Mixter603

Will be staying there for four days in March. What do you suggest to do after that? Should we stay on the Osa; fly to Domenical and stay there for the remaining three days? Should we fly to Monteverde?

We've been to Manuel Antonio, Guanacaste and Arenal so we don't want to see them again. Also, we have no desire to stay in San Jose.

Thanks for any tips.

dfarmer

Try Bosque del Cabo combined with Iguana Lodge, and then some Central Valley time.

We did this in Feb 2005 and had a wonderful time.

I loved BdC, but wanted to combine this with some actual "on the beach" time. Opting for Iguana Lodge gave me the beach time, without the added expense of additional flights and/or rental vehicle.

We arranged our transportation from PJ airstrip to BdC and then to Iguana with the staff at BdC. Kevin took us over to Iguana on a run to pick up BdC guest at the airstrip. BdC is approx 45 mins from the airstrip and IL is about 15 mins from the airstrip.

This truly was a PERFECT vacation.

Mixter603

Thanks dfarmer. I will look into the Iguana Lodge. How were the accommodations there? We were thinking of going to Domenical. Have you been there?

dfarmer

The lodging at Iguana was comparable to say the Bosque Standard cabins. We stayed in Gecko at BdC, but visited with people staying next door in a standard - I would not hesitate to stay in the standard cabins.

Everything at Iguana was open with screens. The common areas in the main rancho were very nice and inviting. The dinners were especially delicious. Breakfast was very good. Coffee ready about 6AM. Lunch was next door at the Pearl. Owners and staff were very friendly. Beach was perfectly nearly deserted! I liked it very much.

When have been to many places in CR, but Dominical is still on our to do list. Getting to Dominical from PJ would involve a long drive or a flight to Quepos and then a drive. With the option of Iguana Lodge (for us) it did not make sense to take a day for another flight and/or long drives.

You may want to split up some of your day trips. Do the hiking, birding, etc at BdC and then kayaking, fishing, etc at Iguana. Or simply chill on the beach at Iguana (which is what I did).

BTW - You cannot fly directly to Dominical or Monteverde.

I posted a trip report - way back about Feb or March 05 for this trip.

If you would like to see pics of Iguana or other areas of this trip, just let me know.

Mixter603

OK dfarmer, I would love to see pics of Iguana. You can send them to the same screen name I have and add at comcast dot net. Thanks!

Hubby is leaning towards staying in that area. If we wanted to go to Dominical, we would have to fly to Quepos first am I correct?

dfarmer

Just sent you a link to some pictures.

And yes, if you are flying into Puerto Jimenez for your visit at BdC, then you would need to fly to Quepos and then hire a driver or rent a vehicle to head down to Dominical. During March you should be able to get a flight directly to Quepos, but it may be that you have to go thru SJ and then to Quepos. I would ask Leonardo or whomever you are dealing with a BdC to assist you with the air. The PJ/Quepos leg is not advertised.

shillmac

Another option for you to consider if you want to go to Dominical. You can take the public bus from Puerto Jimenez. We did this a few years ago--interesting experience. Works best if you can take your bag on the bus with you (we had a backpack each)--theft a problem otherwise.

Took us about 3 hours to get to Palmar Norte. Dominical was another 45 min --one hour from there. We hired a taxi and that road between the two is fabulous, believe it or not! We never arrived due to a washed out bridge, but I'm sure it is fixed by now. By the way, I know you are thinking "fabulous road, washed out bridge--yeah right!". But that's the way it was! There had been VERY heavy rains all day before we arrived in that area. Point is, it wouldn't take you all that long should you wish to arrange your trip in that fashion. From Dominical you could get to Quepos (2 hours, hard road) and fly back to SJO--or bus it inland to San Isidro and back into San Jose--nice drive.

Mixter603

Thanks Shillmac. I have been looking into some suggestions Dfarmer made. Specifically, Peace Lodge, Villa Blanca or Sevegre Lodge. Since we would have to fly out of PJ to get back to San Jose, I'm thinking that it may be worth a trip to an area closer to the airport.

shillmac

By all means, Savegre Lodge at San Gerardo de Dota--one of Costa Rica's best treasures! Book ahead a guided birding tour with Marino. If you aren't into that, book the tour anyway with Marino--you will be after he works you over!

Nice falls, gorgeous primordial cloud forest hikes, trout fishing. . .SO cool and peaceful. And the Rio Savegre is breathtaking!

shillmac

Sorry--I got carried away. We love that place!

Agree that Peace Lodge (La Paz) and Villa Blanca would be nice choices. Haven't stayed overnight at either, but we will one of these days. Everytime we cross something off the list, we add a dozen more! Add to that the fact that nothing ever gets really crossed off--we can't seem to help revisiting!