Southern Costa Rica Cloud Forest to Coast

Overview

Team 399 has proudly partnered with Costa Rican native Mauricio Fonseca and Rainforest Expeditions to bring you this highly curated tour of southern Costa Rica.

This is an action-packed tour looking for many of Costa Rica's 930 species of birds, primates, sloths, amphibians and, if we are lucky, big cats.

Costa Rica is clean and safe, the people are wonderful and the fresh food is just the best.

We start in San Jose. After a restful night we head south along the spine of the Talamanca Mountains in the cloud forest. We stop for lunch in Quetzales National Park where the resplendent quetzal is a resident. We continue south to the Savegre Hotel where we spend two nights looking for quetzals, hummingbirds and whoever else grants us an audience.

From there were continue to the edge of La Amistad International Park. The Talamanca Nature Reserve has seen 347 species of birds on the property along with pumas and the rare melanistic jaguar.

After two nights in the cloud forest we descend to the Pacific Coast, the Osa Peninsula and Corcovado National Park. We spend a total of five nights here enjoying a birding walk along Playa Blanca, a visit to a sloth rescue and Danta. Our raised bungalows at Finca Kobo have resident monkeys peaking in your window in the morning while you are serenaded to sleep by frogs and macaws each night.

We move over to the Drake Bay side of the Osa for three nights at the Corcovado Wilderness Lodge. Accessible by boat there have been 336 species of birds sighted on the property along with big cats, tapirs and sloths. We can take a short boat ride around San Pedrillo in to Corcovado National Park proper, take a boat tour of the Drake Bay mangrove swamps, tour Punta Rio Claro National Wildlife Refuge or go snorkeling.

From Drake Bay we head north to Manuel Antonio National Park. We will have resident scarlet macaws. Our local birding expert, Sosio, takes us birding each morning where we end up in the hills above Manuel Antonio for breakfast at Donde Luz. While it redefines "Hole in the wall" it's some of the best food I've ever had. After returning to our lodge for a siesta we head out to Manuel Antonio National Park in the afternoon to see the iconic three-toed sloths lazing about in the heat. After the park closes we try to catch the capuchin monkeys making their rounds around town before having dinner near the beach.

We continue north to the Tarcoles River and Carara National Park, staying inside Carara at the Macaw Lodge we are in a transitional forest at about 1800 feet above sea level. 431 species of birds have been seen at the Macaw Lodge. Capuchin, howler and spider monkeys all call Carara National Park home. Both two-toed and three-toed sloths are here as well along with amphibians and reptiles.

We will tour the mangrove swamp along the Tarcoles River and certainly see American crocodiles along with several species of shorebirds.

On our last full day in Costa Rica we spend the morning watching and photographing wildlife before making the short afternoon drive back to San Jose for your departing flights the next day.

We use local guides in all of our locations along with the expert Rainforest Expeditions staff.

Great people, great food, more wildlife than you can take in. Cool nights in the Costa Rican cloud forest to your toes in the Pacific. Please join us for this outstanding experience.

March 27:

Arrive in San Jose. We meet you at the airport and take you to the Hotel Martino for a relaxing evening.

March 28 - 29:

Drive south from San Jose toward Parque Nacional Los Quetzales. Stop for lunch at Mirador de Quetzales for our first opportunity to see the resplendent quetzal. Continue on to Savegre in the afternoon. Enjoy ample birding on the property and on the short nature trails in every direction. Enjoy two dedicated quetzal birding trips, spending an afternoon birding at Cerro Vuelta.

Lodging at the Savegre Hotel

March 30 - 31:

After a morning quetzal birding trip we head south the Talamanca Nature reserve for another chance to see the magnificent resplendent quetzal and the 340 species of birds who can be seen here. 5 species of wild cats, tapirs and monkeys are all found here as we stay on the edge of the La Amistad International Park.

Lodging at the Talamanca Nature Reserve

April 1 - 2:

We descend to the coast and the Osa Peninsula. We will spend an evening walking Playa Blanca for birds and sloths, go to Danta for birding and visit a sloth sanctuary. We stay in the jungle, serenaded by frogs and howler monkeys. Capuchin and squirrel monkeys provide a wake up service each morning.

Lodging at Finca Kobo

April 3 - 5:

We stay on the Osa Peninsula, moving over to the west side. We say in a lodge abutting Corcovado National Park. We will go to Corcovado, take a boat cruise of the mangrove swamp at Drake Bay, visit the Punto Rio Claro National Wildlife Refuge and enjoy the wildlife and birds at the remote property where we will be spending 3 nights.

Lodging at Corcovado Wilderness Lodge

April 6 - 7:

We move north to Manuel Antonio National Park, staying in a forest lodge close to town. We have a local birding expert take us out birding each morning and visit the sloths at Manuel Antonio in the afternoon. We enjoy the capuchins as they make their rounds. We go to sleep with the resident scarlet macaws making their presence clear.

Lodging at La Foresta Hotel

April 8 - 9:

We continue north to the Tarcoles River and Carara National Park, staying in the hills at the Macaw Lodge. We will take a river cruise, looking at the crocodiles and also another tour of a mangrove swamp. Over 350 species of birds frequent our lodge and the beautiful grounds.

Lodging at the Macaw Lodge

April 10 - 11:

We spend the morning and afternoon at the lodge and take a last look at the Tarcoles River before heading back to San Jose and the Hotel Martino in the evening. After a good night's rest it is, unfortunately, time to return home.