HowlerDad

I'm getting ready to make reservations at Bosque del Cabo and can't decide between Casa Blanca, Casa Miramar or the cabinas. Other than the cost differences, can anyone advise me the advantages or disadvantages of one over another. We are a family of 4 adults and will probably eat in the restaurant regardless of the accommodations. Thanks

Jackie

I just returned on Saturday from BdC. We spent 3 nights at Casa Blanca and 4 nights at Miramer. We are also a family of 4 adults.

Casa Blanca: 2 BRs with a bathroom attached to each bedroom. It has screens and doors. More privacy. Close to lodge. Fantastic veranda/porch with great views. IMO there are no disadvantages to CB.

Miramer. This house actually is unique, even jaw dropping. It is very open and has a really nice feel until you go to bed or want some privacy. There are no screens or windows in the houses. There are doors on bedrooms, but they don't do much good. Kim refers to it as "Flintstones meet Jarrasic Park", we also see the smurfs in the mix.

Felt like a compound to me. It is made up of a few 4 buildings; 3 buildings were BRs, 1 was the living room, dining area, kitchen and the other building held the bathrooms. Each bed has mosquito netting. You have to go outside the BRs to get to bathrooms. Bathrooms are back to back, no roofs and only 1 S-like shaped wall between them with toilet, shower and sink on each wall--no privacy.

It is 1/2 mile from the lodge up a steep and rocky road. We tended to go out during the day and not want to walk back until after dinner.

This house also has a large deck, not as nice as CB tho. The greatest advantage was the brilliant sunsets from the deck.

Disadvantages are lack of privacy, too far from lodge, and too many critters having easy access to the house.

travellin4

Jackie. Wheew. U made my day. Reserved BdC Casa Blanca for 4 nights this coming July and totally excited. 2 adults, 2 kids. Went back and forth between Casa Blanca and one of the deluxe bungalows. Even with adding the meals ($50pp) the Casa Blanca was less expensive than the bungalows. Still keep thinking there is a hitch here somewhere but cant find any. Did you do the meal plan or did you do a la carte? What tours did you take that you most enjoyed?

Jackie

Traveler: The meal thing got kind of stressful for us. Our intent was to have dinner at the lodge and to have lunch and breakfast on our own; I personally didn't want to be tied to their schedule. We brought simple food and made a stop at grocery store at the PJ airport.

When we arrived they said if we wanted to join them for breakfast or lunch that was fine, but if dinner they needed 24-hour notice. So, we said we'd do dinner. After 3 nights of buffet-style food (which was good, but way too much), the rest of my party wanted to discontinue the meal plan. They felt compelled to compromise and ended up having breakfast and lunch at the lodge. I, on the other hand, had 1 breakfast and it was too much food. (I'm a fan of the "clean your plate" club and its just better for me not to sit at the table.) I continued with dinners and ate most other meals at the house. There really is no ala carte choice other than choosing the whole meal. So, my advice is not to commit to the meal plan until you've had a full day of meals and get the lay of the land.

In addition to the trails at BdC, we did kayaking, swimming with the dolphins, the animal sanctuary, horseback riding and massages. We agreed that kayaking was our favorite; also enjoyed the animal sanctuary. Note that prices are higher than listed on website. The cost to go to town is $60 roundtrip.

You didn't say how young your children are, but just so you know, the second bedroom cannot be accessed from the mainhouse; it is accessed from the porch. It gets pitchblack at night and if you children are afraid of the dark, you might not hear them. I've actually never seen it so dark and woke thinking I'd gone blind. I'd suggest bringing a night light. That being said, I really enjoyed staying at Casa Blanca. The whole stay was probably the most relaxing vacation I've every had.

shadow12

Jackie:Thanks for your BdC review of Casa Blanca and Casa Miramar.We are a family of 6(4 teens) ending our 12 CR trip with 4 nts. at BdC..in Dec./07. We have just booked CM for the 4 nts. I just hope the unattached rooms are not too "spooky". That said, our teenage boys might just like that feel(it is at the end of our trip and space might be what they/us want: LOL)..albeit,memorable!!!
Thanks for the heads up about the meal plan. Good idea.

Can you give more detail about the dolphin tour?We have seen oodles of dolphins up close(Florida,Hawaii)..did you swim near them?

Where did you kayak? Was it far away?

Can you tell me...how far is the beach from BdC? How long is the beach? IE:can you walk a distance to stroll on the beach? or no such thing?

What about the horseback? Where did u go/catch the horses?

At this point in our trip,we do not want to spend time in transit going to and fro activity.(I think the only exception is a Day Fishing into PJ)
Thanks.

PS. How does a night light work if there is no electricity?

CRIdo

Jackie,
Going to BdC for my honeymoon next month -- could you tell me how much swimming with the dolphins & the animal sanctuary trips cost from BdC? Do these trips take up the entire day?

