800 species of birds, 200 species of mammals, a place so abundant in wildlife that it contains over 5% of the earth's biodiversity. A geographical area smaller than Vermont and New Hampshire combined, but which contains a dizzying array of landscapes including impressive volcanoes, stunning mountain ranges, beautiful rivers and lakes, and pristine beaches on both the Pacific and Atlantic. One of the premier places on the planet for eco-adventure and travel, this is Costa Rica, and Outdoor Photo Workshops will take you there!
March 12 - 20, 2011 - Costa Rica
ALL INCLUSIVE!
You get there, we take care of the rest!
Join us on an adventure to Costa Rica as we explore the incredible beauty and biodiversity of this amazing country. Along with our native Costa Rican Naturalist Guides, we will provide you with one of a kind opportunities to experience and photograph the birds, plants, wildlife, scenery, and culture of Costa Rica.
Our focus for this trip is on providing you a unique Costa Rican adventure, we have picked a variety of locations throughout Costa Rica that will give you the best opportunities to photograph the abundant wildlife and beautiful scenery this amazing country has to offer. We have also selected these locations because they are not where your typical tour goes, this is unspoiled Costa Rica at its best, not the tourist hotspots many tours go to.
Tour Information
Location - Costa Rica! Specifically we will be exploring four of the main regions of Costa Rica; the Caribbean Coast, Central Valley, South Costa Rica, and the Pacific Coast.
Dates - Saturday, March 12th – Sunday, March 20th, 2011
Photography Skill Level - Any, Beginner to Pro
Activity Level - Light to Moderate. This trip does not require a high degree of physical fitness or require long walks, each destination has been chosen to provide a mix of activities with ample time for photography. Be prepared though to experience some high heat and humidity, high altitudes, and some bumpy roads.
Price - $2,895 - All Inclusive - You Get There, We take care of the Rest!
What's Included:
8 nights lodging (Saturday, March 12 through Saturday, March 19)
All meals (dinner Saturday, March 12 through dinner Saturday, March 19)
Entrance fees to La Selva, Organization for Tropical Studies, Carara National Park, Tarcoles River Boat Float
All internal transportation with our private bus and driver
Costa Rican Naturalist guide and private driver who will accompany us on the entire trip
All taxes (except departure tax)
Not included:
Meals not specified in this itinerary
Transportation to and from San Jose
Alcoholic drinks
Hot Springs
Optional Activities (e.g. Zip Lines)
Gratuities for your guides, your driver, bellboys etc.
Miscellaneous items (e.g., personal expenses, laundry, phone calls)
Additional hotel nights made necessary by international airline schedule changes
Pre-trip expenses
Travel Insurance
Costa Rican departure tax $26 usd
The cost of additional days in country or other accommodations incurred because of weather, flight schedules, or other events beyond our control are the responsibility of the individual tour participant.
Deposit - A nonrefundable $900 deposit is required to register. The balance paid in full is due by January 3, 2011. Please see our Terms and Conditions page for more information on our payment policies.
Cancellation - If a tour participant must cancel their reservation more than 45 days prior to the tour, the full payment to date will be refunded less the $900 non-refundable deposit. Within 45 days of arrival, 100% of the total cost of the tour will be non-refundable.
Tour Leaders - This tour is lead by Jim Caldwell and Jason Hahn. The pictures you see on this page and in his gallery are from Jim's many trips to Costa Rica over two decades. Along with our skilled Costa Rican naturalist guides, we will lead you through Costa Rica via our own private bus to photograph the amazing wildlife and scenery of this incredible place.
Tour Size - This tour is limited to a maximum of 13 participants. A minimum of 8 participants is required for this tour to be held. In the event we do not reach this 8 minimum, we will provide a full refund of any payments we have received, please see the our Terms and Conditions page for more information.
Travel - You must arrive in San Jose by March 12 and be prepared early the next morning. We will return to San Jose for flights departing March 20. For flights into San Jose, use Juan Santamaría Airport (SJO).
Lodging - We will be staying at a variety of locations throughout Costa Rica. All lodging is double occupancy. Additional nights before or after the tour are at your own expense. A single supplement is available for an additional $600 US.
Itinerary - We keep a very flexible schedule during the tour to respond to the opportunities the wildlife, weather, and light provide us. Once you have registered we will send a complete information packet including itineraries, equipment lists, contact information, and more. For purposes of planning your travel, we depart San Jose very early on March 13th, and return late day March 19th so we can fly out on the 20th.
ITINERARY SUMMARY
Day 1 - Arrive in Costa Rica's Juan Santamaria Airport San Jose, Costa Rica. You will be met at the airport by us and our local Naturalist Guide and taken to your hotel. We will meet in the evening for a welcome dinner.
Day 2 - San Gerardo - Savegre - We will depart very early for our trip to the higher elevation of San Gerardo. This cloud forest amongst oak trees is a bird watchers paradise and famous for its high count of Resplendent Quetzals. In the afternoon we will explore the area around the lodge, there are great opportunities throughout the area for bird and wildlife photography, and especially up-close hummingbird photography near the lodge.
Day 3 - Exploring Savegre - We rise early this morning and spend the full day exploring the beautiful trails surrounding the lodge. A variety of wildlife calls this area home including the uniquely beautiful Resplendent Quetzals.
Day 4 - Travel to Sarapiqui and La Selva - After breakfast we will depart for the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. Along the drive, we will stop for lunch and more wildlife watching and photography. Our final stop for the day is the La Selva Biological Station operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) and located near the Sarapiquí River in the Caribbean lowlands of northern Costa Rica within the tropical and premontane wet forest.
Day 5 - Exploring La Selva - We will spend the day exploring the La Selva Station and surrounding area. The area surrounding the station is primarily tropical rain forest with more than 420 bird species recorded at this location. This reserve has an excellent trail system on flat paved walkways making birding and nature photography easy and comfortable. Common birds seen include: tanagers, motmots, trogons, parrots, and oropendolas.
Day 6 - Travel to Central Pacific - Carara National Park - We depart after breakfast and head to the Central Pacific home of the Carara National Park. In the afternoon, you will have the option to take some free time to relax at the hotel beach or explore other local activities, or continue looking for birds and other wildlife in the area with our guide and driver.
Days 7 - 8 - Exploring the Central Pacific - Carara National Park - We will spend the day exploring the wildlife paradise of the Carara Biological Reserve. The 4,700 hectare Carara Biological Reserve occupies a unique position at the transition zone between tropical rain forest and dry forest in the Pacific lowlands. This tropical bird and wildlife sanctuary is one of the world’s few nesting places for the scarlet macaw. The extraordinary richness of this transition between dry and wet tropical forests is exemplified by the very large number of certain bird groups: five trogons, seven woodcreepers, five manakins and five large Thryothorus wrens, most of which are fairly easy to see. Along the forest trails we'll look for these species as well as the Pale-billed Woodpecker, Great Tinamou, Antshrike, Black-faced Antthrush, Spot-crowned Euphonia, Golden-crowned Spadebill, and Long-billed Gnat wren.
In the afternoon, we will take a boat trip exploring the Tárcoles River. The slow pace of the boat allows up-close nature photography in the mangroves nearby where we'll look for Black-Hawk, American Pygmy Kingfisher, Yellow Warbler, and the regal Crested Caracara. American Crocodiles are very abundant here and the biggest ones can measure nearly 4 meters.
In the late afternoon, we will visit the Tárcoles Bridge as pairs of scarlet macaws fly over head returning to their roosts in the mangrove swamps at the mouth of the Tárcoles River. On day 8 we will continue to explore this area, departing later in the day for our return to San Jose.
Day 9 - San Jose - Our guide and driver will accompany you to the airport for the return trip home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Time Zone - All of Costa Rica is in the GMT - 6 zone, which corresponds to U.S. Central Time during winter months, and U.S. Mountain Time when the U.S. is in daylight savings time. Costa Rica does not observe daylight savings time.
Immunizations - No immunizations are required for Costa Rica.
A Current passport is REQUIRED (and must not be within 6 months of expiring)
Power - 110 volt 60 cycle - just like the US. We suggest two prong adapters as 3 prong power outlets are not as common.
Currency - Colones which is currently valued at 0.0019 of the dollar. Think of a 5,000 Colones note as being around $10.00. US dollars are accepted at most places as are the common credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, etc.)
Language - At the hotels, etc. English is common, though in the towns and villages it is less common and is primarily Spanish.
Travel insurance - is cheap and is highly recommended
Water - You should be safe drinking the water - HOWEVER, we recommend sticking to bottled water (which is provided) just in case. To be totally safe, don't forget to rinse your mouth and toothbrush with bottled water as well.
Food - The food in the smaller towns is generally 'tipico' - native food which consists primarily of black beans, rice, plantains, and your choice of pork, chicken, or beef. Other native favorites are lengua de vaca (cow's tongue), menudo soup (cow stomach and hominy), etc. There will also be plentiful fresh fruits (pineapple, bananas, plantains, and other tropical fruits and fruit juices). The hotels serve native as well as "American" type food.
