Date
Cost
Availability
Deposit
Single Supp
| 22 Feb - 09 Mar 2025
£7795.00
0 Spaces
£1550.00
£950.00
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| Leaders | Roy Atkins and Paco Madrigal |
| Flights | British Airways, scheduled
Outbound: Morning, Gatwick-San José
Inbound: Overnight, San José-Gatwick
Possible transit stop out and back |
| Day 1 | Fly to San José - 1 night Hotel Bougainvillea, Heredia. |
| Days 2-3 | Transfer to Tortuguero National Park - 2 nights Laguna Lodge. |
| Days 4-6 | Transfer to Sarapiqui - 3 nights Selva Verde Lodge. |
| Days 7-8 | Transfer to Arenal - 2 nights Arenal Observatory Lodge. |
| Day 9 | Transfer to Guanacaste, birding at Solim - 1 night La Ensenada Lodge. |
| Days 10-11 | Transfer to Carara National Park area - 2 nights Hotel Villa Lapas, Tarcoles. |
| Days 12-13 | Birdwatching and wildlife at Finca Mirador de Quetzals - 2 nights Savegre Hotel. |
| Day 14 | Easy day travelling back to San José - 1 night Hotel Bougainvillea, Heredia. |
| Days 15-16 | Transfer to the airport for our flight arriving in the UK on the morning of Day 16. |
| Weather | It’s the dry season, but there could be occasional showers (or prolonged downpours) in humid rainforests. Can be cool in the mountains and cloud forest, hot on the coast (12°-35°C). |
| Walking | Generally easy level paths, up to two miles at a slow pace. There may be occasional uphill sections and some steps. Although distances are short you will be standing and scanning for periods of time. |
| Meals | All included from dinner on Day 1 to lunch on Day 15. Delicious local food at hotels and restaurants, some buffets, some menus. Rice and beans (the national dish)
available everywhere, but not compulsory. Cool drinks and tropical fruit provided. |
| Insects | On occasion biting insects can be a nuisance - bring repellent. |
| Accom | Twin and single rooms all ensuite. |
| Group | 12 |
Approachable Central America, Costa Rica is a very friendly bite-size chunk of exotic rainforest adventure..........without the rough edges!48uep6bbph|00000E4E|Spey_BESQL3|HolidayTypes|Subheading 48uep6bbphidval|COSTA RICA NORTH
| * Friendly, safe country, with 5% of the earth’s entire species
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| * Around 400 bird species likely and a huge variety of other wildlife to see
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| * Resplendent Quetzal, Sungrebe, hummingbirds, toucans and macaws
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| * Sloths, howler monkeys, reptiles and amphibians and Arenal Volcano
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| * Idyllic lodges and hotels you won’t want to leave
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| * The very best guides who’ll make it extra-special
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| * Itinerary perfected by years of experience - from the high cloud forest to Tortuguero!
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| Day 1 | Arriving late afternoon we’ll overnight at Heredia, near San José.
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| Days 2-3 | After some exciting pre-breakfast birding in the hotel gardens, we journey to Tortuguero NP by boat. Our lodge has beautiful gardens with trogons, toucans and oropendolas and the sea just yards away. We travel in covered boats to explore the labyrinth of waterways in this atmospheric Reserve, a wonderfully relaxing way to see the birds and mammals. The forests are teeming with wildlife including Sungrebe, Greenand-Rufous and American Pygmy Kingfishers, Green Ibis and enormous Blue Morpho butterflies. We may see all three species of monkeys and both sloth species! Mixed flocks of toucans call noisily, parrots screech overhead and we’ve seen fabulous raptors here, such as Swallow-tailed and Grey-headed Kites.
