osa + MA or Tamarindo?
 

We have 8 days in November: me, my husband, and three daughters aged 13-21. We will spend maybe 4 in Osa, but then are thinking we might want to get some beach and sun. (I am right to fear we may get a lot of rain during Thanksgiving week in Osa, am I not?) We've seen volcanoes in Hawaii, so we're thinking pass on that. We HAVE to do a zipline thing somewhere in Costa Rica and we HAVE to see monkeys, as those are the most uniquely Costa Rican nature things to do. We'll see monkeys in Osa, I expect, but I don't know if we'll see them as well as in Manuel Antonio. And I don't know if there are good zipline/canopy things in Osa. We'd also like to see nesting turtles, do sportfishing, or do relatively mild rafting. So what do you think: Osa plus Manuel Anotonio or Osa plus Tamarindo? All 3 would probably be too much, right?

Just my personal opinion but on a previous trip I once combined the Osa with MA and was bummed that I did. MA is a great place on it's own, Osa is even better imho but they just didn't sit right with me on the same trip. You can do a zipline in Tamarindo, and you'll see tons of monkeys in the Osa so I think that would be a good mix.

I agree with Tully; I wouldn't mix the Osa with Manuel Antonio. The Osa is amazing, and to me Manuel Antonio would just seem like a more diluted, Americanized version of it. You will definitely see tons of monkeys in the Osa; we saw all 4 kinds while we were hiking at Bosque del Cabo, and we saw 3 kinds just from the front porch of our cabin. I haven't been to Tamarindo yet, but are you sure you want to skip Arenal? We've been to Hawaii and even hiked out to see the lava flow at night there, but Arenal is amazing - a huge cone shaped volcano that's completely different than in Hawaii, and we saw the lava and boulders rolling down every night - it was amazing. There's also the Cano Negro tour there and really good zipline at Skytrek, and natural hot springs as well, but it sounds like you have your heart set on the beach. Have a wonderful trip - you will love the Osa.

If you are considering going to Tamarindo for the beach, go to www.visittamarindo.com (their chamber site). We, after much watching of the posts, decided on Hotel Capitan Suizo and my then 21 and 18 yr. olds and my 50 yr. old husband LOVED it, as did I. It is an 8 minute walk on the beach south of Tamarindo. We were not aware of the Tamarindo zip line 2 yrs. ago so we went with JandCTours to Rincon de la Vieja volcano (this trip does not take you to the top of the volcano) and took horses up to the top platform for the zip line/canopy tour. We had a great time. Juan (the J in this tour co.)went a long and he had one of our kids do the "superman", she wrapped her legs behind her around his waste and she leaned out and flew ahead of him (she was attached to a cable, mind you).Then there are hot vats of mud that you put on your body (wear swimsuits under your shorts/t-shirts) and let that dry, then shower and go to 7 different temperatured pools to relax. Lunch is included, and there is a large waterslide in the mountain. It took us 1 1/2 hrs. to get there from Tamarindo and with all the other activities and knowing it would be a 1 1/2 hr. trip back, we passed on the water slide. This tour is called the Mega Combo Tour. We used Mandingo Sail for the morning snorkel tour. Lots of restaraunts in Tamarindo. OSA is my next dream vacation. Enjoy.

Osa and Manuel Antonion ...depending where you are planning to stay in Osa...you can drive to Manuel Antonio!!

And then fly or drive back to San Jose!! 3 hours by car...35 minutes by plane!!

R.A Luis

Just buckle up and enjoy the ride in paradise!!

Osa+MA=Welcome to paradise!