Since 2004 · Licensed by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT)

About us

Birding Costa Rica is a special branch of My Costa Rica.

The same company and the same team in San José, planning custom Costa Rica trips since December 2004. Birders have travelled with us for twenty years, so we gave them a site of their own.

The My Costa Rica team on the steps in San José

Our team in San José.

2004Planning custom Costa Rica trips since December 2004
25,000+Travellers have explored Costa Rica with us
5.0On Tripadvisor, with a Travelers' Choice 2026 award
A+Better Business Bureau rating, BBB Accredited Business
Who we are

A Costa Rican company that builds your Costa Rica, and your birding trip

My Costa Rica is a destination management company: we design and operate every trip ourselves, here in Costa Rica, rather than reselling someone else's package. Our sales, reservations and concierge teams work together in our office at San Pedro, in San José, and CostaRica.Org LLC looks after our US travellers from Boulder, Colorado.

Birders found us early. Our oldest public review that talks about the birds is from 2006, we have built birding trips every year since 2013, and over twenty-two years our interest in birding and in the forest has brought more birders every year, 68 of our birding reviews are from the last three years alone. Somewhere along the way it stopped being a sideline.

Birding Costa Rica is where we put that knowledge in one place: the five birding zones, the lodges we trust, the guides who know the calls, and trips built around the birds on your list.

Behind every birding trip is the whole team below. Our reservations desk in San José holds every booking, our concierge team answers the phone while you are in the country, 24/7, and our drivers know an early start is part of the job. More than one client has written that the driver turned out to be a birder too.

We are licensed by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT), and we book every lodge, driver and guide ourselves, with no intermediaries.

How your trip works

One team from the first email to the flight home.

  1. PlanYour Costa Rica Specialist builds a custom itinerary around your dates, your airport (San José or Liberia), what you love and the birds on your list, and revises it until it fits.
  2. BookOur reservations team confirms every lodge, private transfer and guide, and sends your final itinerary with all the details.
  3. ArriveA member of our team meets you at the airport with your welcome package: documents, contacts and a few gifts from Costa Rica.
  4. TravelOur concierge team is on call 24 hours a day. A change of plan, a missed connection, a restaurant tip: you message, we answer.
Leadership

The people behind your trip

Jason and Lorena
Husband and wife team

Jason Bateman and Lorena Guillén

We are Jason and Lorena, and My Costa Rica is our family business. Jason came to Costa Rica in 1999 as a University of Costa Rica student, put a pin on his wall map in every place he reached by bus, and founded the company in December 2004. Lorena joined in 2014, two years after we met, and we married at Villa Blanca, in the cloud forest, in 2017. Today Jason is our CEO and Lorena, our Vice President, leads our sales team.

After 22 years, what keeps it meaningful is our team in San José. Jason came here to teach English, and we want everyone on our team to have the doors Costa Rica opened for us.

The name says what we believe: everyone finds their own Costa Rica, surfers, birders, a family that just wants to see a sloth. So many of our travellers come to celebrate something, a honeymoon, a graduation, beating cancer, and helping them find theirs is still the best job we know.

Meet our team

The faces behind your birding trip

Our managers lead each department: sales, reservations, concierge, product and accounting. Your Costa Rica Specialist builds your itinerary, our itinerary designers and reservations team confirm every hotel, transfer and tour, and our concierges look after you 24 hours a day while you travel.

Jason Bateman, Founder and CEO
Jason BatemanFounder and CEO
Lorena Guillén, Vice President
Lorena GuillénVice President
María José Brenes, Human Resources
María José BrenesHuman Resources
Zully Varela, Accounting Lead
Zully VarelaAccounting Lead
Diana González, Reservations Lead
Diana GonzálezReservations Lead
Kendall Jiménez, Product Lead
Kendall JiménezProduct Lead
Juan Soto, Costa Rica Specialist
Juan SotoCosta Rica Specialist
Daniel Vargas, Costa Rica Specialist
Daniel VargasCosta Rica Specialist
Raquel Abarca, Costa Rica Specialist
Raquel AbarcaCosta Rica Specialist
Kristy Segura, Costa Rica Specialist
Kristy SeguraCosta Rica Specialist
Danna Valenciano, Costa Rica Specialist
Danna ValencianoCosta Rica Specialist
Chris Diaz, Costa Rica Specialist
Chris DiazCosta Rica Specialist
Edwin Salas, Costa Rica Specialist
Edwin SalasCosta Rica Specialist
David Barquero, Costa Rica Specialist
David BarqueroCosta Rica Specialist
Kathleen González, Concierge Manager
Kathleen GonzálezConcierge Manager
Natalia Chaves, Concierge
Natalia ChavesConcierge
Maikel Navarro, Reservations Agent
Maikel NavarroReservations Agent
Kevin González, Product Specialist
Kevin GonzálezProduct Specialist
Owen Zamora, Accounting Assistant
Owen ZamoraAccounting Assistant
We live here

Our office: San Pedro, San José, in the heart of Costa Rica

The My Costa Rica team outside our office building in San Pedro, San José

Our whole team works together in one office in San Pedro, on the east side of San José. We drive these roads, stay in these hotels and know the guides by name, so the advice you get comes from people who live in the country you are about to visit.

My Costa Rica
San Pedro Business Center, Oficina LO-603
San Pedro, Montes de Oca
San José, Costa Rica 11501

Toll free: 1 (800) 996-1139
Direct: +506 4052-2140

In the United States: CostaRica.Org LLC, Boulder, Colorado.

Licensed, rated and recognised

Checked by the people whose job is checking.

A+ rated, BBB AccreditedBetter Business Bureau, accredited since 2019
Travelers' Choice 2026Tripadvisor, rated by our own travellers
Shopper ApprovedVerified client reviews
Google ReviewsRead what our clients say on Google
Licensed by the governmentCosta Rica Tourism Board (ICT), Declaratoria Turística
125K
Facebook followersJoin the conversation
25K+
Instagram followersCosta Rica, every day
Established 2004Planning Costa Rica from San José
In our birders' words

What birders say about travelling with us

Shopper Approved
★★★★★
“Our guide, Carlos, kept in touch with his son, also a guide, looking for quetzals and we found our elusive Resplendent Quetzal due to Carlos's diligence.”
HowieS30 May 2023

Read it on Shopper Approved

Tripadvisor
★★★★★
“The Scarlett Macaw and the Resplendent Quetzal were 2 of our target birds and we got both along with 182 species and 118 new birds to add to our life list!”
deenier201418 April 2018

Read it on Tripadvisor

Google
★★★★★
“Because of their incredible professionalism, accommodating service, and awesome attention to detail, we identified 347 new "life" birds.”
Bill Norrid26 June 2022

Read it on Google

Shopper Approved
★★★★★
“We visited 4 locales: Sarapiqui, Arenal, Jaco, and San Gerado de Dota where we saw more than 220 species of birds including Quetzals at San Gerado.”
Burr B.10 May 2022

Read it on Shopper Approved

Juan SotoLorena GuillénJason BatemanKathleen GonzálezNatalia Chaves

Tell us which birds are on your list.

The Resplendent Quetzal, a Great Green Macaw over the road at Sarapiquí, a lifer on the last morning. We build the trip around your list.