Costa Rica Beyond The Classic with Wild Birds Unlimited

Alajuela Province, San José de Alajuela, Costa Rica

Rt
Reefs to Rockies
  • Email address verified
69 reviews
Aug 2 - 8, 2025
Group size: 8 - 12
Costa Rica Beyond The Classic with Wild Birds Unlimited
Alajuela Province, San José de Alajuela, Costa Rica

Reefs to Rockies
  • Email address verified
69 reviews

Aug 2 - 8, 2025
Group size: 8 - 12

About this trip

Costa Rica is a premier destination for birding and wildlife enthusiasts, offering a rich diversity of habitats that support an incredible array of species. This trip will take you to some of the country’s most celebrated wildlife areas. 


As we make our way to the Pacific Coast, we’ll stop at Carara National Park, known for its transition zone between tropical dry and rainforest ecosystems. Here, you’ll have the chance to spot colorful species like the scarlet macaw, trogons, and various tanagers. The park’s unique blend of forest types also attracts a host of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, making it a well-rounded introduction to Costa Rica’s biodiversity.


Our hotel in Uvita sits on a hillside providing sweeping views of both the ocean and rainforest, creating a unique vantage point for spotting a wide range of wildlife. During our stay on the coast, we’ll spend a full day exploring Hacienda Barú, a privately owned nature reserve with a diverse mix of habitats onsite. The reserve’s well-maintained trails allow for close encounters with rainforest species, including sloths, monkeys, and a variety of butterflies, adding to the richness of the experience.


We’ll end our trip in the highlands of San Gerardo de Dota, nestled in the cloud forests of the Talamanca Mountains. Famous for its population of the Resplendent Quetzal, San Gerardo de Dota offers a serene setting for birding amidst towering oaks and misty landscapes. This high-altitude region also provides excellent opportunities to see hummingbirds, woodpeckers, and maybe even the elusive Baird’s tapir, Costa Rica’s largest land mammal. Beyond birding, the cool mountain air and stunning vistas make this a peaceful retreat, capping off our Costa Rican wildlife adventure.


Join Wild Birds Unlimited and Reefs to Rockies on this fun, weeklong adventure through the wildest parts of beautiful Costa Rica!

About Your Naturalist Guide

Kyle Carlsen from Reefs to Rockies is excited to co-lead this expedition alongside our local Costa Rican naturalist guide. With a deep passion for avian research and conservation, Kyle has extensive experience both in the field and as a published writer. His work has appeared in numerous journals, books, and magazines, showcasing his expertise in ornithology and wildlife. You may also recognize him as the education coordinator for Wild Birds Unlimited of northern Colorado, where he regularly engages the community in birding education and conservation efforts.


Kyle’s travels have taken him across North and South America and the Caribbean, where he has dedicated himself to exploring and documenting wildlife in a variety of ecosystems. His field experience, paired with his ability to share in-depth knowledge in an engaging way, makes him an exceptional guide. Kyle ensures that every journey he leads is not only educational but deeply inspiring.

What’s included

  • Accommodations
  • Private transportation
    All in-country transportation is private for our group.
  • Guides
    Two naturalist guides
  • Meals
    All meals starting with Breakfast on Day 2 through Breakfast on Day 7
  • Daily Birding
    & Wildlife Viewing w/ Spotting Scope Available
  • Entrance fees
  • Gratuities
    Your trip cost includes gratuities for your guides, as well as at restaurants for included meals.
  • Conservation donation
    A donation to support Bird Conservancy of the Rockies will be made on behalf of all participants.

What’s not included

  • Flights
    We will assist with flight planning.
  • Passport fees
  • Travel insurance
    Highly recommended. We are happy to provide a quote.
  • Airport meals
    On Day 1 and Day 8
  • Activities not listed
  • Personal items

Available Packages

Trip Price
Deposit:$500
$3,425
Deposit:$500

Available options

Private room supplement
$610
Deposit: $0

 Add $610** if you prefer a private, single occupancy room. If you are a solo traveler that prefers to share a room, we’ll do our best to pair you. If we are unable to find a roommate for you, the private room supplement will apply. 

Itinerary

Day 1 (Sat, Aug 2)
Arrival to San Jose

Day 1 (Fri, Aug 1): San José. Afternoon arrival to San José, where we’ll meet our local host and settle in for our first night in Costa Rica. Our hotel is nestled within an award-winning 10-acre tropical botanical garden that attracts many birds and butterflies. The garden is widely recognized as one of the most beautiful in the country.

