I have been reading about and dying to go to BdC and Osa since I first came on this forum while planning our first CR trip. I've been hesitant because of the extra cost of the flights. However, on this 3rd trip we are taking the plunge. So, for all you BdC fans, I have some specific questions for you.

Our return flight to the U.S. leaves at 12:30p.m. Would you advise taking a same day flight from Osa, the 7:30 or 9:30a.m. ones, or leaving the day before? Do the flights generally leave on time?

How long is the drive from PJ to BdC?

Do you have favorite lodging at BdC?

Is it possible to buy a bottle of wine in PJ to enjoy at the lodge. (I know they serve alcohol.)

What do you wish you had know about Osa and BdC on your first trip that you now know?

Our trip is in March 2012. Thanks!

PJ to BdC is pretty close but took us about 45 minutes. We encountered cows, small river crossings, construction equipment, and a fallen tree, so you never know what you'll find! We stayed in Tucan - I like it because it has an outdoor bathtub. Mariposa is supposed to be the most romantic and private because it's on the end; I think it's the only other cabin with a tub. It's called the honeymoon cabin sometimes. If you have more than two people, some of the cabins have a little loft upstairs with two more beds. Congo and Lapa have nice views of the big rock that's out in the water. I'd recommend you take Sansa since it's closer to the big airport. 9:30 would be too late in my book, but I would probably do the 7:30.

Glad you are taking the plunge, you won't regret it!

Leaving the day before or the day of? I would've said early am the day of your int'l flight before. However I had quite a stressful return trip a few weeks ago and vowed never again. Luckily I made it to SJO with exactly 2 hours, but it was looking dicey for a while (plane delayed, storms, etc). I guess it just depends on how you can handle the possibility of missing your Int'l flight. If you were to fly back from PJ the day of, I would absolutely take the earliest flight,; 9:30 is way too close.

The drive from PJ to BdC takes anywhere from 45 minutes to a little over an hour. The shape the road is in changes frequently; in June/July it was an excellent shape (relatively speaking, it's still a dirt road with lots of potholes).

Fave cabina? Too many! Congo & Lapa have the coolest decks and views. However Pizote was recently redone with a stunning deck and though I haven't stayed there, have walked around in it and do want to stay there next trip. I also like Tucan a lot, it's a little roomier than others and has a nice porch plus a stone patio.

They have a very nice selection of wine at the lodge. I'm sure you can buy some in PJ at the liquor store though if you want.

What do I know now that I wish I did? Don't bring heavy cottons or jeans. Always bring a variety of plastic bags, they always come in handy. A good flashlight is invaluable. ALWAYS carry your camera with you (even if you're running up to the restaurant to grab some coffee). Move like a sloth and be as loud as a butterfly on the trails - you'll see so many more things. (I often stand stock still for 5-10 minutes listening, waiting - sometimes it's nothing and sometimes it pays off!) Pack light and then take half the clothes out. Hair products on the Osa are pretty useless. How wonderful it is waking up to howler monkeys.

If you wear contacts, you might want to pack your glasses. I never wear my glasses, but being so sticky down there, I was glad I packed them. Also you can't run a blow dryer there, so you'll have to embrace the jungle look. We really liked doing the tour with Phillip, birding with Carlos, and visiting the animal sanctuary.

I wish I was returning. I also got obsessed with visiting BdC and staying there was wonderful.

Same day fight? I would never try to fly out the same day. It was actually really nice spending our last day relaxing by the pools and hiking the trails to the waterfalls at Xandari, which is close to the airport. I love that place too.

Wine? We just got a bottle of wine from the bar at BdC and they put it in a metal bucket of ice for us so we could drink on our deck. I think the wine was very reasonably priced.

We also enjoyed the hike with Philip. I wanted to go out and save the rainforests after that hike.

All the advice so far is great. We have visited BDC 3 times and flew out same day the last two. If you are going to do that, leave on the earliest flight to lessen the risk of missing your international flight. I would rather spend an additional night at BdC than stat somewhere around San Jose. That gives you more than another 1/2 day at BdC which is worth it to me.

We went in the wet season in May and took rubber boots which we would do again in the wet season. You don't need them in the dry season.

Get up the nerve to go out at night. You will see the most fantastic things. Start with Philip's pre-dinner night tour. Then, after dinner go to the little pond by the road. An easy walk. But, always watch where you step especially when you are walking around at night. Oh, and bring good flashlights and extra batteries.

Have fun.

I chickened out of the night hike, and regretted it. I guess I just wasn't ready to know "what's out there", but we did one in Monteverde on another trip and loved it.

In terms of deluxe lodging, we stayed 2 nights in Tucan and 2 nights in La Palma in June. Tucan has a better ocean view and is more open-feeling, with a proper (though low overhead) staircase. But I found it difficult to close it up at night - the shutter doors didn't quite close -- and numerous things got into our cabin. Nothing scary, but more bugs, a crab, a frog, etc. It also felt a little close (relatively speaking) to the cabinas next door. La Palma has a ladder leading to the loft area and does not have that great, open ocean view. BUT, we felt more secluded in La Palma, saw more wildlife from our deck, and could really close the place up at night. Although it would be a tough choice, I would probably pick La Palma.

We loved it there! You won't be disappointed.

The Osa area is one of the prettiest in Costa Rica, and thats saying a lot since there are lots of gorgeous areas here. PJ is a great town to pick up anything you need. Definitely do some fishing or snorkeling. I did a great combo trip and caught a jack in about 10 minutes. Took a video of it, I'm the one screaming in the background (I get really excited when I go fishing) One of the best days ever!!
http://www.happierthanabillionaire.c...ng-costa-rica/

We've found it helpful to leave what we don't need at our first and last night lodging choice. Of course, this is only helpful if you aren't taking a flight back the same day. Most accommodations offer luggage storage at little or no charge.

