As a birding destination, Costa Rica is renowned for its astonishing diversity packed into a compact, easily explored country. Field Guides offers three itineraries to sample the nation's major habitats--from the humid Caribbean lowlands and lush foothill rainforests to the cool, misty cloud forests of the Talamanca mountains and the dry Pacific lowlands, and from the northernmost reaches of the country down to the Osa Peninsula. Continue reading our overview of Costa Rica tours...
Costa Rica Birding Departures
CLICK BELOW FOR A TOUR'S FULL DETAILS, TRIP REPORTS, PHOTO GALLERY, & BOOKINGS.
Birding tour for Resplendent Quetzals, Three-wattled Bellbirds, Scarlet Macaws in a beautiful country with easy travel.
Departures- Mar 7-22, 2026 with Megan Edwards Crewe & local guide
- Mar 13-28, 2027 with TBA
A two-parted tour to this bird-rich country exploring sites and birds not covered on our March or holiday tours.
Departures- Jan 22-31, 2026 (Part One) with Chris Benesh & local guide
- Jan 30 - Feb 8, 2026 (Part Two) with Chris Benesh & local guide
- Jan 8-17, 2027 (Part One) with TBA
- Jan 16-25, 2027 (Part Two) with TBA
One-site holiday tour based at the comfortable Rancho Naturalista Lodge, with excursions to other habitats on Costa Rica's bird-rich Caribbean slope.
Departures- Dec 19-27, 2025 with Megan Edwards Crewe & local guide
- Dec 27, 2025 - Jan 4, 2026 with Megan Edwards Crewe & local guide
- Dec 19-27, 2026 with Jay VanderGaast & local guide
- Dec 28, 2026 - Jan 5, 2027 with Sam Wilson & local guide
- Dec 19-27, 2027 with TBA
- Dec 28, 2027 - Jan 5, 2028 with TBA
Costa Rica Overview & Highlights
Considering its small size (smaller than West Virginia), Costa Rica features a remarkable variety of habitats and birding opportunities. Our three distinct tours offer the chance to explore the country's full potential for birders.
On our Classic Costa Rica itinerary we seek out dazzling species like Resplendent Quetzal, Three-wattled Bellbird, Great Green Macaw, and Snowcap, a tiny hummingbird, at famed locations such as Monteverde, La Selva, Carara, and Cerro de La Muerte. This is our most comprehensive offering, regularly recording more than 450 species.
Our Holiday Costa Rica: Rancho Naturalista tour offers a more compact holiday-season trip in just nine days, based primarily out of one comfortable lodge with great birding right on the grounds or a short drive away. For such a short trip, it offers rich rewards, with a trip list of more than 275 species possible.
Our two-parted Costa Rica: Birding the Edges trip goes in search of less commonly seen specialties in the northern and southern parts of the country, finding regional endemics such as Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager and Nicaraguan Grackle among a long list of other birds (more than 300 species possible on each part).
While we're based at comfortable lodges and hotels, our expert guides help you find everything from hummingbirds, manakins, and trogons to antbirds and cotingas during our birding outings. Whether marveling at highland specialties in towering oak forests or watching Scarlet Macaws in coastal mangroves, every day brings new discoveries. Costa Rica's blend of spectacular birds, varied landscapes, and warm hospitality ensures an unforgettable birding adventure.
Photo credit: Our thanks to participant Marcelo Barreiros for the spectacular image of a Sunbittern at the top of this page.
We offer many other CENTRAL AMERICA birding tours, too!