Costa Rica Real Estate, from Coast to Coast, the Right Way!!!

Discover Osa Peninsula

A lot has changed since Jeff first came to discover Osa Peninsula in the late 1980’s. It was a six hour drive from San Jose to the turnoff on National Route 245 and then a brutal four hour drive to Puerto Jimenez on a rough gravel road, sometimes impassable in the rainy season. Keep going another three hours and you arrive at roads end. But you discovered something quite spectacular, like nowhere else. The few foreign visitors that came to this region in those days were surfers, fishermen and rugged nature lovers willing to make the trek to experience this extraordinary part of Costa Rica.

The Osa Peninsula got its name from an indigenous tribal chief “Osa”, the word for “bear” which they called the giant anteater. The Osa is home to Corcovado National Park, the crown jewel of Costa Rica’s national park system and one of the most biologically diverse places on earth according to National Geographic.

Today, the Osa Peninsula is a popular eco-tourism destination accessed by a paved highway and connected to the national electric grid and fiber optic cable that dead end at the town of Puerto Jimenez. The population of the area is about 8,000 with less than 10% of foreigners living on the Osa at least part of the year. SANSA, the domestic airline currently schedules up to 15 commuter flights daily to and from San Jose during the high season – more flights than any other destinations in the country. There’s a variety of accommodations to fit all budgets, from mom and pop motels, air B&B and 4-5 star jungle lodges. Hilton Hotels branded the one and only condo project “Botanika” located next to the airport in Puerto Jimenez. Botanika finished building its sold out third phase in 2024 with plans to build a first class marina as the next phase.

The road around the peninsula dead ends at Carate, the jumping off point to Corcovado National Park has been improved in recent years. New bridges across most of the rivers along the peninsular road were installed in 2021. Four wheel drive is still a necessity but there is year round access to most of the peninsula and all of the lodges and hotels. Many of the foreign home owners and tourist resorts operate on solar power, generator or hydro-power.

The Last Best Peninsula

Even with the growth and changes over the years, the Osa is still Costa Rica’s wildest and most spectacular region, where Jaguars still roam the jungle and Scarlet Macaws fly around in the towns. Bordered by the Golfo Dulce on the east side and the Pacific Ocean on the west make for some stunning land and sea-scapes. It’s more lush and tropical than the northern zone, with abundant exotic wildlife, deserted beaches and virgin forests.

The Osa’s unique bio-diversity is made up of eight different habitats with the largest and most exuberant lowland, wet tropical forest remaining in Pacific Central America. Species density and geographical location make it unique.

The largest trees in Costa Rica are found in the forests of the Osa. Endangered plant and animal species still exist here such as the Tapir, the Giant Anteater and the Harpy Eagle that preys on monkeys in the trees. The big cats are still king of the jungle and most species of wild animals and birds are seen regularly throughout the area. The largest population of Scarlet Macaws in most of Latin America thrive in Osa along with 4 species of monkeys and the rare Blue Morpho butterfly. The numbers speak for themselves – 400 species of birds, 200 species of mammals, 700 species of trees – and an entomologist’s dream with 10,000 + species of insects.

Non-mainstream tourist’s have discovered this previously little known, rugged paradise and come from around the world to experience the “wild side” of Costa Rica. Osa is evolution at its finest, a naturalist’s paradise and an outdoor adventurer’s dream. Truly a paradise lost, thirty years ago Outside Magazine called it “The Last Best Peninsula” which holds true to this day.

The Golfo Dulce

You can’t talk about the Osa Peninsula without mentioning the Golfo Dulce or “Sweet Gulf”, the only tropical fiord in the world. Now a World Heritage site, the Golfo Dulce is home to migrating humpback whales and the only place on the earth where humpbacks travel from both the Arctic and Antarctic to breed and give birth to their calfs. If you want a close encounter with these magnificent animals this is the place to visit. Large populations of dolphins live here year round and the endangered, “gentle giant” whale sharks come up the gulf in the summer months. The Green and the Olive Ridley sea turtles lay their eggs at the highest moon-tides along the entire sandy coastline of the peninsula from July to November. Pristine and protected from exploitation by commercial fishing, the Golfo Dulce is a natural marine anomaly and a recreational paradise for sightseers, kayakers and sport fishermen.

Puerto Jiménez

The gateway to the Osa Peninsula was originally founded as Santo Domingo, a frontier outpost for gold miners, loggers and farmers. As the village grew it relocated nearby to higher ground and was renamed Puerto Jimenez. The main access to this port town was by boat up until the road was improved in the 70’s. From the 80’s on, the town ran on generator with a handful of basic shops, eateries, bars and a small brothel just down the street from the church. Some locals still rode a horse to town up into the 90’s. The old pier was used by local fishermen, dugouts and pangas and a daily passenger fairy ran to and from Golfito on the other side of the gulf. Today Puerto Jimenez is a bustling little town due to the influx of tourism and foreigners that have settled in the area. There’s a small hospital, modern supermarket, hardware stores and assorted shops and restaurants that cater to locals and tourists. Much of the peninsula is still without electricity or paved roads and four wheel drive taxis are the main form of transportation.

Climate

How’s the weather? Fairly hot all year of course. It’s the tropics! But being a peninsula of land surrounded by water tempers the humid climate along the coastline and at elevation. The heat is not as intense as the drier Guanacaste region nor as stifling as the humid summers in south Florida. December through April is the dry season with the rainy season starting around May. The heaviest rains come in September and October. The Caribbean born hurricanes only pass as far south as Nicaragua, affecting Costa Rica with heavy rains but not the destructive high winds.

Real Estate

Real estate has been a hot market in recent years as more people have discovered the wild side of Costa Rica, attracting those with a bit more adventure spirit and a desire to co-exist with unspoiled nature. Property values have risen as they have everywhere in Costa Rica during the recent boom but are still lower compared to Guanacaste and the South Pacific Coast around Dominical / Uvita. Osa is a great investment, not just in terms of property values but also one’s own connection with the natural world.

Our Affiliate

Jeff Lantz is a true real estate pioneer in Costa Rica. He entered the real estate arena back in 1988 when he bought a couple of properties down in the Osa Peninsula, the furthest point south on the Pacific side of Costa Rica.

Real estate is now a hot market as people discover the unspoiled “wild side” of Costa Rica and its pristine beaches, vast forests and abundant wildlife – where Jaguars still roam the jungle and Scarlet Macaws fly around in the towns.