fae

Has anyone stayed in the deluxe cabina La Palma at Bosque del Cabo? If so, could you describe it. Bosque said they said that is the cabina assigned to us for the first two nights and then we get to move to Casa Blanca for the remaining three nights. Also, anyone that has returned from Bosque del Cabo this summer - I would love to hear from you before we leave in early August.

Golondrina

We just returned from 2 weeks in Costa Rica on Tuesday night and spent the last week of our trip at Bosque del Cabo. We were in Casa Blanca from June 28 until July 5. I was wondering why you'll be moving from a deluxe cabina to Casa Blanca after 2 nights? There were 4 of us (my husband and myself plus our 13 year son and 11 year old daughter) so we stayed in the house for the extra bedroom. We had the adventure of a lifetime on our trip -- Bosque del Cabo is a really spectacular place and both the cabinas and the house have awesome views of the Pacific. Let me know if you have any questions ... I would be happy to add to what the others on Fodors will tell you about the amazing Bosque del Cabo! Katie

fae

Casa Blanca was not available the first two nights of our stay. We went to Osa in the summer of 2000 and stayed at Lapa Rios. However, our kids are older now (13 & 17) and the idea of the bigger house rental was attractive to us. I would love to hear about the things you recommend doing during the day, food, just about anything. Thanks.

Golondrina

Fae, The house will probably be great with two kids - it worked well for us to have a little more space. We had only dinners up at the restaurant, which were very nice, and ate breakfast and lunch out on the enormous porch at our house. We arranged for the driver who picked us up in Puerto Jimenez to stop at the grocery store just up the road from the airport and stocked up on everything we needed to get by for the week. I noticed as we were leaving that a group just coming in actually had groceries delivered to Casa Miramar (up the road a little further) on the day of their arrival, so maybe it's even possible to arrange that in advance.

As for activities, we spent most of our time hiking all of the Bosque del Cabo trails -- there are 5 or 6 of them and they were all great adventures. I think our favorite was the Pacific Trail (right next to Casa Blanca). We hiked down during low tide and were able to walk along the most magnificent beach for several hours. My kids loved the "Tsunami waves" crashing on the rocks, and we spotted an incredible eagle flying in the rain forest as we walked along. All of the hikes were great, though, and the ones thru the rain forest were full of all four monkeys, tons of toucans, scarlet macaws, parrots -- and lots of other wildlife we would later try to identify on the charts back at our house. Early one morning we went on a bird tour with a guide that we all enjoyed. And my husband and kids took surf lessons, which they loved. The cost was a little high ($50 each for less than 2 hours) compared to the surf lessons they had the week before in Tamarindo ($35 for 2 hours plus) but it was fun for them. In general I think the activities you can sign up for at Bosque del Cabo are probably more expensive since it's in such a remote area. Although we didn't do this, I noticed their canopy tour is a zip line to only one platform and costs $45 -- in Tamarindo it cost a little less and went to 8 platforms. In any event, there are several activities you can arrange for when you arrive, if you like. Horseback riding, sea kayaking, riding from the back of the boat with the dolphins - I think they're all listed on their web site. There is a small but very nice pool that we called the Cold Plunge where we swam to cool off every afternoon. And by 6:00 or so we ventured back up for drinks before dinner so we could visit with all the incredibly interesting people who were staying there. We had such a great time night after night.

We brought flashlights along (one per person) for the walk home in the dark. Hiking boots really made a difference for managing the trails, especially if it had been raining and it was muddy or wet. We all wished we had brought along more socks. I was glad we had several pairs of compact binoculars, since we all wanted them at the same time and it was hard to share. We had a camel back for water that had a small backpack attached, so we kept our rain ponchos in there and always had them with us. I guess you probably know most of this from when you stayed at Lapa Rios -- the packing list will probably be pretty similar!

