Osa/Arenal/Peace Lodge?
 

My mother and I were supposed to meet my sister in Puerto Viejo. Our initial plan was to stay there for three nights and then go on to Arenal. Now she is thinking of meeting us somewhere else as she has been there for over 3 weeks now. My thought was to:

Arrive SJO on May 28, stay overnight at Oriquideas Inn - or should we go straight to Osa?

Depart SJO (?) on May 29 for Bosque del Cabo for three nights.

Depart BDC for Arenal. What kind of drive would that be??? We have reservations at Lomas del Volcano beginning June 1 - 4.

Depart Arenal for two nights at Peace Lodge. I have reservations already and don't want to change this.

Any help is most appreciated.

Hi charli,

Your plans for the 28th probably depend on what time of day you arrive in the country and how you plan to get around while you're there.

If you get in late afternoon/evening, you are probably best to stay somewhere in San Jose/Alajuela for the night. Orquideas is a good choice.

Do you plan to rent a car for your trip? Know that most people fly down to the Osa peninsula rather than drive. It would be a very long drive, and it's definitely best not to drive after sunset in CR; too many curvy, hilly roads in bad repair (and few guard rails in the steep sections). I'm not sure that you could even feasibly do the drive from BdC up to Arenal in one day.

Driving around Arenal and to the Peace Lodge from Arenal is definitely do-able and quite pleasant, but I wouldn't tackle the drive to the Osa. I think you'd be better off flying to the Osa on the 28th or 29th, fly back to San Jose the morning of June 1 and pick up a rental car near the airport for the drive to Arenal. Make sure you are scheduled to get back to San Jose early enough to make the drive to Arenal during daylight hours.

The Peace Lodge will be a great place to wind up your vacation!

Do you already have your BdC reservations? If not, I'd get right on that. That place is very popular and the end of May is very rapidly approaching. The BdC staff can also help you with arranging flights down to the Osa if you're interested.

Osa, Arenal and Peace Lodge is a terrific combination. Enjoy! :-)

Thank you so much for responding. Yes, we plan to take a roundtrip flight to Puerto Jiminez and I am nervous about not having accommodation nailed two weeks before we are to leave. I hope to hear from someone today. We arrive in SJO at Noon so we will probably stay overnight at OInn. We will then hire a car/driver to take us to Arenal from SJO as I am not too keen on driving in CR.

Do you have any thoughts on Puerto Veijo and whether we should give this place a miss?

Thanks

Hi charli,

I have not yet been to Puerto Viejo, but it's definitely on my 'wish list'. It generally gets positive reviews as a destination. There are definitely some southern Caribbean coast fans who post here regularly (shillmac and hipvirgochick come to mind...). Hopefully one of them will weigh in for you.

Are you thinking you may need to substitute Pto Viejo for the Osa peninsula? I doubt that you would have any regrets if your plans took you there. To be honest, Costa Rica is chalk full of wonderful places to visit. It's kind of hard to go wrong!

I'm glad you would plan to fly to the Osa! I shudder to think about that drive, and I usually enjoy wheeling about the countryside! Hopefully, you'll have all your accomodations squared away in the next few days and then you can just relax and look forward to the trip.

I think your plan to spend your first night at Orquideas is good. You may be a bit tired after your international flight and Orquideas has nice grounds to wander around. They also have good food both at their restaurant and the bar.

Most hotels can help you line up a driver if that's how you want to get around. Luis Barrantes from Orquideas' tour desk is a total sweetheart, and would be a good person to hire if he's available.

Good luck getting everything set up. You'll be in beautiful Costa Rica before you know it!

Thanks for the support! We are finally booked.

Arrive on the 28th - stay overnight at Orquideas Inn

Depart on the 29th at 6 a.m. (ugh) for Puerto Jiminez.

Three nights at Bosque del Cabo (two nights in Casa Blanca and one night in Deluxe cabina).

Depart Puerto Jiminez and fly directly to La Fortuna (Arenal) for three nights at Lomas del Volcano.

Then Leave Arenal on the 4th for two nights in Peace Lodge before flying to Houston on the 6th.

yeah, it all worked out beautifully.

Charli

Charli47

Please provide us with a trip report when you get back I would love to hear about you adventure because it is exactly what I am planning to do in the same order. The differences is that we will be flying in and staying at Hotel Grano de Oro
our first night and then onto 3 nights at BDC in a Deluxe Cabana and then to Arenal but staying at Arenal Volcano Hotel & Resort Costa Rica in Deluxe Rm for 3 night then onto 2 nights at Peace in Deluxe. Then off to SJO for home.

I was not as brave as you to get up for 6am to OSA area so I picked the 830am since the day before will be a long day of airports on down to SJO.

Are you driving yourself between Arenal and onto Peace then SJO? I am looking at hiring a driver given that insurance is as much as car rental for those 5 nights at $250 for car and same for insurance. Plus no hassle and most tours or taxis can get me around in Arenal. Let me know what you did and how that all worked out for you if you would please.

Enjoy your trip - Braz

Your itinerary looks great, charli! You are in for a wonderful time. :-)

Check in when you get back to let us know how everything went.

I will certainly do a trip report. The ones I have found here have been so instrumental in planning this trip.

Yes, we are going to hire a driver (next thing I have to sort out) to take my Mom and I to Peace Lodge from Arenal and the driver will continue on to take my sister directly to the airport. We've been quoted 105.00 for a private car (total - not per person). Plus another 50 for the drive to the airport.

I would have done an earlier flight to the Osa FOR SURE but they were all sold out.....I felt lucky believe it or not to have gotten on this one at the ungodly hour. I guess that means we miss our great breakfast at Orquideas Inn....

I definitely had to choose between Orquideas Inn and Gran del Oro but chose the former for its location.

Look for my report in early June.