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| Days 4-6 | The forested grounds of Selva Verde Lodge in the Caribbean lowland rainforest of Sarapiqui, host skulking forest-dwellers such as wrens, jacamars, ant-tanagers, woodcreepers and Antbirds. Nearby La Selva Biological Station is a must-visit site, where lowland tropical forest, swamp pasture, rivers and creeks support an outstanding abundance of wildlife. More than 420 bird species have been recorded here, 500 butterflies, 55 snakes and 120 species of mammals! This is where your Tinamou dreams may come true, since three species are here and we hope for trogons, caciques, Rufous and Broad-billed Motmots, Snowy Cotinga and impressive Great Green Macaw. We may find peccaries, agoutis, sloths and monkeys too!
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| Days 7-8 | Arenal is one of Costa Rica’s active volcanoes and though it has gone rather quiet lately, views from our accommodation are still very impressive. Trails through the surrounding forests host Crimson-collared Tanager, Long-billed Gnatwren, Spotted Antbird, White Hawk, Great Curassow and three species of toucan. Feeders here attract colourful tanagers, woodpeckers, honeycreepers and oropendolas, plus remarkably tame White-nosed Coatis, a delightful relation of the Raccoon, with a tail like a lemur! This is a fabulous place for hummingbirds, with seven species or more likely.
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| Day 9 | Dry tropical forests of the Guanacaste area hold special species such as Mantled Howler Monkey, Turquoise-browed Motmot, White-throated Magpie-Jay, plus orioles found nowhere else in Costa Rica. Our lodge overlooks the Gulf of Nicoya with Black-headed Trogon, Yellow-naped Parrot and a good chance of Pacific Screech Owl near our rustic cabins. Nearby saltpans can be alive with shorebirds, including North American species such as Wilson’s Plover, Willet, Stilt Sandpiper and with luck, Long-billed Curlew. Sometimes Black Skimmers are here amongst the terns and we may look for local specialities such as White-lored Gnatcatcher or Banded Wren.
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| Days 10-11 | We’ll visit some salt pans with a host of waders, before travelling down to Tarcoles on the Pacific coast. Carara Biological Reserve, where humid tropical forest meets drier lowlands, has broad, bird-rich forest trails that are captivating at dawn, with antbirds, parrots, pigeons, warblers and four species of trogon. We’ll search for Royal Flycatcher, Orange-collared and Long-tailed Manakins, while vivid Scarlet Macaws fly over our hotel and the grounds hold orioles, tanagers, antshrikes, woodcreepers, buntings, seedeaters and toucans, perhaps including Fiery-billed Aracari.
Our boat trip on the Tarcoles River is a relaxed way to watch enormous numbers of herons, egrets, frigatebirds, pelicans and shorebirds, including Roseate Spoonbill, Boat-billed Heron and kingfishers, with American Crocodiles basking on the shore. We’ll look for mangrove specialities such as ‘Mangrove’ Black Hawk, Mangrove Warbler and Mangrove Vireo in the mangroves….. well obviously!
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| Days 12-13 | We head into misty cloudforest with new birds everywhere! Slaty Flowerpiercer, Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher, Yellow-thighed Finch, Spangle-cheeked Tanager, Flame-throated Warbler and Fiery-throated Hummingbird to name but a few. The river near the hotel has Torrent Tyrannulet, the feeders attract Flame-colored Tanager and Acorn Woodpeckers and hummingbirds here include Volcano, Scintillant Stripe-tailed and Fiery-throated. This is also where we hope to find one of the most exciting birds of the trip - the Resplendent Quetzal - an absolutely stunning bird and often voted in the top ten most beautiful birds in the world!
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| Day 14 | After more birding around the trails and feeders plus the excellent entrance road, we may head up to search for Volcano Junco in the high Paramo, before heading back to our hotel near San Jose.
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| Days 15-16 | We may have time for morning birding before we head to the airport and our flight back home, arriving in London on Day 16.
