Help me with 3rd trip to CR: Bosque del Cabo & WHERE else in Feb?
 

Hola, Costa Rica fans! Please help me finish planning our 3rd trip to Costa Rica. Just booked last-minute flights for February 2015! Woo-hoo, got them almost free with rewards points! We have 4 nights at Bosque Del Cabo. But since Iguana Lodge is full, we need somewhere else to go! Please help with ideas.

Itinerary:
Fly to SJO (arrive in the evening)
1 night: Hotel Bougainvillea or where?
Fly SJO to Puerto Jimenez
4 nights: Bosque Del Cabo
3 nights: _____________ WHERE???
1 night: Hotel Bougainvillea (or where? hotel near SJO)
Fly home from SJO

Of course, our plans are limited by last-minute availability in hotels. But help us brain-storm. On our previous 2 trips to Costa Rica, we have enjoyed Bosque Del Cabo, Arenal, Monteverde, and Poas. Also visited Manuel Antonio, but it wasn't my favorite place.

Ideas:

Golfo Dulce:
Did I spell that right? The only place we've visited on the Osa is Bosque Del Cabo. Should we add a stay at another spot near the Osa?

Monteverde:
Return to Monteverde? What's the weather like in February? I understand the shorter route to Monteverde is currently closed, and we'd have to take the longer route from San Jose...which would take 4.5 to 5 hours.

Cloud Forest:
Explore a different cloud forest? Which one?

Beach:
Choose a different beach to visit? Which one? Iguana Lodge on the Osa is full for our nights. I didn't care for Manuel Antonio on a previous trip.

Wilson Botanical Garden & inland drive?
--We could check out of Bosque Del Cabo, rent a car, and drive up to Wilson Botanical Garden for 1 night, and then drive up the inland route to that nice lodge in the mountains...but I forget the name of the lodge? Shillmac, you recommended it a few years ago? Have never driven from Puerto Jimenez back to SJO via the inland route. Is this worth it? Scenic? Or better just to fly back on Nature Air?

What we enjoy: peaceful, scenic nature; easy to moderate walks; great food; wildlife; swimming or snorkeling when available; music; and meeting people. My hubs will sleep anywhere, but I like a bit more comforts. Hoping for some sunshine, but a little rain is fine.

I'm open to suggestions. Will probably need to send out emails to hotels, and just choose the one that isn't sold out! Thank you fodorites, as always.

Xandari is very nice for a first or last night close to the airport. It's set in the hills outside the city and has beautiful views, some hiking trails on site with small waterfalls, a good open air restaurant, pools, and also a spa.

Or if you prefer a city hotel, Grano de Oro is a neat historical spot with a fantastic restaurant. It's built in an old mansion.

volcanogirl: Thanks, I'll consider Xandari. I also need another 3-night stay somewhere, after Bosque del Cabo, and before that last night near the SJO airport.

San Gerardo de Dota/San Isidro/Chirripo would be possible highland/cloud forest options. Many lovely places near Dominical and Uvita. Or you could fly back and then do Tortuguero.

We loved Tortuga Lodge in Tortuguero, but for the turtles we saw the season was July through October, so I might save that for another time. We did see tons of other wildlife though. I always hear nice things about Shelter From the Storm if you want to explore that one.

Hi. Why not visit Drake Bay? It is 2.5 hours from Bosque and then you will see a different part of the Osa?

Ylang Ylang is another spot that's popular. We haven't stayed there, but it gets good reviews.

Ylang Ylang is gorgeous, but it's tough to get to from the Osa--you'd have to drive all the way to Puntarenas, and then take the ferry across.

The San Vito idea certainly has appeal. The places I mentioned above would all be long a drive back to SJO. You may want somewhere a little higher and cooler after the Osa.

I've always had my eye on Casa Chameleon, but like the other spots it wouldn't be that convenient.

Iguana Lodge makes a great companion stay to Bosque--on the ocean, fabulous food

IL is full though.