As others have pointed out, trash your beauty regime , while at the Osa. Working to look at your best is a losing battle. Make-up melts, hair frizzes... just go with it - rather freeing!

Cover up for the beach walk to the waterfall, and wear lots of sunscren - very hot, but so worth it! Don't let shillmac lead you there

Oh, one more thing, keep you luggage zipped up so nothing hides in there. When we were at the "airport" in PJ, a guy zipped open his luggage and a scorpion came crawling out. Of course we all crowded around and took pictures of it!

We had a great wildlife experience at Tucan - we saw all 4 kinds of monkeys from our front deck, as well as scarlet macaws. I think some of it is seasonal. We had a big fruit tree right next to us that was always full of monkeys. No critters in the cabin though.

I also loved Tucan, stayed there 2 years ago. As VG points out, we saw a ton of wildlife. Another bonus is the outdoor bathtub and shower, not sure if La Palma has one. But I'm sure you'd be happy with either, depends on your preferences.

Yay for you! March will be hotter than some other months so you'll probably be living in just tanks and shorts. I wouldn't bother taking many short sleeved or long sleeved shirts. The cost for a bottle of wine isn't too bad at the bar, but if you think you might want to share a bottle with new friends or whatever it's a good thought to stop at the BM and BDC drivers are used to this after picking people up.

After being with Tully her last trip and seeing her sweat it out trying to leave PJ and head for her Int'l flight the same day I'd say it's better to spend the night somewhere nice, closer to SJO, where you can either have some nice grounds to explore or maybe do some shopping. Her NA flight was supposed to leave earlier than my Sansa flight and it didn't work out that way...My Int'l flights always leave at 9:00am so I have no choice, however I've realized I actually enjoy having that last night to chill.

I find all the cabinas and houses to have their own charm and would be happy to stay in any of them. So far it's been Gecko, Pizote (before it was rebuilt), Sol and Miramar twice. I really like the views and location of Pizote and Sol (awesome view from outdoor shower) and we've had great luck with monkeys around there, as it seems with most the cabinas. Gecko has a bit smaller porch not as much of a deck as some of the others. We sleep with our doors and windows open so closing up tight isn't really a deciding factor for us but get that everyone isn't so "critter friendly" when they sleep. After staying in Miramar (if you get a chance to walk up and take a look you should!) there's really no reason to ever think about closing doors again, lol. In fact, when tully, shillmac and hubby and I get to talking around happy hour about the prior night's discoveries people's ears perk up and they get very big eyes... The bedrooms have no screens in the windows, the bathrooms and showers have a wall on one side only and the living room is open concept as well. And yes, we're already talking dates for next trip!

All the guided tours are worth doing but if you're on a budget consider them carefully as they do add up. One I've done every trip is the horseback, however I noticed the price just went up on that. The primary tour, night tour, birding, all great. Outside of BDC I enjoy the kayaking through the mangroves and you can also do a sunset kayak. A lot of times it's hard to tear yourself away to do these tours though depending on how many days you have. The animal sanctuary is great too...best to find a couple of people to share the cost. You could do this your last day and catch the flight back to SJO if you wanted too. Look at the tide tables and time it so you can do both Golfo Dulce and Pacific trail. The two other more adventurous trails are Saino and Creek (as long as you don't just stop at the creek, you actually keep walking for over a mile or so through the creek and back, turning around at the waterfall). Titi, Titi, Titi.

Take some cash because a couple nights a week locals bring in some nice crafts and you need to pay in cash. Sometimes it's handmade jewelry or soaps/lotions. You can however include tips for staff in your final check when you checkout so you don't need cash for that (I just make a list with how much goes to who and add it to my balance). Cat talks are Wednesdays and Saturdays these days at 6pm and are really interesting and informative so hopefully you'll be there for one of those.

You have a lot to look forward to!

yikes! i just read that back...got kinda wordy there!

Only been to CR once and spent 3 nights at BdC in Congo. Gorgeous view, but as others mention, I think they're all nice.

I would not try to leave Osa on the same day as my flight back to the States. We stayed in the San Jose area 1 night in the middle of our trip prior to the flight to OSA and another night prior to our departure.

Alegria B&B in Alajuela was our lodging mid-trip. George is a very nice man that will make your a nice hearty breakfast in the morning. He is very close to the airport.

Our last night in CR was spent at Casa Bella Rita in Santa Ana. It's a little further from the airport, but Rita and Steve are wonderful hosts and their Inn is gorgeous.

Both places get high marks on Trip Advisor...check them out!

Thanks for all your replies and good advice. We have decided not to leave BDC on the same day as our int. flight. Who needs the stress after a wonderful vacation? I love all the descriptions about the cabins and advice about the wine. We did like the concept of sitting on our own porch and sharing a bottle of wine. I have no problem with "going natural" and leaving windows open. The outdoor shower/bathtub is a huge draw for my DH! We are so excited about this part of our trip. Thanks!

In retrospect I would fly out on the same day as my international flight. We didn't on return trip from the PJ but we were able to make good use of our time at Orquideas, meeting friends for dinner in the Marilyn Monroe Bar.

Leaving the Osa at 7:30 will be plenty of time if you book a Sansa flight. I always worry in advance about such an early flight, the checkout from Bosque, getting a bite to eat for breakfast, the hour long drive back to PJ etc. But in reality, getting up VERY early is normal in CR and that 7:30 flight just makes sense in terms of not having to pay extra cab fares to/from the airport in San Jose and the cost of a hotel as well.