  
Old Oct 27th, 2014, 03:19 PM
  #12  
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 24,832
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
plam, were you the one thinking of Copa de Arbol? Did you cross that one off your list?
volcanogirl is offline  
Old Oct 27th, 2014, 05:35 PM
  #13  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hi all_I am looking at everything down in the Osa. We have the first 6 nights at Villa Tucan Tango in dominical. Then we head down to Osa. Had originally given it 3 or 4 nights and now am up to 6. Then we fly to Liberia and rent the same villa in Ocotal for 4 nights. I am so torn.

Copa is about $600 more than La Paloma and I am waiting to hear from them if their sunset ranchos will have ac. They don't know yet. So of course I started looking at more areas. Volcanogirl, I know you keep mentioning Bde C and since my kids are 11 and 12, they will get a discount. my concern is with the deluxe villas with loft-there is no fan up there so i am waiting to see about Casa Blanca. But I love the idea of being on the beach and part of it all, as opposed to BdeC, which is a resort pretty far away from beach. DD wants to learn to surf but guess i can do that in Domincal…There are caretakers at the house for safety issues as with the others we are renting.

Perhaps I could do 3 and 3 but many houses will only rent for a week. That house agreed to 6 nights. And BdeC will give me pay for 4 get one night free already!!

I do love communal dinners and given that our other houses private, I am so torn. I could see if I could do 3 and 3…

I assume it is too far to drive to Drake Bay and split that?
plambers is offline  
Old Oct 27th, 2014, 09:01 PM
  #14  
RAC
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,951
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You don't need AC at bosque del Cabo for the deluxe villas--you have non-stop ocean breezes.
RAC is offline  
Old Oct 28th, 2014, 02:01 AM
  #15  
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 24,832
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Well I'll confess I was hot at BdC. I loved it, but I did have that small fan aimed at me every night when we went to bed. AC would ruin the naturalness of the experience, but it's pretty warm and humid up in the loft. My hair was wet the entire time we were there since we couldn't use a blow dryer. If I could only pick one, I'd take BdC because of all the extras it has to offer, but a split would be nice if you could make it work. Then you could have both experiences. That's great that you have seventeen days.
volcanogirl is offline  
Old Oct 28th, 2014, 03:29 AM
  #16  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
RAC, I know I don't need ac but alot of the reviews in the loft villas complained that there is no fan (and it is warm) in the lofts. When I spoke to Leo he confirmed this. That is why I am hoping to get casa blanca but have not heard back.
If La Paloma has ac and they are willing to give it to me, I will take it!!
plambers is offline  
Old Oct 28th, 2014, 07:20 AM
  #17  
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 24,832
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I think the lofts are a little warmer than the downstairs areas because there's no door or windows up there. We left the downstairs doors and windows open a lot to get the air moving.
volcanogirl is offline  
Old Oct 28th, 2014, 03:11 PM
  #18  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Bosque says there is a small fan upstairs in loft. We would be staying there 5 nights so don't want everyone screaming at me that they are super hot! Leo recommended Toucan. Let me ask-for another $180 I can get Casa Blanca and I assume both bedrooms have fans.

My other concern with Bosque is that most of you seem to do the hiking. My kids want to do surfing lessons, the psycho tour tree climb, waterfall rappel, and a golfo dulce trip.

If we are off ground is it still worth it?

Need to figure this out bc the house i really wanted on beach in Matapalo is already rented.

Other option is La Paloma-they are offering me an ac'd sunset rancho for a very discounted rate but it is still by far the most expensive of the 3. A cano island and la sirena trip is included as well as the boat ride there, so sure that is why it is expensive.

Bosque is not much more than house when you figure in food and paying cook for lunch and dinner.

My family does not want to listen to me any more!!
plambers is offline  
Old Oct 28th, 2014, 03:34 PM
  #19  
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 24,832
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Toucan is the one we stayed in. It was great - lots of monkey sightings, and I loved the sitting area out front. It has a plug in fan or ceiling fan? I don't remember a fan from when were there, but I guess that's changed. I would pay extra to have more room if you can swing the cost. The lofts are small, and it would be nice to have a little more privacy. My husband and I had Tucan to ourselves when we stayed. Four might be a little cozy. We went off grounds only to do the animal sanctuary - that was really fun, and I loved going across the Golfo Dulce and seeing dolphins. Tell your family they can't complain if they don't like your choice.
volcanogirl is offline  
Old Oct 28th, 2014, 03:54 PM
  #20  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
VG, we are a very vocal family. I am leaning to Casa Blanca. I will ask about the fan-honestly, if i hand't read the minor complaints i would have assumed both levels had ceiling fans. Is 5 nights too much?
plambers is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -