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Costa Rica - A Wildlife Photography Tour
Tour Code: CRI06A 16-day wildlife photography holiday to Costa Rica's mountains and lowland rainforests led by an expert wildlife photographer.
£9,395 (Inc flights)
£8,395
Highlights
Tour Itinerary and Reports
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Summary
There can be few countries in the Americas better suited to wildlife photography than Costa Rica. It is one of the top 20 most bio-diverse countries in the world, home to nearly 900 species of bird, over 1,200 species of butterfly and 250 species of mammals. There’s certainly no shortage of subjects to choose from! Costa Rica is also blessed with a wonderful network of comfortable lodges which not only offer easy access to some of the county’s most wildlife-rich habitats but also often set up their hummingbird feeders and bird tables with photographers in mind. This tour does not aim to rush from place to place trying to amass a long list of birds, but instead offers the opportunity to focus on just four different reserves – Arenal Volcano, Laguna de Lagarto, La Selva and the Talamanca Mountains – with plenty of time in each to take that perfect shot!
- Led by an expert wildlife photographer
- Hummingbirds, toucans, tanagers, motmot, trogons and others
- Use of feeding stations, designed to maximise photographic opportunities
- Visit the King Vulture photography hide
- Explore the rainforests around La Selva
- A relaxed-paced itinerary focusing on three excellent wildlife reserves
- Look for the Resplendent Quetzal, often touted as the most beautiful bird in the world!
Grading
Easy to moderate walks. Trails can be rough and steep in places.There can be few countries in the Americas better suited to wildlife photography than Costa Rica. It is one of the top 20 most bio-diverse countries in the world, home to nearly 900 species of bird, over 1,200 species of butterfly and 250 species of mammals. There’s certainly no shortage of subjects to choose from! Costa Rica is also blessed with a wonderful network of comfortable lodges which not only offer easy access to some of the county’s most wildlife-rich habitats, but also often set up their hummingbird feeders and bird tables with photographers in mind. This new tour does not aim to rush from place to place trying to amass a long list of birds, but instead offers the opportunity to focus on just three different wildlife reserves with plenty of time in each to take that perfect shot! This tour will be led by Dr Kevin Elsby, a long-standing Naturetrek tour leader who is also an award-winning wildlife photographer and fellow of the Royal Photographic Society.
Following a 1-night stay in San Jose, in which to recover from the long flight and hone your photography skills on the abundant garden birds, we will spend 4 nights at Laguna de Lagarto Lodge. This fabulous rainforest lodge is popular with photographers and offers a hide for King Vultures as well as several well-stocked feeding stations for tanagers, toucans and other colouful species. Moving on we next explore the pristine lowland rainforests around Selva Verde Lodge. Our four nights here will give us plenty of time to photograph such species as Sunbittern, Mantled Howler Monkey and Strawberry Poison-dart Frog and to explore the rainforests of La Selva Biological Station, one of the most diverse tracts of forest in the country. We end the tour in the cloudforests of the Talamanca Mountains for a 3-night stay at Savegre Mountain Lodge. Here we hope to photograph such species as Flame-throated Warbler, Magnificent and Volcano Hummingbirds and Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher and will make a special effort to photograph the Resplendent Quetzal, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful birds in the world! From the beautiful cloudforests of the Talamanca Mountains we return to San Jose for a final night before flying home.
Outline Itinerary
What's Included?
- Flights
- Accommodation: A mix of comfortable rainforest lodges and hotels. All rooms with private facilities.
- Food: All included in the price except for evening meals in San Jose.
Dates & Prices
2025
Tour Leader: Kevin Elsby
Kevin was a full time GP in north Norfolk for 30 years. He has had a lifelong interest in birds and has a broad interest in many other aspects of natural history. He is a life member of the British Dragonfly Society. He has travelled extensively in the UK and Europe as part of his hobby and has also visited all the continents in search of wildlife. He has been a Naturetrek guide since 2003 and he has led Naturetrek trips to the Arctic (Svalbard), Africa (Kenya), the Gambia, Costa Rica, and several European destinations. An experienced and award-winning wildlife photographer, he is on the Nature Group committee of the prestigious Royal Photographic Society (RPS), and has a Fellowship from the RPS in Nature photography. He sits on the Nature Panel of the RPS and judges wildlife images from applicants around the world who apply for a distinction in wildlife photography with the RPS. He is always willing to share his photographic skills with Naturetrek clients, on the tours that he leads. Kevin has a Master's degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation in addition to a BSc in Natural Sciences with Earth Sciences. This has enhanced his knowledge of conservation issues, including ecology, as well as other related subjects, such as oceanography, geology and evolution. He has a particular interest in the wildlife and environments of the Arctic and Antarctic regions and also tropical rainforests. He has his own website, which displays many of his favourite images. It can be found at http://www.wildlifeontheweb.co.uk
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[description] => Birding Tours Led by Expert Naturalists
The majority of our wildlife tours focus primarily on birds, allowing us to offer a huge choice of bird holidays. On most of our birdwatching tours we aim to see a wide variety of species, while taking time to enjoy other wildlife as well as cultural highlights and architecture.
