Costa Rica is a birder’s paradise, with amazing eco-lodges, fantastic food, and rich biodiversity all packed into a country the size of West Virginia!
Pack light for a quick ~1-week escape, it’s Pura Vida birding at its best. With a relaxed pace, we enjoy wonderful food and comfortable lodging set amidst the Caribbean Rainforest and the Talamanca Highlands. Our visit is timed for the dry season, and with 3-night stays at both lodges you relax at the lodge, visit hotspots on-site, partake in birding ventures nearby, stalk nocturnal birds, and other critters. An easy-going and comfortable tour, we will seek the animals and birds that make Costa Rica famous, including hummingbirds, toucans, trogons, motmots, with chances for the Resplendant Quetzal, and the “Blue Jeans” Frog. Plus we enjoy good coffee, fresh local fruits, all while taking in the magical landscapes of this famous “birder’s paradise”.
¡Vámonos!
Strawberry Poison Frog ("Blue Jeans" Poison Dart Frog) by George Armistead
Fiery-throated Hummingbird by Troy Bynum
Tour Features
Arrival/departure in San Jose. Then unwind with 2 three-night stays at wonderful lodges.
2 distinct eco-zones, each with unique wildlife: Talamanca Mountains & Caribbean Lowlands
Blue Chip birds can include Resplendent Quetzal, Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Keel-billed Toucan, King Vulture, Montezuma Oropendola, Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow, + the Silky-Flycatchers & a multitude of snazzy tanagers.
Visit "El Coloso" (the Colossus), Volcano Irazú, the nation's highest active volcano
Fabulous dry season birding at relaxed cloud forest & lowland rainforest sites
Delicious and top-notch food for a variety of diets
Tour Plan
Day 1 (January 14): Arrival into San Jose, night near the SJO Airport.
Day 2 (January 15): Transfer to Selva Verde Lodge, PM birding near/around the lodge. Night at Selva Verde.
Days 3 & 4 (January 16-17): Exploring the Caribbean Lowlands.
Day 5 (January 18th): transfer to and night at Hotel Quelitales.
Day 6 (January 19th): Explore the Talamanca highlands, with an attempt for the Quetzal. Night at Hotel Quelitales.
Day 7 (January 20th): Visit Volcano Irazú & the Orosi Valley, where we will look for the endemic Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow. Night at Hotel Quelitales.
Day 8 (January 21): AM Birding near the lodge & en route to San Jose. PM bird walk around the hotel & farewell dinner.
Day 9 (January 22): Departure for points home.
Sites & Hotspots
Mottled Owl by Troy Bynum
Caribbean Lowlands, including La Selva
Right alongside Braulio Carillo National Park, the historic and famous La Selva Biological Station was established in 1953 and taken over by the Organization of Tropical Studies in 1968 to be managed as a reserve and biological station. It remains among Costa Rica’s best known birding sites, with oodles of goodies to seek. While trying to see unique fauna in the area like the Strawberry Poison Dart Frogs (or “Blue Jeans Frogs”), some target species include Great Tinamou, Scaled Pigeon, Great Green Macaw, Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift, Semiplumbeous Hawk, Middle American Screech-Owl, Chestnut-colored Woodpecker, Chestnut-backed Antbird, Plain-brown Woodcreeper, Snowy Cotinga, Black-capped Pygmy-tyrant, and Dusky-faced Tanager. Optional nocturnal outings could yield Middle American Screech-Owl, Mottled or Spectacled Owl, among other species.
Scaled Antpitta
Hotel Quelitales
Based at one of the nation’s best new lodges for birding, with great accommodations and food, we’ll peel back the layers here in Cartago province for a couple of days. Here at one of the few lodges in Costa Rica completely focused on birders, a fantastic hummingbird garden attracts species such as the uncommon Black-bellied Hummingbird and White-bellied Mountain-gem. Green-fronted Lancebill is also regular around here, while feeding stations can even have Scaled Antpitta and Black-breasted Wood-Quail! Nearby, in the humid forest with middle-elevation birds, we could get lucky with a Crested or Mottled Owl at night. Also nearby is a beautiful hacienda with views of the Cachi reservoir and a coffee farm that hosts Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow as well as other birds.
Chestnut-colored Woodpecker
Tapanti National Park
At 225 square miles in total area and cloaked in lower montane rain forest and pre-montane rain forest, the lush middle elevation forests of Tapanti host a wide variety of species, with over 400 recorded here. We will enjoy fair chances for Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Black-faced Solitaire, the two barbets and much more. If the birding gods smile, we might even find a rarity such as the shy Lanceolated Monklet, one of the quail-doves, a Sharpbill, White-winged Tanager, or perhaps Ochre-breasted Antpitta.
Red-legged Honeycreeper by Troy Bynum
PRICE & BOOKING INFO
Tour Price/person*: $4965
Deposit: $1000/person
Single supplement: $685
Final Payment Due: 16 Sept 2026
Group size: 6 to 8 guests
Hillstar Nature strongly recommends all guests purchase travel insurance that covers Trip Cancellation, Trip Curtailment, Trip Interruption, and Emergency Medical and Medical Evacuation.
*Based on double occupancy at lodgings, with a group size of 6 to 9 registrants. Maximum group size is 9 registrants, plus guide(s) and driver(s). If there are fewer than 6 registrants, this tour may be cancelled or re-negotiated. Note that if you want a roommate we can try to find you one, but we cannot guarantee all guests a roommate. If none is available, you will be charged the single supplement.
The tour price (fee) includes:
All accommodations from Day 1 until Day 9.
All meals from dinner on Day 1 through breakfast on Day 9.
All transportation from airport (SJO) pick-up on Day 1 to airport drop-off (SJO) on Day 9.
All guiding services,access permits and entrance fees to birding areas included.
Tips for drivers and staff at hotels and restaurants.
Excluded from your tour fee are:
International arrival and departure flights.We can advise, but do not book international flights.
Alcoholic beverages, beyond the 1 drink included with each dinner.
Personal expenses such as laundry services, charges for phone calls, additional expenses associated with travel such as insurance, visa fees, airport taxes, airline baggage fees, COVID tests, vaccinations, etc.
Tips for local guide/escort (recommended $5/person/day).
Documents
All travelers must have a current passport, valid for six months beyond the start date of this tour, with at least one blank page for visas.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Please review Hillstar Nature’s Terms and Conditions of Booking at the bottom of the Home page on our website. If a guest/participant cancels registration:
● 120 days or more prior to the start of the tour, a refund is issued minus a $500/person processing fee.
● Between 119 and 90 days prior to the start of the tour, half of the tour fee will be returned to the registrant.
● 89 days or less prior to departure, no refund of payments or deposits are issued.
View Hillstar Nature’s Terms & Conditions of Booking
