Backpacking the Osa Peninsula

The Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica : How to get there and what to do:

After days of a laid-back jungle lifestyle, surrounded by the most beautiful natural sights, I’m happy to report that the Osa Peninsula on the South Pacific region of Costa Rica is a must-see when traveling in Costa Rica or through Central America. The tropical rainforest and all of its inhabitants make this a truly unforgettable destination.

Kate enjoying a deserted beach @ the Osa Peninsula

How to get to the Osa Peninsula:

How do you get to what National Geographic calls the “most biologically intense” place on Earth? Its easier than it sounds, although a bit of a long journey. The easiest, most direct, and affordable way for backpackers to get there is to begin in San Jose, the transportation hub of Costa Rica.

We flew from NYC through Fort Lauderdale into San Jose and spent one night in the city. The airport is a ways out of town, and taxis can be pricey, but the city bus is only about $2 USD! Bypass all of the aggressive taxi drivers at the airport, walk past the parking garage, and out the main entrance. When you get to the road, turn right and walk for about a minute. You’ll see a few buses on the side of the road. All you have to say is “San Jose” and they’ll direct you to the correct bus. The ride is about 25-35 minutes. The Van Gogh Hostel ($14 USD) was a nice, clean and secure, basic hostel in a safe part of San Jose for a travel day. The host, David, is very helpful!

Once in San Jose, take the 8:00 AM bus to Puerto Jimenez. Finding the bus station is a little tricky on your own! The bus station itself doesn’t open until just before 8:00 AM, when the bus leaves, and there is only a tiny sign that says “Transportes Blanco” on a building on an out-of-the-way street. Since our español is pretty rusty, we found the easiest way to find the station was to catch a cab at the Holiday Inn near the center of town. The short cab ride was about $3 USD.

The bus cost 7,500 CRC (about $15 USD) each for obvious gringos. Maybe a bit cheaper if your nationality isn’t so obvious. Buses leave at 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM. Our bus took 9.5 hours so we were very glad we took the 8:00 AM departure. Be prepared for lots of stops! The bus made 2 bathroom/rest stops and about 20 other stops, picking up locals that were walking on the road. Our bus was also delayed due to an accident.

The bus ride was long, but we really enjoyed getting to see so much of Costa Rica along the way! The scenery is beautiful.

This is the bus route we took to get down to the Osa Peninsula and Puerto Jimenez

Where to stay in the Osa Peninsula:

The Bello Horizonte Jungle Hostel! We couldn’t have been happier with our choice to stay here! We picked it for the price ($14.76 USD), but ended up with some of the best experiences we’ve had so far on our trip. Peter and Lucia are the owners of this newer hostel and they are delightful. Peter, from California and English-speaking, picks you up from the bus station when the bus comes arrives and drives you to the grocery store to pick up groceries for your stay. The hostel is about a 15 minute drive or 45 minute walk from Puerto Jimenez, tucked into the secondary rainforest.

We met and became friends with travelers from Hungary, Russia, Germany, and France as well as the Tican staff. In the mornings we would wake up to little monkeys swinging around the trees right above you and being feet away from vibrant toucans in the clubhouse!

The accommodations are pretty rustic – electricity and Wi-Fi are only available in the clubhouse and only available from 5:30-10:00 PM! The rooms are open-air cabanas with a roof, 3 walls, and mosquito nets over the beds.

Word from the wise: bring a headlamp or a flashlight! The jungle gets dark at night. Duh. I also strongly recommend bug spray!

Our Cabina at Bello Horizonte Jungle Hostel

Top 5 Things to do in the Osa Peninsula:

1. Corcovado National Park. This is the main reason people come to this area. The national park covers most of the Osa Peninsula and is a serious trek on which you can find over 400 species of birds alone and 10% of all of the mammals that exist in the Americas. Be prepared to carry all of your food and water on your back for this 1-2 full day trek! A $10 permit and a guide are now required to enter the park. This website’s tours have great reviews: Osatravel.com.

The trips can be expensive on a backpacking budget, but if you’re in Costa Rica, do you really want to miss it? Tip: Make sure you’re up to it! This is a strenuous trek and should not be taken lightly. Have you heard of Golden Orb Spiders? You will be sharing the forest with them.

Corcovado National Park is what draws people from all over the world

2. Visit the Osa Wildlife Sanctuary. If the cost of the park guide is a bit over budget or if you haven’t trained for the 21 km trek into Corcovada, you can still visit the exotic animals at the Osa Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary is open to visitors between 9-11 AM and the entrance fee is $25 per person. Make sure you do your research first, as there are restrictions on what is allowed inside.

