A birding trip is only as good as where you wake up. The best lodges here put the forest at the end of the balcony, so the day's list starts before breakfast: a quetzal in the wild avocado at San Gerardo de Dota, macaws over the river at Carara, a Snowcap at the Turrialba feeders before the guide has finished his coffee.
These are the 53 lodges we actually use, in five zones, from 22 years of building birding trips. Not every hotel in a birding area is a birding lodge. The ones here have the trails, the feeders, the early breakfasts and, at most of them, resident guides who know this season's fruiting trees. Some are cabins with no electricity after dark. One is a five-star hacienda. We say which is which.
The map shows where they sit. Tap it to move around, and tap a marker to read why we send people there.
When you are ready, tell us what is on your list and we will say honestly which three or four of these fit it, and in what order.
Where they are
Tap a marker to jump to the lodge. The colours are the five zones.
Cloud forest and high oak forest down the spine of the country. Resplendent Quetzal, Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Black Guan and Emerald Toucanet, and San Gerardo de Dota is where most of these lodges are.
Photo: Dantica Cloud Forest Lodge
San Gerardo de Dota
Cozy Bungalows with Fireplaces and Stunning Cloud Forest Views
★★★
Bungalows with fireplaces on a hillside above San Gerardo de Dota, close to Los Quetzales National Park, with trails through the lodge's own forest. Eleven of our birding reviews name it, one for "a hillside surrounded by serene forests and lots of birds".
Hotspot nearby: San Gerardo de Dota and the Savegre valley
Photo: Hotel Bougainvillea
Heredia
Surrounded by Lush Gardens, the Hotel Bougainvillea is a Hidden Jewel in the city!
★★★
A family hotel in ten acres of botanical garden at Santo Domingo de Heredia, where 53 bird species have been logged, hummingbirds, tanagers and Blue-crowned Motmot among them. A garden rather than a reserve, so it suits a first or last night.
Photo: Hotel Quelitales
Cachí
Take advantage of nature without affecting it - the next stop on your perfect Birding vacation to Costa Rica!
★★★
Gardens beside Tapantí National Park, in Cachí above Cartago, where oropendolas, euphonias and tanagers come to the suite balconies, and the Doña Ana waterfall on the property's own trail.
Hotspot nearby: Tapantí National Park, above the Orosí valley
Photo: Hotel Suria
San Gerardo de Dota
Welcome to the San Gerardo de Dota Cloud Forest!
★★★
Twenty rooms on 10 acres of farm, creek and forest in the San Gerardo de Dota valley, owned and run by Hilda Araya and her family. The simplest of our highland lodges, and the valley's birds are the same ones.
Hotspot nearby: San Gerardo de Dota and the Savegre valley
Photo: Mirador de Quetzales
San Gerardo de Dota
Located in Cerro de la Muerte
★★★★
On land the family has farmed since 1948 on Cerro de la Muerte, run as a lodge for over 25 years, and the name says what you are there for: a quetzal lookout. It is cold at this altitude, so pack a jacket.
Hotspot nearby: Cerro de la Muerte and the km 70 lookouts
Photo: Monteverde Lodge & Gardens
Monteverde
A place perched in the mountains with infinite things to do for nature lovers and discerning travelers!
★★★
A cloud forest lodge with gardens at Santa Elena that sends guests to three reserves: the Cloud Forest Reserve, whose page names 400 bird species, Curi Cancha, with open ground for spotting birds and a limit of 40 visitors, and Santa Elena. Guided hikes and a night walk.
Hotspot nearby: Curi-Cancha Reserve, Monteverde
Photo: Paraíso Quetzal Lodge
San Gerardo de Dota
A family-run birding lodge in the cloud forest at km 70 of the Inter-American Highway South
★★★
At 2,600 metres on Cerro Buena Vista, km 70 of the highway south, with an 80-hectare reserve, five trails, four waterfalls and a hummingbird garden where a quetzal sometimes turns up. The Serrano Salazar family has run it since 2005.
Hotspot nearby: Cerro de la Muerte and the km 70 lookouts
Photo: Poas Volcano Lodge
Poás
An Intimate Mountain Lodge with Breath-taking Views of the Poas Volcano
★★★★
Eleven rooms of stone and wood on the edge of the cloud forest, beside a working dairy farm, with a walk-in fireplace in the living room for the cold evenings. La Paz Waterfall Gardens is within driving distance, and four of our recent birding itineraries stay here.
Hotspot nearby: Poás Volcano National Park and its slopes
Photo: Savegre Lodge Natural Reserve & Spa
San Gerardo de Dota
A Cozy Mountain Retreat in the Cloudforest Offering Fantastic Nature Tours and Birdwatching
★★★
A 400-hectare private cloud forest reserve at 2,200 metres, with over 170 bird species recorded on it and the quetzal among them. Heated rooms and a spa with a sauna, which matters at that altitude.
Hotspot nearby: San Gerardo de Dota and the Savegre valley
Photo: Senda Monteverde Hotel
Monteverde
Visit the Senda Monteverde Hotel and experience nature like never before!
★★★
A boutique hotel at Monteverde with naturalist guides on staff, where the Three-wattled Bellbird and the Resplendent Quetzal are named on the lodge's own pages.
Hotspot nearby: Curi-Cancha Reserve, Monteverde
Photo: Trapp Family Lodge
Monteverde
An Intimate, Welcoming Chalet in the Heart of Monteverde
★★★
The closest hotel to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, with trails from the property that lead straight into it, so the reserve is a walk and not a drive. Six of our 45 recent birding itineraries sleep here, level with Arenal Observatory for the most.
Hotspot nearby: Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
Photo: Trogon Lodge
San Gerardo de Dota
Enjoy the Cozy Cabins at this Charming Family Lodge in the Cloud Forest
★★★
Wooden cabins on a family farm about 2½ hours from San José, with a clear river running through the property and the quetzal walks starting from the gate at first light. The lodge our birding reviews name more than any other, 29 times.
Hotspot nearby: San Gerardo de Dota and the Savegre valley
Photo: Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel + Retreat
Bajos del Toro
Experience the Cloud Forest
★★★
A cloud forest hotel at Bajos del Toro that presents itself as a birding destination, with more than 400 species named on its pages and the El Silencio de los Ángeles cloud forest reserve beside it.
The wet slope above Turrialba, where the Talamanca mountains drop toward the Caribbean. Snowcap at the forest pools, Lanceolated Monklet in the Rio Tuis valley, tanager flocks higher up.
Photo: Hotel Casa Turire
Turrialba
Intimate Location full of luxury in Verdant, Exotic Turrialba!
★★★★
A twelve-room country hotel on a working farm a few minutes from Turrialba, beside La Angostura lake, with toucans and parakeets in the gardens and Rancho Naturalista's forest up the valley. Where we put birders who want a proper bed between the foothill mornings.
Hotspot nearby: La Angostura lake and the Turrialba farmland
Photo: Rancho Naturalista
Turrialba
A Birder's Paradise Awaits in the Central Valley Near Turrialba
★★★
125 acres of protected Caribbean foothill forest half an hour from Turrialba, hummingbird feeders on the balcony from the first breakfast, and resident bird guides our clients called "absolutely stellar". Five of our 45 recent birding itineraries sleep here, behind only Arenal Observatory and Trapp Family Lodge.
Hotspot nearby: Rancho Naturalista's reserve, above Turrialba
The biggest zone and the wettest, from the Arenal volcano across Sarapiquí to the Tortuguero canals and the south Caribbean coast. Great Green Macaw, Great Potoo, Sunbittern and Keel-billed Toucan country.
Photo: Arenal Oasis Ecolodge & Wildlife Refuge
Arenal
Where Tranquility and Rustic Auras meet Sustainability
★★★
A small family lodge 3 km from La Fortuna with its own frog sanctuary, butterfly garden and trails, and guided birdwatching walks run by the family. Basic, in one reviewer's word, and the same review called it magical.
Hotspot nearby: Arenal Volcano National Park
Photo: Arenal Observatory Lodge
Arenal
A Stunning Hotel on Amid 870 Acres of Lush Private Rain Forest
★★★
Built as the Smithsonian's volcano research station, on its own 350-hectare reserve next to Arenal Volcano National Park. The observation deck and the trails from the door are why six of our 45 recent birding itineraries sleep here, level with Trapp Family Lodge for the most.
Hotspot nearby: Arenal Volcano National Park
Photo: Caño Negro Natural Lodge
Caño Negro
A Beautiful Eco-Lodge in the Untamed Wilderness of Caño Negro
★★★
Forty-two rooms beside the Caño Negro Lagoon and the Río Frío, with the lodge's own boat, birding and canoe tours into the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge, a wetland of international importance since 1991. The one lodge on this page for the northern wetlands.
Hotspot nearby: Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge and the Río Frío
Photo: Celeste Mountain Lodge
Río Celeste
A Beautiful Resort on the Banks of the Picturesque Rio Celeste
★★★
Private trails through the lodge's own primary forest beside Tenorio Volcano National Park, with guided birding and a bird list to take along. Three-wattled Bellbird, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, Great Curassow and Yellow-eared Toucanet are the targets it names.
Photo: Chachagua Rainforest Hotel & Hacienda
Arenal
A sustainable resort above any other
★★★
Inside its own rainforest reserve near La Fortuna, with a guided birdwatching walk at 6 am and a night walk at 6 pm every day, and a warm spring pool kept for hotel guests. The adults-only tree house sits 20 metres up in the canopy.
Hotspot nearby: Arenal Volcano National Park
Photo: Evergreen Lodge
Tortuguero
A Stunning Tropical Oasis Just Minutes From Tortuguero National Park
★★★
Two hectares of tall trees in the northeast corner of Tortuguero, minutes by boat from the national park entrance, with the lodge's own bilingual guides and meals included.
Hotspot nearby: Tortuguero National Park and its canals
Photo: Finca Luna Nueva Lodge
Arenal
So much variety! This will be a Birders Delight
★★★★★
A 127-acre farm near La Fortuna with a canopy tower, forest trails and a tropical birding tour that reports more than 250 species on its private reserve.
Hotspot nearby: Arenal Volcano National Park
Photo: La Selva Biological Station
Sarapiquí
Visit a Research Center Working to Protect Nature's Diversity and Bounty
★★★
A working research station of the Organization for Tropical Studies, about 1,600 acres of lowland forest with a bird list over 450 species long. You walk it with their naturalist guides, early bird walk included, and eat with the scientists.
Hotspot nearby: La Selva Biological Station, Sarapiquí
Photo: Laguna Lodge
Tortuguero
★★★
On the strip of land between the Caribbean Sea and the Tortuguero lagoon, reached by boat, 106 rooms in 6 acres of gardens. Tortuguero is birded from the water, and the lodge sits on the water you bird from.
Hotspot nearby: Tortuguero National Park and its canals
Photo: Maquenque Eco Lodge
Boca Tapada
Magical, Modern Private Jungle Bungalows and Tree Houses on the Border of Nicaragua
★★★
Bungalows and tree houses on a 60-acre reserve at Boca Tapada, 15 minutes from the Nicaraguan border, with lagoons on the property and a guided nature walk at sunrise every morning. Most of what the kitchen serves is grown on the land.
Photo: Mawamba Lodge
Tortuguero
A Beautifully Designed, Elegant Resort in Remote Tortuguero
★★★
Fifteen acres between the Tortuguero canals and the Caribbean, reached only by boat or by air, with canal boat tours and night walks from the property. One of our clients wrote that bringing binoculars "really added to this great experience!"
Hotspot nearby: Tortuguero National Park and its canals
Photo: Pachira Lodge
Tortuguero
A Family-Friendly All-Inclusive in Tortuguero
★★★
Across the main canal from Tortuguero village and five minutes from the national park, with meals, the area tours and the boat transport all included, and the bird-watching boat tours among them. Four of our recent birding itineraries sleep here.
Hotspot nearby: Tortuguero National Park and its canals
Photo: Selva Bananito Lodge
Cahuita
Get Back To Nature at This Sustainable Eco-Retreat
★★★
A 2,000-acre private reserve above the south Caribbean coast, cabins with no electricity and floor-to-ceiling folding doors that open onto the forest. You wake with the birds because there is nothing else to wake you.
Photo: Selva Verde Lodge
Sarapiquí
A Great Jungle Eco-Retreat with a Wide Variety of Activities Just 2 Hours from San Jose
★★★
About 500 acres of Sarapiquí rainforest the lodge has looked after since 1986, 15 km of paths, and the river at the bottom of the garden. Two hours from San José, so it is often the first night of the trip.
Hotspot nearby: Selva Verde, on the Sarapiquí River
Photo: Tapirus Lodge
Braulio Carrillo
Come see nature surround you!
★★★★
Right next to Braulio Carrillo National Park, one of the only lodges that close to it, and tapirs on the property are the house speciality. The lodge itself says it is not the most luxurious place in the world, and the forest is the point.
Hotspot nearby: Braulio Carrillo National Park
The dry side: Guanacaste, the Nicoya Peninsula and the Palo Verde wetlands on the Tempisque. Turquoise-browed Motmot and Long-tailed Manakin in the forest, Jabiru and Roseate Spoonbill on the water.
Photo: Hacienda Guachipelin
Rincón de la Vieja
A Great Property with A Host of Exciting Activities On-Site
★★★
A 3,400-acre working ranch on the slopes of Rincón de la Vieja, 22 km from Liberia, with dry forest, 32 rivers coming off the volcano and birding from the ranch's own trails. Good when the birder travels with people who do not bird: canopy, horses and hot springs on the same property.
Hotspot nearby: Rincón de la Vieja National Park
Photo: La Ensenada
Playa Blanca
A Secluded Ranch for Nature Lovers
★★★
A 1,000-acre sanctuary on the Gulf of Nicoya coast that the lodge calls ideal for birdwatchers, with bungalows facing the gulf.
Photo: Rancho Humo Estancia
Palo Verde
A very special natural area located in Guanacaste
★★★
A private reserve on the Tempisque at Palo Verde, a cattle ranch one family has turned back into wetland, mangrove and dry forest. Migrating birds stop here, and so do we, for the water birds of the dry side.
Hotspot nearby: Palo Verde National Park and the Tempisque River
Photo: Tango Mar Resort
Tambor
A Sophisticated Nicoya Beachfront Resort with Fabulous Ocean Views
★★★★
Beachfront on Quizales beach on the Nicoya coast, 35 suites and bungalows, four pools and a nine-hole golf course through grounds full of birds. The end-of-trip lodge, for the shore birds and a rest.
Hotspot nearby: Curú Wildlife Refuge and the Río Pochote
From the Tárcoles River south to the Osa Peninsula. Scarlet Macaws at Carara, the mangrove boat on the Tárcoles, and around the Golfo Dulce the wildest forest we sell.
Photo: Aguila de Osa Inn
Drake Bay
An Exclusive Boutique Hotel in the Wilds of the Osa
★★★★
On a cliff above Drake Bay, with rooms set well apart for privacy, high cathedral ceilings and furniture handcrafted from local hardwoods. Our four-star choice for Corcovado and Caño Island.
Hotspot nearby: Corcovado National Park and the Osa
Photo: Bosque del Rio Tigre Lodge
Puerto Jiménez
Situated on the Tigre River
★★★
Four rooms and at most 12 guests on the Tigre river at Dos Brazos, in the forest reserve that rings Corcovado, where the river and the howler monkeys are the only sound at night. The smallest lodge on this page, and the one for the serious list.
