schlegeliibob

Thanks for the very helpful replies to my previous post, in particular Volcanogirl and fcfarmgirl. Lots of follow-up questions and my deepest thanks for any answers or suggestions:

Manuel Antonio:

We have never been to Manuel Antonio but it has been on the radar for almost 20 years. For our 10 night visit, I am considering 3 or 4 nights at Arenas Del Mar followed by 4 or 5 nights on the Osa and the final night close to SJO. The time in MA would be spent doing more typically fun touristy-type things such as river tubing, hanging bridges, sailing or a visit to the Park, and afternoons at the beach if the weather is OK.

- Is Manuel Antonio still worth a visit if in the early green season (mid-May)? From some accounts, it almost seems like a Costa Rican version of Myrtle Beach, SC.

- Any input or advice from recent stays at Arenas Del Mar? Does it have a formal or corporate "feel"?

- Is the mid-May snorkeling around MA usually OK (not expecting anything all that great)?

- Are the white-faced capuchin monkeys around Arenas Del Mar aggressive in terms of having become used to being fed / stealing food or items left unattended? I have read this is an issue in the Park.

- Are the beaches accessed by Arenas Del Mar good ones? I have read that one of them is clothing optional / more gay oriented. Neither of these is a concern to us, although my wife would be alarmed if I took advantage of the clothing optional option!

- Is the Park worth a visit, given that it is so heavily used and the fact that we will be spending time on the Osa?

- For our arrival, American has a flight scheduled to arrive in SJO just before 11am. Nature Air has a 2pm to Quepos. Is 3 hours enough time to clear customs and make the Nature Air flight? My thinking is that the weather may be clouding up by 2pm in Quepos but the rains in May usually hold off until late afternoon. I have found Nature Air to be much more reliable as to sticking to their flight schedule than Sansa.

- Any advice on a reliable driver or transportation company if we need to drive from SJO to MA and/or from MA to Puerto Jiminez? If anyone has recently driven either route, what are the approximate drive times? I have read that the roads from MA to PJ have been recently upgraded but have also read conflicting estimates of the typical drive time.

Osa:

I cannot decide between splitting the time between Iguana Lodge and Bosque Del Cabo or spending the entire time at BDC. Bosque is a definite, if they have room. Iguana has plenty of appeal but we are not totally sold on it. The privacy of having a private cabina at Bosque is more appealing than sharing a duplex cabina at Iguana. Iguana has direct beach access and more immediate access to water-oriented activities. Need advice please! If 4 nights, is a 2 and 2 split better or all 4 at BDC? If 5 nights, 2 at Iguana and 3 at BDC or all 5 at BDC?

- Iguana advertises a night hike that the web site describes as being snake-intensive. Awesome if true, but does it compete with night hikes around BDC?

- Iguana projects a hip vibe throughout the descriptive text on their web site, almost like "we're cool people from Colorado and now we're even cooler because we bought this awesome beach place in Costa Rica". Hip is awesome but is usually much better and more sincere if unspoken and subtle. Is the deliberately hip "feel" of the web site more advertising or does the experience at Iguana Lodge deliberately "hip"?

So many questions! Thanks Again.

Patty

I can't comment specifically about Arenas Del Mar, but I think all of the monkeys in MA are very habituated to people and can be aggressive is there's food around. We stayed at Tulemar and had to be careful about keeping doors and windows closed so that they didn't come inside. We never left food unattended on our deck. We had monkeys come and go every day and while they exhibited no fear, I wouldn't call them aggressive either as long as there's no food around. We never went into the park because there was so much wildlife around where we stayed. MA is touristy but doesn't remind me of Myrtle Beach in any way. It's hilly and lush and the accommodations there would still be considered fairly low key in comparison. We liked MA more than we thought we would.

xelas

With 4 nights in Osa, I would stay all 4 at Bosque del Cabo. If 5 then 3 BdC / 2 IL; only because staying in/near Puerto Jimenez allows you a nice boat tour on Golfo Dulce.

volcanogirl

Have not stayed at Arenas del Mar. We've stayed at Mango Moon and at Tulemar Bungalows. Loved Tulemar - they have their own beach, gorgeous views, and lots of wildlife. We saw a lot of monkeys; they made their way around the property each morning. They weren't aggressive at all, but I think they would definitely steal food from you if you left something out. The ones in the park are like kleptomaniacs. Arenas del Mar does get consistently good reviews, and I've only heard good things about it. In addition to the things you mentioned, we really liked doing the Damas mangrove tour and the Villa Vanilla spice tour. We did our tour of the park with Manuel Antonio Expeditions and thought they were great; they pointed out a lot of things we would have missed including an eyelash pit viper and squirrel monkeys. Capuchins are usually pretty prevalent. I would still go in mid May. We've been in July and in April and got some rain but nothing that ruined out plans. We really enjoyed going to the park; the beach is one of the prettiest we've seen in CR, and we saw loads of wildlife. There will most likely be a lot of other tourists there though. It's mostly little groups of people walking around with their tour guides. Snorkeling for us was a dud - lots of sediment in the water, but that might vary depending on when you go. There were plenty of fish, just difficult to see. Going from SJO to MA took us about three hoursish. We always just reserve our drivers through our hotels when we book them, easy and reliable.

