Melissa5

My husband and I will be at Bosque del Cabo, Costa Rica soon!!! Unbelievable!

Please share your highlights, and best tips for what NOT to miss. We will be staying at Bosque del Cabo for 5 nights. It's our first adventure down to the Osa. (Second trip to Costa Rica but have never been to Bosque del Cabo or the Osa before.)

Flying to Costa Rica SOON and excited to hear your final tips, secrets, and favorite moments at Bosque del Cabo!

parrmt

Ms Melissa , you will be so glad you are at BdC. We do all of the well marked trails, always more than once. The Pacific trail leads to the beach....it is a short but steep trail. There is a beautiful waterfall off the the beach...north of the trail head. Long trek, but worth it. Plan on relaxing in the pools of water that are along the beach. The lodge will have the tide times posted...this trail can only be done during low tide.

The fave is the Titi trail, always monkeys, birds etc and the elusive Puma. I do that trail 2 times a day.

Resident biologist Phillip's guided walks are always enjoyed. We have only done the night one (lasts 1 hour just prior to dinner)

Have a massage by Jutta, she's the best ...out in the jungle . BdC will arrange it, she come from Puerto Jimenez by appt.

The Golfo Dulce trail is another fave, long trek so arrange a ride back from BdC. Have them pack a lunch that day.

We also went to the animal sanctuary arranged by BdC, expensive though, but we added on a guided river trip (Carlos from BdC was with us, we love Carlos). I always do a guided bird tour w/Carlos ...on the property.

You will love the staff . I can send you a link for fotos if you want.

Travel safe and you will love it. You can sit on your deck all day and not move and see monkeys,macaws,toucans, coati's, aracari's, and more!

volcanogirl

We like the Primary Forest hike with Phillip and the early morning birding with Carlos, also liked the animal sanctuary and getting out on the water and seeing dolphins. Other than that, we mostly did hiking. We saw all 4 kinds of monkeys from the front porch of our cabin, so like p says, you don't have to do anything if you just want to relax and enjoy it all.

hipvirgochick

Definitely take the two hikes that lead to the beaches as well. One is tide dependent but will take you to a wonderful waterfall. Make sure to take some cash as often there is a local craft maker set up 1-2 nights a week in the bar area. The "cat talk" may still be on Wednesday nights, check ahead to make sure you don't schedule a night tour that conflicts. Open market on Marina's on Fridays.

As parrmt says - TITI TRAIL TITI TRAIL TITI TRAIL!

volcanogirl

If you spot the puma, take pics for us!

Jackie

Bring plenty of water when you hike. We ran out on the hike to the waterfall and it was miserable climb back without it.

shillmac

Check with the front desk about the number marker nearest the waterfall trail entrance. That will help you pinpoint where you need to start hiking back into the waterfall area (up a shallow river that is usually crisscrossed a couple of times before you arrive at the fall. The hike in to the fall takes about 5-10 min.

We really like the horseback rides with Miguel. Very cool, along the beach.

Heads up about Philip, who does the Primary Forest Tour: he has his speech memorized from having given it thousands of times. He's a great fellow, a wealth of knowledge, but whether right or wrong, he is fairly adverse to lots of questions. He likes to do his tour with a minimum of interruptions. It is immensely interesting. His sunset tour is awesome as well--I'd not miss that.

Melissa5

Thanks everybody! I just printed this out to re-read on our flight to Costa Rica.

TiltedFlipCurves

parrmt or others, does anyone have current info on reaching Jutta? Is she still based in Puerto Jimenez, seasonally or otherwise? I ask because I happened to see an article in a recent issue of a Dominical-area magazine that's available online which stated that she'd moved to the north of CR but was regularly coming down to the Uvita farmers' market.

Deb15July

She was not at BDC when I was there in May 2010.

DEAN45

I have a ? - should we be really concerned about snakes?
How about sea snakes? We are going in march and cannot wait but i hate snakes!!! how much do the bird watching tour or the night walk cost? Thanks!!!

tully

tilted - she is not at Bosque any more, though she is in and out of the Puerto Jimenez area, still has her house there. She is doing work all over, last I spoke with her I think she was going a lot of work in Atenas. If you pm me at TA (midori), I will send you her email.

tully

dean - no you don't need to be worried about snakes. There are snakes of course in CR, and lots on the Osa, but they are rare to see for the most part. Always watch where you're walking and stay on the trails. Last trip I specifically went out looking for snakes a couple hikes and never found even one. The night tour runs about $10-20 and the birding I think was around the same, the latter is less the more people go.

mlgb

This is extremely important: "Always watch where you're walking and stay on the trails." If you are birdwatching, do not look up in the trees and walk at the same time. When you are walking, watch the trail. When you want to look around, then stop.

A few other things to be aware of

Do not go hiking alone

Do not reach out and grab trees for support

volcanogirl

We really wanted to see snakes when we were there, but didn't see any. They did tell us that a coral snake had slithered through the dining area one night, and Philip came close to stepping on a Fer de Lance while we were there. He saw it on the trail and avoided it. The key is just to keep an eye out, but usually they're scared of you and just want to get away.

DEAN45

hi there, trying not to be paranoid but last year in montezuma on the way back from town there was a huge snake with his head up like you see in the movies - of course my husband backed up and all was well. I also found a dead sea snake in Tamarindo last year. Wereally cannot wait to go to the osa - I am always a little frightened but try to watch but i have to say I have slipped and grabbed a tree before and thought better of it later- why no hiking on my own - i usually go out birdwatching by myself in the am???

thanks!!!

tully

Don't worry about the snakes, sounds like you will be fine and will wonder what you were worried about!

Personally since I travel alone, I hike alone. Sometimes I mention to someone where I'm heading, sometimes not. On all of the trails at Bosque you're never incredibly far from the lodge, the Golfo Trail is probably the longest but ones like the Titi and Zapatero I hike alone all the time.

volcanogirl

I've seen more snakes in my own backyard than I have in Costa Rica. I really think they're everywhere, but they try to avoid people. I would just exercise the normal amount of caution but you don't really need to worry - just be aware that it's not probable you'll see one.