A 9-day travelling photographic tour to discover Costa Rica’s incredible biodiversity.

A land bridge of 51,100 km2 connecting North and South America, surrounded on one side by the Pacific Ocean and on the other by the Caribbean Sea.

This bridge represents only 0.03% of the Earth’s surface, yet it is home to almost 6% of the world’s biodiversity. Among its natural wonders, we find more than 200 species of mammals, almost 850 species of birds (10% of known world species), 183 species of amphibians, 258 species of reptiles, 1522 species of fish, 34000 species of insects and as many as 10000 species of plants, including the largest number of Orchids in the world.

Crossing Costa Rica from north to south, you realize how the landscape and climate change so abruptly. This variation is due to the influence of the long eastern and western coasts, the mountain ranges, volcanoes, spectacular waterfalls and the immense tropical forests, which make Costa Rica a country with 12 different microclimates. This ecological diversity is the secret of such a high and surprising biodiversity.

Immerse yourself in the dreamlike atmosphere of a tropical forest, every step you take makes you feel sounds, smells and almost surreal colors. The melodious song of birds, the lush green of the forest and the rapid flapping of wings of a hummingbird whizzing a few meters from you.

As you walk, you come across a penetrating look of a crested owl resting among the leaves. A little further down, you find a hummingbird watching over its nest. And yet, a few steps ahead, a toucan with bright colors and a pair of colorful macaws that hover in the sky.

All this is incredible, but it is only the beginning of what Costa Rica has to offer. This country is home to 6% of the world’s biodiversity and 10% of the world’s bird species!

Get ready for a fascinating tour to discover this extraordinary country. During our 9 days in Costa Rica, we will explore the emblematic species of this region, including toucans, hummingbirds, owls, parrots and the elusive shining Quetzal. The real magic of this trip lies in its extraordinary potential: in just 10 days, you will have the opportunity to spot over 200 species of birds, reptiles, amphibians and even some species of mammals, such as primates, sloths and coati.

Our touring tour will cover the different habitats of Costa Rica. We will visit the highlands, characterized by lush forests that extend over mountains over 3000 meters above sea level. Here we will focus on the unique species of these altitudes, such as hummingbirds and Resplendent Quetzal, with expert guides with years of experience specific to these species.

We will visit the lowlands, where the forests are located a few meters above sea level. In these areas, we will focus on all the other animal species in Costa Rica, visiting different locations dedicated to toucans, woodpeckers, parrots and many other species. We will use specialized photo hides to capture unique images of species such as the King vulture and the Black vulture.

During the tour, we will also have the opportunity to explore the forest on excursions in search of particular species such as the White bats of Honduras, owls, leaf cutter ants, Red-capped manakin and we will be able to spot mammals such as sloths and monkeys.

Each photo session will be planned very carefully for the location, light and background. In addition, we will have special photo sessions, such as the use of multiflash to capture unique moments in flight of hummingbirds and macro sessions guided by experts to photograph amphibians and reptiles such as the eyelash viper, the red-eyed tree frog, the pygmy dendrobate (known as the blue-jeans frog) and the glass frogs.

In a nutshell, concentrating in a few lines all the wonders and potential of this tour is an impossible task. Every excursion and activity offers surprises and special sightings. This will be an experience immersed in an indescribably fascinating nature.

A telephoto lens of 300mm or more will be undoubtedly essential for photographing the variety of birdlife on this tour. In some cases, for smaller species, even a telephoto lens of around 600mm effective may be convenient if you are looking for particularly close-up portraits.

Every element within the photo locations will be taken into account in order to achieve maximum photographic output with any lens or equipment you have at your disposal.

We strongly recommend a tripod for all photo sessions and a macro lens for amphibian and reptile photo sessions (if you do not have this lens, the organisers will provide their own kit for photographers who do not possess it).

More detailed information will be provided at the time of registration.

Day 1 – San Jose

• Arrival at San José Juan Santamaria airport and private transfer to hotel (about 30 min away), where we will spend the first night. The hotel is centrally located, so you can explore the city streets while waiting for the next morning transfer.
• Free dinner and overnight.