Thanks!

Jackie

Shadow/CRido: on the dolphin tour, we were surrounded by 50-75 dolphins. I did not go in, but the others did. You go in on a board being pulled by boat. My brother-in-law swam atop one of them; my sister and niece didn't stay in long enough; they were not comfortable being pulled by boat. Others at dinner said the dolphins got up close. We did the dolphin trip the same day with the animal sanctuary. That was $200 for the 4 of us + $60 for the taxi+$80 for the animal sanctuary. We also had box lunches. It was an expensive trip. I think we left at 8 and were back by 3. I'd suggest not getting the box lunch, but having lunch in dinner and making arrangements with taxi driver to pick you up from the restaurant.

We went in town for the kayaking-another 45+ minute drive. We went in the mangroves and the gulf.

The Pacific ocean is about 15-20 minutes down hill via steps mostly. Can't swim here; can sit in tidal pools if you catch the tide right. The Gulf was at least a 60-min hike (to the best of my memory), but first beach you hit still seemed dangerous to us; walked along to the second beach, still not safe. Got back on access road (maybe 30 mintue walk from first beach) to the third beach and this was one swimmable, not so pretty tho. You can get dropped off and picked up for a small fee.

Horseback riding was about a 10-minute drive away.

There is electricity-hydrop and solar powered; not enough to read by at night, but enough to see.

CM was not as dark as CB, could have been the full moon while we were at CM, aldo CB has shutters and more dense trees around it.

RHR

Jackie

Do you remember the name (number or web site) of the outfit that did the dolphin thing. We are flying into Puerto Jimenez and arriving at 09:30. We would like to do this before heading off to BdC so we can avoid the back and forth. Thanks

shadow12

RHR:What a great idea to book an activity while in PJ before heading to BdC!
Any recommended activity for the afternoon?We will be arriving via taxi from Drake Bay probably about noon.(although I have not factored into the mix the "wake up" calls from the wild!!) lol

karenlf

We are planning to go to Bosque this summer. Can you better explain the animal sanctuary trip? Do you have to go to town for it and what was the cost then? You mentioned sixty for the taxi and 80 for the four of you. Does that mean that the animal sanctuary is twenty dollars each? Who did the trip because I too would do it from Puerto Jimenez to avoid the taxi fare if that is cheaper. Was the two hundred for the dolphin tour? Thanks

Jackie

We did the dolphin and animal sanctuary on the same trip. BdC owned the boat and the boat cpt worked for BDC. You could contact the lodge and ask them directly about going from town. I should mention that on the dolphin trip we did a little bit of snorkling, but only saw a few colored fish. From there had our box lunch and then headed to animal sanctuary.

The kayaking was thru escodito trex and that office was a little bit out of town. We also saw 1 or 2 dolphins at sunset on our way back in, but they didn't get very close to us. We had dinner in town and then taxied back, getting in about 8:30-9:00pm.

The animal sanctuary is only accessible by boat and you catch the boat at PJ. Since we did the dolphin trip, we were already in the area and the additional cost was the $20pp donation. I recall that just the boat to the sanctuary was $120. The dolphin watch and sanctuary was $200, excluding the donation and taxi. I think I still have the list of activities and prices from BdC in my email and will send along to anyone that provides their email address.

I also should add that there's lots of hikes at BdC to keep you all busy, it is not necessary to go into town. We very seldom do more than one paid activity while on vacation, but it was my sister's 50th birthday and whatever she wanted to do, we did. I would have been very happy staying at BdC and taking some of the trails or guided tours we didn't have time for.

CRIdo

Jackie

Thanks for all the great info, could you please send me that activities list from BdC: [email protected]

Thanks!

bariman8

Hello,

We're headed to Bosque Del Cabo July 10th through the 15th for our honeymoon. I'm also trying to find out what additional activities there are instead of hikes. Could you email me that list as well at : [email protected] . I'm so excited about going here on our honeymoon, our first trip to CR. It'll be great.

Thanks,
Derek Lewis

karenlf

Hello,
We would like the list of activities and costs. My email is [email protected].

haydencat

Ditto: Activity list please! We'll be staying there in April and can't wait! Thanks so much. [email protected]

Jackie

I have forward the list to the 4 of you and nothing has come back as undeliverable, so you should have them.

haydencat

Got it. Thanks Jackie.

francetrip

Would love the list as well.

[email protected]

Thanks

HowlerDad

Thanks Jackie for your reply to my original post. I appreciate the information on the houses.I'm still trying to make a decision on the food plan. My son is about 6ft 6 and eats enough for three people and my wife is 5ft and eats like a bird. But I guess if I want us to eat dinner together I'll just have to pay the $60 daily cost. Thanks again for the help.

Jackie

Howlerdad: just to clarify, the food plan was $50/day pp a week ago, not sure where you got the "$60 daily cost".