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Just some of what we hope to see..
| Great Tinamou | Spectacled Owl | American Pygmy Kingfisher |
| Great Curassow | Rufous Motmot | Green-and-Rufous Kingfisher |
| Jabiru | Turquoise-browed Motmot | Violet Sabrewing |
| Agami Heron | Black-mandibled Toucan | Purple-crowned Fairy |
| Sungrebe | Keel-billed Toucan | Black-crested Coquette |
| King Vulture | Snowy Cotinga | Scintillant Hummingbird |
| Swallow-tailed Kite | White-throated Magpie-Jay | Volcano Hummingbird |
| Snail Kite | Golden-hooded Tanager | Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer |
| White Hawk | Crimson-collared Tanager | Two-toed Sloth |
| Limpkin | Spangle-cheeked Tanager | Three-toed Sloth |
| Great Green Macaws | Resplendent Quetzal | White-nosed Coati |
| Yellow-naped Parrot | Slaty-tailed Trogon | Tent-making Bats |
| White-crowned Parrot | Collared Trogon | |
| Mealy Parrot | Violaceous Trogon | |
| Black-and-White Owl | Amazon Kingfisher | |
"The whole of the trip was a holiday highlight. Costa Rica is a beautiful country with fantastic birds, flowers, butterflies and scenery. We had brilliant guides and the group were a pleasure to be with"
Peter Williamson & Gillian Hirst
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"Plenty of them, but I would also like to say how smoothly Speyside worked with Cotinga to add on a week for me before the tour began. It all went without a hitch, the two lodges I stayed at were excellent, and I saw some brilliant birds. I've been on several rainforest boat trips before, but the experiences at Tortuguero were a bit special. Drifting calmly and slowly up narrow channels overhung by tropical vegetation and seeing Neotropical Otter out on a log, very close White-faced Capuchins coming right down almost to the water's edge, terrapins, caymans, iguanas, Jesus Christ lizards, quite apart from the birds, was extraordinary and will be a lasting memory"
Martin Robinson
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"As a 'newbie' to a holiday where pretty much everything was organised for me, I think I was quite easily converted... All effort of organisation and stress of logistics was gone, so all I had to think about were the birds - what a relaxing way to travel! Paco and Roy were the best guides possible - their knowledge and skills in locating species were unsurpassable, but they were both also brilliant at keeping us all informed about where we were going next, what we were looking for etc, and Paco also gave us nuggets of information about lots of other aspects of Costa Rica as well as the birdlife. Their obvious enjoyment of their jobs was very clear. I also really enjoyed the nightly run through the day's sightings and the checklist is a nice thing to have to keep (and essential when trying to work out what my photos were of!)"
Hen (Helen) Robinson
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"This was a trip that produced so many wonderful sightings and surprises, with the help of
two really exceptional guides, whose knowledge and enthusiasm made every outing special. The boat trips were magical, as was the chance to walk through some really beautiful forests. We saw so many new bird species and other wildlife, including monkeys, otters, caiman, frogs and butterflies. My personal highlight was finding a Spectacled Owl clutching a dead Semi-Plumbeous Hawk, in its talons! It had its wings stretched out, but didn't move a muscle while we watched it. An amazing encounter"
Judy Down
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"We both felt that both Roy and Paco were excellent guides, very enthusiastic and took care that everybody had an opportunity to see the wildlife. Carlos was not only an excellent driver but exceptional at spotting birds/animals along the roadside. To catch a glimpse of the ocelot was unexpected and a real highlight as were the many varieties of birds seen throughout the trip.To experience the different locations each with its own speciality of bird, wildlife, weather, flora and fauna was a wonderful addition to the holiday."
Robert Bigmore & Jan Wilkins
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"Very difficult to pick out highlights in an all-round excellent trip, but Liz found the close-up encounters with humming birds all around particularly magical, especially at the beautiful gardens of Bosque del Tolomuco on Day 12 and at the Paraíso Quetzal restaurant on Day 14."
Liz & Nigel Matthews
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"I very much enjoyed the holiday, there were many highlights of the bird, mammal and reptile kind. I thought the range of locations around the whole country gave the group a very good idea of all the different environments. The guides and driver were excellent and it was a very friendly, happy group of travellers. Well done Speyside once again, Costa Rica was a great experience !"
