Length of Tour
12-Days/11-Nights
Brief Itinerary
Day 1 – Arrival / Hotel Bougainvillea
Days 2 through 4 – Pacific Dry Forest
Days 5 through 7 – Highlands of Savegre
Days 8 through 10 – Caribbean lowlands
Day 11 – Return to Hotel Bougainvillea
Day 12 – Flights Home
Detailed Itinerary
DAY 1 Arrival in Costa Rica
Participants may be arriving in Costa Rica at varying times throughout the day. Please arrive no later than 4:00pm so you will be at hotel in time for dinner. After a relaxing dinner we will have a brief orientation to Costa Rica and the tour. Then have a good night’s rest and prepare for an early rise to begin our amazing journey!
Day 2 Drive to the Pacific Dry Forest
AM After Breakfast the group will load the van and drive down the slope to the Pacific Coast. Expect at least a 4 hour drive depending on birding (and crocodile viewing) stops along the way!
PM Lunch along the way plus a visit to the Tarcoles Bridge to view the crocodiles before arriving at our lodge. After check-in we will meet for some birding before dinner.
Dinner at the lodge.
The Hotel lies near the Pacific coast, south of the Rio Tarcoles. From here we will explore Carara National Park, a confluence of several habitats—tropical dry forest, coastal marsh and southern rainforest.
Day 3 Pacific Dry Forest
AM Early breakfast before departure to Carara National Park. As we walk the trails at Carara we will look for Scarlet Macaw, Blue-crowned Manakin, Black-faced Antthrush, and the elusive Streaked Antpitta. Nearby we have also found Pacific Screech Owl, Striped Owl, Olivaceous Piculet, and the endemic Mangrove Hummingbird.
PM Boxed lunch so we can continue birding.
Dinner at the lodge.
Day 4 Pacific Dry Forest
AM Early breakfast
The dry scrub along Guacimo Road, offers a whole new suite of birds, including Double-striped Thick-knee, White-throated Magpie-Jays, Turquoise-browed Motmots and possibly Gray-cowled Wood-Rail.
PM Return to hotel for lunch and a brief siesta before departing for the Rio Tarcoles for a boat trip in the tidewater bay and river in search of waders, caracaras, parrots, warblers and the elusive Rufous-necked Woodrail.
Dinner at the lodge.
Day 5 Drive to The highlands of Savegre
AM Early breakfast before departing for the Savegre Valley, about 6 hours with birding stops. Lunch on the way.
PM Arrival at lodge, birding after check-in.
NOTE: At this higher elevation, please take walks slow and steady!
Our lodge, set into the hillside at about 7000 feet, offers comfortable rooms, with heaters as it gets very cool at night at this elevation. The restaurant offers excellent meals that often include fresh trout.
Surrounded by one of the finest examples of highland pine-oak cloud forest on the planet, the ride into the valley is spectacular! The surrounding private nature reserve is the best place in the world to see the Resplendent Quetzal—one of the most beautiful birds in the Americas. Other “hot” finds here may include Flame-colored Tanager, Volcano Junco, Fiery-throated Hummingbird, and Flame-throated Warbler.
Day 6 Savegre
AM Pre-breakfast birding, breakfast at the lodge.
After breakfast we will get a ride to the top of the mountain above the lodge. This is a bumpy truck ride, so hang on! Specialties here include Costa Rican Pygmy Owl and Silvery-throated Jay.
PM Lunch at the lodge before afternoon birding along the river in search of American Dipper and many of the other specialties. Dinner at the lodge.
Day 7 Savegre
AM Pre-breakfast birding, breakfast at the lodge.
After breakfast we will walk along the river and explore the waterfall trail for more highland specialties.
PM Lunch at the lodge. Afternoon birding along the river and up the entrance road to higher elevations.
Day 8 To Caribbean Lowlands
AM Breakfast before departing for Selva Verde Lodge (about 6 hours with stops). Birding stop on top of the mountain for Fiery-throated Hummingbird if we did not get it before departing Savegre.
PM Late afternoon arrival at Selva Verde Lodge and birding from lodge deck and around the property before dinner.
Selva Verde is located in the midst of the 500 acre Sarapiquí Rainforest Preservation Area in the lush lowlands of northeastern Costa Rica. It is a haven for nature enthusiasts, bird and wildlife watchers, scientists and students, as well as adventure seekers.
The rainforest surrounding Selva Verde provides habitat for over 300 bird species, 120 species of mammals, 48 amphibian species, 89 reptile species, more than 10,000 species of insects, approximately 1,500 species of orchids, 330 species of trees and countless plants.
On a tour of Costa Rica’s rainforest it is possible to find between 50 and 100 different tree species in a few acres. You will also find a wide diversity of plants, birds and animals. There are approximately 1,500 species of orchids alone.
Day 9 Caribbean Lowlands
AM After breakfast at the lodge we will head to the La Selva Research Station for a full day of birding. The station offers 1,600 hectares of well-preserved old-growth and recovering wet lowland tropical forest that abuts the Braulio Carrillo National Park. The 4 to 6 km wide forested corridor that connects La Selva at 35 m above sea level to the Barva Volcano at 2,906 m is one of the best-preserved elevational gradients in the tropics..
PM We will have lunch at the station so we can continue to bird the grounds before returning to our lodge for dinner.
Day 10 Caribbean lowlands
AM Today’s birding will begin along the Rio San Jose, through gallery forests in search of the many birds that can be found here. Afterward we will enjoy Reserva El Tapir, known as the “Old Butterfly Garden,” full of butterflies, of course, but also many hummingbirds… including the much sought after Snowcap.
PM After a lunch on the road, we will enjoy the feeders and trails at Cope’s Gardens. Here we will seek numerous species including, Crested Owl, Spectacled Owl, Uniform Crake, Thicket Antpitta and Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant.
Dinner back at the lodge.
Day 11 San Jose / Hotel Bougainvillaea
AM After breakfast at the lodge we will pack up and head to the La Paz Waterfalls and Hummingbird Gardens. Full of feeders and wonderful scenery, we will enjoy much of the morning here with lunch at the Gardens as well.
PM Early afternoon we will continue our drive to San Jose (about 2 hours not including birding stops). We will have dinner at Hotel Bougainvillea.
Today’s drive will offer more spectacular views and some good birding stops as we return to San Jose for our farewell dinner and a good night’s sleep before returning to the USA.
Day 12 Return to USA
Departures to USA at anytime throughout the day.
Recommended Field Guide:
