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The top 5 spots for bird watching in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a privileged country for locating itself in a biological corridor and as a bridge between North and South America, which allows migratory birds to make a mandatory stop in this beautiful tropical country.

To give you some important facts: More than 5 billion migratory birds come to Costa Rica every year. Most of them come from Alaska, Canada and other places in North America, where they escape the winter and fly to South America, passing Central America. The migrations happen twice a year. The first one is the spring migration between February and May and the other one is the autumn migration from August to December, so if you want to see this event, you just need to visit Costa Rica during these months and keep your eyes open.

Migratory birds that pass through the country include raptors, shorebirds, warblers, orioles, washers, and hummingbirds. In Costa Rica, you can find almost 920 bird species (more than in the whole of North America). in an area of just 51´000 square kilometres, around 600 species are residents and 103 species endemic to the region. This represents 10% of all bird species in the world on 0.03% of its surface.

The type of relief, the climate, and the forests are the reason why magazines like Wanderlust in the United Kingdom and Reader’s Digest in Canada have placed Costa Rica on the list of the best locations in the world for bird watching.

But what are the best places to watch birds in Costa Rica? There are many, but in this blog, I will tell you which are in my opinion the best places to watch birds. Let’s start...

Carara National Park - Tárcoles

carara

These zones are located in the Central Pacific of Costa Rica and they are two of the most important points to watch birds in this region. Thanks to the climate here, there is a mix of tropical rainforest and tropical dry forest, something you can see in just some places in the world. There are many endemic plants and animals, as well as local and migratory birds.

Roseate spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill

Emblematic birds

  • Fiery-billed Araçari (Pteroglossus frantzii)
  • Scarlet Macaws (Ara macao)
  • Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)
  • Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius)

Other important species

  • Common Basilisk (Basiliscus basiliscus)
  • Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor)
  • Blue Morpho Butterfly (Morpho peleides)

If you want to reserve a bird watching tour in this region, just This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., we will be happy to help you!

Central Valley- Heredia

heredia clay colored thrush

Clay-coloured Thrush

Located at over 1´100 meters over sea level, on flat terrain and surrounded by mountains, volcanoes, and forests, the Central Valley offers a privileged area for birds. Specifically, in the province of Heredia, we can find a great number of birds, but the most interesting ones are the little hummingbirds with their unique colours.

colibri

Hummingbird

Emblematic birds

  • Blue-crowned Motmot (Momotus lessonii)
  • Clay-coloured Thrush (Turdus grayi)
  • Green-breasted Mango (Anthracothorax prevastii)
  • White-naped Brush-finch (Atlapetes albinucha).

Other important species

  • Guanacaste tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum)
  • Cacao tree (Theobroma cacao)
  • Bromeliads (Bromeliaceae)
  • Forrers Leopard frog (Lithobates forreri)
  • Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis)

San Gerardo de Dota

dota

At this place, you will feel the cold wind of the mountains, lush nature and humid forests that are green all over the year. It is located over 3´000 meters above sea level. These conditions make the place the perfect home for hundreds of bird species, as the majestic quetzal, which is considered to be one of the most exotic birds in the world. 

When you visit this place, don’t forget to bring a sweater. We can help you to reserve a bird watching tour in this area, just This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!

Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí

sarapiqui

The region of the Caribbean side of Costa Rica is considered one of the richest ecosystems of the world. This region is also popular to see migratory birds on their stop from or to South America. Here we find protected areas, tropical forests, rivers, and forests. Furthermore, it is called the bird capital of Costa Rica, so if you love bird watching, this is definitively a place you must visit.

Blue gray Tanager

Blue-grey Tanager

Emblematic birds

  • Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus)
  • Sunbittern (Eurypyga helias)
  • Snowy Cotinga (Carpodectes nitidus)
  • Agami Heron (Agamia agami)

Other important species

  • Red-eyed Tree Frog (Agalychnis callidryas)
  • Brown Two-toed Sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni)
  • Black Mantled Howler Monkey (Alouatta palliata)
  • Mountain Almond Tree (Dipteryx panamensis)
  • Blue Jeans Poison Frog (Oophaga pumilio)

If you want to reserve a bird watching tour in this region, just This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!

