My wife and I stayed at Drakes Bay 30 of Jan 2012 and we were there for 6 days. We stayed at Finca Maresia, I think that spelling is close. It is a farm that some spanish bought and built bungalows. Nice place, it´s up on top of the hill, by the tents. check it out on the internet. The finca is a good walk from the water, beach, so bear that in mind. One of the owners is Juan Azorin (juanzorin@gmail.com) He is the owner, cook, guide and chofer. Very fine man. He set us up with all the tours, etc. He deals in cash but the bungalows have room safes.
We dove four time with Jinetes de Osa. I dive, my wife snorkels. Here´s how it worked with us: Juan dropped us off at the beach, the dive boat from the Jinetes picks you up with all the gear loaded, or you can walk to their place, it´s up to you and your energy level.. They take you to the island, about 45 minutes. They check in at the ranger station, then you proceed to the first dive site. Divers in the water, snorkelers are guided to their area with life vests. After the dive, it´s a trip to Caño island to eat the provided lunch, use the bathroom, walk around, etc. then it´s back in the boat for the second dive, snorkelers can snorkel or hang out on the beach. Then you roar back to Drakes bay. We dove the shipwreck, 63 ft, Cueva de Tiburones, 54 ft. El jardin 57 ft and El bajo del diablo limited to 70 ft. There are white tip sharks and all sorts of other stuff. My wife, a timid snorkeler saw sharks and a turtle, and had to swim through a wall of fish. I think she saw more than me, at least she was very excited and happy for what she saw. 2 days diving, I brought my own gear was 220.00, two days snorkeling, hiking for the wife, lunches included was 150.00. Total dive, snorkel was 370.00 paid through the internet. To get to Drakes bay we flew Nature Air, it costs around $200.00 per person but you can check that out too. It took us about 45 minutes to fly there. Juan had the taxi waiting at the airstrip. We also went to the Corcovado ranger station, nice book trip getting there, lots of birds to see, lots of walking, about half a day trip. Lots or walking...lunch provided. At the end we at lunch where a river goes into the sea, alligators sunning themselves and Bull sharks patrolling the entrance, at least they said they were bull sharks and you could see the fins slicing through the water. Lots of stuff to do, diving was nice, more current on some dives than I´m used to but I live near the Caribbean and I´m old. To sum it up, I´d like to go to Caño Island again.