<b>UPDATE:</b> I finally booked our round trip return flights on Nature Air, so when we check out of Bosque del Cabo, we fly back to SJO. So now I still need to book 4 nights somewhere! At least 1 of those 4 nights needs to be near the SJO airport for our flights home at the end of the trip. What to do with the remaining 3 nights?

Getting nervous because this trip is coming up soon in February! It's challenging booking a spontaneous trip to Costa Rica, because many of the accommodations take up to 2 days to reply to emails inquiring about availability.

Have considered Monteverde but the shorter route is closed, I heard, so it would take forever to drive up there. (And we've been there once...loved it.)

Have considered Arenal, but there's no lava flow...and we saw lava flow on the 1st trip.

We could also book a hotel near SJO and book day-tours from there.

Hmmm...our Nature Air flight from Puerto Jimenez gets back into SJO in the evening... I'll need to take that into consideration when figuring out where to spend those last 4 nights...

There's so much more to the Arenal area than the lava flow. We've been there several times and still haven't done everything. What did you do on your last trip? Here are a few things we've enjoyed - ziplining at Sky Trek, rafting with Rios Tropicales, hiking at the waterfall, visiting the Proyecto Asis animal rescue center, hiking at the volcano and the Hanging Bridges, tubing at the Springs Resort, going to the natural hot springs at Tabacon and Eco Termales, doing the Cano Negro tour, waterfall rappelling with La Roca, and the Penas Blancas river float. And it's a pretty easy area to get to. If you want to stay somewhere upscale, The Springs Resort is amazing; Nayara is nice too. For more rustic, we like the Lost Iguana.

Why is the shorter route to Monteverde closed? There's a Jeep Boat Jeep service you could take a look at.

I would go for a change of pace like Tortuguero (on the canals/water) or a higher elevation.

There's a lot of adventure activities in Arenal, but if you're not into ziplines and rappelling there's a definite let-down factor after going to the Osa.

Another possibility is the Central Valley--two volcanoes, Tapanti, La Paz, Orosi, Lankester, El Guayabo etc.

volcanogirl: the shorter route to Monteverde is closed because they are working on the road, to my knowledge. I'm not adventurous enough to do the zip-lines or white water rafting. I do like the Hanging bridges. I don't think I hiked to the waterfall yet... Love the hot springs! Arenal could work, but I'm realizing we would only have 2 nights up there because our Nature Air flight gets into SJO in the evening, which forces us to have 1 night near the airport...then 2 nights somewhere like Arenal...then 1 final night near the airport. Might be best to just have 4 nights in an accommodation that's within 30 minutes of SJO, and book day-trips from there.

RAC: Yes we may need to focus on day-trips in the Central valley...haven't seen La Pax yet, nor Lankester, nor Irazu volcano... Will see if any accommodation still has avaiiability for 4 nights though...

I probably wouldn't go to Arenal for just two nights. The waterfall hike is definitely worth it if you ever go back. There's a crystal clear river at the bottom and a tiny "beach" where you can swim. It's really pretty. We even hired a wildlife guide for the day and hiked around the lake - saw toucans, howlers, and even a peccary there. Pretty cool since I don't think of that area as having wildlife that is that easy to spot.

Maybe instead go do the Doka Coffee Estate tour, visit La Paz Waterfall Gardens, etc. Not sure if the Peace Lodge is your kind of place, but I think it's fun for two nights. We loved hand feeding the hummingbirds and doing the waterfall hike before anyone else got there.

Glad to hear they are working on that road. :)

One place that's on our radar for a future trip to that area is Hotel Quelitales. Rave reviews etc. on the Irazu/Lankester/Orosi/Tapanti side

I love Hotel Quelitales. Kind of a rough road to get there the last few kilometers, but, heck, that describes so many places in Costa Rica. :) The payoff is its quiet seclusion, cool cabins, and good food.