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Many Questions about Cabo del Blanco and The Pearl of the Osa

Many Questions about Cabo del Blanco and The Pearl of the Osa

Old Sep 17th, 2006, 05:36 PM
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Many Questions about Cabo del Blanco and The Pearl of the Osa

Hello, Everyone!

It looks like we will finally get to take our trip to the Osa(fingers still crossed until it is all confirmed).

We are planning to stay at The Pearl of the Osa and Bosque del Cabo. I am questioning my division of the days, have some questions, and would love some input.

We leave Los Angeles at midnight and arrive in Puerto Jimenez at 2:30pm. We plan to go to The Pearl first. It is a Tuesday and I think that is the beach bar-b-que night.

- Is the bar-b-que fun and delicious?
- Any idea of the cost?

We plan to relax and boogie board the next day. Thursday we would like to take the boat to the Wildlife Sanctuary and the Orquidieas Gardens.

- Is it rough boat trip? I get motion sickness easily. How long of a ride is it?

- Is it closer to go from The Pearl or Bosque del Cabo?

Another beach day after that.

- Is the pasta night and band fun? How late does it last? Any idea if we could get some pasta without cheese (our daughter is allergic to dairy and the website only mentions lasanga and eggplant parmesian)?

-Another beach day and a trip to town to shop and have lunch.

Sunday we head over to Bosque del Cabo for three nights. Then back to The Pearl for the last night since we have an 11am Sansa flight the next morning.

My big question is are we staying too many nights at The Pearl? Should we spend four instead five at The Pearl and four intead of three at BdC? It will be more money and we are breaking our budget as it is. I was thinking that staying at The Pearl on either side of our time at BdC we could stretch our days out at BdC. My family says they are happy just hanging out and being at the beach and really relaxing. I am afraid that we will wish that we would have stayed another night at BdC. It sounds really amazing. I am also worried because the one review of the Pearl on Tripadvisor was VERY negative and mentioned food poisoning.

Also wondered what the prices are like at the restaurant at The Pearl (and if I should be worried about the food!!). Should we take the boat to see the wild dolphins (and is it closer from The Pearl)?

Whew! That is a lot of questions. I would appreciate any help or suggestions.

Thank You!!
Gem

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Old Sep 17th, 2006, 05:57 PM
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I would stay your last night at BdC, I've had early morning flights and had no problem making them both times. There is so much to do there that I think you'd be rueing leaving a night too early. Any activities based in PJ would be closer to the Pearl, it's about an hour or so drive from BdC (maybe a little shorter if Kevin is driving, ha).
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Old Sep 17th, 2006, 07:10 PM
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Hi, Tully!

Thank you for the suggestion. I would love to end our trip at Bdc. Eventhough it will be anticlimatic, we want to make our last night at The Pearl because we have a full day of flying even after the Sansa flight and I think that it would be too much to add a bummpy road trip to that day of travel.

I keep pouring over our calander and trying to make it all work. I am now thinking to make the trip one day shorter. Then stay one night more at BdC and one night less at The Pearl. That would make it 3 Pearl + 4 BdC + 1 Pearl.

As I juggle things around- is either the beach Bar-B-Que or the pasta night/salsa party a can't miss? With less nights there we will have to skip one.

Thank You!
Gem
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Old Sep 18th, 2006, 08:08 AM
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Glad to hear you are going back to CR!

The Pearl will definitely be anticlimatic. It is a very basic place. The rooms are small. I always stay in a corner room and it has a double bed, a small place to walk, and a single bed. There wasn't a lamp in the room for reading but there was a fan with an overhead light. There are also some bamboo shelves. They do now have hot water which is a big bonus. I have stayed there several times as well as over at Iguana and have been perfectly comfortable. It is a fine place to just go veg at the beach. My favorite thing to do is to go kayaking with Escondido Trex just down the road. Iguana/Pearl also has kayaks that you can use. The bar area is clean and fun to just hang out and read in the hammocks or even play some ping pong. There was a sand volleyball net up but that sand is HOT! Chester loves to have you throw rocks into the surf for him to retrieve. The scarlet macaw population has really increased and I saw several in the trees around the lodge.