Day 2 – Low Lands

• Breakfast at the hotel and moving to the first stop of our trip, about 3 hours by car.
• Free lunch: During this tour, all lunches will be free, giving you the advantage of deciding in total freedom and autonomy what and when to eat, to suit your personal preferences.
• Start of the first photo session of our tour: here you can observe many species such as the Yellow-throated and keel-billed Toucans, Montezuma Oropendola, Brown-hooded Parrots, Red-legged, Green & Shining Honeycreepers, Black-cheeked Woodpeckers, and with luck, the very attractive Chestnut-colored Woodpecker are all possible on this day.
• Possibility to add an extra session dedicated to the photography of bats with Multiflash by reservation by December 30.
• Return to the lodge where we will spend 2 nights.
• Dinner and overnight.

Day 3 – Lowlands

• Wake up early, breakfast and departure for the second session in the location of the previous afternoon.
• In mid-morning we will move to a new location for a cabin photo session dedicated to the rare King Vulture, Black Vulture, Crested Caracara and other species.
• Free lunch and short trip to a new location where we will dedicate ourselves to Hummingbirds. Here you can observe and photograph different species such as the Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Lesser Violetear, Talamanca Hummingbird, Volcano Hummingbird & White-throated Mountain-gem.
• Through the use of a set of multi-flash for the exclusive use of our group, it will be possible to freeze unique moments during the very fast flight of these small birds.
• Return to the lodge, dinner and overnight.

Day 4 – Medium Elevation

• Breakfast, check-out and last session dedicated to toucans and other species of birds.
• Free lunch, transfer of about 2 hours to the third destination of our trip and check in at the new lodge where we will spend 2 nights.
• After the check-in we can indulge in two different activities: in fact, here we will have the opportunity to dedicate ourselves to macro photography of some iconic and interesting amphibians that live in these areas such as the Green-and-Black and Strawberry Poison Dart Frogs and take pictures in their natural habitat.
• The second option is to photograph different bird species from a feeder near our lodge.
• Dinner with typical products and, after dinner, possibility to look for amphibians during the night, such as the Red-eyed Tree Frog.
• Overnight.

Day 5 – Medium Elevation

• Breakfast and moving to a new location within a private grounds where we will have exclusive access to photograph new species in a new manger. Here you can photograph different species of birds such as Chestnut-headed Oropendola, Orange-chinned Parakeet, Golden-hooded Tanager, Red-legged & Green Honeycreepers are all possible today.
• In this location we will have the opportunity to make a macrophotography session, dedicated to amphibians and reptiles.
• Short drive to the forest where we will immerse ourselves completely in nature. We will walk inside the tropical forest looking for nocturnal birds of prey (such as the Spectacled owl and the Crested owl) and with luck some trogons and the cute Honduran White Bats. It will be a magical experience, completely wild, where we will have the opportunity to photograph and observe unique species.
• Return to the lodge in the evening, dinner with local products and overnight.

Day 6 – Highlands

• Early breakfast, check-out and departure to the next location in the Talamanca Highlands (about 5 hours drive).
• Free lunch.
• After lunch, we will dedicate the entire afternoon to one of the most beautiful birds in Costa Rica: the Resplendent Quetzal.
• After the photo session, move about 1 hour to reach the new lodge, where we will spend 2 nights.
• Dinner with local products and overnight.

Day 7 – Highlands

• Wake up early, breakfast and departure for the second session dedicated to the Quetzal, we will dedicate here the best hours of light to look for and photograph this beautiful bird.
• We will then spend the rest of the morning dedicating ourselves to photography of the Hummingbird; among the species here observable we will find: Fiery-throated
  Hummingbird, Lesser Violetear, Talamanca Hummingbird, Volcano Hummingbird &
  White-throated Mountain-gem.
• In the afternoon we will dedicate again to the incredible variety of colors of Hummingbirds or, you can dedicate an extra session to the Quetzal to try to improve your shots of the previous days (by reservation by December 30).
• Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 8 – Highlands / San Jose

• Breakfast and more relaxing morning, where we will dedicate ourselves to the species present in the areas surrounding our lodge.
• Check-out and departure to San José where we will spend the last night of this trip.
• Before arriving in San Jose you can make another stop at the location dedicated to hummingbirds.
• Arrival in San José and hotel accommodation, dinner and overnight.

Day 9 – San Jose / Airport

• Breakfast at the hotel (depending on the flight time) and departure to the airport, where, after this incredible experience together we will say goodbye before the departure of your flights.

An advance payment and personal information will be required for registration

Registrations will end on 30 December 2023.

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