WINGS OVER COSTA RICO - ITINERARY FOR 12 DAYS...

The hotel Quelitales had excellent reviews and our host chose this particular hotel for a 2 night stay during this rainy season in November.

The staff was very helpful, the breakfast was delicious and the dinners superb.

 This was one of the top boutique hotel experiences on our trip! A great birding experience with lots of peace and relaxation in nature.

Had a great view of the waterfall,

and there are hummingbird feeders set up near the waterfall and feeders at the restaurant as well. 

After exploring we would just relax at the waterfall and enjoy the peaceful view. 

This magical hotel is for sure in the rainforest. This beautiful view was on our way to our room.

We saw so many birds and hummingbirds right on this property. 

Have an exceptional birding experience with more than 70% of all Costa Rican hummingbirds! They have four bungalows and six suites and two junior suites that were built here and are operated with low environmental impact.

One of the best birding hotspots in Costa Rica!

The surrounding area also offers great white water rafting, butterfly gardens, the interesting Guayabo National Monument and quaint shops for souvenir shopping.

We also delighted in the hotel’s own mountain spring water which has been certified for purity and safety.

This beauty was just outside my room.

This Garden is Butterfly farm & a refuge for many species that live in their natural enviroment.
Pierella Ecological Garden in Costa Rica is the vision of William Camacho, who decided to use a small patch of land to raise butterflies sustainably and ended up creating a 7.5-acre rainforest reserve.

It started about 10 years ago as a butterfly farming project for export. Over time it was transforming into an area that offers a diversity of environments allowing for a wide range of niches where there are many species, ceasing to be a simple butterfly to become a true Ecological Garden.

The Photos of mammals that were taken in Pierella Ecological Garden.

This tour was created to get to know a spectacular ecosystem where we could see exceptionally large plants and trees, birds and various types of beautiful animals.

In time allowing for a wide range of niches where there are many species, ceasing to be a simple butterfly to become a true Ecological Garden. 

We will also learn about the product of chocolate and taste its delicious natural flavor and how it started. 

Experienced a beautiful piece of a green paradise in Costa Rica and enjoyed a walk along with a chocolate tour in this wonderful place of extraordinary nature and fresh air.

Our team of travel experts will guide you through the most amazing and unknown places around the world. From cultural hotspots to stunning landscapes, we'll make sure you don't miss out on anything.

Christmastime Plant

Native to Mexico, the poinsettia (E. pulcherrima) doesn't like cold. If you live in the Coastal and Tropical South, you can plant it outside and it can grow into a large shrub covered with blooms each winter.

Looks like a chunky trogon, with a greenish back and breast, gray belly, red under

tail coverts, and a black-and-white striped under tail.

Quetzals nest in holes and you have to get up really early to observe them!

Ringed kingfishers have dark-brown irises that are consistent among all age groups. They have straight bills that are longer than their heads, along with curved culmens and tomial serrations. The lower mandible appears to have some yellowish colorations. They possess syndactyl feet with olive-green or yellowish toes and black claws. A large crest appears between the base of their bills and necks. Several individuals have a white collar located around the neck.

We understand that everyone has different travel needs - this tour was to discover all the different types of birds!

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An action-packed trip.

 Ara Ambigua Lodge is located in the most beautiful exuberance of the rainforest of Sarapiquí, Heredia province, as a green ecological sanctuary, full of peace and tranquility.

Ara Ambigua Lodge surrounded by beautiful gardens with a balcony, where you can enjoy the nature that surrounds the property.

Along with a babbling brook it is located on 8 hectares of land, 3 hectares of recovered and protected forest for 15 years with self-guided trails, where visitors can freely make the entertaining and fabulous journey.

Connect with other travelers and share your experiences in our travel community. 

 Ara Ambigua Lodge

is located in the most beautiful exuberance of the rainforest of Sarapiquí, Heredia, as a green ecological sanctuary, full of peace and tranquility.

Check out our travel website for inspiration and tips for all the beautiful birds!

With TravelCompanionTours.net, you can discover new and exciting destinations all around the world. From tropical beaches and jungles here in Costa Rica.

Peccaries are found in Costa Rica's tropical rainforests.

They are similar in shape to small wild boars. Their long bristles are usually dark brown. 

It's about the size of the one above.

We stayed here for two nights on our tour. The view out the slider from our room was very good. The flowers outside our window attracted many butterflies and hummingbirds. Fun to watch!

Here's a closeup of the growth on this tree.

There is so much wildlife within metres of the hotel. You can see a great variety of birds in the trees outside your room, and in the open sided dining room whilst you have a meal. We also enjoyed the night walk to see frogs.

