Costa Rica photo tour

Day 1

Comfortable direct Edelweiss flight (not included) to San José, Costa Rica’s capital. Upon arrial, we will be greeted by our guide and transferred to the hotel. After checking in, we’ll have a welcome dinner together to begin the exciting journey.

Day 2-5

Our first days are spent in the rainforest near the Nicaraguan border, where we stay in two different lodges.
One highlight of the trip is an overnight stay in a treehouse with breathtaking views of the rainforest canopy.
The lodges are designed for photographers and nature lovers. Birds frequently land on branches, providing excellent photo opportunities.

Boat tour on the Rio San Carlos, where we can spot various birds, crocodiles, turtles, iguanas, and more.
Night excursions to search for smaller creatures like frogs, beetles, spiders, bats, and possibly a lancehead viper.
A special encounter with the King Vulture, where we wait in specially built hides to photograph these magnificent birds fighting over carrion, sitting, or flying.

– Boat tour on Rio San Carlos
– Night excursion
– King Vulture photography

Day 6-8

From the lower elevations of the Rio San Carlos we enter a somewhat cooler area. We spend the next three days in a beautiful lodge at the foot of the Arenal volcano. We already have a perfect view of the 1,657 meter high volcano from our hotel rooms. The lodge has its own large garden which, in addition to a wide variety of plants, is also home to a variety of birds. From a 30 meter high observation tower, we can capture a wonderful atmosphere at sunrise. The surrounding area offers even more photo opportunities with frog pools and waterfalls.

We will also have a trip to the Rio Celeste in the Tenorio Volcano National Park. The river is special due to its characteristic turquoise color. A large waterfall is particularly impressive.

In the area around La Fortuna we also have the opportunity to photograph frogs and snakes in their natural environment. A small park offers special photo sessions.

The endings of the days in the Arenal Lodge will bring us wonderful sunsets, which we can enjoy from the restaurant terrace. The sun casts a golden light over the rainforest and Arenal Lake, creating a breathtaking view.

– Guided tour of Arenal Park
– Tour to Rio Celeste
– Wildlife photography at Eco-Park

Day 9-10

We head towards the Central Pacific coast with a stop at the Tarcoles River. A boat tour reveals crocodiles, exotic birds, monkeys, iguanas, and basilisks as we navigate through dense mangrove forests and tropical jungle.
It’s about an hour’s drive to our lodge near the Carara National Park in the mountains of the hinterland. Surrounding the lodge is a 5-hectare tropical botanical garden with more than 500 species of heliconias and bromeliads from all over the world. There is a lot for us photographers to discover.
On the second day of our stay, a visit to the Carara National Park is planned. Led by a local guide, we take a short hike in this protected paradise. The diverse ecosystem is home to enchanting wetlands, tranquil lagoons and gallery forests. We look out for fascinating wildlife including two-toed sloths, armadillos, pacas, large anteaters, crocodiles, kinkajous, tayras, collared peccaries, white-tailed deer and a variety of monkeys and birds.

– Boat tour on the Tarcoles River
– Guided tour of Carara National Park

Day 11-13

After breakfast we continue south and immerse ourselves in the lush, green rainforests of the lowlands, cross the mangrove swamps of Sierpe and finally reach Drake Bay on the Pacific coast.
Drake Bay is part of Corcovado National Park and a true dream destination for naturalists and photographers. The area has been named the most biologically diverse region on Earth by National Geographic!

Our lodge is located on a quiet bay and offers beautiful views of the Pacific. We can hike independently through the deep and green jungle and photograph birds and animals or we can explore one of the romantic bays not far from the lodge.
On the second day, we take a tour to the Corcovado National Park with a local guide. The trained eye of the guide spots many animals, and we get photographs worth our money.
On the third day we take a boat tour to the Corcovado National Park. Once again we have the opportunity to photographically explore this unique protected area. From the boat we have a slightly different view than the day before and we will see many water birds, crocodiles, turtles and other animals.

– Guided tour of Corcovado National Park
– Boat tour in Corcovado National Park

Day 14-15

The motto for the next three days is “in search of the bird of the gods”. To do this we travel back inland. The area around San Gerardo de Dota is one of the most popular bird watching destinations in Costa Rica. Nestled in the heart of the Talamanca mountain range and surrounded by the Savegre River valley, this pretty village is surrounded by lush tropical oak cloud forest and sub-alpine peaks. Here we look for the Quetzal, a stunning bird known for its colorful plumage. Our guide knows many possible places to observe this spectacular bird.

But we will still be able to photograph other birds. Not far from our hotel there are two platforms that are specifically designed for bird photography. Natural branches and a variety of flowers invite a wide variety of birds to sit. A true paradise for photographers.

– Guided tour in the cloud forest (search for the Quetzal)
– Bird photography from platforms

16. Tag

For the last day we drive to Orosital. Located 45 kilometers southeast of the capital San Jose, the valley is known for its lush vegetation and incredible scenery. Here we have another opportunity to see different birds. The area is known for its toucans and Montezuma headbirds.
In the thermal spring we can relax and reflect on the tour before the long flight ahead.

Day 17

Today we’re going back to San José, where we’ll take the flight back home with lots of great pictures.

Looking forward to an unforgettable journey!
For more pictures from this unique region, check out my Costa Rica portfolio.

The range of motifs in Costa Rica is very diverse. We will find everything from landscape photography to animal photography to macro.

I can recommend the following equipment:
1. For Wildlife at a Distance
Prime Lenses 400mm, 500mm, 600mm, 800mm, …
Zoom Lenses Nikon Z 180-600mm, Canon RF 100-500, Sony FE 200-600mm, …
2. For macro subjects you need a fast macro lens (e.g. 105mm) with flash or LED light.
3. For landscape photography I recommend a 14-24mm and a 24-70mm/24-120mm or comparable focal lengths.

The distance animal images in my portfolio are 80% taken with the Nikon Z 180-600mm and 20% with the Nikon Z 400mm 2.8.
The macro images were taken with the Nikon 105mm or the Nikon Z 70-200mm.