sbetterly

We have 4 nights to spend in the Osa Peninsula area in early February. I would like to spend two of those nights at Corcovado Lodge Tent Camp (to get a sleep-on-the-beach feeling) and two nights somewhere else on the Osa. I have thought about getting a taxi/ride over to Iguana Bay or to Bosque del Rio Tigre Lodge. We don't have a car but would it be possible to get a ride somehow up to the Drake Bay area? I need some recommendations for splitting up the 4 nights and I also need to find a charter flight from Carate to San Jose. One way I can fly a regular flight, either to Drake Bay or Puerto Jimenez depending on where I stay the other two nights. I say a tour combining Corcovado Lodge Tent Camp with Tiskita Lodge? Does that strike you folks as a good combo? Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Jessie_

Actually, there is an air taxi that can ferry you around. It is called Alfa Romeo air taxi. Any one of the lodges in the PJ, Carate, Golfito area can help you set that up. They can take you over to Tiskita also. Tiskita has its own air strip so you can fly directly to the lodge from Carate if you wish.

I know the air taxi travels all around the southern Osa and Golfito. Possibly it could take you to Drake Bay. Getting a driver to anywhere is always possible. I think someone on this board did that trip fairly recently and after some investigations found someone fairly reasonable. I think their first quote was around $250 so they kept looking. Keep in mind that it is a long way from San Jose to the southern Osa and they could charge you for both ways if they come from San Jose. I would contact several transport companies until you find the best price for you if you really want to do that. Most likely you will get as far as Sierpe and then take the boat taxi down river to DB.

What are you looking for in your trip? Bosque del Rio Tigre is primarily a birding lodge. Iguana Lodge is a beach lodge. You could easily get a taxi ride from Carate to one of them.

One last option would be to try to get on a regular flight that goes through Drake Bay from Puerto Jimenez on its way back to San Jose. They are very limited and only run certain times of the year so are not listed. Your lodge in the Carate/PJ area could help you arrange that if they are making that stop. It is a pretty good bet that they will be in Feb. Possibly you could stay in DB first and then fly to PJ on the unschedualed flight. Otherwise you would probably have to stay in the Puerto Jimenez area to be able to catch a flight to DB if it is early. It is at least a 2hr drive from Carate to PJ by taxi. My goodness it is getting complicated. Anything is possible but not always easy down there.

Personally I think that you should either stick to the PJ/Carate areas or Carate/Tiskita combo.

Costa Rica Expeditions owns the tent camp and they are quite capable of setting up any type of transportation. They will help you set up as much or as little of your trip as you need. We used them to help us with our trips for several years. We traveled by charter through them frequently. It is pricey but you can get into and out of areas a lot easier.

sbetterly

Hi Jessie - Thanks for your reply. I think you are right about sticking to Carate/PJ or Carate/Tiskita. Drake Bay is too difficult to travel in and out of for only two nights. I guess I am trying to decide what is a good choice after Corcovado Lodge Tent Camp to have a slightly different experience, maybe see different animals, whatever. We will have already spent 3 days/2 nights on a Pacuare River Trip prior to the Osa Penninsula. It seems like my choices are Iguana Lodge (beach and relaxing), Bosque del Rio Tigre (Birding/other wildlife?) or Tiskita Jungle Lodge. I have no idea which is a good compliment to Corocvado. We aren't huge birders but I do like to go birding and I'm sure we'll see other wildlife as well at Bosque del rio. I have to do more investigating of Tiskita Lodge. Thanks, Susan

Pete1222

Susan,
Who are you doing the rafting with? We are hoping to do that also w/ our two daughters (13&11). I wasn't sure what to expect with February being the end of the dry season. We are also looking at the Osa but will stay in only one location for 3 nights.
Wendy

Pat2003

Bosque del Rio Tigre is exclusively birding lodge. if you see any other wildlife there it is going to be a big miracle.

sbetterly

Hi Pete - We booked our rafting through Aventuras Naturales. It was the first thing I booked and I choose the 2 night, 3 day trip with overnights at a jungle camp and at their Jungle Lodge. I guess I'll find out if it was a good choice or not. I read about an American couple that died on a rafting trip in January of 2000 on the Pacuare. The river was apparently very high and their outfitter was poorly prepared, and made a decision to raft although other outfitters had cancelled. That made me think we should go with a bigger, more established outfit. I am assuming Aventures Naturales is a good outfitter. On the other hand the article didn't name the outfitter involved in the deaths. Maybe someone out there can speak about how much water will be in the river in early February and about the outfitters..........

sbetterly

Thanks for your reply Pat - We have changed our itinerary and are not trying to move around the Osa in the short time we have. We will just stay put for the available nights. But I am curious why we wouldn't see other animals at Bosque del rio tigre. If the area is so conducive to bird life, I would think it would draw other species as well - there is water, food sources, birds to eat, etc. We're not staying there but I would like to know for the future in case I become a Costa Rica junkie......

Pat2003

I don't know why. But we stayed 6 nights there and never saw any wildlife besides birds. Nothing, not even footprints. Plenty in Lapa Rios

Jessie_

I am looking forward to a second stay at Bosque del Rio Tigre next month. It is such a natural area set so far back away from everything. Amazing birds. With an Ornithologist for a father my husband is definitely heavy on the birds. As far as wildlife goes....it is the luck of the draw anywhere. Both Lapa Rios and Bosque del Rio Tigre as well as many other places all share boundries with Corcovado. The animals, fortunately, don't know where those boundries are and wander everywhere. I took a wonderful walk with Abraham and he showed me so many things. Both animals and plants. Stuff he learned about as he was growing up in the area. Most were small things that most people wouldn't give a second thought to. Liz, on the otherhand, is definitely bird oriented. Not a fancy place like Lapa Rios but clean as a whistle and wonderful food.

Tiskita is more known for having a more rounded "list" of animals, plants and birds. It is in a good location for bird migration. It would be a different experience from the tent camp. It was on our list but my husband spent a couple of days at La Esquinas and thought it was too hot on that side of the Gulf for him. I would think Tiskita would be cooler. Being out towards the point it should get some breezes.

I think you will enjoy your rafting trip. All reports that I have read and heard on Aventuras are excellent. I hear they have one of the better lodges on the river although I also hear Rios Tropicales has been doing some improvements to their already nice place.

As far as what happened in 2000. We went rafting about 2 weeks after that happened. I was already down there and had heard about it before my husband arrived in the country. That was the same year my husband got tossed out of the raft for the first time. The water was still pretty high and it was a heck of a ride! We had Tara as a rafting guide and she was terrific. With just the 3 of us in the raft she really showed us what she knew. We spent the night at the Rios Tropicales lodge on the river. It was a sad incident and the primary reason why I always stress the safety issues and the confidence I have in the few places I mention. The rafting companies are always trying to beat each other out on to the river so they don't all get stuck together. There was the one smaller company that left for the river before word got out that it was too dangerous.....