Costa Rica's Wild South

Ten nights across Costa Rica, self-guided, combining the northern highlights with the remote Osa Peninsula, with the price quoted on application.

The Osa is the reason to book this rather than a standard Costa Rican itinerary. The operator cites National Geographic’s description of it as one of the most biologically intense places on earth, holding a remarkable share of the world’s species in a very small area, and it is a long way from anywhere.

Cloud forest trails open it, with the quetzal among the birdlife there, then the Caribbean coast where turtles nest, and the Pacific side, where humpbacks pass seasonally. The Osa follows, with its coastline, mangroves and rainforest, and Corcovado National Park, which takes up nearly half the peninsula and holds sloths, big cats, the endangered giant anteater and one of the country’s largest scarlet macaw populations. The base there is a lodge running on solar and water power, with its own 4×4 tours, rainforest treks and visits to nearby indigenous communities, and Isla del Cano is a short boat ride away, a marine reserve that also holds evidence of a pre-Columbian burial ground.

The rental car, the riverside and beachfront lodges, the eco-lodge’s own 4×4 tours and treks and the community visits are included; international flights, fuel and most meals and optional activities are not. The price is given on application. No wildlife sighting can be promised. The dry season from December to April is the window, and the humpbacks pass between July and October, which does not overlap neatly with the dry season and is worth weighing up when fixing dates. Eleven days reaching the Osa is a long way to go for one peninsula, and the operator is right that it earns the journey.