Naturetrek Birdwatching Tours
We have one of the largest selections of professionally organised, small group birdwatching holidays around the world and all of our birdwatching tours are accompanied by at least one professional ornithologist leader with detailed knowledge of the area.
The majority of our bird tours have a relaxed, flexible approach which allows more time for photography, detailed wildlife exploration, leisure time and the region’s people, culture, history and architecture, while allowing the group to see a wide range of bird species.
Here is a small selection of our many bird holidays:
- Southern Morocco – an exploration of the birdlife in Morocco’s southern deserts, oases and mountains
- The Camargue in Spring – a short break to enjoy the spring birds of the Rhône Delta and Camargue wetland
- Wallcreepers & Cranes in Northern Spain – a 2-centre holiday focusing on Lammergeier, Wallcreepers, raptors, Cranes, bustards, sandgrouse and more!
- Madeira & Desertas Islands – A Seabird Extravaganza! – a short break focusing on special breeding seabirds, including a night on the remote Destertas Islands
- Peru – Macaws & Machu Picchu – searches for boobies, macaws and Inca Terns
- Spain & Morocco: Birding on Two Continents! – watch the spectacular spring bird migration from both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar
Our Bargain Birdwatching Selection
Our Bargain Bird Tours are intensive birdwatching holidays suitable for the serious birder. They are led by expert English-speaking local guides (and not accompanied from the UK by a tour leader). You can expect a higher-paced tour and to spend long hours in the field.
Our specialist recommends...
Byron Palacios - Tour Leader
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Mammal Watching Holidays
Many of the world’s mammals are instantly recognisable to us. Animals such as Lions, Tigers, elephants and bears capture our imaginations from an early age. At Naturetrek, we take great pleasure and pride in helping people to fulfil their lifelong dreams of seeing these iconic species in the wild. We also enjoy introducing our clients to some of the world’s more unusual mammals, many of which are just as fascinating.
Naturetrek Mammal Watching Tours
Many of our tours have a primary focus on mammals and we offer the widest choices of mammal-watching holidays across the globe, from the poles to the tropics. Our holidays are guided by at least one professional naturalist tour leader and usually benefit from additional guiding by expert local naturalist guides. We have holidays to see an incredible range of the world’s most sought-after mammals, such as orangutans, lemurs, bats, polar mammals, big cats, and mammals of the African savannah. A significant number of tours also targets some of the planet’s more unusual and elusive species, from pottos and pangolins to slender lorises and obscure cetaceans.
Here’s a selection of our mammal tours:
- India’s Kanha and Pench Tiger Reserves
- A cruise to Spitsbergen in search of Polar Bears
- A chance to see the ‘Big Five’ and much more in South Africa’s Kruger National Park
- Search for Blue, Fin and Sperm Whales in the Azores
- Close-up views of Brown Bear and Wolverine in Finland
- Enjoy the mammals of Kenya’s Masai Mara, while staying in luxury camps
- Search for elusive nocturnal mammals, such as Aardvark, Black-footed Cat and Aardwolf, in the Kalahari Desert
Bargain mammal selection
We offer a range of action-packed bargain holidays for the dedicated mammal enthusiast, which are exceptional value for money, from Belize to Zambia.
Our specialist recommends...
Paul Stanbury - Operations Manager
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Wildlife Photography Workshops with Expert Tuition
Our dedicated wildlife photography workshops are aimed at wildlife photographers of varying levels of experience and ability, including beginners with ambitions to learn and improve, keen amateurs looking to hone their skills, and accomplished photographers seeking exceptional photographic opportunities.
Naturetrek Wildlife Photography Holidays
We work with outstanding photographers who share our goals of spending quality, informed time watching – and capturing – once-in-a-lifetime moments. Joining one of our wildlife photography tours will not only improve your technique and sharpen your reflexes, but will also optimise your chances of capturing memorable, high-quality images of some of the world’s most sought-after species. Group sizes on these holidays are strictly limited, not only to allow you plenty of room in which to work, but, just as importantly, to enable you to benefit from the dedicated time of our expert leaders. Our leaders aim to challenge your approach to photography, giving you the chance to pursue new avenues of creativity. They are also expert naturalists, enabling them to provide insight that will help you see your subjects in a new light, and improve your ability to predict and capture interesting behaviour.
Our tours offer:
- Expert advice on how to get the most out of your equipment
- Expert advice on composition and photographic technique
- Photo editing tuition fills time that is unproductive for shooting
- Extended time in hotspots to allow a focus on target species such as Jaguars, Tigers, bears, puffins and otters
- Picturesque landscapes, visited at optimal times
- Limited group size
- Like-minded travelling companions
Our specialist recommends...
Paul Stanbury - Operations Manager
Tour Reports
Why Naturetrek?
At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:
- The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
- Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
- Outstanding value and exceptional customer service
Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!
