Photo by: Kathy Adams Clark
Location: Costa Rica

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PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR

Costa Rica New Locations Tortuguero and Manzanilla

  • Single rate is for six of the nine evenings. Call Strabo Tours to see if available for entire tour.
  • Guided by Costa Rican naturalist & Photo Leader Kathy Adams Clark.
  • Visit the Tortuguero National Park, half of the coastline is only accessible by boat or small plane. With no roads or cars,you will fall in love with the natural beauties of this exotic region of Costa Rica while staying im fully equiped luxury rooms.
  • Photography at a private residence, with pond and bird blind.
  • Cahuita National Park and Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge providing private tours of an animal rescue sanctuary, and endangered Great Green Macaws being rescued and rehabilitated to be released back into the wild.
  • Three days in the Highlands region at a beautiful birding lodge, offering waterfall, gardens, and hiking trails with your naturalist guide and photo leader.
  • Photographic locations filled with hummingbirds, reptiles, and tropical blooms.
  • All meals included in land cost. Tour limited to TEN participants.
Region

Latin America and Caribbean

Destination

Costa Rica

Dates

February 4-13, 2026

Duration

9 days

$5695

per person, double occupancy*

*U.S. dollars based upon minimum of 8 participants. There is a small group surcharge of $400 if 6-7 participants. We try to accommodate travelers who request single accommodations, as well as travelers who are looking for a roommate. If a single room is requested (subject to availability), or if we are unable to find a suitable roommate, there is a single room surcharge of $695 for 6 of 9 nights.

Overview
Photos
Testimonials
Itinerary

Tour Overview

Houston Audubon Society is a proud sponsor of Kathy’s photographic tours to Costa Rica.

Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast is a world apart from the rest of the country. The pace is slower, the food is spicier, the tropical heat is more palpable, and the rhythmic lilt of banter and reggae music fills the air. This remains one of Costa Rica’s least discovered and explored regions. More than half of the coastline here is still inaccessible except by boat or small plane. This inaccessibility...

Houston Audubon Society is a proud sponsor of Kathy’s photographic tours to Costa Rica.

Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast is a world apart from the rest of the country. The pace is slower, the food is spicier, the tropical heat is more palpable, and the rhythmic lilt of banter and reggae music fills the air. This remains one of Costa Rica’s least discovered and explored regions. More than half of the coastline here is still inaccessible except by boat or small plane. This inaccessibility has helped preserve large tracts of virgin lowland rainforest, which are now set aside as Tortuguero National Park. It is an incredibly biodiverse enclave of almost 300 square miles, two-thirds of which is in the ocean. Although it has a few hiking trails, it’s best explored by boat. The northern reaches of this coast are among Costa Rica’s most popular destinations for adventurers and eco-travelers. Of particular interest are the sea turtles that nest here.

Farther south, Cahuita National Park is another popular national park on the coast, located just off its namesake beach village. It was set up to preserve over 490 acres of coral reef and its palm tree-lined beaches. The hiking trails allow you to discover the Cahuita National Park walking on its beautiful beaches and boardwalks. You will have the opportunity to see monkeys, sloths, raccoons and many colorful birds in the trees. A bit further south is the Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, which was formed to protect and reintroduce the endangered Great Green Macaws to their natural environment.

You will concentrate on landscape, unique wildlife and bird photography during your ten-day program. Kathy invites photographers of all skill levels and anyone with a keen interest in seeking out the vast array of tropical birds and wildlife in this amazing country. There are also mammals, frogs, reptiles and butterflies.

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Photo Leader

Kathy Adams Clark

Hi Kathy, I just wanted to thank you again for the really super trip. I really appreciate the many times you looked up from your camera to make sure I was able locate the birds we were looking for and photograph them. You were always looking out for me. The trip exceeded any expectations I had.

Best Always, Steve

— S. Zakem

Overall rating of trip is 10 out of 10. Actually Kathy, your local guide and driver were all a 12 out of 10! Lodges and meals were fabulous! Kathy sends the most comprehensive emails in preparing for these trips. Everyone (including Jacque from a far!) went way above and beyond in their efforts to accommodate us under very trying circumstances when flights were cancelled.

— S. Harris

Hello Jacque! All good things must end, unfortunately we have to go home. Thank you for a well prepared itinerary and great accommodations. Beautiful places and birds! We thoroughly enjoyed it, with the exception of heat at one of the lodges. It was an awesome adventure. We love Costa Rica. Kathy Adams Clark is always the BEST leader. We can not say enough praises for your local guide and driver. Enthusiastic, always with a smile, kind, had time for everyone, even those non-photographers. He knows his birds, songs and all.We would love to have him again.

— L & H Laas

Thank you, Kathy! I had a blast on your tour, it was a truly outstanding trip. It was so fun to be taken from place to place with fantastic birds to see and photograph. I also loved the comfortable and unique hotels, the hotel gardens, and the food.

I learned so much through the whole experience of getting ready for the trip, shooting photos day after day, and processing (of course, not done with that!!). I’ve never had such an immersive photography experience, with so many opportunities throughout each day to shoot.

You and Willie both are so knowledgeable and experienced, yet it was neat to see that you were just as excited about seeing the birds as we were. You were both calm, well prepared, and had planned things out so well. I’m hoping to go on another one of your trips, maybe even next February in Costa Rica! 

