With that amount of time, I'd definitely go to a second location. CR is really diverse, so it's fun to see more than one area. It's not that easy to get to the beach at BdC, but I'm wondering if you could just go to a second location nearby.

Thanks, Volcanogirl! I really do think I want to hit 2 spots. After spending most of today reading this forum and doing other research, I am now really in love with the idea of Samara. Seems really cool, laid back, great for surfing, AND affordable, which would help with flying from one spot to the next. The goal is some beach/surf fun as well as an amazing jungle/wildlife experience. It looks like a combo of Samara and BdC is a perfect fit - am I missing anything? I am really sold on BdC. In Samara, Tico Adventure Lodge looked cool, especially the Treehouse Apt. Alta Vista Condos also looked nice. Would love any insight into places to stay in Samara.

We haven't been to Samara, but I hear good things about it. Have you checked out those places on tripadvisor? That's a great source for feedback on hotels, and you can usually see a lot of pics that people have posted.

Since you're athletic and adventurous, you should take a look at going to the Arenal area someday - great adventure activities like ziplines, rafting, hiking, the volcano, the waterfall, natural hot springs, etc. Maybe not this trip, but if you go back again someday. I love Bosque del Cabo; most of our time there was spent hiking and wildlife watching though. Great wildlife in that area.

I haven't been to Samara, but my family and I went to CR in 2011 (February) and my husband is a surfer so he always needs to fit in surfing on every trip. He's not a beginner though. We were at the Arenal area for 5 days (no surf there!) and then Manuel Antonio. He was able to surf near MA and also we went further south on the coast for him to surf on a day trip - I think it was Domenical?

We are thinking of another trip to CR in summer 2013 and want to visit the Osa peninsula and Bosque del Cabo this time. I have researched the surfing options from BdC and it's true, it does look not as easy as one would like, though it is do-able from there. However, I found a great-looking place right on the Osa from which you can surf right out the door and there's a surf school and easy surfing for beginners as well as more challenging for more experienced surfers (there are several breaks) It's called Encanta La Vida. Check it out on Tripadvisor. If you don't want to leave the Osa and just want to stay at 2 different places, that might be a great bet for you. I think we'll stay at both places on our trip.

While Encanta La Vida is really right on the beach, it is also at the far end of Cabo Matapalo road, and more or less below the cliff where BdC is located. So if you want the change stop half way to San Jose, in Uvita or Dominical. You can fly in Puerto Jimenez from SJO then rent a car and drive back via Uvita/Dominical. If surf will not be as good as anticipated then there are many other activities available.

I stayed at Encanta last Nov. The people who worked there were nice but it's not a place I see myself returning to. I only saw the room I stayed in but it could really use a revamp, very tired looking. It was hot as Hell, even though the beach was a few minutes walk away, no breeze seemed to get back there. If you don't mind cooking for yourself, the group of cabins with Casa Bambu looked very nice. I met a couple who invited me to check their place out. A lot of people stay at BdC and surf as well, you just have to either drive down there (10 minutes) or arrange transport.

We were in Tamarindo and BdC last March. Our young adults had a wonderful experience surfing in Tamarindo. We didn't try surfing while at BdC but we watched those who did. The surf looked better than Tamarindo, for beginners, and the runs looked longer. It was quite a bit more expensive than in Tamarindo.

In BdC try the tree climbing!

tully, that's good to know about Encanta. I know my surfer husband likes to be able to walk out and see what the surf looks like to see if it's worth suiting up, so it's always nice to stay right at the surf spot, but it sounds like Encanta is not a great place to stay from your experience - I wouldn't want to steer the OP wrong so that's for letting us know! I guess one could just stay at BdC and surf from there, as you say.

rpowell, what do you mean by saying it was quite a bit more expensive than in Tamarindo - to rent a board?