16-Day Costa Rica: Wildlife Photography Tour
Dates: 10th March to 25th March 2028
Group Size: minimum of 4, maximum of 6.
Meals: Full Board (All breakfasts, lunches, and dinners included)
Cost: £6,395 Per Person (Single Supp. £950)
Deposit: A non-refundable £1,250 deposit required at time of booking.
Itinerary & Accommodation
A Note on the 2028 Schedule: The 2027 Costa Rica tour serves as our inaugural run for this specific route. To ensure you get the absolute best photographic opportunities, the 2028 itinerary will be updated with any real-world adjustments I make while on the ground.
1 Night: Hotel Bougainvillea
Day 1: Arrive in San José and transfer to the hotel to settle in and rest after the long flight. The hotel grounds sit within 10 acres of exceptional botanical gardens, meaning wildlife photography is possible from the moment you step outside.
2 Nights: Selva Verde Lodge
Day 2: We’ll transfer to Selva Verde (approx. a 3-hour drive), followed by a private guided afternoon tour around the lodge's private reserve. The rest of the afternoon and evening will be spent working around the immediate grounds.
Day 3: A full-day excursion to Pierella Ecolodge. This is an incredible spot for getting macro shots of frogs and butterflies, as well as tracking sloths and roosting bats.
3 Nights: Maquenque Lodge
Day 4: We'll spend the morning at Donde Cope’s nature garden, concentrating on specialized bird photography alongside lizards, sloths, and frogs. From there, we transfer to Maquenque Lodge (approx. a 2-hour drive).
Day 5: We’ll have all-day access to the dedicated photography gardens to focus on toucans, parrots, honeyeaters, tanagers, and woodpeckers. During the day, we will also use a purpose-built hide to photograph black vultures and king vultures.
Day 6: We’ll start with a guided rainforest walk on the lookout for monkeys, birds, frogs, and sloths. In the afternoon, we’ll run a dedicated session focusing on fast-moving hummingbirds.
3 Nights: Natural Lodge Cano Negro
Day 7: Transfer to Caño Negro (approx. a 4-hour drive) and spend the afternoon settling into the lodge and exploring the immediate habitat.
Day 8 & 9: On both days, we will run private dawn and dusk boat trips along the river. While Caño Negro is a massive wetland, the dry season causes the water to recede, concentrating the wildlife heavily along the riverbanks. We will be targeting five distinct species of kingfisher, alongside Jabiru, herons, Caiman, and the rich wetland birdlife.
3 Nights: Tityra Lodge
Day 10: Transfer up into the cloud forests to Tityra Lodge (approx. a 5-hour drive). The rest of the day will be spent exploring and shooting within the extensive hotel grounds.
Day 11: Based on recent wildlife sightings and activity, we will spend the morning on a private guided tour at either Curi Cancha, Finca Ecológica, or Santa Elena. The afternoon will be spent photographing back at the lodge.
Day 12: We’ll target another morning session at Curi Cancha, Finca Ecológica, or Santa Elena depending on local conditions. In the afternoon, we’ll visit the Monteverde Hummingbird Gallery for dedicated Hummingbird photography.
1 night: Tarcoles Birding Lodge
Day 13: Transfer to Tárcoles (approx. a 3-hour drive). Depending on our arrival time, we will either take a sunset boat trip on the Tárcoles River to photograph the abundant birdlife and massive American crocodiles, or run an early afternoon boat trip followed by a sunset session on the beach targeting frigatebirds.
2 nights: Gema del Bosque
Day 14: We’ll spend the morning at the lodge to photograph scarlet macaws before transferring to Gema del Bosque (approx. a 4-hour drive), spending the remaining light on the hotel grounds.
Day 15: The morning is dedicated entirely to a Resplendent Quetzal tour. March is the absolute peak of the quetzal nesting season, and we will spend our time photographing near an active nest site. In the afternoon, we’ll visit Miriam’s Quetzals to use the bird feeding areas.
Day 16: We’ll spend our final morning at Batsu Gardens, a purpose-built bird photography garden, before transferring back to San José airport (approx. a 3-hour drive) for outbound flights back to the UK.
Important Disclaimers:
Itinerary Flexibility: Because we are working entirely with wild subjects in natural environments, please allow for minor shifts in the daily schedule. I will always work closely with our local specialist guide to alter plans if it means maximising our chances for photography.
Accommodation: Specific lodge and hotel selections remain subject to availability and final group sizes, though equivalents of the same photographic standard will always be maintained.