Hotspot nearby: Corcovado National Park and the Osa
Photo: Bosque del Tolomuco
San Isidro de El General
Forest of the Tayra and Birdwatching Haven in Costa Rica's Southern Zone!
★★★
Gardens in the Talamanca foothills above San Isidro where Black Guan, Silver-throated Tanager and Red-fronted Parrotlet come in, with Los Cusingos Bird Sanctuary close by. Named for the tayra, the tolomuco, that lives in the forest here.
Hotspot nearby: Los Cusingos and the San Isidro valley
Photo: Cerro Lodge
Tárcoles
A Birder's Haven near Jaco Will Have You Seeing Red: The Stunning Scarlet Macaw!
★★★★
Ten bungalows and ten rooms on a ridge about 10 minutes from Carara, where scarlet macaws cross the valley in front of the hotel and about 150 species have been counted around it. "Macaws and fascinating hummingbirds on the feeders", in one client's words.
Hotspot nearby: The Tárcoles River mangroves, by boat
Photo: Corcovado Wilderness Lodge by SCP
Drake Bay
Rainforest villas and treehouses above a Drake Bay beach, next to Corcovado National Park
★★★★
On a 189-acre private reserve bordering Corcovado National Park, with early-morning forest-bird walks and canopy, shore and sea birds to look for.
Hotspot nearby: Corcovado National Park and the Osa
Photo: Drake Bay Wilderness Resort
Drake Bay
Comfortable Accommodations near Corcovado & Cano Island at Drake Bay Resort!
★★★
The first hotel at Drake Bay, owner-run cabins at the water's edge with a dock instead of a wet beach landing, its own English-speaking guides and three meals a day, close to Corcovado National Park and Caño Island. Four of our recent birding itineraries stay here, and one client called it "our favorite" of the trip.
Hotspot nearby: Corcovado National Park and the Osa
Photo: Esquinas Rainforest Lodge
Golfito
Immerse Youself in Nature!
★★★
Thirty minutes from the Golfito airstrip, on its own reserve bordering Piedras Blancas National Park, in the valley of La Gamba, with the Golfo Dulce forest at the door. The lodge we use to open the Osa and the Golfo Dulce without a long drive.
Hotspot nearby: Piedras Blancas National Park and the Golfo Dulce
Photo: Hacienda Barú Lodge
Dominical
A Superb Lodge with Eco-Excellent Ethos in a Natural Reserve
★★★
A lodge inside the Barú National Wildlife Refuge just north of Dominical, 330 hectares of rainforest, mangrove and beach with 7 km of trails and a bird watching tower. "Lots of birds, butterflies, monkeys and sloths", as one reviewer put it, and the owner has written a book about the place.
Hotspot nearby: Hacienda Barú National Wildlife Refuge
Photo: Hotel Cristal Ballena
Uvita
Breath-taking Southern Pacific Ocean Seascapes in Your Paradise Oasis
★★★★
Nineteen suites on a hillside with a 180-degree view of Bahía Ballena, 30 acres of gardens round a 1,300 square foot pool, a spa, and Marino Ballena National Park within walking distance. The comfortable night in the south, between the forest lodges.
Hotspot nearby: Marino Ballena National Park and Bahía Ballena
Photo: Hotel Punta Leona
Punta Leona
Private white sand beach
★★★
A beach resort in one of the country's last transition forests, where the wet Pacific forest meets the dry, just before Jacó and 45 minutes from the San José airport. A private white sand beach, three pools, and Carara and the Tárcoles river a short drive away: the lodge for a birder travelling with a family.
Hotspot nearby: Carara National Park
Photo: La Cusinga Lodge
Uvita
★★★
High on a ridge over the Pacific inside a 250-hectare private reserve, named for the Fiery-billed Aracari, the cusinga, which lives in it. No air conditioning on purpose, hydro and solar power, and humpback whales in the bay below from December to March.