Accommodations: Hotel Bougainvillea

Meals: None

Trip starts and ends at the San José International Airport (SJO).

Your Organizer


Rt
Reefs to Rockies
69 reviews
Our specialty is nature and wildlife travel. We know when and where to go for the best experiences. Travel time is limited. It’s important to choose a travel company that knows how to personalize a trip just for you. Our travel specialists will help you plan a custom trip that matches your travel style, budget, interests, and ideal dates.

Reviews

Awesome trip with even more awesome guides with amazing birding skills. Many thanks to Chip for leading and organizing our activities! And Carly was a definite bonus with her deep biological + birding knowledge, as well as her keen eyes and ears. I'm very impressed with both of them for their ability to instantly recognize bird species - especially when they were flying quickly by us. I was also very impressed with Chip's deep botanical and animal knowledge, providing great insights to both the areas we visited and their relationships to birds there. His vast nature experiences were obvious with all of his background explanations of the locations, and his high energy enthusiasm was great!
By Lance W for Birding & Beers Goes to New Mexico on Dec 18, 2024
The trip was everything I wanted. Great group. Great guides. Very organized. Thanks so much. Joan Cloud
By Joan C for Birding & Beers Goes to New Mexico on Dec 11, 2024
We had an amazing time with all the different experiences we had in Africa. We experienced the city and food scene in Cape Town, as well as the wildlife and nature. We enjoyed the Rovos Train, but it’s a one and done. We loved visiting the archaeological digs in Johannesburg as well as the knowledgable and humorous guide. We loved the elephant camp in Zimbabwe and our first game drive. Visiting Rwanda, with its museum, varied culture, and gorillas was amazing. The gorilla trek may have been the highlight of our trip. The week of game drives with Sosy was absolutely amazing. Apparently we saw things that are fairly unusual to see. We can see ourselves going back to Tanzania. We enjoyed visiting Kenya, but we would have rather explored Nairobi for a day than to have gone to Ololo. We did not care for the place in more than one aspect., including the awful swinging bridge to enter their facility. We enjoyed Meru. The lodge, the guide, and the overall experience were lovely. We were satisfied with Amboseli, but underwhelmed. We would have preferred to have gone on to Zanzibar instead of this experience. We loved Zanzibar. The resort, the staff, the food, the overall exotic experience were beyond fabulous. It was certainly a once in a lifetime trip until our next adventure.
By Janet M for African Explorer Safari on Nov 01, 2024
Knowledgeable, energetic, fun leader and animal spotter on this amazing trip. Animal highlights for me included the pronghorn, tarantula, and burrowing owls. I loved learning about SPLT and the Forest Service tour of Picket Wire Canyonlands. Everyone should learn more about the American Serengeti!
By Gayle L for Southeast Colorado Wildlife Weekend - Fall Migration and Tarantulas on Oct 01, 2024
The Azores are a beautiful place. The hotels were wonderful and most of the tours were excellent. However, we had several very concerning glitches. The times were were given for tour start times and taxi pick up times were incorrect on several occasions. We nearly lost our taxi to the airport one morning because he was told 9amand we were told 9:10am and he had another pick up to do. We nearly missed one whale watch because we were told 8:30 and we needed to be there at 8. Reef to Rockies said the error was on the part of our Azores tour company but that is hard to confirm. And when asked to re verify all upcoming times, Sheridan did not do that. On our final day our flight off a small island was cancelled. We were not notified by anyone. The taxi that was supposed to pick us up at 8:25 for our 10:25 flight was told to pick us up and 10am. Luckily we were able to reach the taxi driver directly because the "24 hour emergency" phone number were were given was not actually manned 24 hours so we had no support in getting this resolved. My friends have used Sheridan before and had amazing trips to other areas of the world. I would state that if you want to go to the Azores, there might be a company that has better communication with the people on the islands.
By Rebecca G for Azores 2024 on Sep 28, 2024
Thank you for your feedback, Becky. We are disappointed to hear that your recent trip didn’t exceed expectations. That is always our goal at Reefs to Rockies. Our reputation for exceeding expectations is the reason your travel companions have booked multiple trips with us in the past. In your group of 6 travelers, there were 4 different itineraries that had to be planned after the original trip was booked and confirmed. While that’s not an excuse, it does highlight the fact that there were a lot moving parts when scheduling this trip. We do recognize that there were a couple of missteps on pick up times with drivers, as well as an operational change to the whale watching tour start time that was missed when preparing your final travel documents. It’s important to note that no services were missed during your trip. Every service that was booked was delivered unless someone voluntarily