Osa Peninsula Help
 

Which choice would be best on the Osa--rent a small house in Cabo Matapalo, stay at La Paloma Lodge of Lookout Inn? If renting a house at Cabo Matapalo, is there a grocery store there to buy food? Can anyone out there help me?

I can't help you decide which is better because I've only stayed at one, but if you have specific questions on La Paloma I'd be happy to answer them. I can tell you that it is really a lovely place with great food, people, and guides.

Thank you bd for your response. What time of the year did you stay there? We are going to C.R. late June-early July. I hope we have some sunny days. Do the rooms at La Paloma have views of the water and sunsets and did you reserve from their website or after you got down there? Their pkg. deal includes transportation to get there--any problems with that?

Thanks again for taking the time to respond!

I too stayed at La Paloma this past March. What a wonderful place though it was incredibly hot and humid. Thankfully there was a ceiling fan over the bed! The food is wonderful, the people great. Some of the ranchos have sunset views, ask. I didn't make reservations directly with them but absolutely would the next time. The flights down went very smoothly. Flew into the Drake Bay airstrip in an 8-seater with only 2 of us aboard. It was great. The flight back seated 20-something so it wasn't as exciting.

I was there in January. It was extremely hot and humid - I can't imagine it being any worse when you're going, but I don't know. Our room was pretty basic and overlooked the gardens. I can't imagine any of the rooms having a view of the water because it was a pretty good hike down a sloped path to get to it. I posted a longer description under "Three hotels in Costa Rica" which I believe was carolc's original post, if you want to search for it (Carol - I'm glad you enjoyed it!). The trip to get there was long - a plane ride to a long bumpy bus ride to a boat ride - but I thought it was a blast and we had no problems at all. There are a lot of hotels that use the same transportation services so they move a lot of people in and out all day and they do a great job organizing it. We used Costa Rica Connections to make all the arrangements, but as carolc said, I wouldn't hesitate to book them directly next time.

We stayed at Aguila de Osa in February of this year. Same area as La Paloma. Rooms were basic, and a steep climb up a lot of steps to get there. But, oh, what a view of the bay!!! People were wonderful, food was very good. Tours to Corcovado and Cano Island were fun. There were kayaks available, and I talked to several people who went up the adjoining river. There is also a couple of local restaurant/bars that you can walk to if you have the time/energy. Aguila de Osa doesn't fly into the Drake Bay airstrip, they fly into Palmar Sur, then the van ride to the Sierpe River, and down the river into the ocean and down the coast. It really is a fun trip.

I've stayed at Rancho Almendros in Cabo Matapalo. Very, very small place, right by the ocean. No hills to go down, it's at ocean level. It's very quiet and peaceful, and their price includes 3 meals. There are a couple house rentals in the area. One is the 'Bamboo house' and can be found on a google search. It's great! With a very private 'back yard' 15 yards or less from the ocean. There is no grocery store in Cabo Matapalo, but there is one in Puerto Jimenez so you get your groceries there before going to Cabo. If you wanted to rent the Bamboo house, they will provide you a good grocery list for your stay!

This forum is just great! I appreciate all your responses, Carolc, bd, jeanH,and Ally. I feel like I have new friends who care! Renting a little house sounds great as we are not tour types, but those pkg. things with meals & transportation down to Osa are tempting and I'm sure we'd learn more with the tours into the park and to Cano Is. Thanks again!

I just wanted to respond to your comment that you're not "tour types". Neither are my husband and I, but you're not talking about that kind of tour. We went at supposedly peak tourist season, yet the 2 "tours" we took were just my husband, me, and the guide. I don't know if you'll be that lucky, but at most you'll be going with small groups from the lodge. Plus the guides are amazing. My husband is a field biologist who can spot a lot of wildlife, but even with that, we would have missed a great deal without the guides. These guys can mimic the bird calls so well, that they can get them to come closer so we could get a good look. And they lug around really nice spotting scopes for you. I don't know if you'll be able to get to Corcovado if you rent a house - but I would definitely make sure that's an option if I were you, because it really is a magical place and it was the highlight of our trip.

Thanks again bd; You've really helped; La Paloma here we come!

If you can, spring for a 'sunset rancho'(we had a deluxe rancho but the sunset ones have even better ocean views). You can't help but love hanging out on your porch and watching the howler monkeys! Not to mention all of the incredible birds!
Have a great trip!

July is considered by some to be little summer so you should have some good days.
You will be hot and humid just about anywhere on the Osa at that time. Terry's place..Lookout Inn is very nice and just across from the beach where you can see the Macaws in the trees most of the day.
Things to do in that area are limited unless you want to hike a lot. It is one of my favorite places because of the isolation but it isn't for everyone.
Nicole runs a great place at La Paloma and if you dive she has one of the best dive trips. If not, the snorkeling over at Cano is fun too. We saw lots of things. There are lots more options for things to do there. As others mentioned..there are sunset ranchos you can stay in. We stayed in the deluxe and were very happy with it. The trip there if you go through Palmar Norte is very interesting because you go through mangroves and across the bay into a little area where you will find La Paloma, Aguila and Wilderness. My husband and I are not "tour" people either but don't hesitate to take day trips from the lodges.
Regarding a house in Cabo Matapalo..there are no grocery stores or pulpurias near there. There is a pulpuria in Carate where Look out Inn is and a grocery in Pto Jimenez but either way from C Matapalo would be a bumpy 45min to an hour expensive ride. It does have the best wildlife viewing IMO in all of Costa Rica.