Casa Blanca was nice and not too far removed from the cabinas and pool/restaurant -- just a short walk up the road and path. There was plenty of electricity, so we were able to make coffee every morning, charge my camera battery, keep the ceiling fans on when it was hot, and find a little light for reading. It was more than we expected, actually. The two bedrooms are seperate -- and you have to go out to the porch in order to enter the 2nd bedroom. We spent all of our time in the hammocks on the porch when we were at the house, where we had a great time watching for monkeys who would occasionally swing by from tree to tree. Much to our relief, we didn't come across too many bugs at Casa Blanca - just a few spiders.

Hope this will be helpful! Have a great, great time -- Katie

karenski

For Golandrina, do you know anything about any other accomnodations there? We were in Congo cabina last year and tried to book it for August and they are telling us the only thing they have left is Vista Mar which is a room built under an office in the owner's home. Did you happen to see this? I am having trouble envisioning this and also shocked they are full because when we were there in July last year there were one or two couples there. Just out of curiousity, how far in advance did you book? Thanks for your help.

fae

Thanks so much for all the information. I made reservations to have all meals with Bosque although maybe I should give some thought to what you did. My husband is big morning coffee drinker so coffee maker in the house will be great. Did you need to bring filters? Also, did you hear about anyone going on the dolphin boat tour (swim with the dolphins)? Also, did Bosque have board games that your kids could check out? I know our kids did that a few times when it was storming at Lapa Rios. Thanks!

Golondrina

Karenski - We didn't check out Vista Mar but talked to someone who was staying there. She thought it was very nice. From the entrance to Bosque del Cabo coming up the road towards the bar/restaurant, you would pass the Pacific Trail on the right, and Casa Blanca just after that (not possible to see from the road). The next house on the right after that is the owner's house where Vista Mar would be. It has a thatched roof carport out front. On the left-hand side of the road (across from the owner's house) is the construction storage building. Do you recall noticing that? If you continue up the road, you come to the path that leads to the bar/restaurant, and all of the cabinas spread out along the cliff. The owner's house is in a really nice spot and it looks like it would have awesome views of the Pacific. The name of the cabina, Vista Mar (view of the sea?) sounds like it might have nice views too. You'll need flashlights for walking back after dinner.

I think we made our reservation in April. We were really surprised at how crowded it was on the last night we were there - 46 people for dinner, which was twice what it had been during the rest of the week. They were booked solid.

Fae - We bought coffee and filters (wrong size!) at the store, then found that the coffee maker has one of those permanent filters that you just empty and rinse out. We didn't take the dolphin boat tour because our kids had a week of snorkeling with dolphins and working with dolphin trainers in Roatan, Honduras last summer - so we went the surfing route this trip. From what we heard, you jump into the water once they get to where the dolphins are and hold onto a small board that is pulled by a rope from the boat. You wear a snorkeling mask and can tip the board forward if you want to dive down a few feet to see the dolphins underwater. I guess your turn lasts about 5 minutes or so (arms get a little tired beyond that) and you can have 1 or 2 turns, I believe.

Bosque del Cabo didn't have any board games! We each had books with us, and our kids played alot of cards during the rainy times. I brought a puzzle along but they never got to it.

I'll watch for any other questions you might think of -- Katie

karenski

Hi Golandrina, Thanks for the information.The reason we are hesitating is because Vista Mar is not a cabina, it is supposed to be a room that they built below their office. It is actually part of their house, not a cabina by itself, wchich I would have snatched up immediately. Also they are charging the same price for this room in their house as a cabina. That is kind of shocking, unless this is some room. Did the person staying there say anything about the privacy issue. They told me it has a private entrance but still...I am so shocked they are full. We had the place almost entirely to ourselves last year. Thanks

Golondrina

Karenski - What a dilemna. I don't know what I would do myself. I didn't get any sense of the privacy question. Did you see the recent response to your La Paloma question? Sounded nice.

karenski

Golandrina Thanks for your reply. I can't imagine what Bosque is like when it is full. I guess they must have a lot more staff. When we were there in July last year Phil cooked and Kim did drinks and they had one waitress or one of them brought the food to our table. I guess it is a very different experiance.Well, Bosque called us today and they want us to make a decision about this room. Sent us some photos over the internet. It has absolutely none of the charm of Congo cabina where we were last year. It is build under some office that is on stilts, but has a very dark look to it since it is underneath an office. It is probably something they added on so they could put relatives in close by. What was your overall impression of your experiance? We absolutely loved it last year because it was almost empty.