Arenal - La Fortuna

fortuna

This region is located at the bottom of the Arenal Volcano, full of forests, plains, lakes, rivers and many gardens and flowers that will make you feel like in paradise. This area is perfect to observe birds and wildlife. Located at the northern plain lands of the Caribbean slope, it corresponds to an area of migratory passage.

The Caño Negro Wildlife Reserve is located in this region and famous for the great number of water birds you can see here.

Furthermore, if you are in this region, don’t forget to visit “The Nest”, a 28-meter high tower to watch birds and other wild animals. Once you are on the top, you will have an incredible 360° view, from where you can see the Arenal Volcano, Lake Arenal, the Cerro Chato Volcano and the mountain range of Tilarán.

This is the perfect place to see birds and other wild animals in the treetops. If you have a good telephoto lens, you can see some waterbirds on Lake Arenal. 

Tucan

Keel-billed Toucan

Emblematic birds

  • Crested Guan (Penelope purpurascens)
  • Golden-hooded Tanager (Tangara larvata)
  • Keel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus)
  • Passerini's Tanager (Ramphocelus passerinii)
  • Red-lored Parrot (Amazona autumnalis)

Other important species

  • Howler Monkey (Alouatta palliata)
  • White-faced monkeys (Cebus capucinus)
  • Chestnut-mandibled Toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus)
  • Coati (Nasua narica)

If you want to reserve a bird watching tour in this region, just This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I hope that all the information is helpful for your adventure in Costa Rica. If you have something to add or if you have a question about that topic, don’t hesitate to write it in the comments down below or write to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Greetings from Costa Rica!

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  • Janaina & Dieter, Brazil

    The trip was wonderful! Your help was invaluable and without your choices it would not have been so good! I am very very satisfied and very happy with the choices you made!

    Thank you very much for everything!

    Janaina & Dieter, Brazil
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    Hello dear Aline, many thanks to you for the great compilation and organization of the trip. We were able to spend eventful, interesting and wonderful days in Costa Rica and will keep them in good memory. A thank you also goes to the ARA Tours team, which was available 24/7 for problems and questions, which were solved and answered quickly and reliably. The punctuality of the transfers offered should also be emphasized. In summary, it was a wonderful holiday.

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    Hello dear Aline,
    Now we have arrived back at San Jose Airport after a great trip. Everything worked out great and the tour was just perfectly planned and organized. Thank you very much. We take a lot of positive memories with us.
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    Carina & Thomas, Germany
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    The Costa Rica trip together with my family is already behind us - it was wonderful!!! Everything went smoothly from A to Z, we had a wonderful time, no incidents and wonderful experiences.
    We all enjoyed it very much; the nature is enormous, but also the warm-hearted people, the cleanliness, the food - we are very enthusiastic!
    At this point I would like to thank you very much for your support in the preparation, for all the bookings, clarifications and enquiries!!!
    We visited the waterfall in La Fortuna and had a great view of the Arenal. In Monteverde we did a Hanging Bridges and Zipline tour and in Nosara a surf course. In Finca Rosa Bianca we did the coffee tour, it was all great, fun and interesting 😊. All in all, we saw lots of animals, always ate well, enjoyed the beaches....even in rainy weather 😊. Often we were even glad that it was overcast, otherwise it would have been almost toouuu hot for us.
    So THANK YOU again so much for everything!!!!

    Yvonne, Switzerland
  • Christina, Switzerland

    Many thanks for the extensive support (before, during and after the trip) and the professional handling of our concerns. With your support we had a smooth and unforgettable vacation in Costa Rica! Our favorite hotels: Hotel Plaza Yara and the Poas Volcano Lodge - a dream!
    All the best
    Christina

    Christina, Switzerland
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    Yay! I´m glad we are back on track. Thank you again for helping us with all these changes.
    I´m glad we choose ARA-you are amazing! Thanks for all your help! It made it a very memorable visit!

