We are a family of 5 (kids ages 12,10,5) who will be in Costa Rica for 2 weeks in late July, flying in and out of SJO. Our last 5-6 days are in Monteverde area (husband's work runs a university ecolodge we are staying at). We are wondering where to spend the rest of our time. We are interested in hiking/wildlife much more than beaches. Thinking of Osa but not sure if there is a reasonably priced way to get a family of 5 there. Is driving from Monteverde and then flying to the Osa area pretty much the only tolerable way? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We have been to CR once before and visited Arenal and Guanacaste area so we would rather do something else. Thankyou!

You might do a combo of Manuel Antonio which is a nice beach area with lots of restaurant choices, but also good wildlife with the Osa, which would give you amazing access to wildlife and hiking trails.

Thankyou but I am not sure what you are suggesting. Do you mean visit all three places or just Monteverde and MA. Is it reasonable to get to Osa from MA or is it way too much time in a car?

I meant all 3 places since Monteverde is already part of your required time in CR. Personally I wouldn't drive to the Osa; I'd take either NatureAir or Sansa. You could start off in MA; nature sightings are really easy there in the national park, then fly to the Osa, and then maybe fly to Arenal and do jeep, boat, jeep from there to Monteverde. There's no airport in the Monteverde area, but jeep, boat, jeep cuts across the lake and can save you time driving. If you wanted to just do Monteverde and the Osa you could, but with 2 weeks, I'd throw in another destination since CR has so much to offer.

sus, the roads going to the Osa are not in great shape; just going from the Puerto Jimenez airport to Bosque del Cabo, we had cattle in the road, construction, trees across the road, and several small streams we had to drive through. Very few people drive it, and it's pretty slow going.

You might be interested in Hacienda Baru, which is south of Manuel Antonio and near Dominical on the Pacific Coast. You might also check out the Sarapiqui area, La Selva looks wonderful for hiking. In Guanacaste we went to Rincon de La Vieja which is a completely different ecosystem, and a nice contrast to the rainforest.

We went to Rincon de la vieja on our last trip and it was very nice so maybe we will look at the area toward MA and Dominical. I think I will need to do some more research. MA sounds so touristy but maybe that is okay. We went to Tamarindo also on our last trip and hated it because it was so touristy and hot and dusty. I am also wondering if it is going to be raining constantly since it is the green season. Thankyou for help.

sus, MA is built up; if that's not something you guys will enjoy, then I would skip it. It's not tacky at all, but does have numerous restaurants, etc. It won't give you the isolated feeling that the Osa will, but it's extremely popular with families because of the overall ease it offers. The national park is beautiful, and you can horseback ride, and do mangrove tours. That said, we enjoyed the Osa much more.Best of luck sorting it all out.

We went in July, and it rained each day, but only in the afternoons and cleared out by dinnertime. We just did our activities early in the day, which is pretty easy since the sun comes up so early.