3. Walk the secondary rainforest trails! You’re already in the rainforest, now explore it! Our hostel had trails all over the 10 acre property (at no cost to us), leading all over the jungle, down to little creeks. It was a blast wandering around, taking pictures and spotting sloths and different kinds of monkeys and tropical birds. Some local families offer guided tours around their properties for a small fee (about $5 USD).

4. Enjoy a beach on Gulf of Dulce. A few of us walked about 45 minutes down the road to a secluded beach on the Gulf of Dulce.

This cost us $0 and was breathtaking! Flocks of bright red macaws come to the beach during the day. We must have seen 20 in one tree alone. Bring lots of water, snacks, sunscreen, and a good book. Spend the whole day. You won’t want to leave 🙂

5. Rent a kayak. Make your way into town and rent a kayak. Its only $4 per hour! Don’t bring more than you need! You will get wet! As always… don’t forget your sunglasses and sun block.

take a few hours and jump in a kayak!

Average Daily Cost of Travel in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica – $35 Per Day

Hostel: $14 USD
Food: $10 USD
Transportation: $10 USD

This is a tough question to answer. There are many different price options you can go while backpacking this area. If you want to really see Corcovado National Park the average daily cost will be significantly higher. The park requires that you hire a guide to take you in and out of the park. This can cost around $85-120 USD per day with meals.

We suggest that you get into the park for a day or two and spend the rest of your time on the outskirts. This area has so much to offer. Whether its near Puerto Jimenez, Drake, Rincon, or La Palma there really is a lot to do. Obviously the world class park is the main attraction.

If you stay in a jungle hostel, cook your own food, and walk to most of your destinations, you can easily backpack for less than $25 per day.

Traveling to Costa Rica or the Osa Peninsula for the first time? Post a question in the comments section below, we’ll respond with advice!

What to pack backpacking through Central and South America

Brian and I left for Costa Rica last week! We had been talking about it and saving our money for a year, and now have finally begun our open-ended month trek across Central and South America.

For weeks I was planning what to pack, making lists, and getting excited! And yet strategically packing only a  single backpack was a daunting task. In the past, I have notoriously been the type of packer that would wind up packing half of my apartment for a seven-day beach vacation. Yup.  What can I say? I like to be prepared.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to carry half of my apartment on my back. And anyway, I was a cheapskate with our departure tickets and had to abide by Spirit Airline’s 40lb weight restriction.  Sigh. Needless to say, this time around I had to downsize my list of “necessities”.

Now, we don’t have a concrete itinerary.  We are planning to come and go through countries and cities as we please and hopefully gather route suggestions  from other travelers we meet along our path. Our tentative route, as of today, is Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia with the possibility of travelling as far as Argentina, Chile, or Brazil. We will see.

So, here is my complete list of what to pack when backpacking across Central and South America.

Let’s start with clothes…

• Tops

  • 3 simple tank tops

  • 2 layer-able long sleeve shirts

  • 1 sweater

  • 1 sweatshirt

  • 2 casual short sleeve shirts

• Pants

  • 2 pairs athletic capris or shorts

  • 2 pairs black leggings – 1 standard, 1 fleece-lined

  • 1 pair of travel pants*

  • 1 pair jeans

  • 1 pair jean shorts

  • 1 sun dress – nothing fancy or flashy

*Travel pants are comfortable, non-sexy pants to travel in and not draw attention to yourself. Mine are a loose-fitting, army green pair that I picked up for $20 at Marshall’s.

Bear in mind when reading this that I am someone who is comfortable wearing leggings as pants! In fact, they are my pant of choice! If leggings are out of your comfort zone, try a lightweight cargo pant instead! A good rule in packing is that if it’s not something you feel comfortable in at home, you’re not going to want to wear it on vacation either!

• Under-things

  • 2 comfortable bras* – convertible/ removable straps? Even better

  • 2 sports bras

  • 5 pairs of socks

  • 10 pairs of underwear –

*Choose your bras wisely and according to the tops you pack! Maybe opt for a tan or nude one and a black one? No one wants hot pink bra straps visible in photographs!

• Accessories

  • 2 pairs of earrings I can wear with anything

  • 1 pair of sunglasses

I didn’t bring much in the way of accessories because (1) I know myself and that means I know I will lose them and (2) who doesn’t want to buy a vibrant handmade scarf in Peru and a beautiful piece of costume jewelry in Panama?

