We were so happy with all the places that we stayed as we moved around the country. The hosts in each location were great, as was the food! We also were so delighted with our guides in each location. We all had nearly 100 new life birds and many wonderful life memories. Costa Rica Focus was easy to work with and easy to contact and very responsive to our questions. We highly recommend.

Overall the arrangements and recommended itinerary for the trip were extremely good. The transport between different locations was very safe and professional. The allocated guides in the main birding locations were outstanding. The lodges that we were recommended were good. I would recommend Costa Rica Focus to anyone considering or planning a birding holiday to Costa Rica.

Our ten-day bird-watching trip to Costa Rica, organized by Costa Rica Focus, was fantastic. We worked with Adriana to plan the trip, and she was very responsive to our requests and prompt in responding and working out the details. We also appreciate the 24/7 access to Costa Rica staff through WhatsApp, and they were able to answer all our questions during the trip. All the birding guides were extremely knowledgeable, as well as kind and friendly. We felt very safe with all the drivers, who were also wonderful people. We spent the first night in San Juan and the Hotel Bougainvillea, which was very comfortable. Their beautiful garden gave us a great introduction to Costa Rica birding. Sergio, a great driver, got us to Sarapiqui, with a stop for amazing bird-watching at the Cinchona feeders. The Sarapiquis Rainforest Lodge was very comfortable, with good food and beautiful architecture in the style of a pre-Columbian village. The night walk at neighboring Tirimbina was fascinating. Lenin was our guide at the La Selva Biological Station, and he knew every path like the back of his hand, and he was able to detect every bird species by the slightest flutter of a leaf or faint call. Lenin explained so much to us about the local environment—not just the birds. The following day we stopped at Cope’s Garden, which we highly recommend. Cope is devoted to the birds and their habitat, with amazing views of his feeders and a fantastic walk in muck-boots through the forest. He is also an amazing artist, and his wife is the best cook in Costa Rica! Arenal Observatory Lodge’s landscape was lovely, and we really appreciated Adriana finding a last-minute cancellation for us. The view of the volcano was amazing, and the staff were very friendly. Gabriel was our fantastic guide at Arenal, and we learned so much from him! The next day we took a pleasant boat ride across the lake, with a drive to the Trapp Family Lodge, which was a great place to stay, being right next to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. Eric was our guide through the reserve, and every other guide clearly respected his decades of knowledge and experience. He found the Resplendent Quetzal we so hoped to see, along with so much else—from spiders to bats to butterflies. Our last nights were at the Cerro Lodge, which is a lovely hotel with great staff. The pizza is amazing—genuine Italian! Wilky guided us on a walk through the Carara National Park and a boat trip on the Tarcoles River Estuary. This was an entirely new habitat for us, and Wilky (with a great sense of humor) was determined to hunt out rare species for us, and to make sure we all saw them! All told, we saw almost 200 species in less than 10 days. The trip exceeded our already high expectations, and we will cherish it forever!