Best of Birding
$3,000 per person
$2,900 per person
Your Honeymoon at a glance
Destinations
Turrialba
San Gerardo De Dota
Carara
Includes
Accommodation
3 nights at Rancho Naturalista
2 nights at Dantica Cloud Forest Lodge
2 nights at Macaw Lodge
Activities and Adventures
Birding
Guided CATIE Birding Tour
Guides Quetzal Hike
Transportation
Private ground transfers within Costa Rica
Arrival day!
You’ll be collected from the airport and driven to Rancho Naturalista, known amongst birders as a great spot to add to their life list. With views over towards the active Turrialba Volcano, there is no better way to start off your birding tour of Costa Rica.
Day 1
Self Guided Birding
Spend your first full day in Costa Rica at Rancho Naturalista. one of the areas preeminent birding lodges. The lodge has recorded over 450 species within its private reserve and surrounding area and what better way to start your vacation. Expect to spot a variety of hummingbirds right from the lodge’s balcony with most guests hoping for glimpse of the tiny Snowcap hummingbird.
Day 2
CATIE Guided Tour
Your local bilingual naturalist guide will collect you this morning for a tour of CATIE, the local tropical research centre. This area will offer you the perfect opportunity to see birds that will not see at the Rancho. There are many aquatic birds that call CATIE home so keep your eyes peeled for Boat Billed Herons and Purple Gallinules.
Day 3
Transfer Day
Climb in altitude as you head towards the valley of San Gerardo and discover the high altitude cloud forests of Costa Rica. Your destination is Dantica Cloud Forest Lodge, a birders paradise. With 5kms of private trails, Dantica has a bird list of almost 120 species in its private reserve. All guest rooms have been designed with the idea of trying to immerse you in the cloud forest and nature, with lots of glass and floor to ceiling windows.
Day 4
Quetzal Guided Tour
Most avid birders that arrive in Costa Rica are here to add the resplendent Quetzal to their life list. The area you are in, San Gerardo De Dota, is the best place in the country to spot this magnificent bird that is known to have been sacred to the Aztec and Maya cultures. The area has a success rate of over 95% when it comes to seeing the Quetzal. Later, spend your afternoon on the private trails around your lodge in search of birds such as the Acorn Woodpecker or maybe the Long Tailed Silky Flycatcher, endemic to the area.
Days 5
Transfer Day
Your private shuttle will collect you this morning for the journey to Macaw Lodge, a completely off the grid lodge in the forests of Cerros de Turrubares. Your lodge for the next two nights is passionate about sustainability and you will be able to enjoy the vast beauty of Costa Rica here. With over 300 recorded species in this area, get ready to add to your life list of birds.
Days 6
Birding
Take a guided hike at Macaw Lodge this morning. Your accommodations sit between rainforests and wet forests and this ecological amalgamation makes for a huge variety of birds that call this area home. Today you should be on the lookout for Scarlet Macaw, Fiery Billed Aracari and Amazon Kingfishers to name but a few.
Day 7
Departure Day
Your private shuttle will collect you this morning and have you in San Jose in time to join your international flights home.