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Costa Rica Bird Photography Tour

  • Photo Tour | January 26-February 8, 2026 & April 22-May 5, 2026 & January 26-February 8, 2027 & April 18-May 1, 2027
  • Costa Rica Arenal Extension | February 8-13, 2026 & May 5-10, 2026 & February 8-13, 2027 & May 1-6, 2027
  • Maximum 6 Photographers
  • Photo Tour | October 7-21, 2024 & October 7-21, 2025
  • Amazon Extension | October 21-26, 2024 & October 21-26, 2025
  • Maximum 6 Photographers
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Costa Rica Bird Photography Tour

  • Photo Tour | January 26-February 8, 2026 & April 22-May 5, 2026 & January 26-February 8, 2027 & April 18-May 1, 2027
  • Costa Rica Arenal Extension | February 8-13, 2026 & May 5-10, 2026 & February 8-13, 2027 & May 1-6, 2027
  • Maximum 6 Photographers
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” This being my first time on a bird photography tour,I really did not know what to expect, but what occurred just blew me away. Every time I thought that the day that had occurred was the best day of the trip, almost every day got better and better….Javier with Helmut’s help set up the 5 stations where we did the multi-flash. I could not believe the quality of the shots we were able to take. It was simply beyond anything I had hoped for. All the other guests had done multi-flash before, and they said that Javier’s setup was the best they had ever seen.”

– Howard Hirsch

“I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the Costa Rica tour… Everything went extremely smoothly and the leader was an exceptional guide. I was amazed at his level of knowledge not just of the birds, but of the rest of the flora and fauna of Costa Rica. He made a wonderful host, ensuring that we were always as comfortable as possible and that I had the best possible opportunities for bird photography.”

– Dennis Plank

ABOUT COSTA RICA PHOTO TOUR

This 13 day photo tour features the best lodges and locations for bird photography in Costa Rica.  You will photograph toucans, tanagers, curassows, parrots and King Vultures in the Northwest, beautiful poison dart frogs and roosting owls in the Sarapiqui Valley.  We do multi-flash hummingbird photography at 2 different lodges at both mid level and higher altitude elevations to get a lot of different species.  We spend a day and a half photographing the majestic Resplendent Quetzal and we will go on a river cruise where we photograph raptors, herons and crocodiles up close.

Differences between January and April tours:  January is typically drier and the time of year when there are more birds visiting feeding stations.  April is wetter when more birds are breeding, it’s better for photographing nesting Quetzals with chances for flight shots of this species. 

  • Photograph toucans, tanagers, curassows, parrots and King Vultures in the Northwest, beautiful poison dart frogs and roosting owls in the Sarapiqui Valley.
  • Photograph the majestic Resplendent Quetzal.
  • We do multi-flash hummingbird photography at 2 different lodges at both mid level and higher altitude elevations to get a lot of different species.
  • We will go on a river cruise where we photograph raptors, herons and crocodiles up close.

Cost & Logistics

$7,250
Photographer

$6,550
Non-Photographer

$900
Single Supplement

$2,400
Deposit

Cost includes all in country transportation, lodging, meals, guiding, instruction, property fees and drinking water.  It does not include airfare to get to Costa Rica, drinks other than water, tips and items of a personal nature such as phone calls or laundry.

2027 costs: $7,550 photographer, $6,850 nonphotographer, $1,000 single supplement.

April tour costs: Costs are the same as January 2026.

Number of Participants: 6 photographers and 9 total participants.