La Selva Biological Station is a protected area encompassing 1,536 ha of low-land tropical rain forest in northeastern Costa Rica. It is owned and operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies, a consortium of universities and research institutions from the United States, Costa Rica, and Puerto Rico.

info@tropicalstudies.org

 Named after Dr. Donald Stone, executive director of Organization.

A long swinging bridge.

We did a guided tour there and spent easily 3-4 hours.  This beautiful butterfly was hanging out on a big white board. 

There were entire areas we didn't get to explore and we saw guests there just walking around on their own.

Peccaries are found in Costa Rica's tropical rainforests.

They are similar in shape to small wild boars. Their long bristles are usually dark brown to grayish in color. A stocky body sits on their long, slender legs and there is a gland on their back from which they can spray a strongly smelling secretion. It is assumed that this is also used for communication.

We prioritize sustainable travel getting to see different species like this one.

Surrounding the lodge is a collage of green trees and mountains along with the serenity of the Cloud Forest, and the sounds of the Savegre River, Trogon Lodge, is a nature lovers hideaway,

Trogón Lodge is located in the area known as Savegre Valley in the small town of San Gerardo de Dota, province of San Jose.

Trogón's garden are constantly referred by our travelers as one of the things they enjoyed the most while staying with us. Colorful flowers, that attract many birds, surrounded by the magical beauty of the Savegre River.

The rooms didn’t have a TV or telephone and the units had two apartments for each cabin  that shared an outside porch with 4 rocking chairs and those large sidewalks taking you to each area of the property.

This was standard equipment for our stay in Costa Rica for most of our tour.

Some rooms were closer to the Restaurant and main facilities, and some others are higher in the forest. The terrain was rugged and vertical.

The traditional food restaurants offered a wide variety buffet with the best of Costa Rican cuisine, featuring a great variety of delicious dishes, most of which are prepared in their wood-fired stoves.

Their souvenir shops are the largest in Costa Rica, where we found the widest variety of keepsakes, most of which were locally made by skilled artisans

The ambiance is exceptional, very clean, helpful and friendly staff.  Lovely inside and out around.

All the animals were on display everywhere outside the store.

The Orosi Valley was the first place where Spaniards settled in a real city. In this extremely beautiful valley you may visit these ruins as well as the very well preserved first church in Costa Rica.

A popular site, these ruins of a 16th-century Spanish colonial church are set among a scenic garden.

This is one of the only Spanish colonial sites in Costa Rica. Lovely church surrounded by birds and beautiful plants.

The 16th-century Spanish colonial church housed the Virgin of the Holy Conception of Ujarras, which allegedly protected the colony from the attacks.

The village of Ujarrás was damaged by an 1833 flood and then abandoned. All that remains are the crumbling walls, a 1693 stone church once home to a miraculous painting of the Virgin. 

But after floods and earthquakes, this is whats left standing

leaving the church ruins in a rambling park.

 They are the oldest ruins still remaining in Costa Rica. 

We experienced the authentic thrill of a Jungle Crocodile Safari, a journey along the majestic Tarcoles River. Here, we had the  opportunity to immerse ourselves into the incredible biodiversity that this unique ecosystem provided.

At first glance, the spoonbill could be mistaken for a flamingo. These wading birds turn pink in adulthood from a diet high in carotene from the shellfish they eat. Spoonbills can be found along most of the shallow coastal waterways and mangroves of Costa Rica.

Join us with our seasoned boat captain as he lead us on a journey to discover, identify, and photograph the incredible array of birdlife that calls the river home. Every tour brings with it a new opportunity to encounter a variety of unique and beautiful species.

The long list of fascinating creatures also includes a wide range of crocodiles and caiman here in the river.

They tend to frequent river beds and can lay in the sun for hours to get their body temperature back under control after hunting in the cold waters.

Crocodiles and caimans are carnivorous and eat only meat. They will eat anything they can get catch from birds to fish, iguanas, turtles, deer and yes, even humans. 

This guy was so cool, he just laid there for at least a half hour posing for us while we took "a lot of pictures of him"!

We all enjoyed a wonderful experience surrounded by nature and beautiful birds. The most authentic way to enjoy a Safari in Costa Rica!

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The most common of the tanagers seen throughout the country. Depending on conditions these birds can look pale gray or almost pure blue. With this shifting color, no two pictures are ever alike.

Toucans are Neotropical birds in the family Ramphastidae. The Ramphastidae are most closely related to the Toucan barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five genera and over 40 different species.

 We offer a range of family-friendly activities and accommodations, ensuring that everyone has a great time.

Buse blanche

Like all of the other species of vultures in Costa Rica, the vulture sports a bald head.

The reason that most vulture species lack feathers on their head is because they eat dead things and it’s an adaptation that prevents bacteria laden chunks of their meals from getting stuck on their feathers.