Costa Rica Vacation Itinerary: 7-Day Best of the Osa Peninsula

Best of the Osa Peninsula Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival

Fly into San Jose’s International Airport Juan Santamaria in the afternoon. Spend the night at a hotel in downtown San Jose, and maybe go out to dinner at a well-known local restaurant like Grano de Oro. San Jose is known for its awesome nightlife, so ask some locals for their personal recommendations, which will vary depending upon the night of the week.

Day 2: Fly to Puerto Jimenez and Osa Wildlife Sanctuary

Arrive in Puerto Jimenez in the morning. Drop your things off at the Iguana Lodge, just minutes from the air strip. Then get up close and personal with playful spider monkeys, endangered scarlet macaws and recovering sloths at the Osa Wildlife Sanctuary, just across the bay from the Puerto Jimenez dock. The Sanctuary depends upon donations to survive, and they do a great job – so make a decent one if you can!

Day 3: Cabo Matapalo

Hire a cab or a tour guide to take you 40 minutes south to the beautiful Cabo Matapalo, home of thousands of tiny green-and-black poison dart frogs and three incredible (albeit little-known) surfing beaches in the country. The pristine white sands may be the softest and most immaculate in all of Costa Rica. Animal life here is almost as abundant as in Corcovado National Park, Cabo Matapalo’s northern neighbor, so wildlife watching is a must.

Day 4: Fly to Drake Bay

Catch a morning flight to Drake Bay. Enjoy the early morning sipping pipas out of a fresh coconut on a pristine and remote beach nearby, venturing into the water for snorkeling if you are feeling so inspired.

Day 5: Corcovado National Park

Take a morning hiking tour of Corcovado National Park via the La Sirena entrance – trust me, it’s slightly more expensive and a bit longer of a trek, but it’s so worth it. You’ll see many more animals than at the closer, more heavily-trekked San Pedrillo entrance.

Day 6: Snorkeling or Diving Isla del Cano

Snorkeling and diving is good almost year round at Isla del Cano, a small island roughly 40 minutes offshore that offers some of the best visibility in Costa Rica. If you can, try to time your trip during whale season (December to April or July to November) and you can combine a snorkeling trip with a whale watching excursion.

Day 7: Return to San Jose

Return to San Jose’s international airport in the morning and catch an afternoon flight back home.