Day 1 · 1 night
San José
Hotel Bougainvillea, Heredia
Hotel Bougainvillea. Gardens with mature trees twenty minutes from the airport.
- Day 1San JoséOur greeter meets you at arrivals with your welcome pack. Private transfer to Hotel Bougainvillea.
Birding trip · 11 nights · Arrive San José (SJO)
Nature Birding Tour: for the birder travelling with someone who is not one
- Since 2004, based in Costa Rica
- Over 25,000 clients
- 1,200+ five-star reviews
- ICT licensed
A birding trip the other person will enjoy as much. Three nights at every stop, so the birder has a guided morning or two and the rest of each day belongs to both of you: the south Caribbean beaches and the Jaguar Rescue Center near Puerto Viejo, the quetzal valley at San Gerardo de Dota, then three nights at Cristal Ballena above Bahía Ballena, where a 30-acre garden and the pool look over the Pacific. The Resplendent Quetzal is the one bird both of you will remember.
- Length
- 11 nights
- Stops
- 3 stops: Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, San Gerardo de Dota, Uvita on Bahía Ballena
- Fly into
- San José, SJO
- Getting around
- Private driver for every leg
- Great for
- A birder with a non-birding partner, couples, a wildlife trip with the birds first
- Zones
- Caribbean Lowlands, Highlands, Central and Southern Pacific
- Pace
- Easy: three nights a stop, one or two guided mornings at each, the afternoons yours; one long drive in the middle
- Reviewed
- November 2026
Built for a couple where one of you birds. Costa Rica birding for couples sets it beside the four other trips that suit you both.
The route
Over the mountains to the south Caribbean coast, back across the country and up to the quetzal valley, down to the Pacific at Uvita, and a last night near the airport.
- San JoséArrive SJO, 1 night at Hotel Bougainvillea in Heredia
- Puerto Viejo de Talamanca3 nightsShawandha Lodge
- San Gerardo de Dotathe long drive of the trip · 3 nightsTrogon Lodge
- Uvita, Bahía Ballenaabout 2½ hours · 3 nightsHotel Cristal Ballena
- San José1 nightHotel Bougainvillea
- Fly home from SJOa short transfer, timed to your flight
The route between the numbered stops; lodges as small red pins.Every stop and lodge on this route is in the numbered list.
Why we built it this way
I built this one for a couple where only one of them owned binoculars, and I have built it many times since. The trick is not fewer birds. It is three nights at every stop. With two nights the birder is out at dawn on the only full day and the other person waits at the lodge; with three there is a morning for the list and a day for both of you.
So the Caribbean stop has the beaches and the Jaguar Rescue Center as well as the refuge walk at Gandoca-Manzanillo. San Gerardo de Dota is the one place I will not shorten, because the quetzal is a bird that converts people, and I have watched it happen at breakfast. Then Cristal Ballena, which has a pool, a garden and the sea below it, and a birding tour from the door. The one honest cost is the drive from the Caribbean coast to the mountains, the longest of the trip, and the only long one.
Jason Bateman, Costa Rica Specialist
Day by day
Days 2 to 4 · 3 nights
Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
Shawandha Lodge, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
Shawandha Lodge. Bungalows in the jungle about six miles from Puerto Viejo, with the Caribbean beaches and Cahuita National Park a short drive away.
- Day 2To the south CaribbeanOver the mountains and down the coast to Shawandha Lodge, bungalows in the forest about six miles from Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. Howler monkeys at first light.
- Day 3The Jaguar Rescue Center, then the beachA morning at the rescue centre near Puerto Viejo, where monkeys, sloths, birds and snakes are taken in and released, then the Caribbean beaches for the afternoon.
- Day 4Gandoca-ManzanilloA guided walk in the wildlife refuge near the Panama border: lowland forest, mangrove and wetland down to the sea, birds for one of you and turtles, monkeys and the reef fish for the other.
Days 5 to 7 · 3 nights
San Gerardo de Dota
Trogon Lodge, San Gerardo de Dota
Trogon Lodge. Mountain cabins in the cloud forest the quetzals feed in, home cooking, the valley's guides at the door.
- Day 5Across the country to the quetzal valleyThe long drive of the trip, west and up into the Talamanca to Trogon Lodge in San Gerardo de Dota, by Los Quetzales National Park. The river trail before dinner.
- Day 6The quetzal morningBefore first light with a local guide for the Resplendent Quetzal in the oak forest, then the lodge's trails.
- Day 7A slower day in the valleyA second early walk if the quetzal has not shown, the feeders and the lodge's gardens for whoever slept in.
The Resplendent Quetzal at San Gerardo de Dota, the bird the whole trip is built around, with Fiery-throated Hummingbird at the feeders, Black Guan in the oaks and Northern Emerald-Toucanet in the same mornings.
Days 8 to 10 · 3 nights
Uvita, Bahía Ballena
Hotel Cristal Ballena, Uvita
Hotel Cristal Ballena. On a hillside between the Pacific and the rainforest, a 30-acre garden, the pool and ocean views from the rooms, with over 200 species recorded on the property.
- Day 8Down to the PacificAbout 2½ hours to Hotel Cristal Ballena above Uvita, with the ocean from the room and the pool.
- Day 9The Cristal birding tourA guided morning on the lodge's trails and in its gardens, where the lodge has recorded over 200 species; the afternoon at the pool.
- Day 10Bahía BallenaA day of your own: the lodge's trails, the beach below, the sunset from the terrace.
At Cristal Ballena, the lodge's own list of over 200 species.
Day 11 · 1 night
San José
Hotel Bougainvillea, Heredia
Hotel Bougainvillea. Gardens with mature trees twenty minutes from the airport.
- Day 11Back to San JoséNorth to Hotel Bougainvillea for the last night.
12
Day 12 · Fly home. A short transfer to the airport, timed to your flight.
Birds to look for
The Resplendent Quetzal at San Gerardo de Dota, the bird the whole trip is built around, with Fiery-throated Hummingbird at the feeders, Black Guan in the oaks and Northern Emerald-Toucanet in the same mornings.
On the south Caribbean coast, toucans and the Great Green Macaw in the lowland forest of the Gandoca-Manzanillo refuge, with monkeys, sloths and the sea turtles on the same walk.
At Cristal Ballena, the lodge's own list of over 200 species.
Know before you go
- Season. All year. The Caribbean coast is wet in every month; December to April is driest on the Pacific. Northern migrants from August to December and January to May.
- One long drive. The Caribbean coast to San Gerardo de Dota crosses the country; we break it with lunch.
- San Gerardo de Dota is high and cold. A fleece and a rain shell for the quetzal mornings; the cabins have blankets, not heating.
- Easy walking. Forest trails at the lodges and a flat refuge walk on the Caribbean.
What every trip includes
- A greeter at arrivals. One of our team outside the airport with your welcome pack and documents.
- Private transfers. A modern air-conditioned van and a Costa Rican driver for every leg, on your schedule, early included.
- 24/7 team in Costa Rica. Our concierge desk in San José, reachable day and night for the whole trip.
- Tours we have tested. Guides and operators our team works with year after year, booked for your days.
- A local birding guide. For the mornings that matter, the person who birds that place every week, while the rest of the party sleeps in.
Every trip is a custom quote built around your dates and your list.
Reviews
“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.”
“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.”
Questions travellers ask
One of us is not a birder. Does this work?
It is built for exactly that. Three nights at each stop, a guided morning or two for the birder, and the beaches, the rescue centre, the pool and the wildlife for both of you.
How is this different from the Top Three Destinations trip?
That one is Arenal, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio in nine nights. This one is the Caribbean coast, the quetzal valley and the Pacific in eleven, for a couple who want beaches and wildlife more than volcanoes.
Are international flights included?
No. Everything from landing to check-in for the flight home is ours; the flights are yours, and we advise on times.
Can we change it?
Yes. Arenal in place of the Caribbean coast, Hacienda Barú at Dominical instead of Uvita, or a Carara morning on the way back for the macaws.
Is this a group tour?
No. Private, for your party only, on your dates; we run no fixed-date group tours.
Keep exploring
This route birds two of our five birding zones: Highlands and Central and Southern Pacific Lowlands. Each zone page has its parks, its birds and every lodge we use there.
Trips like this one
- Best of Birding in Costa Ricathe Central Valley, San Gerardo de Dota and the Central Pacific in ten nightsSee that itinerary
- Carara, the Osa and the QuetzalScarlet Macaws at Carara, four nights at Drake Bay, then up to the quetzalSee that itinerary
- The Five-Night Birding Samplernew: the quetzal and the Scarlet Macaw in five nightsSee that itinerary
Or see all twenty-three birding trips, or every lodge we use, on one map.
Make it yours: request this itinerary
Tell us your dates and your list. A Costa Rica specialist writes back with your version of this trip.