I saw that review on trip advisor as well. I have never had a problem there with food. It has always been fresh and very good at both places. It is the tropics and things can happen but I have never heard of any other problems. As a matter of fact, if you stay at Iguana, you will eat at the Pearl for lunch as well. I always seem to miss the bbq but the italian buffet is always delicious. The salsa band is fun particularly if you know how and have someone to dance with. I am usually traveling alone when there but still have fun. If Giovanni is still around you could get some lessons from him! If you let them know, I am sure they can come up with some alternatives for your daughter. The bar closes down by 9pm every night so no problems with loud noises other than the local wildlife.

As far as other tours, you are definitely better off doing them from the Pearl. The taxi rides can add up. From the Pearl it will be about $10 to town for a taxi load. Are you going to be able to combine the botanical garden with the Sanctuary? A good idea if you can. We went on the garden tour a few years ago and they really soaked us for transportation. It was $10 each way for the taxi to town, $100 for the boat ride over and back to the other side (by the guy that owns the gardens) and another $5pp to get into the gardens. We did find the gardens very interesting and that miracle fruit is amazing!

Look into the water as you are going back and forth for turtles, iguanas, dolphins and other things. We didn't find the ride too choppy. Mid to late afternoon it can get that way but mornings are pretty calm. The ferry back and forth to Golfito only runs in the morning because of that. I think the ride was about an hour but we were looking at some property with Ron as well so he was showing us some things.

Prices for food at the Pearl were reasonable but I can't give you a current idea. The club sandwich is so big I can never finish it and the french fries are very good.

You will save money on tours at bosque because you can keep pretty busy just hiking on the trails at bosque for free. During low tide you can hike down the Pacific trail and sit in hot tide pools. Philip is interesting to go out with and Eduardo is a whiz with birds but you can still see lots of things on your own.
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Old Sep 18th, 2006, 09:18 AM
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Hi Suzie!

It is terrific to hear from you!

Thank you for all the great information. It was exactly what I needed to know. It really helps to have all the little questions answered.

My husband does not usually want to be involved in the trip planning but last night he listened to all the options and said that he would like to go longer and spend more time at the beach. It is fun to get to share this with him. So, we are planning to spend five nights at the Pearl, three at BdC and then the last one at the Pearl.

I have a few more questions if you (or anyone else!) is up for it.

- Do you know about how many boogie boards are available at the Pearl?
We were wondering if we should bring our own.

- Does the Iguana Lodge have a menu for their dinners so we could make sure we like what is being served, in advance? Can we make same day reservations for dinner?

- We might add the wild dolphin tour and wondered if others had enjoyed it.

- What is Puerto Jimenez like? Are they are any reccomended places to eat, shop or see?

- Does Bosque del Cabo have set check in/ check out times?

- Could someone from BdC transport us from the Pearl to BdC?

I think that this is all for now.

Thank you so much!
Gem
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Old Sep 18th, 2006, 09:59 AM
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As to your last 2 questions....there isn't really a set check in/out, since there is usually only a couple flights a day out of PJ, when your cabina is vacated just depends on when the people before you leave and then they clean it up asap. I've once had to wait about an hour (out by the pool, drink in hand) and once was taken straighaway to the cabina.

Easiest way would be to set up a transfer with BdC from Pearl to BdC and back to Pearl, they run that route all day long.

I still think you should spend more than 3 nights at BdC with all the things to do there but that's just my opinion!
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Old Sep 19th, 2006, 09:49 AM
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Thank you, Tully!

I would love to spend many more days at BdC. I am already planning our next trip. I would love to stay in one of the houses and stay much longer.

Thanks Again!
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