honokat

I am in the process of revising our Costa Rica itinerary for this June/July and am looking for some help. My husband is unable to join us so it will be just my 6 year old daughter and me. Our original plan was to do Toucan Rescue Ranch for 3 nights followed by Bosque del Cabo for 9 nights. However, after reading through a gazillion super helpful posts on this forum, I am now working on a revision to our itinerary, which could include adding 3 additional nights.

Most important thing to us? Lots of wildlife sightings and encounters, to include (but not limited to) macaws, toucans, sloths, monkeys... the more the better, and preferably right from our balcony! We like a mixture of physical activity and relaxation. We don’t care about beach proximity or access since we live in Hawaii and don’t have to be near a beach for our vacation.

Here is the revised itinerary I am thinking of:
2 Nights: Toucan Rescue Ranch (This must remain at the start of the trip)
4 Nights: Villa Mot Mot upper unit (Flexible)
5 Nights: Bosque del Cabo (Flexible)
4 Nights: Peace Lodge (This is highly preferable for the end of the trip)

Is this too much hopping around? We generally don’t like to hop around too much but these places all offer something different and appealing to us. I am also curious to know how the wildlife experience at Tulemar (Villa Mot Mot) compares to the wildlife experience at BdC? I saw some amazing videos of monkeys cavorting around in close proximity to people on the balcony of Mot Mot... and also one of a sloth on the balcony! What would we be missing in terms of wildlife if we cut BdC from the itinerary to reduce the hopping around?

BdC started out as our top destination but is losing its appeal to me, primarily due to the dinner set up. I don’t care for buffets or communal dining and 7:00 is way too late for us. The lack of appeal of the dinner is becoming a bigger factor for some reason. So at this point, the main reason BdC is still on the itinerary is because of the abundance of wildlife it offers. I need to figure out whether the travel to/from the Osa is worth it.

One more thing... my preference is to not repeat vacations, so I don’t want to operate under the assumption that we will be able to return someday to catch what we missed. I’m trying to strike a balance between doing and seeing enough... but at a pace that is not too hectic or rushed.

Thoughts, advice or other suggestions would be appreciated. I am very grateful for this group!

volcanogirl

I like your trip a lot and think it looks great. We've been everywhere except the Toucan Rescue Ranch, and I would love to go there someday. I don't think it's too much moving around since you're spending a good amount of time in each place. I think 4 nights at the Peace Lodge might be a little long though. I think two nights is about right there, but if you just want to relax, it's up to what works for you.

We stayed in Lower Mot Mot at Tulemar and loved it. We saw monkeys every day traveling around the property, also sloths, and an aracari. We even got to witness the rescue of a baby sloth that had fallen from a tree down at the beach. BdC is a much more wild, off the grid experience than Tulemar. Tulemar is a beautiful beach destination with lots of different villas, paved paths that lead down to the beach, etc. Bosque del Cabo is more like being immersed in the jungle and feels very undeveloped compared to Manuel Antonio. BdC has a get away from it all, kind of secret jungle feeling while Tulemar has a pampered beach vibe where have your own kitchen, air conditioning, and other tourists. Lots of wildlife in both places, but in BdC you'll see it while you're out hiking and at Tulemar you'll see it from your air conditioned room or out on your balcony. We had a honeymoon couple staying at BdC when we were there, and they wanted their own table so BdC set that up for them. You could do the same I'm sure. We don't dig buffets either, but we thought the food there was excellent with lots of good tasty choices.

MichelleY

Agree that 4 nights at Peace Lodge may be much. In fact, at least when we went, they limited the number of nights you could reserve. Have you considered Tortuguero? It may be a little too early for the turtle nesting, but perhaps you could fit it in along with Arenal.

honokat

Thanks VG and MichelleY! I'll consider cutting out one night at Peace Lodge… we'll see. Tortuguero sounds interesting but is probably a bit too far away from the rest of our sites.

VG… seems like you've been just about everywhere! What did you think of the wildlife viewing from Lower Mot Mot vs. Upper? Did you see the YouYube videos of the monkeys playing on the hammock on Upper? Do you think that would happen on Lower also? Were there mosquitos at Tulemar?

VG's description of Tulemar vs. BdC really helps. So maybe we'll keep BdC in the mix. When I spoke with BdC over the phone they said they would try to fix us something to eat earlier than 7 if we wanted… so they really are trying to accommodate us, which is very nice. Now I guess I need to decide whether to do Tulemar before or after BdC.

volcanogirl

I think because of the setup at Mot Mot, the monkeys don't visit Lower Mot Mot as often. It has a fantastic outdoor area though - a wonderful huge balcony with an outdoor kitchen. They'll even stock the fridge for you if you tell them what you like. We made homemade guacamole with fresh avocado, limes, chips, etc. and had them buy some Imperials for us. I loved sitting out there. All the videos I've seen of monkey visits have been for upper. No guarantee you'll get visits, but I think upper would have a better chance. Lower is much smaller than upper as well. It was perfect for us since we were just two people. We've also stayed in a regular bungalow there and in Casa Panorama. I didn't like the bungalow as much because it didn't have an outdoor balcony, and we love to be outside. I don't remember there being a lot of mosquitoes at Tulemar when we were there. There were tons in Tortuguero and some at BdC. Peace Lodge is a cooler environment so none there that I remember. BdC has the most wildlife we've ever seen anywhere; without much effort on our part, we saw all four kinds of monkeys, a sloth, toucans, scarlet macaws, coatis, agoutis, and an anteater. It's hot and humid so be prepared for that. Regarding the food, you can always go to the bar and get fresh fruit smoothies to hold you over until mealtime; we did that, and they were very good.

Patty

We stayed in Upper Mot Mot and had monkeys visit our balcony every day and yes they do take over the hammock. At one point we had squirrel monkeys on one side of the balcony and capuchin monkeys on the other side at the same time. We were there in August and didn't find it buggy.