Hello, I've enjoyed reading the posts here. However, I haven't found anything posted about dolphins & whales in CR. We (hubby & I) are planning a vacation to CR this winter. We love nature, thus CR's appeal. When I found the opportunity to see dolphins & whales in CR I was thrilled. However it doesn't seem to be very talked about? Has anyone gone on a specific boat trip to see dolphins & whales on the Osa Peninsula side? I've been intrigued by the Delfin Amor / Divine Dolphin Eco-Lodge
http://www.delfinamor.com/
http://www.divinedolphin.com

We'll obviously go to Corcovado & snorkel at Cano while in Drake Bay too. I'm so excited about the birds, monkeys, etc. etc.!

We are also going to visit Arenal & the Tabacon Hot Springs, as from what everyone says here, its a must!

Thanks for any info. on dolphins & whales in CR. & any info. on the Lodge.

We saw a large group (?pod) of dolphin on our way to Cano Island last February while in Costa Rica. In fact, several in our group hopped off the boat to 'swim with the dolphins'. The dolphins weren't too thrilled with this idea, and kept their distance.

On a different trip a couple days earlier people saw whales, I'm not sure which kind.

Jean

Dear fluffytails,
We stayed in Drake Bay in December 1999, and we had fully intended to "swim" with dolphins with the Divine Dolphin tour. Suffice it to say that the ocean was way too choppy to consider doing that, but we did get to see dolphins and whales. The tour was a huge disappointment in that we went out in a TINY boat (even though the advertisement showed a much larger, safer vessel). We were almost seasick by the time that we had "lunch", which consisted of tomato and onion sandwiches. Gag! We couldn't wait to get back to shore, and we felt hugely ripped off. We did express our feelings to the owner, but she simply argued. NOT to be recommended. We DID like the lodge in which we stayed at Drakes Bay, though. (I'll have to look it up on the website later for the name, if you're interested). Beachmama Marilyn

A slight correction: Lunch on the dolphin cruise consisted of American cheese and onion sandwiches, no tomatoes. Either way, it was nauseating! BTW, the name of the lodge we stayed in was La Paloma. Had a really good time there as we welcomed in the new century! Beachmama Marilyn

To above poster...I don't believe your lunch was provided by La Paloma, who I have found go way overboard with quite delectable lunches on their tours. We always ended up giving foood away to the people at the ranger stations. It must have been part of the package from the dolphin tour?????

I don't believe Beachmama said that the lunch was provided by La Paloma. You are right about LP though. Nicole runs a great lodge and she goes all out to make everyone comfortable.

You can't stay at La Paloma without buying the three meals a day. BM should have asked them, or they should have offered, to pack a lunch, even though this other "tour" company included lunch in the price. The worst lunch I ever had was while at Rara Avis, after several miles hike....a thinly smeared butter sandwich!!!! Quite expensive too!

Just about any hotel that has a restaurant can pack you a box lunch if you arrange it the night before. I wouldn't have thought to do it though if the tour said they offered lunch. I have had a lot of tour lunches and they were never that bad.
Regarding Rara Avis, you must have had a different cook. I hated everything about RA but the food. It was some of the best we had in CR on that trip.

Suzie2 Okay, I have to know why you hated Rara Avis. That is a trip we condiered doing several times. We had read about it a long time ago. What was it really like?

The "ride" to the lodge was out of a nightmare. Most of us ended up walking and it took about 3hrs. They try to pull you in a trailer with seats and a cover behind a tractor. There were boulders so big that we were tilted sideways at times. Other times we had to get out so the tractor and trailer could move beyond the boulders without our weight. After we all decided to walk the rest of the way we found the walking to be pretty difficult also because of the rocks and boulders we had to climb around. People (there were about 16 of us) were tripping and slipping all over the place. We finally made it before dark.
We had the "riverview rooms" but couldn't see the river. There was a nice covered deck area with rockers. The beds were thin mattresses on wood platforms and were very uncomfortable. It was so muddy the whole time we had to wear those rubber boots with no padding on the bottom and the trails all had logs across them so they wouldn't be solid mud. The split logs themselves were very uncomfortable to walk on and our feet were hurting like crazy. We are not wimps and have done a lot of hiking and camping but this was no fun. Even the boots wouldn't have been that bad if it hadn't been for the logs (we had just been to La Selva to do some hiking and bird watching in the rain and mud and had to wear them). Some of the logs had chicken wire on them so they weren't slippery and some didn't-we were glad we had our hiking poles with us. The owner was obviously not hands on and we could tell that the people working there were doing the best they could (that could explain why the other poster just got bread and butter for lunch-it may have been all the workers had to feed them). I personally contacted their representative by email to ask about bottled water, beer, soda, etc. and was told that there was someone up there with a little concession that we could buy it from. Just as we were all loading up for the trip up to the lodge someone told us that that was not true so we had to run down the street to get some supplies. We were lucky to have had a wonderful cook who was a genius. I would have liked to bring him home with us. There was always more food than we could all possibly eat and everything was very good. We did some hiking while there but didn't see anything much. We just saw tapir prints and even the birds were nonvis.
We all walked most of the way back rather than try to ride. People were still slipping and falling on the rocks but it seemed safer than that trailer.
Again, we are not wimps and prefer to be out and away from the crowds and have actually been looking at property without electricity to buy to live on but this was not worth the time or money. If the nature had been better we would have more good to say but there was nothing that caught our interest at all. We were really looking forward to the place but were terribly disappointed. I will say that I chatted with a person who had been there the year before and she loved it so maybe our timing was wrong or something.

