Costa Rica – Off The Beaten Track – Southern Wildlife Adventure
See parts Costa Rica's hidden beauty that few get to experience.
From £3950
Trip Details
The Most Photo-Worthy Destinations
On this exciting photography trip you will visit the most photo-worthy destinations in Costa Rica, that you and your camera are bound to love. The amount of different landscapes and wildlife means that there is always something interesting to capture, providing you with a mixed variation of images. You will be accompanied by a local guide.
For private groups ( on request )you will also be accompanied by an extremely talented Photography guide who will be teaching you throughout your expedition, the very gifted and award winning travel photographer – Matthew William Ellis.
This photographic holiday is all about learning, practicing and experimenting with newly acquired techniques, tips and tricks, while exploring various locations across Costa Rica. With time spent flicking through slides, sat indoors is kept to a minimum!
By the end of the trip, you will feel confident about both technical and creative aspects of photography. You will learn to take control of your camera using shutter speed, aperture and ISO to create the look that you want from your photography. You will further your photographic eye, develop a proactive photography mindset and understand how to apply this to any given situation in order to allow you to capture eye-catching and emotive photographs when traveling in the future.
DEPARTURES WITH EXPERT PHOTOGRAPHER WILLIAM MATTHEW ELLIS -AVAILABLE WITH GROUPS ON REQUEST WITH A SUPPLIMENT BASED ON THE GROUP SIZE
Trip Highlights
Trip Itinerary
Day 1
Welcome to Costa Rica
We will be welcomed at San Jose airport and take a private transfer to the Hotel where you will meet Matthew.
Overnight at Hotel Park Inn
Day 2
Today we will travel to Tortuguero on the Caribbean Coast
This morning you have an early morning departure as you head off on the first part of your adventure to Tortuguero National Park. The journey to Tortuguero is by coach followed by boat and we will stop en-route for a typical Costa Rican breakfast. You may get the chance of seeing & taking photos of sloths in the trees around the restaurant.
You will arrive at your jungle lodge in time for lunch.
This afternoon you will be able to visit the Village of Tortuguero. Through this visit you will learn the ways of life of the local residents of Tortuguero.
Day 3
Tortuguero
This morning we can have an early start where we will have the opportunity of taking some photos of the wildlife around the lodge area before breakfast.
Day 4
Frog Heaven & the Northern Lowlands
This morning will leave Tortuguero . After breakfast at the lodge, we will take the boat ride back to dock. Here we will meet up with our private transport and local guide who will be with us for the rest of our trip.
We will have lunch and a photo tour in frog heaven before heading to our accommodation in Boca Tapada.
Day 5
Tropical Rainforest explorations
We will spend the day in this rich eco-system with an incredible variety of fauna and flora.
350 different species of birds have been counted here, among them the Great Green Macaw.
A perfect place to get some great photos of the bird and wildlife.
Today we can enjoy a hummingbird tour.
Day 6
Arenal Volcano , La Fortuna
You will start your morning with breakfast at the hotel and join a tour to see the king vultures.
We will then head to Arenal volcano where as long as the weather is in our favour we should be able to do a landscape shoot.
We then head to our new lodging for tonight.
Day 7
Arenal Volcano – Hanging Bridges
Today we head to the Pacific Coast and the beautiful Punta Leona.
We will stop on-route for lunch and will be able to see our first glimpse of the crocodiles on the Tarcoles River from the bridge.
Day 8
Punta Leona
Today we head to the Pacific Coast and the beautiful Punta Leona.
We will stop on-route for lunch and will be able to see our first glimpse of the crocodiles on the Tarcoles River from the bridge.
Day 9
Tamar & the Tarcoles River
Morning taking before we head to the Carara National Park.
Carara is one of Costa Rica’s most popular National Parks (so prepare for more people). A few of the local animals include Opossum, Two-toed Sloths, Agouti, Armadillo, Pacas, Great Anteater, Kinkajou, Tayra, Margay Cat, Collared Peccary, White-tailed Deer, Poison-arrow Frogs, and the Omnipresent Monkeys
We will be able to visit the fishing village of Tacoles, before heading onto the Tarcoles River for a sunset boat tour.
We will be able to get close to some of the giant crocodiles who call this river home.
Day 10
Uvita
Today we head to Uvita.
We will stop at La Parcela for lunch, one of the best seafood restaurants in Costa Rica.
Tonight we will sleep at La Cusinga Lodge. Located on the South Pacific coast of Costa Rica. La Cusinga Eco Lodge offers guests breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and its sunsets.
Surrounded by tropical forests and deserted beaches where freshwater waterfalls reach the Pacific Ocean in one of the most beautiful tropical areas of the world.
Day 11
Nauyaca Waterfall
Today we will visit the Nauyaca waterfalls.
¨These majestic waterfalls are recognized worldwide for their beauty – located in a canyon approximately eighty meters wide. One of the falls is forty-five meters high in free fall and the other twenty meters high in stepped fall, forming at the foot of it, a pool of a thousand square meters and six meters deep.” There are also many other natural pools, which are there to enjoy. We will have lunch there before returning to Cusinga Lodge.
After our visit to Nauyaca Falls we will take a private transfer to San Gerardo – one of the best places to see the Quetzel. Tonight we will stay at Paraiso Quetzal Lodge.
Day 12
San Gerado de Dota
We leave the coast and head to the cloud forest of San Gerado de Dota. Overnight Hotel.
Day 13
San Gerado
Today we move lodges but still within San Gerado. Today we will go in search for the Quetzal, offering you the chance to photograph one of the most beautiful birds in Costa Rica.
Day 14
Paraiso Quetzal Lodge
The trip will come to an end with another chance to search for the Quetzal – we will head out on a Quetzal hunt, along the road in San Gerado.
We will have lunch at Savegre Lodge, before exploring this area further.
Day 15
Airport Transfer
You will get a private transfer to the airport in time for your flight home.
Expert Summary
From easy to take non moving sloths to orchids that cant be seen with the naked eye- Costa Rica is a utopia for photographers. Local guides get you into the best spots at the right time of the day which is normally right at the start or towards the end of the day. Matthew William Ellis is an expert photographer from the UK who we have used for groups- if this is an option- but we are required to request his services and coordinate dates but, your photographic results will speak for themselves!
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Traveler Reviews
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Pioneer Expeditions
Average rating: 1 reviews
Mr Chris Toner
Apr 5, 2023
Costa Rica Photography Heaven
This was a stunning trip. Costa Rica is amazing and a photographers dream and I can highly recommend this trip. Matthew is an excellent guide and brilliant at getting the best out of the trip. It is a perfectly planned with opportunities to learn all sorts of photography arranged including great opportunities to photograph some of the stunning frogs, humingbirds (including flash tutorials to get the best out of your camera) and even bat photography (I never thought I'd get such photos in my life). Throw in a flock of pelicans dive bomb fishing at the beach and shots of the resplendent Quetzal (It lives up to its name!) and you've got an unforgettable holiday. The accommodation is equally stunning in eco lodges/resorts. Volcano at the bottom of your garden, stone villa overlooking the ocean, eco resort in the jungle (I am almost tripped over an Armadillo as it emerged on to the walkway just in front of me) and my own favourite - my own private hut perched over the cloud forest. All sounds a bit gushing I know but the photos I came back with are some of the best I've taken and even as relatively experienced photographer I learned a lot and enjoyed the experience tremendously.
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