Osa with 10 & 12 yr. Old Boys
 

Where to stay in August! Casa Corcovada, La Palma, Drake Bay, Lapa Rios, and Bosque del Cabo really not that far apart in price for a family of four. We've read reports on all of these, mainly individually. Which gives the best combo of adventure, wildlife, excitement, decent food, some comfort. First trip to CR, boys very active.

We stayed at Lapa Rios with our 7 year old daughter last August. She had a very good time there and we liked it too (although I personally was somewhat bothered and unsettled by the remoteness of the place - the weather was stormy which didn't help either). Our daughter was the only child at Lapa Rios during our stay. While she was made welcome by staff and guests alike, she is very well behaved and rather quiet. The impression we got is that Lapa Rios was more adult oriented and while children are generally welcome, other guests would probably not appreciate noise and splashing at the pool or kids running around. Unless your kids are really well behaved, you may want to consider a more family oriented place. On the other hand, I had read reports from other people who went there with kids and did not have the same impression we did. Maybe it was just the set of guests we happened upon...<BR>In any event, food and service at Lapa Rios were excellent, there were plenty of opportunities for viewing wildlife and it is truly once in a life time experience to be there.<BR>Post here if you have other questions about Lapa Rios.

We took our 9 & 1 yr. old to Bosque de Cabo last yr. and we all enjoyed 1 hr. jungle hike dwn to the beach to swim/surf(they pick you up and bring you back!); shorter hiking trails; one trail leads to Pacific ocean beach with tide pools to play in; swinging in the hammock; watching toucans and scarlet mackaws fly by-we had fun sitting and waiting for them; good food; beautiful views of the ocean. My kids were not bored. They read books, no tv! swam and played in small pool; good hosts. We had a daquiri at Lapa Rios and though the views were beautiful, seemed a little too upscale for us, but I haven't stayed there so should'nt comment further. The price there was way over our budget.

I forgot to mention-we were there in Dec. They said August is VERY rainy.(you may be stuck in your room alot, and then the kids would be bored.)When it rains, it REALLY rains! You may not want to go this far south in August. We were in Quepos in Aug. and it rained heavily ea. day for a couple hrs. Rest of day was cloudy but pleasant. We met people who had stayed at Marenco in Osa and they said their experience was ruined by the heavy rains and they were relieved to be in Quepos. Maybe you would be better off going to the Guanacaste area.

I absolutely adored Lapa Rios and think your boys would love it too for all of the cool wildlife, but I would not go in August during the thick of the rainy season. The only way to & from it is about a 50-minute ride each way from the airstrip, on a dirt road which becomes extremely muddy and sometimes impassable during the rainy season (we were there in November; the staff at Lapa Rios told us that the roads were out for two weeks in October of that year and that at one point it did not stop raining for 15 days straight -- not sure if it would be that bad in August though). By all means, go to Osa, but if the only time you can go is in August, I think I would choose some other (drier) part of the country. This is not even to mention the heat, humidity, and bugs you would probably experience at that time of year (with no A/C of course), and the fact that you might not be able to take advantage of all of the great hiking if the trails are too muddy.

I think July and August (esp. first 2 weeks in August) are drier than the rest of the rainy season (Lapa Rios website also mentiones this in FAQ). September and October are probably the rainiest.<BR>When we were at Lapa Rios in August of last year, the roads were passable (we had to ford a couple of streams because there are no bridges). It rained a few times and Lisa is right, it may be impossible to enjoy some of the hiking because of the weather. All in all it rained less than we expected and it was less hot than we expected. It was extremely humid though.

Thanks for all of your replies. We're going to give it a shot in early August. Still not sure which place to stay at though. - Dave

In march I stayed at Drake Bay Wilderness Resort. There were lots of children. Food was not that good, but we weren't hungry, too hot. Everyone offers the same tours, very reasonably priced and not too far from where the plane landed.