volcanogirl

Regarding BdC, I agree with Xelas and think you would regret having only 2 days there, but I think if you had 3 and then wanted to do Iguana it would work. Haven't been to Myrtle Beach, but agree with Patty - MA is very pretty and jungly, lush and green. We could walk to several good open air restaurants from Tulemar, and we really enjoyed that. BdC has a lot of snakes, but you would have to know where to look. Phillip can probably point you in the right direction. He mentioned that he'd seen coral snakes, Fer de Lance(s?), and bushmasters there. And of course you would want to do the night hike. I chickened out when we went, and I regret it!

schlegeliibob

Thanks so much for all the great information. The other tours in MA sound really good. We're now leaning toward either 3 or 4 nights in MA, the same at BDC, with 2 nights at Iguana Lodge in between. If Arenas Del Mar or BDC offer a "stay 4 / pay for 3" green season special in 2015, we'll do the 4 nights at each.

I keep thinking about trying to fit in a few nights at Lapa Rios as well. I saw photos of Lapa Rios about 10 years ago and I remember thinking it was the most perfect looking place imaginable. Those images have always stuck with me but the price is so much more than Bosque Del Cabo. That being true, I have noticed that Lapa Rios sometimes offers specials when Bosque does not. This brings the price nearly equal to Bosque. Is Lapa Rios worth a few nights - is the experience any different than at BDC? If Lapa Rios had a special while Bosque did not, so that the prices were about the same, would it be a better pick?

Thanks Again!

tully

I would email Bosque and ask if they are running any specials, sometimes they are and just don't advertise them as much, or sometimes just out them on their facebook page. Just speaking for myself, I wouldn't swap out time at Bosque for Lapa Rios. I've been to BdC 14 times which speaks for itself I like the freedom at BdC, among other things, that LR does not have. At LR they have 1-2 tours a day that are included in your rate, you have to sign up the day before which ones you want to go on and go out with the group every time. At BdC you can just wake up and go do whatever trails you feel like, when you feel like it, however many times that you want. They do have a couple of tours you can go out on that are not included in your rate but that choice is totally up to you.

Also, the drive from MA to PJ would take around 4 to 4.5 hours and the road is excellent except for a brief 1 mile section in the middle that for some reason is unpaved and full of potholes. If you rent thru Solid, you can return the car in PJ.

schlegeliibob

Tully, thank you for your good advice. It helps keep my thinking on track. Much as I love those pictures of Lapa Rios, the inability to take off down a trail for a few hours on little or no notice would be a great frustration, as would having to always explore with a group - especially if the group was not focused, quiet, or had small children that did not know any better. I also recently read, somewhere, that Lapa Rios did not allow flash photography. That seems very odd - maybe this was just on the trails around the cabins out of respect for all guests - but the context it was in implied that "no flash photography" was the general rule when at Lapa Rios. I would hate to find an eyelash viper or treefrog off the trail at night and not be able to even attempt taking a picture.

Volcanogirl mentioned bushmasters. Rare to see one and an adult bushmaster is a big, dangerous snake that must be given the upmost respect and never handled, but boy, would finding one make my day! One of my "happy spots" is wandering with with headlamp, snake hook, and camera looking for critters after dark. My wife likes the day hikes but at night is happiest sitting on the deck with a glass of wine in one hand a good book in the other while I am out looking for critters. Bosque Del Cabo sounds like a great fit. Thanks also for the drive information.

I e-mailed a number of questions to BDC yesterday, including one asking about 2015 green season specials. I look forward to hearing back from them.

volcanogirl

I think you'll be in heaven at BdC! I remember reading a trip report where a coral snake slithered across the dining room while they were there.

tully

Yes we came across several snakes in June, although mostly of the boring garden variety ones. If you want snakes, Philip is definitely who to talk to there. It's possible but I have never heard of a bushmaster on the BdC property. Tercipelo's here and there, coral snakes, lots of the racers and bird eating varieties. Does anyone remember the trip report that guy did who was into all the snakes? I would top but can't recall his name. COherper or something like that.

Btw, the no flash photo thing is so odd!

volcanogirl

Yes, I just topped that report a few days ago. Very snakey! I think it was Philip that told us about the bushmaster. Maybe the no flash photography is to protect the wildlife; we've had a couple of guides in other places that told us not to use it because it bothers the critters. It is frustrating if you're trying to take pics.