Day 1, Airport/San José

Arrival to Costa Rica. Meet our representative at the Juan Santamaría International Airport and transfer to our hotel right in the heart of the capital city of San José. For those who arrive a day early, we will have an easy stroll around the La Sabana park and then a cocktail at our hotel’s rooftop bar to watch the sun set over the city and do a bit of time lapse photography with our phones.

Day 2, San José

After breakfast, we enjoy a presentation on travel photography from our good friend and photojournalist Monica Quesada. This will be a great way to help you to take advantage of our travel photography opportunities throughout the trip. We spend the rest of the day photographing markets, people, and architecture in San José with Monica as our guide. We end the day with a blue hour photo session of the city and the La Sabana park right from our hotel.

Day 3, Cloud Forest/Valle del General

This morning we head to the high cloud forest of the Talamanca mountain range. En route, we’ll visit Costa Rica’s main basilica for a photography lesson on the use of neutral density filters. We then stop at a mountain lodge to photograph the endemic Fiery-throated Hummingbird. After lunch, we head out with a local guideto photograph the Resplendent Quetzal, the Holy Grail for neotropical bird photographers. The lodge owners have started a project to work with local farmers in the area to monitor and protect the Quetzal, and this network exponentially raises our probability of getting a good photographic look at this beautiful species. After our quetzal outing, we continue on to our hotel in San Isidro to check-in and enjoy dinner after this busy day!

Day 4, Valle del General

Today we take the day for bird photography of a number of super photogenic species including the Speckled Tanager, the Bay-headed Tanager, and the Fiery-billed Aracari. We have a delicious home-cooked lunch at the house where the bird feeders are located this day. In the late afternoon, we return to our hotel to rest and have dinner.

Day 5, San Vito

After breakfast today we check out and head south to the charming coffee-growing town of San Vito. The town has a very interesting history as it was founded by immigrants from Italy after World War II. This afternoon we visit the Wilson Botanical Gardens for bird and plant photography. This is truly a special place that lends itself to interesting photos to add to our nature portfolio.

Day 6, Rey Curré

This morning Greg and Victor will help to prepare you for our cultural photography over the next two days. We’ll share our best strategic tips in terms of the logistics of how things work which is super important for you to be able to anticipate great photogaphic moments. And then we’ll go over a number of photo tips to help you make great photos no matter the situation or the lighting conditions. In the afternoon we travel to the nearby indigenous town of Réy Curré for the first part of the ceremony of the Danza de los Diablitos (Dance of the Little Devils) which is a representative reenactment of the struggles of the Brunka as they fought against the Spanish conquistadors and later the Costa Rican government as they tried to protect their land and preserve their culture. We’ll photograph the diablitos as they wear their amazing colorful carved masks made of balsa wood. The photography is incredible, and the Brunka are the nicest people we have ever met in our travels in Latin America. After the festivities, we return to our hotel in San Vito.

Day 7, Rey Curré

After breakfast today we return to the Danza festivities. During our scouting, we made friends with a number of local community members that will give us the opportunity to have some special photographic opportunities this morning. First, we’ll have an educational talk from one of the grandsons of one of the principal Brunka elders on their culture and the significance of the Danza. Then we’ll have a portrait photo session with a few of the diablitos in their full masks and ceremonial costumes. And then we’ll have a visit with Don Rafael, the town’s master maskmaker. This will be a great chance to photograph Don Rafael and details of his creations and also to purchase authentic masks made right in the community. After lunch at any one of the various food stalls and local restaurants, we’ll have a second chance to photograph the proceedings as the diablitos start to fight more vigorously with the bull figure (el toro) that represents the Spaniards. We return to San Vito in the evening and enjoy a group dinner at the town’s oldest pizzeria.

Day 8, Tárcoles

This morning we check out and head north up the Pacific coastal highway to the area around Carara National Park, which was created in the late 1970s to protect habitat for the Scarlet Macaw. We arrive to our lodge for lunch and then enjoy a private riverboat tour to photograph egrets, storks, spoonbills, motmots, herons, and American crocodiles.

Day 9, Tárcoles

Early this morning we enjoy another private riverboat tour for more photography. We’ll make a special effort to photograph the Pygmy kingfisher. We return to our lodge for free time and lunch. Later in the afternoon and into the evening, we’ll have a special macro photography session for insect, poison frogs, and the Red-eyed treefrog.

Day 10, Back to San Jose

After breakfast this morning, we’ll have some time to help in selecting your images so you can create a great portfolio that tells a story about nature and culture in Costa Rica. After enjoying a fantastic typical Costa Rican farewell lunch, we arrive to our hotel on the outskirts of the capital city in early afternoon. This gives you time to relax or photograph birds and flowers in the hotel’s beautiful gardens, a lovely way to end our trip!

Day 11, to Airport

Private transfer to the Juan Santamaría International Airport for your flights home.