Drake Bay and Corcovado National Park can both be reached by charter planes from Pavas and San Jose. A boat trip with a duration of one hour and thirty minutes from the Sierpe River is another possible method of reaching these destinations. In Puerto Jimenez, taxis are readily available, and you can also rent a car there. To reach Cabo Matapalo, fly to Puerto Jimenez and drive (45 minutes) to the village. Bumpy travel by bus is possible throughout the peninsula.
Osa Peninsula, where you will find Costa Rica’s jewel of the National Park System , Corcovado National Park. Osa continues to provide adventure travelers with great photos of monkeys, tapirs, cats, dolphins, whales and exotic birds. A new hwy # 245 was just completed, so now it’s only a 5 hr. drive from San Jose vs. the previous trek over the mountains and through raging rivers. Navigating pot holes the size of Hollywood swimming pools are now cherished memories!
The days are over when you just abandoned your rental car along the side of the pot hole riddled road and hitchhiked your way to Puerto Jimenez. Yup…new asphalt, bridges, painted yellow lines, passing lanes, guard rails and bus stops in each town. You could certainly sneak under the radar and land a small plane just like the ole days. Most people don’t know, but Puerto Jimenez was a dusty old gold mine town in its hay day, built completely in support of eager and persistent gold miners and the richest deposits of Gold in the world.
Dirt roads came to The Osa 28 Years ago when president Nobel Peace Prize Winner - Oscar Arias was President of Costa Rica back in the early 80’s and he signed a deal with Ronald Reagan. The Roads for Peace project was born and the US Army corp. of engineers got busy building roads, bridges and schools. USA could keep a close eye on all of the Ollie North and Noriega activity in the mountains high above the city of David, Panama. Costa Rica and Taiwan were the only two countries that benefited from the short lived Roads for Peace program. Life for Costa Ricans has never been the same since.
28 years later our road is all finished up. Coincidentally ICE has upgraded the electrical capacity in the area and we have several new airstrips and 3-G wireless technology . But as usually, they’ve already over sold the band width, so don’t bother checking your e mail between 4-9PM. and forget about weekend surfing, your best surfing is still in Matapalo.
Funky Puerto Jimenez is starting to catch up with the rest of the world. With our new road and improved infrastructure all neat and tiddy, The Osa could be ready to join the ranks of Tamarindo and Jaco, however most of us locals don’ even want to think about it. When I moved to The Osa 12 years ago., I shipped 2 cars and lived a life of dodging lake sized pot holes with everyone else. One year there was sign hung slightly above the Jaws sized swimming pool in Sandaol, Locals called it “lago grande” the sign read. I called it jaws.
Just my luck, now the road is paved and none of my cars run. The Osa is a changing place for sure. 3M billboards and dry cleaners haven’t arrived yet, nor has Pillsbury croissants, or Sarah Lee frozen pies. However, we’re always excited to see Johnsonville Brats. Italian Sausage, Provolone Cheese and Snyder Pretzels. We locals living on Osa, pay 3 times the going rate for food so we expect to have a few Pringles potato chips and Cracker Jacks every once in awhile. Leave your golf clubs and tennis rackets at home and let the Osa’s prehistoric jungles get under your hardened skin . The Osa is not for everyone, however it is for folks interested in sustainable travel and learning how to go green in their own lives back home. From solar pizza ovens, compost gardens to exercise machines that charge your IPOD, it’s all available on The Osa.
Everybody wants to go green, get eco - fied and learn about sustainability. But how�? The Osa is a great place to start your sustainable mission. An important aspect of sustainable travel is supporting local Costa Rican tour operators, restaurants and gift shops. In order for Costa Rica to thrive as the leader in eco tourism we need to keep our local Costa Ricans employed, to prevent The Osa from becoming another Jaco or South Beach. Local sustainability is about jobs, so spread your dollars around and touch the lives of rural Costa Rica.
Most people visiting The Osa Peninsula usually plan a week or two vacation, and that can get expensive while staying at beach lodges and resorts, especially if you are traveling as a family. Most people want to stay on the beach when visiting Southern Costa Rica, but what most people don’t know about Costa Rica, is that beaches are unbelievably HOT�! Full of Purajas ( sand flees ) black sand and open to the public, so you don’t get the privacy you deserve while your on vacation. Most of the lodges and eco resorts on the Osa Peninsula are off the grid, so adequate power, hot water and the 5 star amenities our civilization has grown to expect…are a hit and miss.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Osa Peninsula
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Osa Peninsula - updated Apr 2024
SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount Osa Peninsula hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!
Osa Peninsula Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