opted out of the activity. We were, in fact, regularly in contact with our local partner to make sure details were being taken care of during your trip including a request on Sept 11 when we learned about the change in the whale watching start time. This is the email we sent right away after hearing about this and the response we received: From R2R: “We just received a message from Elena stating that the whale watch center told them they were late when they arrived at 8:30 am which is what is stated on the final documents you sent. In person, they were told they had to be there by 8 am. We need someone from Futurismo to reach out to them with an explanation. They were moved to a Zodiac instead of the larger boat and Marja was not able to join due to back issues and now she isn't able to go snorkeling. They also want to verify what size boat they will be on for the Pico Island tour. Please get with Operations and reconfirm that everything that is scheduled is valid for timing. Here is a link to Elena’s mobile itinerary and Lisa’s mobile itinerary to crosscheck since they have the longest trips. Thank you in advance for clarifying the issue with timing and reconfirming all other details.” From Futurismo: “Hello Sheridan, Thank you for the information. I’ve reviewed the other schedules, and they are all correct. This was my mistake as we had to reschedule some of the boat trips due to logistics, and I missed this one. However, as stated in the description, the type of vessel depends on the number of passengers. So there was always a chance they would go on a zodiac, and I haven’t received any information indicating that any passenger was unable to participate due to the type of vessel. I was informed that our team contacted them, and asked them to arrive earlier, and they arrived on time for the activity. One person chose not to participate, and another opted for a whale-watching activity instead due to the vessel type. The vessel we have at Pico is a 28-seat zodiac. Are they ok with this?” We also followed the possible strike with the local airline closely and suggested the group not change their travel plans based on a “threat” of a strike. That was a good recommendation since an agreement was reached and no changes to your itinerary were needed. When I spoke on the phone with the lead point of contact for your trip about the strike on Sept 12, I mentioned that times had been reconfirmed on our end. We try to limit email communication during a trip so you can enjoy your time away. We now understand this made you feel as though we were not communicative on your behalf. We never received notice about a flight cancellation. When we asked for more information, we were told it was a flight delay, not a cancellation. While airline schedule changes can be incredibly frustrating, they are completely beyond our control. Your driver that day was told to arrive at 8:25. We are glad you were able to connect with him with the contact number provided to you prior to departure for the transfer that day. We reached out again to Futurismo to clarify what happened on your day of departure per your trip review and restated our disappointment with the issues that happened along the way. This is their response to that question and the other issues you mention. “We’ve worked with this partner for a long time and rarely encounter issues. However, in this case, there was indeed a failure—not a delay, as the driver actually arrived early. The itinerary stated 09:10, but the driver arrived at 09:00. What the driver communicated to the clients has already been reported to the partner. He should not have rushed the clients, and there was no risk of missing any connections. We do not support rushed services that compromise the client experience. We also received feedback from one of the clients you sent, and we promptly addressed the issue with our partner, making it clear that such behavior is unacceptable. Regarding the whale watching incident, that was my responsibility. Our front-office team contacted the clients in advance to confirm the correct time for the trip, and fortunately, they were able to attend. I believe the most important thing is that they made it to the trip. As for the final transfer, it was scheduled for 8:25 with our partner, and we had no indication of any issues. We received confirmation that everything went smoothly, and this is the first time we're hearing about this concern. The flight was not cancelled but delayed. As soon as we became aware of the delay, my colleague Rita contacted the clients to inform them and provide guidance on how to proceed. Carlos and I are both part of upper management, and we are committed to resolving these issues. We will continue working closely with our local partners to ensure that the service meets the expected standards in the future.” We sincerely hope that you see that we were checking in on your behalf throughout your trip. We’ve worked with Futurismo for years and have never had issues such as these. We have to trust that our local partners will provide the same level of service we do once the trip starts. We value your feedback and have already connected with all parties involved to make sure missteps like these aren’t repeated. Thank you again for bringing this to our attention.
By Reefs to Rockies on Sep 30, 2024
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