Birding trip · 9 nights · Arrive San José (SJO)
For a first visit, or for a birder travelling with someone who is not one. The three places every first-time visitor wants, the Arenal volcano, the Monteverde cloud forest and the beach at Manuel Antonio, with a night on Poás to start, and a birding guide booked for the mornings so the birder gets the list and the other half of the couple gets the hot springs and the sea.
Arenal, Monteverde and the beach at Manuel Antonio give you both a first Costa Rica. More trips like it on Costa Rica birding for couples.
Up to Poás from the airport, north to Arenal, across the lake to Monteverde, down to the Pacific at Manuel Antonio, and a last night back near the airport.
The route between the numbered stops, the run from the airport (dashed); lodges as small red pins.Every stop and lodge on this route is in the numbered list.
More of our birding enquiries than you would think come from one half of a couple. One of them has the list; the other wants Costa Rica. This is the trip for both, and the one I would build for a birder on a first visit, because Arenal, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio are the three places that make the country make sense, and all three have serious birds if you go out with the right guide at the right hour.
So every stop has one or two guided birding mornings and the rest of the day is yours. The one thing I ask is three nights at Manuel Antonio, not two: the park, the Naranjito forest and the Damas mangrove are three different mornings, and the beach needs an afternoon of its own.
Jason Bateman, Costa Rica Specialist
Day 1 · 1 night
Poás Volcano Lodge, Poás
Poás Volcano Lodge. A boutique lodge on pasture high on the volcano's slopes, looking over the northern plains.
Days 2 to 3 · 2 nights
Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal
Arenal Observatory Lodge. A 1987 Smithsonian research station on its own 350-hectare reserve next to Arenal Volcano National Park, with its own trails and the volcano from the window.
At Arenal, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, Lovely Cotinga, Yellow-eared Toucanet and Great Curassow on the lodge's trails; at Caño Negro, Roseate Spoonbill and Northern Jacana from the boat.
Days 4 to 5 · 2 nights
Trapp Family Lodge, Monteverde
Trapp Family Lodge. The closest hotel to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, in the green mountains above Santa Elena.
The Resplendent Quetzal at Monteverde, with Three-wattled Bellbird, Lesson's Motmot, Collared Trogon and Keel-billed Toucan in the cloud forest.
Days 6 to 8 · 3 nights
Hotel San Bada, Manuel Antonio
Hotel San Bada. At the entrance to the national park, so the park morning starts on foot.
At Manuel Antonio, the Scarlet Macaw and a motmot in the park, and at Naranjito Yellow-throated Toucan, White-throated Shrike-Tanager and Short-tailed Hawk.
Day 9 · 1 night
Hotel Bougainvillea, Heredia
Hotel Bougainvillea. Gardens with mature trees twenty minutes from the airport.
The Resplendent Quetzal at Monteverde, with Three-wattled Bellbird, Lesson's Motmot, Collared Trogon and Keel-billed Toucan in the cloud forest.
At Arenal, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, Lovely Cotinga, Yellow-eared Toucanet and Great Curassow on the lodge's trails; at Caño Negro, Roseate Spoonbill and Northern Jacana from the boat.
At Manuel Antonio, the Scarlet Macaw and a motmot in the park, and at Naranjito Yellow-throated Toucan, White-throated Shrike-Tanager and Short-tailed Hawk.
Every trip is a custom quote built around your dates and your list.
“We came to Costa Rica because my husband is a bird watcher ... and we were delighted to find that Abel was also passionate about birds, and he gave us a great experience showing us all the different birds as he drove us to our destinations!”
“They also understand birding travel versus other types of travel and found lodges that catered to birding.”
“Because of their incredible professionalism, accommodating service, and awesome attention to detail, we identified 347 new "life" birds.”
It is built for exactly that. The birding is one or two guided mornings per stop; the afternoons, the hot springs, the night walk and the beach are for both of you.
December to April is driest at all four stops. The rest of the year is the green season, sunny mornings and afternoon rain, and the route works all year.
No. Everything from landing to check-in for the flight home is ours; the flights are yours, and we advise on times.
Yes. A third night at Arenal, Guanacaste instead of Manuel Antonio by flying into Liberia, or a quetzal morning at San Gerardo de Dota for the serious half of the party.
No. Private, for your party only, on your dates; we run no fixed-date group tours.
This route birds two of our five birding zones: Highlands and Caribbean Lowlands. Each zone page has its parks, its birds and every lodge we use there.
Or see all twenty-three birding trips, or every lodge we use, on one map.
Tell us your dates and your list. A Costa Rica specialist writes back with your version of this trip.
Keep going: add more birds, lodges or tours, then turn your Wishlist into a trip.
