lindatx

Hi - I have always wanted to visit Costa Rica and really hoping to make it happen next summer. This will be a family trip for daughter's high school graduation, so it will be my husband and I, 18 yr old daughter, 15 year old son, for about 8 days in early June. Everybody is athletic and adventurous. I want to do a wilderness lodge and BdC looks amazing - and all the comments on this board lead me to believe it's even better in person. So that's half the trip for sure. Here's my dilemma: the kids (and parents to be honest) also really want to learn to surf and spend some time on the beach while in CR. It looks like there are some very cool surf camps in Tamarindo - Witch's Rock looked perfect - but it also looks like it will take quite a bit of time and money to get from SJ to BcD to SJ to Tamarindo to SJ. In reading the BcD site, they appear to have relationships with a couple of surfing schools - Pollo and Tres Peces? They also talk about some fabulous beaches you can hike to. Soooo, is it worth it to break the trip in half and make our way to Tamarindo and experience a different part of CR? Or should we just spend the week at BcD and take advantage of all the activities we can do from there? In looking at a map, it looks like it would be a really cool drive from Puerto Jimenz to Tamarindo, so I had initially thought about renting a car and making a day of driving, but after researching more, it sounds like that might be getting in a little over our heads, and that flying is our best option. Thanks for your help and ANY other thoughts or suggestions!

volcanogirl

With that amount of time, I'd definitely go to a second location. CR is really diverse, so it's fun to see more than one area. It's not that easy to get to the beach at BdC, but I'm wondering if you could just go to a second location nearby.

lindatx

Thanks, Volcanogirl! I really do think I want to hit 2 spots. After spending most of today reading this forum and doing other research, I am now really in love with the idea of Samara. Seems really cool, laid back, great for surfing, AND affordable, which would help with flying from one spot to the next. The goal is some beach/surf fun as well as an amazing jungle/wildlife experience. It looks like a combo of Samara and BdC is a perfect fit - am I missing anything? I am really sold on BdC. In Samara, Tico Adventure Lodge looked cool, especially the Treehouse Apt. Alta Vista Condos also looked nice. Would love any insight into places to stay in Samara.

volcanogirl

We haven't been to Samara, but I hear good things about it. Have you checked out those places on tripadvisor? That's a great source for feedback on hotels, and you can usually see a lot of pics that people have posted.

Since you're athletic and adventurous, you should take a look at going to the Arenal area someday - great adventure activities like ziplines, rafting, hiking, the volcano, the waterfall, natural hot springs, etc. Maybe not this trip, but if you go back again someday. I love Bosque del Cabo; most of our time there was spent hiking and wildlife watching though. Great wildlife in that area.

Jane62

I haven't been to Samara, but my family and I went to CR in 2011 (February) and my husband is a surfer so he always needs to fit in surfing on every trip. He's not a beginner though. We were at the Arenal area for 5 days (no surf there!) and then Manuel Antonio. He was able to surf near MA and also we went further south on the coast for him to surf on a day trip - I think it was Domenical?

We are thinking of another trip to CR in summer 2013 and want to visit the Osa peninsula and Bosque del Cabo this time. I have researched the surfing options from BdC and it's true, it does look not as easy as one would like, though it is do-able from there. However, I found a great-looking place right on the Osa from which you can surf right out the door and there's a surf school and easy surfing for beginners as well as more challenging for more experienced surfers (there are several breaks) It's called Encanta La Vida. Check it out on Tripadvisor. If you don't want to leave the Osa and just want to stay at 2 different places, that might be a great bet for you. I think we'll stay at both places on our trip.

xelas

While Encanta La Vida is really right on the beach, it is also at the far end of Cabo Matapalo road, and more or less below the cliff where BdC is located. So if you want the change stop half way to San Jose, in Uvita or Dominical. You can fly in Puerto Jimenez from SJO then rent a car and drive back via Uvita/Dominical. If surf will not be as good as anticipated then there are many other activities available.

tully

I stayed at Encanta last Nov. The people who worked there were nice but it's not a place I see myself returning to. I only saw the room I stayed in but it could really use a revamp, very tired looking. It was hot as Hell, even though the beach was a few minutes walk away, no breeze seemed to get back there. If you don't mind cooking for yourself, the group of cabins with Casa Bambu looked very nice. I met a couple who invited me to check their place out. A lot of people stay at BdC and surf as well, you just have to either drive down there (10 minutes) or arrange transport.

rpowell

We were in Tamarindo and BdC last March. Our young adults had a wonderful experience surfing in Tamarindo. We didn't try surfing while at BdC but we watched those who did. The surf looked better than Tamarindo, for beginners, and the runs looked longer. It was quite a bit more expensive than in Tamarindo.

In BdC try the tree climbing!

Jane62

tully, that's good to know about Encanta. I know my surfer husband likes to be able to walk out and see what the surf looks like to see if it's worth suiting up, so it's always nice to stay right at the surf spot, but it sounds like Encanta is not a great place to stay from your experience - I wouldn't want to steer the OP wrong so that's for letting us know! I guess one could just stay at BdC and surf from there, as you say.

rpowell, what do you mean by saying it was quite a bit more expensive than in Tamarindo - to rent a board?

james572

Time ago I visit Costa Rica with my two boys , 13 and 18 !! we were in Nicoya Peninsula Area. It was a great experience because we enjoyed a lot of adventure, so what I want to share with you is the great experience with Del Mar Surfing Academy. It was the surf school of my boys. You can get more info there:http://www.delmarsurfingacademy.com/. Hope you enjoy your vacations.