Itinerary

Day 1 – Arrival in San José CR, transfer to El Robledal Hotel only 15 minutes away from the airport. The hotel has some green areas to start photographing some new birds as soon as you arrive. Overnight El Robledal.
Day 2 – We depart after breakfast looking for birds along the way, chances of Crimson Collared Tanager, Blue-Gray Tanager, Emerald Toucanet among many others. We arrive at Bosque de Paz to spend the afternoon shooting in the premises of the lodge. Green-crowned Brilliant, Black-bellied Hummingbird, Spangle-cheeked Tanager. Overnight Bosque de Paz.
Day 3 – We drive shortly to reach Blue Falls, our first Hummingbird Multiflash location. Green-Hermit, Violet Sabrewing, Coppery Headed Emerald are  likely. Some other birds seen in the gardens like Bananaquit and Black-chested Wood Quail. Overnight Bosque de Paz.
Day 4 – We depart to the Northern Wetlands of Costa Rica, we have time to set up at the photography deck and start shooting right away. Best lodge in Costa Rica for photographing birds coming in to fruit feeders. Keel-billed Toucan, Golden Hooded Tanager, Brown Hooded Parrot, Montezuma Oropendula, Yellow-Throated and Keel-billed Toucans, Collared Aracari are just some of the species that regularly show up. Overnight Laguna Lagarto Lodge.
Day 5 – We will spend our day photographing at Laguna Lagarto. Mid Morning we will set up at the best King Vulture Hide in Costa Rica where they sometimes show up in great numbers. We use the afternoon to keep shooting at the deck or enjoy the gardens and trails of the lodge. King Vulture, Great Green Macaws, Great Curassow. Overnight Laguna Lagarto Lodge.
Day 6 – We continue to photograph at the deck and gardens, in the evening we set up for our Bat Photography session. Learn the techniques to capture nectar feeding bats at night using a multi-flash setup. The Pallas’s Long-tongued Bat is the most common species seen and captured at our setup. Overnight Laguna Lagarto Lodge.
Day 7 – We will leave the lodge early and spend the morning at a location in the lowlands where we will visit roosting sites of owls, potoos and Honduran White Bats.  At this spot there are also fruit feeders which attract some different birds such as Chestnut-headed Oropendula and Orange-chinned Parakeets.  In the evening we will arrive at our new lodge, which will work as our base camp for the upcoming activities.  Bambu Lodge.
Day 8 – We will spend the morning photographing at a small reserve looking for Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Red-legged Honeycreeper, White-collared Manakin and occasionally, sloths! After lunch we drive shortly to the spot of our Snakes and frogs macro session. We will shoot the Strawberry Poison Dart Frog, Green and Black Poison Dart Frog, Red-eyed Leaf Frog, White-sided Palm Pit Viper, among others. Macro lens recommended but not required. Bambu Lodge
Day 9 – We depart in the morning making a stop where we can photograph Broad-billed Motmot, Long-tailed Tyrant, Crimson Collared Tanager and other nice species. We continue our way and arrive late afternoon at the cloudforest of the Talamanca mountain range. The southmost cordillera of the country is home of the largest Quetzal population in the world. Overight: Mirador de Quetzales
Day 10 – We will spend the whole day photographing for the Resplendent Quetzal split in two halfs, this is their nesting season so hopefully good flight shots are taken. We have set up perches near the trees they frequently visit to have great photography opportunities! Overnight. Overight: Mirador de Quetzales
Day 11 – We will set up a Multi-flash in the premises of the lodge, the best place to photograph the endemics Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Green Violetear, Talamanca Hummingbird and Volcano Hummingbird. As we take turns to use the multi-flash we will take advantage of the lodge gardens, Peg-billed Finch, Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher and Golden-browed Chlorophonia are common visitors. Afternoon quetzal session.  Overight: Mirador de Quetzales
Day 12 – Morning quetzal session, then we make our way to the Central Pacific, in the afternoon we will take a boat safari upstreams Tarcoles river and then back towards delta and the mangroves looking for tiger herson, boat-billed herons, raptors, big crocodiles, egrets, frigate birds, pelicans and more!  Our lodge is a great spot for photographing Scarlet Macaws Overnight Cerro Lodge.
Day 13- We spend the whole day with a local expert at Orotina’s dry forest. We will be able to photograph species like the Turquoise-Browed Motmot, Pacific Screech Owl, Black-headed Trogon and many more. We drive less than 2 hours to our hotel near the airport for our last night in the tropics. Overnight El Robledal.
Day 14  – Transfer to the airport and fly home. Time to enjoy the post processing!
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Costa Rica Arenal Extension

COST

$2,950
Photographer

$2,650
Non-Photographer

$300
Single Supplement

2027 costs: $3,150 photographer, $2,850 nonphotographer, $300 single supplement.

April tour costs: Costs are the same as January 2026.

Itinerary

Day 14  – We will drive around route 1 looking for good opportunities, we have a chance to photograph Jabiru and other water birds and raptors on the way to our lodge.  We will arrive to Heliconias Lodge in the afternoon.  This is the best location to photograph the amazing Tody Motmot.  Heliconias Lodge.
Day 15 – We will spend the day photographing and looking for good birds around Heliconias Lodge.  This lodge is one of the best locations for two special hummingbirds, the Black-crested Coquette and the Snowcap. Hummingbird Feeders are good also for Violet Headed Hummingbird and Blue-throated Goldentail.  Heliconias Lodge. 
Day 16 – After a bit of morning photography at the lodge we will make our way to Arenal Volcano, we will visit Bogarin Trail looking for Keel-billed Motmot, Broad billed Motmot, Barred Antshrike, White-throated Crake, Black-and-white Owl, Orange-chinned Parakeet and others.  The lakes around here can be good for Agami Heron.  Hotel: Arenal Observatory Lodge
Day 17 – We will have a full day of photography at Arenal Observatory Lodge, which has a wonderful garden.  The fruiting trees here should have many great opportunities for fine species like Rufous winged Tanager, Black and Yellow Tanager and. Chestnut Headed Oropendola. If we find ants on any of the trails it can be a wonderful experience seeing all the antbird species at work such as Ocellated Antbird, Bicolored Antbird, Spotted Antbird, together with Red-throated Ant Tanager or Gray Headed Tanager, sometimes some woodcreepers join the show like Tawny-winged Woodcreeper. Hotel:Arenal Obsveratory Lodge
Day 18 – After breakfast we will move through the central mountain range and stop at a garden for Coppery-headed Emerald(endemic) Crowned Woodnymph, Green Hermit and Violet Sabrewing.   We will visit a tanager feeding station where Speckled, Bay-headed and Emerald Tanagers are regular.  If the Bellbirds are displaying we will also stop to photograph them. We will arrive back at the Robledal in the late afternoon.  Hotel: El Robledal.
Day 19  – Transfer to the airport for your flight home.
javier-bio

Javier Zurita | Nature Photographer

Javier Zurita is a full time nature photographer and tour leader from Quito, Ecuador. Javier has been leading tours in Ecuador and Colombia the past several years. He built the excellent photo blinds at Sachatamia Lodge in Ecuador. He is an excellent photographer who is using flash in innovative ways.

COSTA RICA TOUR GALLERY

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