Arrive To: Arrive in San José's Juan Santamaria International Airport.

Proceed through Immigrations, Baggage Claim and Customs before exiting the secured area of the airport. Please use the exit door on the right. The Road Scholar representative will be waiting outside the exit door with a Road Scholar sign (only applies to Road Scholar group flights).

Transfer to the hotel and check-in, followed by time at leisure.

Please note that this is an international travel day; no meals or program activities are scheduled on this day. Hotel check-in usually begins at 3 p.m.

Lodging: Radisson Hotel San José - Costa Rica (formerly Radisson Europa Hotel)

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: Orientation to the program.

Lecture: Introduction to Birding in Costa Rica.

Transfer to San Isidro el General.

Lunch: At local restaurant en route.

Afternoon: Arrive at the lodge and check-in.

Afternoon bird watching at Los Cusingos Wildlife Refuge. Target species include Turquoise Cotinga, Speckled Tanager, Slay Spinetail, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, and Fork-tailed Flycatcher.

Los Cusingos Bird Refuge is part of the Don Alexander Biological Corridor which reaches as far as the Chirripo National Park and has elevation ranges of 2,624 ft – 12,532 ft. The 192 acres of protected lands were once part of the farm owned by Dr. Alexander Skutch, a respected naturalist and prolific writer (co-author of “A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica”). The small and simple house where Dr. Skutch lived and worked for more than 60 years is now kept as a museum—the Skutch-Lankester House Museum. Nature lovers can observe and admire local flora and fauna through a system of trails that weave through the reserve’s pre-montane wet forest. Tanagers, honey creepers, parrots, falcons, hummingbirds, and woodpeckers are often seen here as well as a number of mammals including: agoutis, sloths, tayras, and monkeys.

Return to the lodge.

Dinner: At the lodge.

Lodging: Talari Mountain Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Early morning birding.

Breakfast at the lodge.

Morning: Transfer to Golfito.

Arrive at the lodge and check-in.

Lunch: At the lodge.

Afternoon: Program orientation meeting and presentation.

Join your leader for an afternoon bird watching walk on local trails.

Lecture: History of the Esquinas Rainforest Reserve.

Dinner: At the lodge.

Lodging: Esquinas Rainforest Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Early morning birding.

Breakfast at the lodge.

Morning: Enjoy a guided walk on lodge trails.

The local bird checklist includes 362 species, many of them considered as specialties that are either endemics or easily found here, for example the Great Curasaw, Spectacled Owl, Rufous-winged Wodpecker, Olivaceous Piculet, Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager and Rudy-breasted Seedeater, amongst others. The grass fields and marshes around the lodge are the habitat for many species of water birds and shorebirds like herons, egrets, wood storks, ducks and spoonbills.

Return to the lodge.

Lunch: At the lodge.

Afternoon: After lunch, search for birds during a walking exploration of open pastures and rice fields located in the vicinity of the lodge.

Return to the lodge.

Time at leisure to rest and freshen-up before dinner.

Dinner: At the lodge.

Lodging: Esquinas Rainforest Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Early morning birding.

Breakfast at the lodge.

Morning: Transfer to San Vito area with birding en route.

Arrive at Las Cruces Biological Station and check-in.

Las Cruces Biological Station is an important tropical research facility and a center for teaching and environmental education run by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS). Station facilities include classrooms, a laboratory, an auditorium, and a library with an herbarium. This mid-elevation site is responsible for protecting more than 300 hectares of premontane wet forest habitat and was declared part of the La Amistad Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1983. Variations in elevation, ranging from 3,280 ft - 4,592 ft, contribute to the station's rich diversity of flora and fauna, including more than 400 birds, 113 mammals, and 2,000 plant species.

Lunch: At the biological station.

Afternoon: Guided birding in the gardens and feeder stations at Las Cruces.

Lecture: The Wilson Botanical Gardens and Las Cruces Tropical Field Station.

Las Cruces Biological Station is also home to the world-famous Wilson Botanical Gardens. In addition to educating the public about tropical ecology and conservation, the garden is used as a training ground for scientists in the fields of tropical botany, horticulture, and sustainable development. The botanical garden displays a mix of tropical and subtropical ornamentals including a number of rare and endangered plants from Costa Rica and other parts of the world. Paths are clearly marked and color-coded, leading guests around plantings of bromeliads, ferns, heliconias, orchids, palms and others.

Dinner: At the station.

Lodging: Las Cruces Biological Station

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Early morning birding.

Breakfast at the station.

Morning: Birding along the Java River Trail.

