Join IndiGo Birding Nature Tours for this unique birding and food tour of Costa Rica, a treasure chest of biodiversity and delicious cuisine. This new itinerary invites participants into the lush mountains of south-central Costa Rica, where some of the most picturesque scenery and pleasant climates can be found in July. Because the Keel-billed Toucan has been nicknamed the Flying Banana (with its long, yellow beak) and because Costa Rica is a major banana producer, we thought the Flying Banana Tour would be a fitting name for a trip focused on both the foods and birds of this Central American country. Over the course of this 9-day tour we will spend our mornings in search of toucans, trogons, and hummingbirds and then visit unique restaurants, markets, and farms that provide a tasty, immersive experience for new and savvy travelers alike.

Don't miss out on this unique trip, a carefully selected mix of activities that will make for a delightful vacation of birding, tasting, and enjoying the tropics. Pura vida! 

Welcome to one of the top birding destinations in the world! Costa Rica has many different ecosystems and elevations to explore, and explore is what we will do! Starting at our hotel in San Jose, we will provide opportunities for daily birding walks at the places we are staying as well as at nearby birding hotspots. Expect to see more than one hundred species of tropical birds over the course of the trip, including spectacular ones like the Yellow-throated Toucan, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Montezuma Oropendola, and hopefully the Resplendent Quetzal. We will use some of the most knowledgeable locals guides to help us find these amazing birds and more. Take your birding to the next level with us: enthusiasm is required, but birding expertise is not! 

This tour is designed for the birder who also enjoys learning about a different culture through culinary exploration and customized excursions. Costa Rica is known for its rice and beans (particularly gallo pinto), but there is so much more! We will learn all about Costa Rican mainstays like coffee and cacao (chocolate). We will also try a variety of tropical fruits as we tour the market. We will eat in local sodas (small, family-run restaurants) and in lodges that specialize in sourcing local ingredients. Cooking classes? Yes, we have that too! Taste the classical foods of Spanish, Caribbean, and indigenous cultures and also note the fusion tendencies from more recent international influences. Become a foodie if you aren't one already! 

If you want to get an early tutorial on Costa Rican cuisine, you might enjoy reading this article that gives a great introduction. 

Our lodging for this tour is an assortment of spectacular ecolodges and small family-run hotels. We start with two nights at the elegant Hotel Bougainvillea, a place where we can gather and enjoy their beautiful gardens on the outskirts of San Jose. Our next three nights will be at Rancho Naturalista, one of the best-known birding lodges in the country. After that, we head to the gorgeous Hotel Quelitales, where we will focus on finding several unique species. We will then spend two nights at Savegre Lodge, which sits at high elevation in the Talamanca Mountains and provides access to Resplendent Quetzal habitat. Our last night will be at the DoubleTree by Hilton in San Jose. From there we can easily catch a shuttle ride to the nearby airport and a good night's sleep before we depart.

David Rupp is the owner and guide for IndiGo Birding Nature Tours, a business he started over 12 years ago with the goal of connecting people with nature through customized, immersive experiences. He lived in Costa Rica for 3 months during his college study abroad program, so the country has a special place in his heart. He has organized and led several birding tours to Costa Rica before designing this adventure. David will be joined on this trip by his wife Beth, who brings enthusiasm, medical knowledge, and logistical expertise to the group.

Lali Hess is owner of The Juniper Spoon, a harvest-based catering business located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Lali has spent several years in Costa Rica, becoming fluent in Spanish and well-connected and knowledgeable about the use of foods in the country. She joins David on these Flying Banana tours and lends great culinary expertise and enthusiasm as a leader for this trip.

One of the main goals of IndiGo Birding tours is to connect with the local culture, so we will use every opportunity to support local businesses and use Tico guides. We encourage our trip participants to bring curiosity and interact with all of our local guides in order to get the most out of the tour experience. 

TOUR PAYMENTS: All payments, including initial deposit of $1000, can be made through WeTravel. We do accept credit cards for an additional 2.9% fee, but you may also pay by bank transfer or check. Full payment is due 90 days prior to departure for the tour. 

CANCELLATIONS: 

IF WE CANCEL a tour due to low attendance, severe weather, health issues, or other unforeseen events, participants may either move their payments to another trip of their choice or receive a full refund. 

IF YOU CANCEL your place on this tour more than 90 days from departure, a full refund will be available. If cancelling within 90 days of departure, no refund will be given UNLESS we are able to fill your spot(s) with another participant. In that situation, $250 will still be withheld for administrative purposes, but the rest of your payments will be refunded. We highly recommend that you purchase trip cancellation (including medical emergency) insurance to cover your investment in case of injury or illness to you or a family member prior to or during a trip. 

