Cano Island/Drake Bay/Osa/Corcovado National Park, CR?

[udscoobychick]

Hi all!  DH and I are starting to plan a trip to Costa Rica for sometime this coming year.  We're thinking the Osa Peninsula for a few reasons--he wants to see wild macaws, and I read that that's supposed to be a good place for it, and we both like to scuba dive, and I've heard that Cano Island is one of the better places in CR for that (can't afford a Cocos Island trip at the moment--boo!).  We also like places that are a bit more out-of-the-way, so that they tend to be more authentic.  Anyone have any recommendations for places to stay, things to do, restaurants, vendors, etc?  Or, if you think that there's another part of CR that would fit what we're looking for better, please recommend it!  Thanks!

[chicago]

We stayed at Lapa Rios and it was pretty amazing. I can definitely recommend it!

[Redpoppy]

I went there in college, so you likely won't want to stay at the $5 a night place we did. That said, it was an absolutely beautiful place and we did see a good amount of macaws. We mainly saw them hiking the beach from Carate to Sirena ranger station, more towards tha Carate end. We did not have a guide and were following a path.

It was a total pain for two poor college kids to get to (day long local bus ride, etc) but it was the highlight of our trip.