Hotspot nearby: Marino Ballena National Park and Bahía Ballena
Photo: Lapa Rios Ecolodge
Cabo Matapalo
A Luxury Model Ecolodge
★★★★
A 1,000-acre private reserve at the tip of the Osa Peninsula, with more than 300 bird species claimed and an early outing made for birders: about two hours with a bilingual naturalist, binoculars and a spotting scope.
Photo: Las Cruces Biological Station
San Vito
A 4.5 hours drive away from San Jose
★★★
The Organization for Tropical Studies' research station near San Vito, close to the Panama border and home to the Wilson Botanical Garden, where the guides are biologists or naturalists. Meals are at set times with the scientists and students, a private deck looks over the gardens, and it is four and a half hours' drive from San José.
Hotspot nearby: Wilson Botanical Garden and Las Cruces
Photo: Macaw Lodge
Tárcoles
Beauty and Sustainability not far from the Tarcoles River
★★★★
A lake in front of the lodge and forest on two sides, between Carara and the Tárcoles bridge, with over 300 species on the lodge list, Sunbittern and Northern Jacana among them. Opened in 2011, and our clients mention the owner, Pablo, by name.
Hotspot nearby: Carara National Park
Photo: Playa Cativo Eco-Lodge
Golfo Dulce
A great opportunity and experience
★★★
A lodge on the Golfo Dulce where birdwatching is, in its own words, one of the most popular things guests do, with self-guided trails and mangrove kayaking that suits birders.
Hotspot nearby: Golfito Wildlife Refuge
Photo: Playa Nicuesa Lodge
Golfo Dulce
A Pastoral Oasis in the Wilds of the Osa Peninsula
★★★
Reached only by boat, about half an hour from Golfito or Puerto Jiménez, with a resident naturalist and Piedras Blancas National Park next door. Trogons, a toucan and Orange-collared Manakin are among the birds guests are pointed to.
Hotspot nearby: Golfito Wildlife Refuge
Photo: Santa Lucía Jungle Hacienda, Autograph Collection
Carara
A hacienda and colonial village on the riverbanks at the edge of Carara National Park
★★★★★
The old Villa Lapas, reopened as Santa Lucía Jungle Hacienda, an Autograph Collection hotel, on the riverbank at the edge of Carara National Park near Tárcoles, where scarlet macaws cross over the grounds. The same birding ground we have used for years, with a five-star hotel on it now.
Hotspot nearby: Carara National Park
Photo: Talari Mountain Lodge
San Isidro de El General
Explore a Birdwatching Paradise Far Away from the Crowds!
★★★
Fourteen rooms on 5 hectares of gardens and fruit trees by the Chirripó river, 5 km from San Isidro, with over 200 species recorded on the land, Red-legged Honeycreeper and Slaty Spinetail among them. Two km of trails up from the river, and a pool for the afternoon.
Hotspot nearby: Los Cusingos and the San Isidro valley
Photo: Tiskita Jungle Lodge
Golfo Dulce
Escape the city
★★★
A family-run lodge on 800 acres above the Golfo Dulce, more than 90 percent forest, with over 15 kilometres of trails and about 200 bird species recorded at or near the lodge. Guided naturalist walks, including after dark.
These 53 are the lodges we choose for birding, and some are proudly rustic: cabins at 2,200 metres, stations built for researchers, a lodge you reach only by boat. If someone in your group would rather end the trip at a beach resort, add a spa day or stay somewhere with room service between the birding stops, see every hotel we represent on CostaRica.Org, our main site. One team in Costa Rica plans the whole trip, lodges and beach hotels alike, so it all comes from one place.
Tell us the birds you want, your dates and how you like to travel, and we will come back with a first itinerary: the lodges in the right order and how many nights each one really needs. That first version is just a place to start.
Or call us: 1 (800) 996-1139 from the US and Canada, +506 4052-2140 in Costa Rica.
Keep going: add more birds, lodges or tours, then turn your Wishlist into a trip.