    Jeanne, Bernd & Bill, USA
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    Hi Eli & ARA Team,
    We have spoken to the guest and they are super enthusiastic about their Costa Rica roundtrip! Everything was well organized, nice hotels, nice mix of activities & beach and they have big compliments for you guys!!
    Many thanks for all the good work!! The guest highly appreciate it!!
    They had lunch nearby in Ara Ambigua Lodge, and they loved this place. Friendly staff and good food!
    Do you work with this accommodation? If so, we would love hear 😊
    Once again, heads off for this amazing trip!
    With warm regards

    Janka, The Netherlands
  • Thomas, Deborah, Eva & Paula, Switzerland

    Dear Priska
    Happily I write some words to you in English, so you can easily forward them also to Ara Tours, please. Thank you all, we spent a magic time in Costa Rica! Baumeler's and Ara Tours organisation and logistics were perfect, everything worked out even better than we expected. The tours were brilliant, we really enjoyed everything very very much!
    All the accomodation was absolutely wonderful... the setting, the quality, the food, with happy helpful friendly staff everywhere. It was a wonderful way to experience this beautiful country the way we did, on a private tour with personal guide and drivers. We saw and learnt sooo much - it would have been impossible to do so on our own.
    Especially we praise our brilliant guide Fernando Perez, we benefited so much from his truly wide knowledge and deep love for his Country which he passed on in lovely encouraging way. We even became friends and we will meet in Switzerland coming September! Also our driver Carlos Sandi was great, not only as a driver but also as a compagnion, animal spotter and photographer. Thank you!
    So.... now we just enjoy our last day...
    Sunny greetings, pura vida

    Thomas, Deborah, Eva & Paula, Switzerland
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    Hello all
    Unfortunately, our wonderful trip is already over and everyday life has caught up with us again. We would like to thank you very much for everything. The trip was planned exactly according to our wishes and we have seen so many beautiful places.
    Thank you Stefanie!
    We have felt completely comfortable and top cared for by you. Via Whats App we got immediate answers to our questions, with the car everything worked out great. In all locations we were treated very warmly and nicely. It was just so indescribably beautiful, we will dream of the beautiful experiences for a long time. In any case, we will warmly recommend you and hope for a next time. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
    Best regards.

    Yvonne & Andrea, Switzerland
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    We have arrived safely in Switzerland and have already returned to work.
    It was a wonderful trip you put together for us.
    Your excellent service, as well as the 24 hour support service from ARA Tours, was truly outstanding.
    I have already recommended you several times and would book with you again and again. Thank you very much and keep me informed if there are any interesting offers.
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    Hello Pedro, our time in CR is coming to an end and we wanted to say "thank you very much for organizing a phenomenal week". Everything has been well organized and we have seen many beauties of nature. Thanks!

    Lukas & Isabelle, Switzerland
  • Reinout & Yvonne, The Netherlands

    Thanks Jenny for the clear answer. We will make an appointment via the link you gave us.
    Today we visited National Parc Cabo Blanco. What an amazing park, so quiet for tourists, so full of animals, really lovely and therefore together with Monte Verde, Cahuita and Corcovado the park today, Cabo Blanco, scores high in our ranking of most beautiful parks of CR.These parks give us reason, together with the Pura Vida in CR, to come back soon. We'll keep in contact.

    Reinout & Yvonne, The Netherlands
  • Dominik, Germany

    Good day Jennifer
    As we have already told Simone, the stay at Lapa Rios is extremely enriching, thanks to the well planned planting and the untouched environment we see a lot of animals. Contrary to the plans before the stay, we do not want to visit more animals in captivity at the end. We will have a look at the few hours before we leave.
    We thank you and your team very much for the excellent advice and the permanent support! We can only recommend Ara Tours.
    Best regards.

    Dominik, Germany
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    We liked it very much. The conclusion in Quepos was crowning. We liked the beach in the National Park Manuel Antonio very much. We would have liked to stay longer, but we take home many wonderful, unforgettable impressions. PURA VIDA!
    Many thanks to you Aline! We will gladly recommend you to others.

