Osa - Bosque or somewhere else?
 

My husband and I will be traveling to the Osa in July. We are trying to decide between staying at Bosque DC for 4 nights and not doing any tours (b'cause we are on a fairly tight budget) or going somewhere else that includes to tours to Cano and Corcovado. Please help me decide.

We came back from our first trip to Cr last week and we stayed 7 nights at BDC. It was the only place we went besides laying over in San Jose. We felt it took 7 nights to really explore the place and were very happy with all the wildlife we saw. We did take tours, but I think it would take at least 3 to 4 full days to do all the trails. I guess it depends on what you most want to experience. I posted a link with pictures of the wildlife we saw under the message-thanks to bosque del cabo experts- You can scroll back in the forum to find it. Hope this helps.

Last February, my husband and I stayed at La Paloma Lodge in Drake Bay. Included in our package were tours to Cano and Corcovado. The place was beautiful, staff and tour guides were awesome, very good food, etc. I'd highly recommend it. If you go there, don't miss the night tour with the Bug Lady.

We did 5 nights at BdC and only one tour (Guided Primary Forest). You can easily do BdC without any tours and see more wildlife than you would at Corcodova. If you really love snorkeling, then you are going to want to do Isla Cano out of Drake Bay.

By the way, we stayed in Casa Teca (loved it) and did just Breakfast and Dinner to save money - see this thread for our trip report http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34951184

We took the snorkeling tour to Cano Island last February. It was neat because we saw a whale on the boat ride there. On the way back we saw lots of dophins. That said, the snorkeling was good but not terrific. Did see 2 sea turtles. The water isn't as clear as where we snorkel off the Caribbean coast of Mexico, where the coral is better.

Bosque del Cabo and the Drake Bay lodges are two different kinds of experiences. Both are great, it just depends on what you are seeking.

Bosque is a small lodge. There is great nature, and the owners can arrange any tour that you require (no tours are included in the base rate). You need to be in good shape to do the hikes up and down the hills to take full advantage of this area. It can be a romantic spot too. I spent part of my honeymoon there.

The lodges around Drake Bay offer multi day packages. The most popular of these is the three night packages. All of the lodges include the same two tours: Isla del Cano and hiking in the National Park. These packages probably work out to be a little more expensive than Bosque. But include airfare from San Jose, transfers, and all the tours.

I like both areas. I think that Drake Bay offers more to do, but Bosque will work out to be cheaper.

Let me know if I can offer more advice.

Warm Regards,

Pat Hewitt
Costa Rica Travel Exchange

We spent 6 nights at BDC last month and took no tours. We hiked before breakfast, before lunch, late afternoon and at night all on our own. We saw tons of wildlife and critters. We probably missed out on learning more about the area by not having a guide, but that's about it. I can't recommend BDC highly enough..