Colourful Costa Rica

Optional pre-breakfast walk in the hotel garden, it is full of birds. After breakfast we check out and depart for our first base, a wonderful wildife refuge in the region of the Tempisque River, Gulf of Nicoya. During the morning, we will visit the famous Carara National Park, this place consists of transitional forest and is home to many humid forest bird species that are only found in south-western Costa Rica. Keep your eyes peeled for the Golden-naped Woodpecker, Baird’s Trogon, Streak-chested Antpitta, Black-hooded Antshrike and the colourful Scarlet Macaw. Arrive at our lodge in time for lunch and in the afternoon we will explore the incredible dry forest of the reserve. This is home to iconic species such as Black-headed Trogon, Lesser Ground-Cuckoo, Double-striped Thick-Knee and more.

This morning we take a wonderful boat ride on the Tempisque River, a wonderful way to see the abundant birds and wildlife. This area attracts huge numbers of birds, including such sought after species as the Roseate Spoonbill, White Ibis, Bare-throated Tiger Heron and Boat-billed Heron. During the afternoon, go birding in a safari-style tour across the hacienda and reserve, we will see the White-throated Magpie-Jay, Laughing Falcon, Mangrove Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Turquoise-browed Motmot and the gorgeous Long-tailed Manakin.

This morning we depart our hotel and head towards the Guanacaste Volcanic Mountains, the home of the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, where we will stay at a lodge placed at the foot of the volcano. Lunch will be taken en route; we will check in during the afternoon and have enough time to explore the manicured gardens and facilities in search of wonderful birds. This area is becoming a new birding destination in Costa Rica, for the combination of Dry Forest and Caribbean Lowlands specialists in the same area – an unusual combination of habitat including some of the most elusive and rare birds to be found in these special places.

We will start the day with a full morning birding on the pailas trail, or commonly called “calderas”. We will have a fantastic lunch and during the afternoon, we will go birding along the Oropendola Trail and the National Park network of trails for some special birds including Tody Motmot, Slaty-breasted Tinamou, Nightingale Wren, Lattice-tailed Trogon, Yellow-eared Toucanet, Collared Forest-falcon, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Banded Wren, Olivaceous Piculet and more. We return to the lodge during the afternoon allowing time to enjoy the gardens before our dinner.

This morning after breakfast we depart for the Northern plains and the famous Arenal Volcano area. Travel comfortably aboard our private coaster (small coach which we use throughout the tour) through rolling mountains and meadows, patches of lush rainforest and cloud forest and picturesque Costa Rican villages en route to our next lodge, located within the Arenal Volcano National Park. We will have lunch during our journey to our hotel, after check in we will enjoy the views of the volcano and watch the wildlife roaming in the lodge grounds, a relaxing afternoon after a morning of travel. We will have an optional evening birding walk in search for Great Curassow and Emerald Tanager.

We will enjoy our delicious breakfast on the deck of the hotel overlooking the stunning volcano. During the morning we will have an excursion to the Suspension bridges for birding and searching for more Caribbean and North Plain specialists including Black-crested Coquette, Speckled Tanagers, Guans and more. Crossing our fingers, because if we are lucky, we can end the walk with one of the biggest raptors of all in the Neotropics, the Ornate-hawk Eagle. We will return to the lodge for lunch and then during the afternoon, take your time to relax or explore the lodge gardens and trails.

After breakfast we depart for a fantastic boat tour to Caño Negro National Park, at the Northern Wetlands. Here we will be searching for dazzling kingfishers, gorgeous Agami Herons, rare Sungrebes, raptors and a lot more. Two of the most sought-after species here are the Nicaraguan Seed Finch and the Nicaraguan Grackle. Lunch will be taken during the tour and in the afternoon, take some time to relax and enjoy this beautiful area. In the evening we enjoy a wonderful traditional dinner experience.