Roger Shorrock
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"So many people had recommended this holiday and everything they said was true. A jaw dropping variety of the most stunning birds and fabulous wildlife, wonderful exotic locations, boat trips through the tropical rainforest and with Roy and Paco as guides we were treated to the best Costa Rica could offer. I will never forget the wonderful views of the pair of Resplendent Quetzels and a troop of Howler Monkeys cavorting on the bridge above us. Add to this a baby sloth posing for photos and birds so colorful they were dazzling. One of the best holidays ever."
Jean Brown
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"Baby sloth playing in a tree. Humming birds. Such close up views of wildlife from the boat trips.T he wonderful group of people we were with who behaved more like a family than a group of strangers."
Wendy & Tony Hayward
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"So many, wonderful views of sloths and howler monkeys. The volcano at dawn- with no cloud. The owls. Having wonderful views of the amazing quetzels. The hummimgbird feeders at lunch on the way to the mountains day 13. The "kettles " of migrating vultures and storks. The guides, Paco and Roy and driver Carlos. Our whole group developed such a good cameraderie, such fun and made the holiday."
Fiona & Peter Turner
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"The wildlife and bio-diversity stories of Coast Rica unfolded around us sometimes at a frantic pace thanks to the careful choice of location and the outstanding guidance of Roy and Paco. The whole script could not have been better. I particularly enjoyed the boat trips especially the one deeper into the lagoons at Tortuguero where we spent some time with Spider Monkeys. I also found the hummingbirds enchanting and mesmerising."
Chris Piper
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"There were so many: Dolphins swimming alongside our boat Quetzals sitting beside their nest for ages letting us watch them Coatis playing Peccaries feeding around our feet Tiny Hawk eating a poor Tanager Mexican Porcupine in a tree outside our rooms Margay sitting on a rock peacefully watching us, watch her Massive number of birds which were relatively easy to spot (useful to a non birder) Fantastic scenery Wonderful sights of owls Sloths, Howler Monkeys, Spider Monkeys, White Faced Capuchin monkeys Humming birds by the bucket load! I appreciate this is sounding like the check list but for me they were all highlights. I tried to record one "magic moment" per day and gave up - on one day I had three without even trying. Thank you to everyone who made this such a fantastic trip. Roy works tirelessly to ensure we all get a fantastic experience and has a great sense of humour. Paco is so knowledgable about the wildlife of his country and also has a great sense of humour. Great team."
Jane Nickerson
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"An absolutely brilliant experience. Easily saw over 350 species of birds, many new to us. We had amazing views of a Margay and a Tamandua. To be awoken to the sound of Howler Monjkeys just outside our accommodation was great. We had wonderful views of the steaming Aranal Volcano from our Lodge balcony on each of the three days that we were there. In fact, everything was a highlight!"
Mary & David Penton
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"Too numerous to mention! However, seeing a Margay was a very special moment as was the sun setting on Arenal volcano. Resplendent Quetzal experience was amazing having both male & female together. Boat trips at Tortuguero & Tarcoles were wonderful too."
Evelyn & Ronnie Turnbull
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One of the things that sets Cotinga Tours apart from other birding companies is their attention to detail and they have spent time carefully choosing our lodgings. Lush, verdant surroundings as well as proximity to the reserves have been a key ingredient in choosing them, along with, comfortable rooms, aesthetically pleasing surroundings, good facilities, great service and scrumptious food. We’ll stay in the best lodges available at each location. Each morning we shall be getting an early start, generally offering a pre-breakfast outing for which we'll meet at around 5.45-6am for coffee before we head out, to make the most of the cool part of the day when the birding is at its best. This way we maximise our opportunities to see the most species of birds possible. We generally go out again after breakfast and in the afternoon with a break in the hottest part of the day when it hotter areas. As an optional outing, at some locations, we may go looking for frogs! Each evening there will also be an optional meeting after dinner to go over the bird list. We are usually finished by 9pm so there is time for plenty of sleep still.
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