Bosque del Cabo is a beautiful place. The people are extremely friendly and you can see all of the wildlife that you want without leaving the property, In three nights, we saw three types of monkey, coatis, scarlet macaws, peccaries, and fiery-billed aracaris. We also went on a guided nature walk in the evening with the site naturalist, so we saw tent-bats, the marine toad and the quintessential Costa Rican tree frogs (which are only 2-3" long).

There are a couple of trails that are described as being very scenic, which we did not undertake. One is the Pacific trail, which can only be accessed 3 hours before or after low tide. It goes down alot of steps (over 100) to the ocean. The high-school atheletes who stayed in an adjacent cabin went down and back in 28 minutes, but due the oppressive humidity and the tide limitation, we did not undertake it. A second trail also goes to surfing beaches on the Golfo Dulce..it is about a 2 hour hike and other guests suggested that would be too much for my 10 year old daughter. If you describe yourself as a casual hiker, you may be disappointed by the level of effort needed to reach coastal water.

We had booked Bosque del Cabo for 6 nights, under the impression that it was all-inclusive. Be sure to check the new web-site, because the extras add up if you are there for a long stay. We paid $20 each to walk around for about 45 minutes with the on-site naturalist; and the early morning bird tour (done by on-site staff) was longer, but about the same in terms of cost. Off-site tours are understandably add-ons, but I felt the on-site stuff should have been included.

The transfer from the hotel to the airport is 30 minutes of the worst road I have ever seen. It is similar to driving on unmaintained snowmobile trails in June --with 2-5 inch diameter stones sticking up all over the place. The vehicles used (older Land-Rovers) seat up to 8 people, which means you may be riding on a jump seat in the back. And, if you need to go off-site for an activity, you will be charged for the transportation.. approximately $110 per trip to town (shared among the group).

Dinner served buffet style at 7pm; appetizers are put out in the bar around 5 PM. The food is very good, particularly the dishes with fresh fish. After dinner, there is not much to do except retire for the evening. The cabinas have a few lights, which you want to use minimally as the lights attract bugs. Ours had a loft with 2 twin beds. It was rather scary for a single kid up there, so one of us slept there too.

From the location, I expected a breeze blowing off the water all night, to provide relief from the humidity. Three nights.. no breeze. There are fans in the cabinas; not ceiling fans..12" table fans. They are better than nothing, but didn't provide the circulation that a on-shore breeze would have. If you have any sort of medical condition (pregnant, asthma, heart condition) or physical aversion to heat and humidity, only spend 2 nights here.

We were happy to leave after 3 nights. They did refund a small portion of the bill that was the extra person charge for my daughter (about $240). They arranged for a cab with an English-speaking driver to meet us at the Pavas airport, who turned out to be wonderful. So we stayed in San Jose 3 nights and saw downtown, the Poas volcano, a coffee plantation, and zip-lined

Fodors indicates that tipping is not all that common in Costa Rica, but when you leave, it is expected. If you only brought $100 travelers checks, and little cash, you'll be leaving a large tip. They also do not exchange money for colonnes at Bosque, so be sure to do that in San Jose.

Granted, the lodge can't do much about the condition of the road or the lack of a cooling breeze. And where else can you actually experience primary and secondary rainforest? I would recommend this hotel, but be sure you know what you're getting into.

Nineteen of us returned last week from a week at Bosque del Cabo and there was nothing but high praise from all. It was my wife's birthday trip and before we knew it all these friends signed on. She and I had the Lapa cabina which was wonderful but all of them are good. We also had both houses. Casa Blanca would have been my favorite as it is close to all the facilities. Casa Miramar is just wonderful but it's a good walk away. This was our first trip to Bosque for all of us but it won't be our last. Give yourself time when you're there to experience everything. You don't just walk into a zoo full of wildlife. With time you'll see everything and probably shiver every time the howler monkeys roar. If you're a runner as many of us were, there is a very good dirt road which will allow you to go as far as you want if you don't keep stopping to view the wildlife. There are also great trails but these are better for hiking given the roots. No mosquitos while we were there (First week of April) and you can drink the water. Great bar although upon checkout it was a significant part of our expense but that's OK. We were all in our 50's and 60's and covered lots of ground. Really too much to do in one week.

My husband and I spent 5 incredible nights at Bosque del Cabo and we've never had an experience like it. This was our last stop on a 14-day, first-time trip to Costa Rica and it was definitely the best. We had been on a number of guided nature hikes through rain and cloud forests, as well as a boat excursion at the Cano Negro Reserve and we saw more wildlife here than all the other places combined.

The best part, in my opinion, is that because this area is still pretty much wilderness and is protected, the animals are not especially fearful of homo sapiens. And they are not fed so haven't developed the bad habits that often come from humans and animals living in close proximity. Our first afternoon, about 20 minutes after arriving, we were sitting on our porch and watched with open mouths as a flock of 9 Scarlet Macaws squawked by! Monkeys watched us from the tree above our shower. It truly was a paradise! We saw an incredible number of animals and birds on the trails on the property - in most cases, if you walked a couple hundred yards into the forest and stood still for 30 seconds something would amble or fly by. It was such an idyllic peaceful coexistence!

Combine this with all the creature comforts and you pretty much have heaven on earth! We stayed in Pizote, which was very comfortable with wonderful views and breezes off the Pacific. The outdoor shower (with monkeys!) was wonderful. Solar lighting and hot water provides just the right amount of civilization. Ladies with high-maintenance hair take note - the electrical system does not support hair appliances of any kind so be prepared to drip-dry.

Food was very good. We especially liked the meal arrangements. Breakfast and lunch is served at separate tables and ordered off the menu. You can also order a box lunch at breakfast to take on your daytime adventures. Dinner is served buffet-style and was excellent, with an incredible number of delicious dishes and LOTS of great vegetable dishes, which I had sorely missed at meals in other parts of the country. Tables are moved together for dinner and you sit with your fellow guests, which was really fun. We met some really interesting and fun people, and it was very informative to find out what people had done over the course of the day and how they liked it. To me this was one of the best parts of the stay there.

The hiking is great and it can be as hard or as easy as you like. We LOVED the Pacific trail to the waterfall - as 'up close and personal' as we've ever gotten to a waterfall! The guided hikes are very good, and it was wonderful not to have to be bussed somewhere to have them.

We enjoyed all the other places we visited in Costa Rica - Arenal, Monteverde, the beach - but if you're going to Costa Rica to experience the richness of its ecosystems and wildlife, I think Bosque del Cabo and the Osa Peninsula are the cream of the crop .

My wife and I throughly enjoyed our stay with the folks at Bosque dal Cabo. The staff and owners of the lodge spare nothing to make your stay a memorable experience. The lodge has a fulltime very helpful naturalist whos vast knowledge is a must for identifying the abundant wildlife in the area.

Our cabina was a little bit a paradise overlooking the pacific ocean. The lodge staff was extermely helpful and took care of everything including a fishing trip and hotel reservations upon our departure.

This was our second stay at Bosque del Cabo and we look forward to our next visit.

Bigfork, MT USA