soleil

We will be in the Osa Peninsula in January. We want to spend a day at Corcovado Rain Forest, and maybe experience the zip lines if anyone says it is worth it. May snorkle or swim with the dolphins. I'm not sure which of these lodges (Bosque del Cabo or Casa Corcovado) is the best location and has transportation to activities. Or which one would be considered the "best all around". I know it is supposed to be quite hot and humid. Which would be in a cooler location? Thank you for any help.

NB

We stayed at Bosque del Cabo last Christmas and it was the absolute highlight of our trip (we also went to Monteverde and Arenal.) To address your question, we did not go to the Corcovado Rain Forest and got the feeling that it would be difficult to do from Bosque. The guides said there is not much difference between the park and the grounds at the hotel. You pretty much want to stay on the property (which is ENORMOUS) once you get there. Also did not do zip lines or know of any way to get to them, but we did them in Monteverde.

My opinion is, the grounds there are just as good as going to the Corcovado Rain Forest. You can go on walks by yourself or with their extremely talented guides and see spider, howler, and white faced monkies, sloths, toucans, macaws, etc. There are so many trails to go on--we didn't even get to do all of them. One of my favorites went on steps down to the beach. There was nobody there except maybe five peopl from our hotel (the beach belongs to the hotel) and there were naturally formed swimming holes in the rock. You could sit in a hole filled with water as the waves crashed dramatically all around you, gazing at the jungle and watching macaws fly by. Amazing! Other paths went to a more swimmable beach and a bus came to pick you back up.

The food was delicious and the best of anywhere on the trip. The bar was fun at night. Get a room looking over the water (we had Toucano--the best!) Outdoor showers, hammocks with an ocean view from the cliff, waking up to howler monkeys--all amazing. The staff is wonderfully warm and excited to practice their english on you.

To be honest, we did get sticky during the day, but we'd jump in the pool or the ocean and it was better. Nights were cool and breezy--not uncomfortable at all. The walls are made of mesh with shutters so they are very well ventilated. I was never hot if I was sitting still, but once I started being active the sweat kicked in quickly. Like I said--you'll be happy for the small pool!

Jessie_

Bosque is my all time favorite place in all of CR and it is always the highlight of my trip every year. That said, Casa Corcovado offers a wonderful opportunity to see Corcovado Park and to go snorkeling and possibly swimming with dolphins. There is a larger infrastructure there for tours than Bosque. But then again, when at Bosque, you don't really have to go anywhere to enjoy yourself. Bosque does have a tiny little zip line. Not worth the money imo. There are better places than the Osa to find a good zip line.

This will have to be a coin toss for you as you won't loose whichever you pick.

soleil

Thank you for your responses. There is nothing like hearing from someone who has actually stayed in one of the lodges.

Molly2

As I mentioned in another post, we didn't get to Matapalo, but even in the Drake Bay area we saw so much wildlife, that the tour we took to Corcovado wasn't a must-do. With the exception of close-up views of scarlet mawcaws at Corcovado, we saw more at and within a few miles hike from our lodge.

The lodge we stayed at frowned on swimming with the dolphins {too stressful for them}, and people we met said that they didn't actually get to swim with them anyway, and were annoyed since that was the experience they had booked. Also, the place that booked the swim-with-the-dolphins tour near Drake Bay let their dogs run wild and kill the monkeys. That really turned us off to them.

We have heard that the snorkling at Cano Island, while interesting, doesn't compare to snorkling in Hawaii. We chose to save our money, and snorkled off the rocks near our lodge instead - not great, but fun, and the price was right!

I think that you're apt to see more wildlife at Bosque del Cabo.

Do post a trip report when you return!

Jessie_

Molly, I agree with you about the snorkeling in the Cano area. We did go and got quite bored after a short while and hiked around the island. Another rather uninspiring adventure. All we saw were some reef sharks, yellow puffers, small rays and a few other interesting fish. A day on the ocean even not seeing much is still nirvana to me.

We have spent a good bit of time snorkeling elsewhere, primarily off of Belize and Cozumel so, like you, it is hard to get excited about the Costa Rican coast for snorkeling.

I have heard also that swimming with Dolphins in captivity is not to be done due to the stress levels for them but had not heard that about the wild ones. Mostly I had heard that they just ignore you. Thanks for filling us in on that.

I seem to remembers reading that Ally has quite a bit of experience with the Dolphins, maybe she will see this and fill us in more. I would hate to see the programs encouraged if it is harming them. I believe she posted something about this earlier in the year but can't find it.

I will never forget having, what seemed like, hundreds of spinners swimming along side of us while fishing out of Quepos. I am quite happy with that and don't feel the need to get into the water with them as well as who knows what else .

soleil

Thank you all once again. I am going to email Bosque del Cabo today to check on availability.

Ally

'Swimming with dolphins in captivity....yes, it's very, very stressful for them and should not be done.
As for swimming with them in the wild, it depends on the operation that is taking you out. Boats should never try and 'chase' dolphins, that can be stressful to them.
However, if a boat is running along the and dolphins choose to chase the boat, that's fine! They often like riding the bow wakes of boats. But, it's difficult to swim with them. The biggest reason is that once the boat stops to let the 'swimmers' get in, the dolphins will most likely leave the area. But that is not always the case. There was a couple who stayed in the Drake Bay area and took a 'swim with dolphins' boat trip. While they were out, they encountered a huge pod. They got in the water and held onto a bouy of some sort and then were pulled in the water as the dolphins were all around them. They got some incredible pictures!

I'm confused about the property that lets their dogs run wild and kill monkeys?
Unless the dogs have learned to climb tress, I would think the mondkeys are pretty safe from dogs!

Molly2

Ally, I hesitate to name names based on inuendos. I will just say that it is a lodge known for giving dolphin tours near Drake's Bay. The owner of the lodge we stayed at was upset that the very friendly} dogs were running around pooping on the beach and scaring off the wildlife. A man who owns a private trail nearby, and seems passionate about wildlife, was the one who claimed the dogs were killing the monkeys. I dunno!

dfarmer

Thanks Ally for the post on the dolphins. I have always steered away from this, but was considering a dolphin tour while in the Osa. Just getting to watch these beautiful creatures in the wild has got to be awesome.

As for the snorkeling - we have snorkled in CR on several occasions, and no it is not as beautiful as many other areas, but can still be very enjoyable.