atravelynn

I went once a long time ago for a week in April--Tortuguero (really liked Mwamba Lodge), Monte Verde, Arenal. Next trip could be anytime of year, not for a while. Just fact finding now.

Thank you!

atravelynn

No whitewater rafting either.

hipvirgochick

Nature you want -- Osa Peninsula is the place. Many favor Bosque del Cabo which is just fabulous and teaming with wildlife, isolation, great views of the ocean, fantastic trail system, delicious food, nice bar and swimming pool and wonderful staff. There are a variety of other choices of accomodations depending on your budget. If you can let us know what that is, we might be able to offer more suggestions.

volcanogirl

Nature = Osa Peninsula! I second hip's motion for BdC - loved it.

shillmac

Closer to San Jose, La Selva is a great area. All of the Organization for Tropical Study places are outstanding.

La Selva Biological Station (up near Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, Caribbean slope)

Wilson Botanical Garden (down near San Vito in the southern zone)

Palo Verde (over near the northern Pacific side on the Rio Tempisque and surrounding area)

These are all pure nature and not so heavily trafficked.

Another area, great for cloud forest, is south of San Jose just off the Interamerican near the little town of San Gerardo de Dota--Hotel Savegre. We love it there--very peaceful and quiet.

Southern Caribbean--Puerto Viejo de Talamanca area--Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge. Lots of hotels between Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo. My favorite guide, Abel Bustamante, can show you as much nature as your little heart can stand! He's a fabulous resource person for that area. You can dolphin watch, bird watch, hike through primary forest to your heart's desire, go into the Bri Bri Indigenous areas. . all kinds of choices.

La Carolina, near the town of Bijagua, north and west of Arenal--no electricity, a great jacuzzi built into the river and heated with a wood burning stove, horseback, hiking on Volcan Tenorio and the Rio Celeste. Only Spanish spoken--we loved this experience as it was so authentic and off the path.

Casa Turire, in the Turrialba area. It's a beautiful hotel in the middle of nowhere--easily combined with a trip to Puerto Viejo, southern Caribbean. You could also tie these 2 places into a visit to San Gerardo, then on down to Wilson Garden near San Vito.

If you like the idea of the Wilson Botanical Garden and the San Vito area, down south, you could couple that with a few days at Playa Nicuesa. Tully spoke very highly of it after she was there last May. You'd also be in position for the Osa, as others have mentioned.

The Osa is "all that", for sure. I'm just very fond of searching out all the hidden gems that are tucked away here and there. Most of them are not beach locations. . .

Good luck. You're going to be doing a lot of thinking! There are just SO many great little nooks and crannies all over CR. . .

hills27

Lynn, just wondering, why no ziplines?

atravelynn

Thanks for all the quick and informative replies.

Hills, Ziplines are more for thrills than wildlife viewing from what I have read. I think they would be too scary for me. I don't like rollercoasters. Too long on the merry-go-round is even unsettling for me.

Now canopy walks would be of great interest to me.

Percy

A Tour Guide from Costa Rica once said:

"You cannot leave Costa Rica without doing a zipline".

A canopy walk !...well you will be walking high above the rain forest tree tops and you may or may not see any animals or birds.

But it is a nice walk even if you just see the lush vegetation below.

Percy

hills27

I hate roller coasters (hate the drop feeling in the stomach) and I LOVE ziplines. You may not see much as you zip from platform to platform, but you do see a lot from the platforms.

The toucans we saw from the zip platforms were gorgeous and much closer than any others we saw. We also saw monkeys and sloths, and a whole bunch of other birds. If only I'd had my safari lens back then!

I don't think you should count it out just yet. It's nowhere near as scary as being charged by a bull elephant! I took my mom on a zip in Whistler (between two mountains, much scarier than anything in CR). She was petrified. By the second zip, she was in love and now actively looks for them on vacation. She's 60.

Also, keep in mind that you can regulate your speed quite a bit. And as a thin woman, you won't go anywhere near as fast as the big guys.

MarciaM

The Osa Peninsula is the part of Costa Rica that reminded me most of the Amazon.
What I liked about going on safari, though, was living in luxury in a place without electricity. We've got the

MarciaM

The Osa Peninsula is the part of Costa Rica that reminded me most of the Amazon. Would love to go back, but we're always short of time.
What I liked about going on safari, though, was living in luxury in a place without electricity. Pacuare Lodge (wwwjunglelodgecostarica.com) reminds me of that. We've got that booked, but haven't been there yet, so can't comment on it.

atravelynn

Ok, the jury is still out on the zipline if you can see things from it. Thanks!

atravelynn

Percy,

Don't you see birds on the canopy walk?

volcanogirl

I think you would really enjoy Bosque del Cabo - we saw wild scarlet macaws every day, also howlers, capuchins, and spider monkeys right from the front porch of our cabin. We did a guided early morning birding hike and saw toucans and wild parrots. You can also visit an animal sanctuary and swim with wild dolphins. The food is wonderful, and each night they have group candlelight dinners where everyone can discuss their adventures and sightings. It really is a special spot.

Percy

atravelynn:

Yes you might see birds on the canopy walk or sky walk.

But I would not count on it .

It depends on the time of year also.

For example The Quetzal mates in about April...so the male will be doing her fancy flight pattern to impress the female....

You will not see the Scarlet Macaw in Arenal or Monteverde( if you do you are lucky).

I have to agree with the others...The Osa area is the best place for you for what you are after.

( I know you were at the Galapagos . Not sure if you were in the Amazon in Brazil!)

Percy

shillmac

To be honest, we didn't see a THING from the platforms during our ziplines. It was all about the adrenaline. Good to know that others have enjoyed the wildlife. That is probably the exception rather than the rule. Usually, the proximity of the cables and all the human activity (and unrestrained woo-hooing!) sends the wildlife a little deeper in to the forest. One of the negatives of ziplining. . .

hills27

We had a big group and small groups of us went ziplining three different times. Everyone saw tons of wildlife, which was very close. Probably depends on where and time of year. We were in the Osa in May.

Lynn, I think you'll love it. It's nothing like a roller coaster or merry go round in that you are going straight.

hills27

p.s. I was trying to think of someway to describe the sensation and the closest thing I can come up with is surfing.

I haven't met anybody yet who hasn't loved it, no matter how scared they were beforehand. One of our group in CR was deathly afraid and even he loved it by the third or fourth zip.

atravelynn

All good info! Gracias

Percy, That explains why I got a glimpse of a quetzel in April. I was in the Brazil for the 1st time in Aug--Atlantic Forests and Pantanal.

Since I've never surfed, maybe I'll have to zip.