After breakfast, depart from our lodge to our new base in the Turrialba region, a fantastic place for birds and wildlife. We will make a stop on the way at Cinchona hummingbird feeders during the morning for more stunning views of these “jewels” of Costa Rica. We spend the afternoon observing some of the vast array of species of birds attracted to the tropical fruits, flora and hummingbird feeders at the lodge. Highlights include Ruddy Quail-Dove, Grey-headed Chachalaca, Lineated Woodpecker, White-crowned Manakin, Thicket Antpitta, Great Tinamous, Barred Forest-falcon and the Snowcap, a stunning hummingbird, which is considered the star of the region. Keep your eyes peeled for White Hawk, Barred Hawk, Prong-billed Barbet, Red-headed Barbet, Silver-throated Tanager, American Dipper, Torrent Tyrannulet, Violet Sabrewing, Green Thorntail and the very special Costa Rica endemic Coppery-headed Emerald – these hummingbirds are beautiful. We enjoy our lunch on the way and arrive at our lodge in the afternoon.

We spend this day looking for birds and other wildlife in the grounds of our lodge and its many trails through the forest with a chance to see species we did not see yesterday and perhaps of spot some of the more elusive birds. With over 400, yes you read that right four hundred, species of birds recorded here we will not be short of birds. You may catch a glimpse of the Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher, Long-billed Gnatwren, White-winged Becard, Yellow-crowned Euphonia, Eye-ringed Flycatcher and the Central American endemic Tawny-chested Flycatcher.

In the morning we visit a lake for Great Potoo, a giant nightjar and well worth seeing at its daytime roost, Cabanis Ground Sparrow – a wonderful hard to see species – and water birds such as the Yellow-crowned Night-heron, a colony of Cattle, Snowy and Great Egrets, Northern Jacanas and more. Return to lodge for lunch and in the afternoon we will visit some local hotspots including a protected area to photograph the beautiful Sunbittern – this bird is mind-blowing and a real thrill if we are lucky enough to see one.

During the morning we depart for the Talamanca Highlands, with a stop en route for lunch with a chance to see wonderful bird species like the Buffy-crowned Wood-partridge usually impossible to see elsewhere, the Buff-fronted Quail-Dove, Spangle-cheeked Tanager, Silvery-fronted Tapaculo and more. After lunch and watching the amazing birds from the comfort of the veranda here, in the afternoon we depart for our accommodation in the highlands. This beautiful hotel is situated approximately 7,000 ft. above sea level and combines highland oak and cloud forests with open grasslands and forest edges. We love this area with its Spring-like climate and amazing birds and scenery. A diverse mix of birds inhabits the area, including large numbers of the strikingly beautiful Resplendent Quetzals, our main target in the area, a must-see bird.

Early morning, we have the internationally famous Quetzal Tour, which consists of going birding along the upper trails of a local oak forest, looking for Quetzals. Back at the hotel we enjoy breakfast in the restaurant and birding continues along the trails during this morning. The region is home to several species that are only found at this elevation, such as the Collared Trogon, Emerald Toucanet, Flame-coloured Tanager, Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher, Buffy Tuftedcheek, Golden-browed Chlorophonia, Black-capped Flycatcher, Costa Rican Pygmy Owl, Silvery-throated Jays and Tufted Flycatcher. Enjoy birding along the lodge’s scenic waterfall trail, looking for Talamanca regional endemics like the White-throated Mountain-gem, Collared Redstart, Volcano Hummingbird, and Black-cheeked Warbler.

During the morning, we will visit the continental divide and the highest point of the mountains, an area in the Subalpine Paramo, in search for two very special endemic birds that only occur in this rare ecosystem, the Volcano Junco and the Timberline Wren. If it is clear of cloud the views are breath-taking and a very different area from those visited previously – Costa Rica keeps surprising. Lunch time, we visit a very special restaurant in the San Gerardo de Dota Valley and spend some time at the hummingbird feeders for the popular Fiery-throated Hummingbirds, White-throated Mountain-Gem and search the gardens for the Black-and-yellow Silky-flycatcher. In the afternoon we will visit a special photographic centre to have more opportunity to observe highland species.

We will have one last morning enjoying the birds of the highlands with perhaps another sighting of the magnificent Resplendent Quetzal and we will then leave after lunch for the capital San Jose. Farewell dinner in our beautiful hotel.

After breakfast and a last look at the birds of Costa Rica in the hotel gardens, we will make our way back to San Jose Airport in time for your flight home.