While birding at Las Cruces, we hope to spot some of the mid elevation birds of the Pacific side of the Talamanca Mountains such as Speckled Tanagers, Scarlet-Thiged Dacnis, Blue-Crowned Motmots, Violaceous Trogons, and Turquoise Cotingas. Stay vigilant for Coto Brus Valley species such as the Streaked Saltator and Charming Hummingbird.

Return to the lodge and freshen-up before lunch.

Lunch: At the station.

Afternoon: Afternoon guided bird walk along the botanical garden's trails.

With the Panamanian border located just a stone throw away, it is not surprising that a few species have begun to make an appearance into the area including the Pearl Kite, Crested Oropendola, and Veraguan Mango.

Dinner: At the station.

Lodging: Las Cruces Biological Station

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Birding Introduction to Cerro de la Muerte Area and San Gerardo de Dota.

Breakfast: Early morning birding.

Breakfast at the station.

Morning: Depart for Cerro de la Muerte area with birding en route.

Stop at the highland oak forest habitat near La Georgina and the Cerro de la Muerte areas in search of the endemic Fiery-throated Hummingbird and other interesting species such as Black and Yellow Silky Flycatcher, Volcano Junco, Timberline Wren, and the Zeledonia.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Arrive at the lodge and check-in.

Short guided walk along local trails.

Lecture: History of the San Gerardo Valley and the Resplendent Quetzal.

Dinner: At the lodge.

Lodging: Savegre Hotel Nature Reserve & Spa (formerly Savegre Mountain Hotel)

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Early morning birding.

Breakfast at the lodge.

Morning: Bird along the upper trails of a local oak forest.

The San Gerardo Valley (8,000 ft) combines highland oak and cloud forests with open grasslands and forest edges, attracting a variety of birds including large numbers of Resplendent Quetzals. In addition to quetzals, the region is also home to a number of birds only found at this elevation range like Collared Trogons, Emerald Toucanets, Fiery-colored Tanagers, Marbled Wood Quails, Long-tailed Silky Flycatchers, Buffy-Tuftedcheeks, Golden-browed Clorophonias, Elegant Euphonias and Tufted Flycatchers. Return to the lodge.

Lunch: At the lodge.

Afternoon: After lunch, enjoy birding along the lodge's scenic waterfall trail. Look for Talamanca region endemics like the White-throated Mountain Gem, Collared Redstart, Volcano Humingbird, and Black-checked Warbler.

Dinner: At the lodge.

Lodging: Savegre Hotel Nature Reserve & Spa (formerly Savegre Mountain Hotel)

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Early morning birding.

Breakfast at the lodge.

Morning: Depart for Turrialba area with birding en route.

Lunch: At local restaurant.

Afternoon: Arrive the lodge and check-in.

Birding at the lodge feeders and surroundings.

The Rancho Naturalista encompasses 125-acres of protected pre-montane Caribbean slope rainforest in the Talamanca Mountain Range. A network of trails traverse the forest, providing access to the hummingbird feeders and hummingbird pools which attract the rancho's signature bird, the Snowcap.

Lecture: History of Rancho Naturalista: A Family Dream.

Lodging: Rancho Naturalista

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Early morning birding.

Breakfast at the lodge.

Morning: Birding on lodge trails.

Look for some of the lodge's listed species such as Montezuma Oropendola, Crimson-collared Tanager, Golden-hooded Tanager, Sunbittern, Gray-headed Chachalaca, White-crowned Parrot and Collared Aracari.

Lunch: At the lodge.

Afternoon: Birding in the woodland feeders and hummingbird pools.

Some species regularly spotted at the feeders include the Green-breasted Mango, Snowcap, Violet-crowned Woodnymph, Long-billed Hermit, and White-necked Jacobin.

Dinner: At the lodge.

Lodging: Rancho Naturalista

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Early morning birding.

Breakfast at the lodge.

Morning: Depart to San José with birding en route.

Lunch: At a local restaurant en route.

Afternoon: Arrive at the hotel and check-in.

Before dinner, take part in a final checklist review and program briefing.

Dinner: Farewell dinner at the hotel.

Lodging: Wyndham San José Herradura Hotel & Convention Center

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Depart From: Transfer to the Juan Santamaria International Airport for flight to U.S.

Note: Participants with independent travel arrangements and/or scheduled on later flights can keep their hotel rooms until check-out time on this day. Except for breakfast, all other meals are on your own on this day.

Breakfast: At hotel restaurant (dependent on flight times).

Meals Included: Breakfast