Osa help, please
 

We are trying to blend many family member's expectations for a trip. The family consists of my DH and I, my BIL and his wife and possibly our daughter and her husband. We think the Osa pensinsula of Costa Rica might be the place.

Several of us would like to fish. None of us done any deep sea fishing but are interested in both deep sea and inshore. Is inshore fishing all fly fishing? Can you recommend any guides?

Most of us would like to spend some time just hanging out on a beach, enjoying some swimming and relaxing. No room service or cabana boys required. We are very self sufficient. We would like to be able to explore the rainforest and possibly view waterfalls.

A self catering situation would be good but we are not stuck on that. If we do self catering, we would like to be able to go out to eat a time or two. We would really prefer not to rent a car.

We all would like to see whales or at least, dolphins. Living in Arkansas and Oklahoma doesn't grant many opportunities for that. :) We thought the "incredible scenery" request was easy to fulfill in Costa Rica.

My daughter and her DH spent their honeymoon at Lapas Rios and enjoyed it greatly. That is partly why we are leaning towards CR and Osa.

Does Osa sound like the place where we could all find happiness? Where would you recommend we station ourselves? Any advice?

I'm sorry- I meant "none of us have done any deep sea fishing". Hate to perputuate the stupid hillbilly stereotype.

It's helpful if you state a budget per night stay.
Cabo Matapalo area of the Osa may fit the bill. There are various house rentals and nice lodges for various budgets. Fishermen on the beach were catching fish at Backwash Bay and I've read of deep sea fishing in the area though they may have gone out from Puerto Jimenez, 45 min north. Backwash Bay is also good for swimming and surfing can be had out further there and at Pan Dulce the next rocky beach north. Casa Bambu is one of the rentals on Backwash I think. Lapa Rios, Bosque del Cabo, El Remanso are the more upscale lodges there and a step down is Encanta La Vida. The Pole House there may be a good choice for a large group if you want to leave the cooking to others at a lower budget. Time of year is a factor for the Osa as the rainy season in Sept/Oct is extreme. Cabo Matapalo has a good variety of wildlife also. Search the places mentioned here to receive more first hand reports. If money wasn't much of a factor I'd choose Bosque de Cabo cabins or one of their rentals though the beach is a long walk down and up or drive.

I'm staying at Las Caletas in June in Drake Bay on the Osa Peninsula. You can check out their website: http://www.caletas.co.cr/ My boss stayed there and raved about it. They're friendly and have a good website. Maybe it'll be what you're looking for.

Bosque del Cabo is located not far past Lapa Rios. At BdC there are standard and deluxe cabins, as well as 2 house rentals - 1 is 2BR the other 3BR. If renting the houses you have the choice of purchasing meal plans and/or doing some of the cooking yourselves.

The Osa will certainly give you the beautiful scenery/fishing you request. However going out to eat would be very limited since the lodges are remotely located and the nearest towns quite a distance away. Beaches typically a good hike down and back up. Lodges in this area are more geared to hiking, birding, wildlife watching, reading, lying on your porch and gazing out at the incredible view, a dip in the pool and conversations with other travelers.

If being right on the beach is a big priorty, you may want to consider something else or splitting your time with another lodge.

We chose to split our time between two lodges in the area.
After out incredible stay at BdC, we moved on to Iguana Lodge - for my gotta be on the beach time! This worked out to be a wonderful and convenient split of our stay in the Osa.
www.bosquedelcabo.com
www.iguanalodge.com

Iguana has cabins and a 3 story house - the house would be great for you. BdC is about 35-45 mins from Puerto Jimenez. Iguana Lodge is about 10 mins from PJ.

If you do decide on the Puerto Jimenez area - we had a great day fishing with Mike Hennessey and his crew -
www.cabo-matapalo.com