Golondrina

Karenski, We absolutely loved our time there, too - but it really was a different atmosphere when it got so full the last night we were there. Some people had to be seated at the bar for dinner since it was so crowded - and even the pool was packed during the day ... which was really unusual. I was surprised that you saw Phil and Kim in action so much - we didn't see them more than once or twice, and then it was just in passing. Whenever it was raining, we spent alot of time at our house and mostly out on our porch, reading or playing cards - maybe if it's not too rainy when you're there, you won't spend much time in the room??? Any other options on the Osa to check out?

karenski

Thanks for your reply. We are thinking about La Paloma. Bosque called us(they must be really really busy) and wanted an answer on the room. We told them no.When we were there Phil was the cook except for the first night when the chef was there. I don't know what happened to the chef that Phil did all the cooking.They told us they would put us on a waiting list for a cabina but I think we need to make some other plans. I wonder if it was the article in Travel/Leisure magazine?Also, I'm not sure if we would enjoy it as much if it is so crowded because what we loved was we felt like we were in our own tropical paradise.

fae

I, too, am a bit worried about the crowd. When we where at Lapa Rios in the summer of 2000 there were only a few people there. Most guided tours we took it was either only the 4 of us or maybe sometimes 2 other people.

Golondrina

I tried to find out how many would be in the group when we signed up for a guided hike or group activity, like surfing lessons -- I think it makes a difference.

By the way, Bosque has a new restaurant under construction this summer -- and naturally they're working away from sunrise to sunset. It's in a central location, right next to the existing bar/restaurant so anyone staying in a cabina when it's so full would notice the crowd as well as the noise. The 2 cabinas in the Tropical Garden are quite far away, and Casa Blanca is up the road so it's pretty quiet and remote in those areas.

It's an amazing place, though, and it seems that even during low season, word has traveled. You would still feel like you're in your own tropical paradise since the cabinas are spaced out with so much privacy - each one overlooking the incredible Pacific coast, and the hiking trails are so extensive. There's a long list of activities to pick from, if you like to stay active. And the staff was exceptional - even when they were swamped.

I would go back in a second!

fae

What did you think of the surf lessons - quality, instructor? Our son wants to take lessons (13 year old). He has never tried but we live on a lake and he waterskis and wakeboards all the time so hopefully that will help. Did one of you (parents) accompany them because I don't think either of us cares about surf lessons?

Golondrina

The surf lesson was pretty good, and my 11 yr old daughter and husband enjoyed it. My 13 yr old felt overwhelmed by the strong current, and it was hard for him to get past the strong waves whipping him around. He's used to snowboarding on the ski basin where we live in Santa Fe, NM so wasn't too prepared for the strong blast of the waves. It was a huge disappointment for him, and we'll have to try again in a different location.

The lesson was very brief (just a few minutes) and then the group ventured into the ocean to practice. Guess that's the only way! All together, maybe 1-1/2 hours. My husband is a strong swimmer and didn't want to leave the kids in the ocean on their own, since they're not too familiar. In Tamarindo the week before, my daughter was caught in a rip-tide during their surf lesson there, and my husband was glad to be near by to grab onto her.

shillmac

Hey Katie! So good to hear from you on Fodor's again! We just returned late last night and are really tired! What a trip! I hope you will be posting a report soon (if you haven't already--I am just now wading through the last few weeks of postings). I'll try to do mine within a few days. . have a youth camp to go to next week. It seems weird to read your reviews of BDC after seeing you there! How neat that we could bump into one another there! Later. . .