[Tweeters] Costa Rica

[Char via Tweeters]

Hi Candace,

I'm attaching my itinerary from January of 2024, I was very happy with it.

We loved spending the first two nights at Hotel Bougainvillea in San Jose,
the grounds are great for birding and it was a nice/comfortable hotel.

I loved Rancho Naturalista!  Great food and absolutely amazing guides.
They go out of their way to find the birds and they know where they are,
they also know all their names and calls.
Phenomenal guides!
Our room (Tanager) was a bit rustic.  If I went back I might stay in one of
the nicer looking rooms in the main lodge, but the downside to that is that
it will be a bit noisier.
When I booked the only room available was Tanager.
The reason it will be noisier is because the main building also has the
check in desk, and outside is where everyone eats their meals.
Also, every morning the guests and guides gather on the big patio
overlooking the jungle to start the day looking for birds coming to the
garden below.  There is coffee, tea, and snacks.
It starts at sunrise so if you want to sleep in, good luck.  :)

I LOVED San Gerardo de Dota!  We went there specifically to see quetzales
and we scored.
San Gerardo is a beautiful peaceful little village with a beautiful river
running through it.  There are flowers in bloom everywhere and birds galore.
I'm not a hot weather fan so I also loved the much cooler climate!  Sunny
mild days, and it cools down at night.
I would have booked Savegre, but they were already fully booked so I went
with Lauraceas Lodge which is run by a local family, specifically two
sisters, one who runs the kitchen and one who runs the small hotel.
One of their husbands was our birding guide.
They have a really good restaurant (breakfast included with lodging), and
their own private garden to explore up the road.  I was really happy with
our room there.

If you end up in San Gerardo de Dota, especially if you stay at Savegre, do
yourself a favor and go to Feathers (it's right next to the Savegre
grounds).  Especially if you're a photographer.  It's a private home and he
only charges I think 5 bucks to sit and watch all of his feeders.
I stayed there for a couple of hours and would have stayed even longer if
it wasn't getting dark.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Feathers+Garden/@9.5502962,-83.8077291,18.29z/data=!4m17!1m10!3m9!1s0x8fa139099d43baf3:0x9198ee594b6ccf86!2sSavegre+Hotel+Natural+Reserve+%26+Spa!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d9.5505192!4d-83.807466!16s%2Fg%2F1wf39p5r!3m5!1s0x8fa139d87930996d:0xb6923d797fd45688!8m2!3d9.5510477!4d-83.8070826!16s%2Fg%2F11h118z4h7?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDMwNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Let me know if you have any questions!
Char


On Thu, Mar 6, 2025 at 3:50 PM Peggy Mundy via Tweeters <
tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:


> Two places that I have stayed and enjoyed (and seen lots of birds):

> --Savegre Hotel, Natural Reserve & Spa (this is south of San Jose).  Very

> nice, lots of birds, near to Batsu Garden--so many birds!

> --Bosque del Cabo Rainforest Lodge (Osa Peninsula).  Very nice place, lots

> of trails to explore.

>

> Pretty sure you could make guide arrangements with either one.  I don't

> know what their ground transportation is, I was with a group, but you could

> ask them.

>

> Peggy Mundy

> Bothell

>

> [image: Emoji]

> peggy_busby at yahoo.com

> @scenebypeggy on Instagram

>

>

> On Thursday, March 6, 2025 at 02:27:58 p.m. PST, Candace C. Plant via

> Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

>

>

> Hi All,

> Planning a trip to Costa Rica in November.

> Need suggestions on were to stay that has good birdwatching.  Also a place

> that has a guide for the day.

> I assume resorts provide paid transportation from airport and back.

> First time to Costa Rica.

> Thanks,

> Candy Plant

> Sent from my iPhone

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