    Alexander & family, Switzerland
  • Neumann Family, Germany

    - The route was super planned, first on the beach time to arrive and then only from Monteverde with excursions inland etc. and at the end again beach - perfect!
    - Support from Ara Tours was VERY good!!! Through Whatsapp reachability the service was great, very quick answers / very flexible, good suggestions etc. Also with the doctor Ara Tours helped with translations by phone - that was really very, very good!
    - The home stay day was an absolute highlight - very authentic - so we got to know the locals REAL, the family was super friendly and very open and have talked about everything. Not at all touristy perceived.

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    Hello
    We would like to thank you personally for this beautiful trip that you organised for us and for the follow-up that you did throughout the stay. A big thank you also to Jennifer d'Ara tours! Thank you again and have a great week!

    Marine & Bruno, France
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    We really appreciated your (almost) daily updates from Costa Rica on Covid and related issues. That was a highlight compared to other incoming agents worldwide! We thank you for your effort and wish you that you manage the coming time well and stay healthy.

    Walter, Switzerland
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    You are really super! It is impressive how you manage the crisis with your super flow of information and the great reversal. Hats off!

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  • Michael, Germany

    Hello, we were on a round trip in Costa Rica from 27.11., which was booked through BigXtra and organised by them. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much. The tour was simply amazing! The support by Carlos was just great. We have done many trips before, but this one was an unforgettable experience thanks to Carlos. Carlos speaks very good German and was able to sensitively introduce us to Costa Rica, its incomparable nature and its great, friendly inhabitants. Pura Vida became for us a term for the attitude towards life in Costa Rica. Please say hello to Carlos from us and once again a huge thank you to him in the name of the whole group of 8. We wish him only the best for his future.

    Michael, Germany
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    Wie just did a 4 week trip in Costa Rica which was organised from ARA tours and we really liked it - well done Ara Tours! We also had a guide - his name is Enrique. His German is really good and he knows a lot about Costa Rica and he showed us a lot of animals. We had a wonderful time with hime - thank you so much Enrique!

    Evelyne, Switzerland
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    perfect tour perfect tour guide pablo, everything very well organised 👍👍👍👍🇨🇷🇨🇨🇷 were thrilled

    Tanja, Germany
  • Ines, Germany

    Many thanks and great praise to our tour guide Mauricio and our bus driver Adrian! We felt very comfortable during the 2 weeks in Costa Rica. The wide-ranging knowledge of Mauricio and the super driving skills of Adrian were particularly admirable. Thanks to the eagle eyes of both of them, we had the opportunity to observe a variety of animals in Costa Rica. Thank you for everything!

    Ines, Germany
  • Sabine, Germany

    I can only recommend ARA Tours. Thanks again to Nicole for the great planning of the tour and the support. Our tour guide Peter Käser was simply incredible (a walking encyclopaedia) and always had an answer to all my questions about the flora and fauna and the history of CR. Our driver Julio carried my father on his hands, for which I am very grateful. CR is also worth a trip for wheelchair users at any time (with ARA Tours, of course).

    Sabine, Germany
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    We would like to thank you once again for organizing our trip [...] through the beautiful country of Costa Rica. Our special thanks go to our tour guide Enrique, who with his extensive knowledge of flora and fauna about his country brought it very close to us and made us want to come even a second time. We were very glad and happy to travel with him, as he was also very committed to our problems on site, in addition to his competent function as a tour guide.

    Thieme Family, Germany
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    Antonia-Maria & Boris, Austria
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    I wanted to thank you again for the great Costa Rica trip. We flew back home very happy and with many great impressions. A compliment for the super organisation. Everything worked out perfectly (except for the handover of the rental car, which was force majeure...). So thank you again and I have already recommended you to friends:-)!

    Katja, Germany
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    Denise & Alain, Switzerland
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    Hello Christine Thank you very much for this information. The support is super👍 many thanks Gruss

    Philippe, Switzerland
  • Marianne & Stefan Gräub, Switzerland

    Otherwise, the planned trip was a complete success. Everything went well and the visits you organised were all very interesting. The visits you organised were all very interesting and gave us a great insight into the respective topics. The fact that the Ticos are very friendly and always ready to help was fully confirmed.

    Marianne & Stefan Gräub, Switzerland

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