Costa Rica Photography Trip with Greg Nature

After your international flight, we pick you up at the airport and transfer together to a hotel surrounded by tropical gardens. Here we'll meet the rest of the group, have the trip's first briefing and start getting into the spirit.

As soon as we settle in, we'll head out to explore the lodge's gardens, a perfect environment to start photographing without pressure. Among heliconias, orchids and butterflies, you'll have your first contact with Costa Rica's biodiversity in a relaxed atmosphere.

Target species in the hotel garden: lesson's motmot, chestnut-capped warbler, white-eared ground-sparrow, mottled owl, rufous-tailed hummingbird, great kiskadee and blue-gray tanager.

We leave early for the mountains of the central valley, where the landscape quickly changes to cloud forest.

During these days we'll focus on the search for the resplendent quetzal, one of Central America's most emblematic species. We'll move between different spots and perches where it usually feeds, taking advantage of the best light hours both in the morning and in the afternoon.

We'll stay at a specialized lodge, surrounded by gardens and trails where we'll also have constant opportunities with hummingbirds and other high-altitude birds. During the middle hours of the day we'll visit hummingbird gardens, ideal for working on technique and testing gear in controlled conditions.

Target species at Cerro de la Muerte: resplendent quetzal and multiple hummingbird species.

We move to a family-run lodge with direct access to forest, trails and gardens.

During the day, we'll work on photography at feeders where hummingbirds and tanagers come in very close, as well as exploring trails in search of trogons, flycatchers and woodpeckers.

At nightfall, one of the most special activities begins: a guided herping tour, focused on finding reptiles and amphibians. Here we'll put macro photography to the test in real conditions, searching for iconic species in their natural habitat.

Target species at Centro Manu: bare-necked umbrellabird, crested owl, crowned tree frog, eyelash viper, glass frogs, boa constrictor, basilisks, poison dart frogs and geckos.

We continue to Boca Tapada, one of the country's best areas for wildlife photography.

As soon as we arrive and settle in, we'll start working at the lodge's feeders, where toucans, parrots and other birds come within ideal photography distances. We'll also visit the specialized king vulture hide, a very powerful experience even for those with previous nature-travel experience.

We'll explore the San Carlos River by boat, a perfect activity for observing herons, kingfishers, otters and other species along the banks.

At night, we'll hold multi-flash bat photography sessions, one of the most technical and special experiences of the trip, capturing behaviors that are hard to observe with the naked eye.

Target species at Boca Tapada: great green macaw, king vulture, red-capped manakin, collared aracari, yellow-throated toucan, keel-billed toucan, plus trogons, parrots, oropendolas, hummingbirds and various mammals.

We move to the La Fortuna area, where the Arenal Volcano dominates the landscape.

We'll stay at a lodge with volcano views, which will also allow us to work on landscape photography in moments of good light, especially at sunrise and sunset.

During the day, we'll explore rainforest trails in search of trogons, motmots, monkeys and other species that appear unpredictably. In the gardens, the hummingbird and oropendola feeders offer constant action.

We'll also walk hanging bridges, one of the best ways to observe wildlife from the canopy and gain different perspectives of the surroundings.

At night, we'll take a night tour to look for frogs, snakes, insects and other species active in the dark — ideal for photography.

Target species in La Fortuna: snowcap hummingbird, sloths, howler monkeys, white-faced capuchins, spider monkeys, coatis, green iguanas, emerald basilisks, red-eyed tree frogs, poison dart frogs and spectacled caimans.