17-Day Costa Rica: Wildlife Photography Tour

Dates: 9th March - 25th March 2027

Group Size: minimum of 4, maximum of 6.

Introductory Price: £5,100 per person (single supplement of £875)

Deposit: A non-refundable £1000 deposit required at time of booking.

Itinerary & Accommodation

1 Night: Hotel Bougainvillea

Day 1: Arrival in San José, then settle into Hotel Bougainvilea to rest after the long flight. The hotel grounds are 10 acres of botanical gardens so wildlife photography is possible from the minute you arrive.

2 Nights: Selva Verde Lodge

Day 2: Transfer to Selva Verde Lodge (3 hour drive), followed by an afternoon private guided tour around the lodge reserve, with the rest of the afternoon/evening spent around the hotel.

Day 3: Full day excursion at Pierella Ecolodge, great for frogs, butterflies, sloths, and roosting bats

3 Nights: La Laguna del Lagarto Eco-Lodge

Day 4: A morning at Donde Cope’s nature garden, concentrating on bird photography and lizards, sloths & frogs. We will then transfer to La Laguna del Lagarto Eco-Lodge (2 hour drive).

Day 5: We will have all day access to the photography garden to concentrate on toucans, parrots, honeyeaters, tanagers and woodpeckers. During the day we will also visit a purpose built hide to photograph black vultures and king vultures.

Day 6: We will start the day with a guided rainforest tour on the lookout for birds, monkeys, frogs & sloths. In the afternoon we will have a session photographing hummingbirds.

3 Nights: Natural Lodge Cano Negro

Day 7: Transfer to Natural Lodge Cano Negro (4 hour drive), and then spend the afternoon at the lodge.

Day 8 & 9: On both days we will have both dawn and dusk boat trips along the river. Whilst Cano Negro is a huge wetland, during the dry season the wetland shrinks and most of the wildlife is concentrated on the riverbanks. We will be looking out for 5 species of kingfisher, Jabiru, Herons, Caiman and everything else this magnificent area has to offer.

3 Nights: Elida Lodge or Tityra Lodge

Day 10: Transfer to Elida Lodge or Tityra Lodge (5 hour drive), spend the rest of the day in the extensive hotel grounds.

Day 11: Depending on recent wildlife sightings & activity, we will spend the morning with a private guided tour at either Curi Cancha, Finca Ecologica or Santa Elena. The afternoon will then be spent photographing at the lodge.

Day 12: Depending on recent wildlife sightings & activity, we will spend the morning with a private guided tour at either Curi Cancha, Finca Ecologica or Santa Elena. In the afternoon we will visit the Monteverde Hummingbird Gallery for hummingbird photography.

1 night: Hotel Cerro Lodge or Tarcoles Birding Lodge

Day 13: Transfer to Hotel Cerro Lodge or Tarcoles Birding Lodge (3 hour drive), depending on time, we will either have a sunset boat trip on the Tarcoles River to photograph the birdlife and huge American crocodiles, or an early afternoon boat trip followed by sunset at the beach to photo frigatebirds.

2 nights: Gema del Bosque or Paraíso Quetzal

Day 14: Morning at the lodge to photograph scarlet macaws then transfer to Gema del Bosque or Paraíso Quetzal (4 hour drive). The afternoon will be spent on the hotel grounds.

Day 15: The morning will be spent on a resplendent quetzal tour, March is the peak time in quetzal nesting season and we will spend time photographing near a nest sight. In the afternoon we will visit Miriam’s Quetzals for a coffee and to use the bird feeding area.

Day 16: We will spend the morning at Batsu Gardens, a purpose-built bird photography garden. We will then transfer back to Hotel Bougainvillea (3 hour drive).

1 Night: Hotel Bougainvillea

Day 17: Departure Transfer to the airport for your flight back to the UK.

As this is wildlife photography, please allow for some minor changes in the itinerary depending on what I and the local guide think is best to maximise our chances for photography.
The choice of hotels is dependent on availability and amount of people.