Moderate pace. While we will move slowly for birding most of the time, there are days where we will walk 2 to 3 miles. Ability to climb steps and maintain balance is required. Trails can be muddy and uneven. We will spend two days and nights at high elevation (above 7000 feet) at Savegre.

Welcome to Costa Rica! Schedule your flight to arrive in the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) anytime on the 3rd. A shuttle driver will meet you there to take you across town to Hotel Bougainvillea, where you can settle in and relax after a day of travel. If you arrive early, you can enjoy a walk and some birding in the lovely gardens on-site. This first dinner is not included in the tour cost, but if you arrive in time you can savor a tasty meal at the beautiful hotel restaurant.

We will gather at 6:30 a.m. for an introduction to birding in the hotel gardens led by David. After breakfast at the hotel, we will drive to the local Viquez Saturday market, where Lali will show us many of the fruits and other foods used in Costa Rican cooking. From there, we will cook our own lunch--a true Costa Rican feast--and learn from the best: Angel was head chef at the U.S. Embassy, and now he is a cooking instructor. After lunch we will tour the National Theater before we head back to Bougainvillea for more introductions and another restful night.

We start the day with another bird walk before breakfast at Hotel Bougainvillea. After breakfast, we will check out of the hotel, load up for the drive to Turrialba, the home of the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE). There we will have a guided tour of the botanical gardens before continuing on to Rancho Naturalista, one of the most famous birding lodges in the country. 

Rancho Naturalista offers world-class birding and a friendly atmosphere where we will enjoy delicious dining experiences from the freshest local ingredients. There have been over 450 bird species recorded in their private forest reserve and the surrounding area, which we will explore with a local expert birding guide. In addition, we will enjoy a private cooking class and a guided night hike. A great year-round climate is an additional appeal at Rancho Naturalista. What a day!

The birding continues at Rancho Naturalista, but we also have a coffee tour at Cafe Mision Costa Rica scheduled for 10:00 a.m. We will learn all about the art and science of coffee production--cultivation, harvest, fermentation, and roasting--in one of the most fertile places in the country. We finish it off by learning the proper tasting and appreciation techniques. Yum! After lunch and a little break, we hit the trails again for more guided birding in the area.

Time to keep exploring Costa Rica! After breakfast we will depart Rancho Naturalista and head to Nortico Cacao Farm for a tour and chocolate-making demonstration. We will learn everything about the process of making artisanal and organic chocolate. Best part? Tasting their different varieties and getting the chance to make our own! We will also have lunch at Nortico before heading to Hotel Quelitales. We will only spend one night at Quelitales, but we hope to find some awesome species like the Scaled Antpitta, Green-fronted Lancebill, and Sunbittern while there. Plus, they serve fresh mountain trout in the restaurant!

You might think you are in the mountains when we are at Quelitales, but these are just the foothills! After an amazing breakfast surrounded by birds, we will start winding our way up to some of the highest points in Costa Rica... nearly 10,000 feet! Here in the Talamanca Mountain Range grow amazing oaks covered with bromeliads and moss. The drive provides some of the best views in the country. We will end our journey at Savegre, a destination in itself, and enjoy a dinner worth the drive. And be sure to bring a sweater, jacket, and gloves, as it gets a bit cold at night!

The primary reason people from around the world travel to San Gerardo de Dota in the Talamanca Mountains is to see the famously beautiful Resplendent Quetzal. We, too, will be joining the search on this day. However, there are many other unique and gorgeous birds (e.g. Collared Redstart, Volcano Hummingbird, Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher) to enjoy along the road, river, and forests of this unique landscape. We will work in time to visit the Batsu Gardens and have lunch at Lauraceae Restaurant--two more things to look forward to!

If we haven't been successful in our search for the Resplendent Quetzal, we will try one more time this morning. Otherwise, we will enjoy a birding walk along the river in search of Torrent Tyrannulet and American Dipper. Then we pack up at Savegre and go to one of the more scenic lunch spots we know: Miriam's Quetzals. The lookout has a beautiful view, but it also offers hummingbird feeders and delicious, traditional food. After lunch, we head back to the bustling Central Valley to the Hotel Cariari, our comfortable lodging for the last night. Here we can enjoy the pool before our wrap-up meeting, where we will look back at the week we've had exploring together. Our final dinner is on-site at the Las Tejas restaurant.

The Flying Banana Tour has come to an end, but you should be departing with a full belly, many wonderful memories, and some new friends. Breakfast can be purchased at the hotel at your leisure if you have a later flight. Free shuttle transportation to the airport is available, so you should be able to catch a flight at whatever time works best for your schedule and budget.