Birding Circuit in Costa Rica
9 days
If you’re a bird enthusiast, Costa Rica is the perfect destination. Its stunning flora and fauna make it an ideal place for birders. This 9-day program offers a fantastic chance to explore the best bird spotting locations. You’ll visit the mountains, rivers, and the Arenal area and hike in the Nature Reserves.
Preening Peacock
Kolibri
Blue Crowned Motmot
Violet Hummingbird
Highlights
Spot birds such as emerald toucanets, quetzals, and bellbirds. Nature reservoirs in Costa Rica are known for having thousands of species of plants and hundreds of species of birds such as toucans and eagles.
Itinerary
Today you will have a meet and greet at the international airport of San Jose. Afterward, you will have private transportation to the Central Valley area, approximately half an hour away from the airport, where you can check-in at your hotel. Most residents of Costa Rica live in the Central Valley area where there is a mild and dry climate all year round.
After breakfast, you will meet your bird expert and drive to the Cerro de La Muerte area. On clear days you will be able to look out across the jungle and see the Pacific Ocean in the background. Wildlife is rarely seen, however, there are many birds to spot such as emerald toucanets, quetzals, and bellbirds.
Costa Rica has many national parks. The Quetzal National Park has been recently added to the list of national parks. Early after breakfast, you will go to this National Park. Today you will have the opportunity of spotting the bird you must see when visiting Costa Rica. Wildlife such as sloths and coyotes have also been spotted by visitors. Afterward, you will return to your hotel and you can go bird watching around the hotel.
After enjoying breakfast at the hotel you will go to the Caribbean area where you will stay for three nights. The drive takes approximately 3,5 hours. Sarapiqui is known as a region with adrenaline recreation. Here, it is common to see a lot of exotic birds and groups of monkeys.
You will be picked up after breakfast and go to the Organization for Tropical Studies La Selva (The Jungle) for a full day hike. This Organization is located in the Caribbean foothills of Costa Rica. With its great variety of more than 1850 species of plants, 448 species of birds, 350 species of trees, around 500 species of ants, laboratories, and databases, it is also one of the most important sites for scientists to study the ecosystem. You will return to the hotel for lunch and then go back to the Organization. Afterward, you will have dinner.
After breakfast, you will go to Braulio Carrillo National Park and explore the park. This park is known for having 6000 species of plants and 500 species of birds such as toucans and eagles. In the afternoon you will visit the La Tirimbina Reserve. At the reserve, you will learn more about the flora and fauna of Costa Rica.
After breakfast, you will go to the Arenal Area. The Arenal volcano woke up 400 years ago and has been active since. The drive to the Arenal area is approximately 4,5 hours. The rest of the day you can relax at the hotel.
After enjoying an early breakfast you will go to Caño Negro. This area is considered the best place on the continent for birdwatching. It is also the habitat of the Jabirus, the largest bird of Central America and extremely endangered. You can also spot howlers, spiders, caimans, turtles, different kinds of monkeys, and maybe even the Jesus Lizard. The lizard got its name as it can run on the surface of the water.
Today you will be picked up after lunch for a private transfer back to San Jose international airport. The drive to San José international airport is approximately 3,5 hours.
map, expenses & price
Birding Circuit in Costa Rica
Expenses included:
-Door-to-door transportation.
-Eight nights of hotel accommodations.
-Professional certified guides.
-Tours and excursions as listed.
-All Park entrance fees.
-Daily breakfast.
