Costa Rica Photography Tours
If you are a professional, amateur or simply have a passion for photography, then a Costa Rica photography tour is a trip you must complete at least once in your lifetime. Costa Rica is a photographers dream. This small country boasts the highest biodiversity per area of any country in the world. From ocean front views to altitudes of 10,000 foot sub-alpine flora, you will find a plethora of photographic opportunities of tropical rainforests, waterfalls, volcanoes, beaches and mountains. There are over 10,000 species of flora with over 1200 species of orchids alone. Costa Rica supports more than 200 species of mammals, 850 species of birds, 200 species of amphibian and 220 species of reptiles. What this means is that you could be photographing hummingbirds and butterflies, waterfalls, jungle canals, toucans, howler monkeys, snakes and lizards, poison frogs and red-eyed tree frogs and more. What more could a photographer ask for? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could simply pack your bags, hop on a plane, arrive in San Jose and not have to worry about where and how you are going to reach your first stop? Foto Verde Tours is your answer. Join me with Foto Verde’s Greg Basco in May 2009 for this fantastic itinerary:
Day 1, May 16 Airport/Alajuela
Arrival to Costa Rica. Meet our representative at the Juan Santamaría International Airport and transfer to your hotel near the capital city of San José, the Hotel Buena Vista, where Foto Verde Tours’ Greg Basco will be awaiting your arrival. The Hotel Buena Vista has free wireless Internet available in the lobby and bar area.
Hotel Buena Vista overnight, no meals included
Day 2, May 17 Central Pacific Coast Rain Forest, Villa Lapas
After breakfast, we travel down from the Central Valley mountains to the Pacific Coast area near the Carara National Park, only a couple of hours away, but home to a strikingly different habitat characterized by tropical rain forest. We arrive at Villa Lapas for lunch, with time afterward to head out in search of the toucans, trogons, and ctenosaurs (black iguanas) that frequent the hotel grounds. Before dinner, we will have a macro photography session to photograph the red-eyed tree frogs, veined tree frogs, and gladiator tree frogs that can be found on the property. After our frog photo shoot, we enjoy a cold drink and a great buffet dinner.
Hotel Buena Vista (B), Villa Lapas overnight (L, D)
Day 3, May 18 Central Pacific Coast Rain Forest, Villa Lapas
Today we arise very early for a three-hour boat tour on the nearby Tárcoles River, where we will photograph American crocodiles, yellow-crowned night herons, snowy egrets, the unusual double-striped thick knee, Amazon kingfishers, and green herons. We return to Villa Lapas with time to relax before and after lunch. In the late afternoon, we head to a nearby soccer field, a great vantage point from which to photograph the amazing scarlet macaws that pass overhead on their way home from their daytime feeding grounds. We return to Villa Lapas for dinner and then time to download images and recharge batteries.
Villa Lapas overnight (B, L, D)
Day 4, May 19 South Pacific Coast Rainforest, Tiskita Lodge
After breakfast, we travel to our next destination, the Tiskita Lodge located on the South Pacific coast amidst the wild forests and beaches of the Golfito area near the border with Panama. This region, across the Golfo Dulce from the Osa Peninsula, is home to some of the richest rainforest and wildest beaches in the world. Our travels take us along Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast, and we will keep an eye out for wildlife photo opportunities throughout the trip. We will arrive late afternoon to Tiskita Lodge and set up immediately to take sunset photos of the beautiful beaches right in front of the lodge.
Villa Lapas (B), lunch en route, Tiskita Lodge overnight (D)
Day 5, May 20 South Pacific Coast Rainforest, Tiskita Lodge
After an early breakfast, we will roam the lodge grounds in search of monkeys; we have the chance to photograph all four of Costa Rica’s species – the white-faced capuchin, mantled howler, spider, and squirrel monkey. We will also be on the lookout for other wildlife, such as basilisk lizards, poison dart frogs, and the magnificent scarlet macaw, which frequents the beach almond trees in the area. After a leisurely lunch, we will head into the forest to concentrate on creating spectacular landscape images of the forest interior and the nearby cascades and waterfall. In the late afternoon, we will again focus on sunset photos at the beach. After dinner, we have a night hike to look for red-eyed and hourglass tree frogs to photograph using multiple flashes.
Tiskita Lodge overnight (B, L, D)
Day 6, May 21 South Pacific Coast Rainforest, Tiskita Lodge
This morning we will head into Tiskita Lodge’s famed tropical fruit gardens to photograph myriad tropical fruits and the birds, including chestnut-mandibled toucans, Passerini’s tanager, and fiery-throated aracari, that frequent the fruit orchard. And like the birds, we are free to sample as many fruits as we’d like! We will once again enjoy a leisurely lunch and continue with wildlife photography in the afternoon. Or if you prefer, take this afternoon for a break from photography to relax, take a dip in the Pacific Ocean, or go horseback riding. After more sunset photos of the forest and beach, we will all relax with a cold drink before dinner to share photos.
Tiskita Lodge overnight (B, L, D)
Day 7, May 22 South Pacific Coast Rainforest, Tiskita Lodge
Today we have a free day to chase macaws and monkeys around the property with our cameras, relax by the pool, edit and review images, and perhaps visit nearby Pavones Beach to try our hand at some surf photography or the nearby town of Punto Blanco to shop for crafts made by the local Guaymi indigenous artisans. The choice is up to the group, and there is no better place than Tiskita Lodge to have a free day!
Tiskita Lodge overnight (B, L, D)
Day 8, May 23 Pacific Slope Cloud Forest, Savegre Lodge
After an early breakfast, we are on the bus for a change of pace – the cool, misty cloud forests of the Savegre valley at around 8,000 feet above sea level. Nestled in a remote valley high in the oak cloud forest, the area is the best in the country to photograph the resplendent quetzal, as well as a number of hummingbird species, including the volcano, scintillant, green violet-ear, and magnificent hummingbirds. After lunch en route, we arrive to Savegre Lodge in late afternoon with time to roam the hotel grounds in search of the quetzal. After dinner, Greg will give a presentation on the basics of digital workflow using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.
Tiskita Lodge (B), lunch en route, Savegre Mountain Hotel overnight (D)
Day 9, May 24 Pacific Slope Cloud Forest, Savegre Lodge
Today we will dedicate the entire day to locating and photographing the spectacular male resplendent quetzal, hiking the grounds and traversing the road on the valley floor in search of our photographic prey.
Savegre Mountain Hotel overnight (B, L, D)
Day 10, May 25 Savegre Lodge/San Jose, Casa Conde
Today we have an early session with the hummingbirds and then the rest of the morning free to relax, photograph around the grounds, or continue hunting the quetzal. After lunch, we pack up and head back toward San Jose and our hotel, the beautiful, colonial-style Casa Conde. Upon arrival we have time to freshen up and then enjoy a photo review before our farewell dinner.
Savegre Mountain Hotel (B, L), Hotel Casa Conde overnight (D)
Day 11, May 26 Airport
Private transfer to the airport for your flight home.
Hotel Casa Conde (B)
Now doesn’t that sound fantastic? Check out my photo galleries for a sample of what you might see in Costa Rica. Are you ready to join us in May 2009? Contact Greg at Foto Verde Tours and tell him you heard about it here or simply click here to sign up. I have travelled with Greg in the past… you won’t regret it!
Until then…
F