• Miscellaneous

  • 2 pairs of pajamas

  • 2 bikinis –  I packed 2 so I can wear one while the other is drying

  • 2 beach covers

  • 1 winter coat

• Shoes

  • Sneakers – I’m not a hiking boots gal…  Too heavy and clunky. To each her own.

  • Plain old cheap flip flops

  • Crocs sandals– “Sexi” flips … I like Crocs. These are great. They are comfortable and stay on my feet  and really not that bad looking at all.

Another suggestion would be to roll all of your clothing. It packs down smaller and doesn’t leave as many awkward creases and wrinkles as folding does. When all was said and done, clothes (packed tightly) took up about half of my backpack. Packing a winter coat was a tough decision to make, but we’re planning to make it to Machu Picchu in Peru and the temperatures can be as low as 40 degrees. The solution: a jacket in a packet. I bought mine from UNIqlo on sale for $59.99 and I love it! It’s a knee-length, hooded, down jacket that weighs next to nothing and  folds up into a bag about the size of a football. Shorter and hood-less versions are available, too, and take up even less space. The jacket is the only real piece of cold weather gear I’m bringing. If we need hats, gloves, or scarves, we  will pick them up along the way.

I packed about a week’s worth of outfits, these clothes are going to be subject to a lot of wear and probably some tear. Because of this, I tried to pack items that I like enough to not get sick of, but that I can live without if they get ruined. A great reason to NOT overpack is souvenir shopping! I’m looking forward to shopping for a few native pieces along the way and I made sure to save a little room in my bag.

• Gadgets/ tech

  • Cell phone – My plan doesn’t cover international calls, but I still want my phone to surf the web.

  • Google Chromebook  – I love this thing. It is extremely lightweight, boots up in 7 seconds or less, and has a 7 hour battery life on a full charge. Not a bad buy for $200 and definitely beats lugging around my old dinosaur laptop.

  • Digital Camera and SD cards

  • International outlet adapter

  • headphones

• Travel Documents

  • Driver’s License

  • Passport (Note: Costa Rica won’t accept a passport that expires within 6 months)

  • Copies of passport and driver’s license, along with credit card numbers and credit card companies phone numbers

Email the copies to yourself. If your backpack is stolen, at least you’ll be able to head to a local internet café and print out the copies.

• Medication – this will vary person to person, but here is what I brought

  • Tums

  • Dramamine

  • Antibiotic Rash Cream

  • Migraine Relief

  • Prescriptions

  • Ibuprofen

Some people also suggest Imodium.

• Toiletries – This is where I met my over-packing dilemma. How much do I really want to go without? Here’s what I took:

  • Shampoo

  • Conditioner

  • Bar of soap

  • Face wipes – because having a clean face will feel like a luxury when traveling in dirty buses to cheap hostels

  • Toothbrush

  • Toothpaste

  • Floss

  • Deodorant

  • Lady products

  • Razor/ Refills

  • Chapstick

  • Sun screen

  • Make-up – just the things I need to survive and can’t live without!

  • Unscented lotion

  • Extra contact lenses and solution

Everything I brought is travel-sized! When things run out, I will refill my travel bottles or buy new. I’ve read that all basic toiletries are pretty easy to score on the road, unless you’re picky about brands. The only things I’ve heard to bring a sufficient amount of is contacts and contact solution, as they can be low quality in some areas and very expensive. Also, some have said that tampons can be hard to come by in Bolivia. Mosquito repellent with DEET will be something we’ll pick up along the way.

• Miscellaneous

  • Travel towel – Mine is a PackTowl in the XL size. They are super absorbent, lightweight, and compact. Best of all: quick-drying! I’m sure this is one item I won’t regret packing.

  • Money belt – It’s no secret that many backpackers have had their backpacks stolen in a matter of seconds when they were not paying close attention. It can really happen to anyone. Money belts are a great place to store your cash and passport, in case the worst happens. Mine is a FlipBelt. Its actually made for wearing during a workout, but i love it because its stretchy and has no zippers, which makes it comfortable to wear all day. And its machine-washable.

  • Day pack – Any string backpack or sling-back purse will do. This is just for when I’m leaving my big backpack locked up back at the hostel. An ideal day pack is collapsible to store easily in your backpack.

  • Headlamp

  • A book – I’m limiting myself to one.

  • Yoga mat

  • A sink stopper – for washing clothes in the sink

That just about sums it up! Did I forget anything? I’ll give updates along the way and let you know how this works out for me. Happy travels!