Hi everyone,
We are looking to planning a 2-3 week trip to Costa rica next year.
Our wish list for this trip would be:
Focusing on all kinds of wildlife big and small and bird watching.
Good photo opportunities, sunsets ect.
Staying in small eco lodges/ hotels with wildlife "on the doorstep" with good guides, and good food.
Not too touristy, off the beaten track if possible
Not self drive. Not into zip lining or any adrenalin rush.
Staying in up to 4 different contrasting places.
Any ideas for ideal places to stay ad accomodations will be greatly appreciated.
Thankyou, Jan

Bosque del Cabo on the Osa Peninsula and Tortuga Lodge in Tortuguero fit the bill.

Tirimbina or Chilimate (we haven't been to this one, but looks great) (sp?) in Sarapaqui. Savegre Lodge or other area lodge for less-touristy cloud forest experience. Tortugero tour on The Francesa with Modesto and Fran Watson. Arenal Observatory Lodge combined with a Cano Negro tour. And yes,Bosque del Cabo is TOPS for all of your criteria if you can swing it financially!

Agree with all above and will add Bosque de Paz for cloud forest and hummingbirds (about 1 1/2 hours from SJO) - small lodge, very private, two nights would be max, excellent food, cool at night. Loved walking the trails, water dripping off ferns and bromeliads, clouds rolling across the hills, quite beautiful.

I have not been here yet, but Rara Avis is totally off the grid, supposed to have excellent birdwatching.

If you go on the Caribbean side, Selva Bananito is very isolated, total of 22 guests max with only 11 cabins, great birding, wonderful food, limited electricity. Would have to set up transfer from San Jose.

Have fun!

Rancho Naturalista outside of Turrialba is also one of the country's top birding lodges and is off the tourist track.

Sarapiqui area (lots of great options--Selve Verde, La Selva, Tirimbina, etc) is very accessible from San Jose, off the tourist trail, and provides plenty of very reaonably priced ecolodges where you can see monkeys right outside your room. Great wildlife and birding. Also a wide range of ecotourism activities,

The Osa peninsula is more remote and more expensive, but has even better wildlife (though Sarapiqui may have better birds). Sirena station inside Corcovado is a pain to get to and extremely rustic, but it's the best for wildlife.

Arenal Observatory Lodge is really the only place worth considering in the Arenal area if your priority is an ecolodge/wildlife/birding type of place and if you want to avoid crowds of tourists.. Also can do tours of Cano Negro from there. We saw a jaguarundi about 30 feet from our room.
Carara national park and the adjacent Tarcoles river on the Pacific coast provide outstanding birding, and great wildlife (including humungous crocodiles).

Manuel Antonio is good for monkeys and sloths, but terrible for birds. Also, is very touristy.

To get away from it all, I've always thought Casa Chameleon looks wonderful, haven't had a chance to stay there yet, but it gets rave reviews.

Some other places you might look at:
El Toucanet lodge in Copey de Dota- very much off the beaten path with great hosts(Gary and Edna) and great home cooked meals. Offers mid altitude birds with fantastic Quetzal viewing- they frequenly nest in the "living fences" along the lodge road.

Villas Gaia in Ojochal on the southern pacific coast- small cabinas and one large suite available with a good onsite restaurant- lots of fantastic dining choices within a couple of miles.Has a hilltop pool with incredible sunsets.Not far from Ojochal you have Dominical and Uvita that both offer nearly deserted beaches and some very interesting looking lodges, like Tiki villas and Shelter from the Storm.(staying here in 2012)

La Quinta Country Inn in Sarapiqui- If you want birds Sarapiqui is the place! Incredible diversity and lots of photo op's especially at La Selva- the grounds around the reception and dining hall are especially good.Also lots of other critters to see-snakes,frogs,lizards,crocs,monkeys,peccaries-you name it!

Fonda Vela in Monteverde- MV gets a bad rap because of the road to get there and the very unpredictable weather but it really is a magical place. Lots of good restaurants, great hiking and birding and cloud forests that are dripping with life make it worth the effort IMO.The hummingbird gallery outside the Bosque Nuboso is a great place to photograph lots of different hummers.

San Gerardo de Dota- Have only stayed at Savegre lodge which is great but definitely can be a busy place in the high season.Other options for lodging are nearby. Offers great hi-altitude birding with hummingbirds galore.Onsite restaurant is good but we prefer some of the small local places.

For the most diversity try to visit highlands and lowlands.

We liked Fonda Vela as well - their new junior suites are pretty comfy. We saw some cool birds on the property, including toucans.