Suzie2,Thanks so much for that informaion.This has totally cured my fascination. We hiked with a guide at La Selva and saw an incredible amount of wildlife in a small amount of time in a very pleasant atmostphere, and while it wasn't quite the same as seeing it in a totally untouched arena it was thoroughly enjoyable. In fact we liked it so much we had thought of returning this year. Thanks so much

Dear fluffytails and others--
No, I certainly am NOT faulting La Paloma for that horrible lunch provided by the dolphin tour company. Food at La Paloma's was always superb. If I'd had any clue that we'd have been eating American cheese and onion sandwiches on a rocky sea, I would definitely have asked for a box lunch from La Paloma. Lunch was supposed to be included on the tour, and we thought it'd be a whole lot better! You live and learn!
Beachmama

Hi all, according to their website, 1999 was the Divine Dolphins fist year in operation. At that time they just offered the daily tours. They now have cabinas to stay in & offer complete packages tours (Corcovado, Cano etc.). Thus they now have a cook. I'm sure the lunches are more interesting then 4 years ago. But to be quite honest I'm not sure a cheese sandwich is THAT offensive? I eat them in my own home for lunch quite often The bonus on an onion, hey, sounds fine! Its a very remote part of the world, on a small boat, on a hot day, in the middle of the ocean. I'm not expecting an amazing meal under these circumstances. Yes while on land I hope to experience nice Costa Rican food, and I'm sure I will. My main reason for going to Costa Rica however is for the nature!!!

Beachmama Marilyn, the fact that you had the opportunity to view dolphins & whales in their natural surroundings should have been very thrilling for you. As for choppy water, that's not the tour operators fault. Sea sickness happens in any size boat. Last October while vacationing in Cape Cod, I was on a huge boat, holding hundreds! The waters were very rough (the tours had already been canceled the 4 previous days due to high winds). Approx. 1 in 8 people were puking in bags! Luckily hubby & I were not ill. We were in winter coats, gloves, hats & scarves, it was THAT cold on the open water. However, seeing 2 whales took my breath away. I will never forget that rush of exhilarating excitement. Watching magnificent mammals like that in their natural home is a treasure, I feel very fortunate to have experienced. I hope my dream of seeing wild dolphins in Costa Rica becomes a reality too!

Dear fluffytails--
Please don't misunderstand. Seeing dolphins and whales is always spectacular. We felt that the dolfin amor tour company had deceived us by making us believe there was a great chance we'd be able to SWIM with dolphins. When the tour guide saw those ocean conditions, she should have advised us right at the start that swimming with the dolphins was OUT of the question on that day. We could then have been given the option of continuing on or canceling on that day.
By the time she pulled out the sandwiches, believe me, even a gourmet spread would've looked unappealing. However, the soggy American cheese and sliced onion mix was a particularly gut-churning offering. Our family is not fussy when it comes to food (I have enjoyed many a tuna fish sandwich for dinner), but this luncheon was really gross (especially when one considered the price of the tour).
When we did the boat trip in 1999, this particular company already had the cabinas going.
We had expressly planned the trip as a fantastic way to bring in the new century by swimming with the dolphins. Since then, I've learned that swimming with dolphins in the wild may not be such a great idea--either for the people or for the dolphins.
If you do choose to book with them, I'll be looking forward to an updated "review" when you return. Have fun!
Beachmama