— D. Krueger

The trip was visually wonderful. The hotel in Guanacaste gave us a nice assortment and some beautiful pictures. Some of my best photos were at Tenorio lodge. Maquenque had the honeycreepers that I loved and had much more diversity. And the vultures! Visiting a friends yard certainly worth the stop and deserves more time on future trips. It was well worth the trip even with the extra precautions and difficulties and I’m glad we were able to go. Thanks to everyone for a nice, cooperative venture. – Barb

Regarding bird species we counted 122 species!!  As for hospitality, the folks at Maquenque and Tenorio have to take the prize.  Maquenque gets a prize for serving dinner with no power – and a wonderful dessert. Tenorio gets a prize for the courteous care provided us. In general, all of our locations served as very well!

As for Kathy Adams Clark, my thoughts are best reflected by the pleasure and confidence in traveling repeatedly with you!  And, there are more trips to come!!! Similar comments can be made for the local guide!

It is a pleasure to travel with you! – Will

— B & W Hamilton

Kathy is so diligent on keeping us informed prior to the trip and what we can expect, and what we need. She is the best! Enjoy traveling with her because we have so much fun. So knowledgeable on photography and birds. Your local guide is the best! Patient and kind. Knows his birds like no other!

Your pre-departure info is always great. Love my adventures with Strabo Tours. Love the small groups and first class accommodations.

— Kim Tirlia

Your local guide is great. I love his knowledge and talks about the country, the ecosystems, and the geology of Costa Rica. He is a great birder too. Kathy’s instruction was the right amount for me. The boat trip down the San Juan River was different and a good excursion to take. I would definitely go on a trip again with Kathy, especially if the focus is photographing wildlife, nature or birds.

— B Finocchio

So many good experiences, good hotels and ecolodges for birds, great food everywhere, each location had specialties that made it well worth the travel. Every trip has special moments, and this trip had many!!!

— B. Hamilton

I had a wonderful time on the trip to Costa Rica with Kathy & Gary Clark, got some amazing pictures that I never dreamed I could have done, learned so so much and thoroughly enjoyed all the places we stayed….. I would love to go on another trip at some point.

— M. Salkowski

Kathy provided lots of very helpful one-on-one attention and advice. Very knowledgeable on birds as well as photography. And very pleasant to travel with. Logistics were very smoothly handled, and your local guide was extremely knowledgeable and experienced, terrific at spotting and identifying birds and other wildlife.

— D.BREWER

I learned so much from Kathy Adams Clark that I feel I have more tools to become a better photographer. Kathy is just delightful as a person and a great teacher! The amount of knowledge your local guide knows and imparted certainly made the tour richer as I learned much about birds and plants. He was delightful. By in large the whole trip was beautiful. Every place we went opened up a world I had not seen and enjoyed.

— J. Karel

Kathy is always good, but she went the extra mile. She assisted me in getting the best hummingbird photo’s I have ever taken. I particularly appreciated all the time and effort Kathy spent in setting up lights and backgrounds to enable us to get wonderful hummingbird shots. Results were fantastic. Great trip!!!

— J. Braud

Lots of very helpful one-on-one attention and advice. Very knowledgeable on birds as well as photography. And very pleasant to travel with. Logistics of tour were smoothly handled. Kathy was a 10!!

— D. Brewer

Everywhere we went was a highlight. Every place had something special. Kathy was a 10+, she was always there to give photo suggestions, help with equipment and locating things to photograph. She is an excellent teacher!

— B & R Nelson

Excellent attention to detail, with the perfect leader and guide for the trip.

— A. Mueller

The trip was amazing and seamless!!!

— D. Pando

I love Costa Rica and your operations provide for a great trip. I never wanted for anything!

— C. Weber
More Testimonials

Tour Itinerary

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February 4: Home – San José

Your Costa Rican adventure begins today as you board your flight to San José, the country’s capital city. Everyone will be transferred from the airport to the hotel upon arrival. This will be your first opportunity to see tropical flowers and birds on the hotel grounds. Enjoy a welcome dinner and orientation meeting. Overnight San Jose (D)

February 5-7: Tortuguero

Begin your journey to Tortuguero National Park, on the Northeast Coast of Costa Rica. Tortuguero (“place of turtles”) is most famous for the sea turtles that have laid their eggs on the beach for a million years every summer. The birdwatching is superb, with more than 300 species identified here, including rare green macaws, toucans, hawks, kingfishers, herons, hummingbirds and woodpeckers. The region is known for a huge variety of Costa Rican wildlife, including monkeys, sloths, ocelots, tapirs, peccary and coatis, plus dozens of species of reptiles and amphibians.

You will have another two full days here to explore the lodge gardens, the park with your local guides on foot or or by boat. The lodge offers small boats that maneuver through the winding channels and mangroves – all you need to bring is your sense of wonder. Tortuguero is the Amazon of Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, a dense tropical jungle where the rivers are the only highways. You can’t even drive there; access is by boat only to your lodge. Amid a nearly impenetrable wilderness, a network of canals supports a small human footprint of scattered ecolodges, riverside homes and a village that time forgot. Overnight Tortuguero Meals: B, L, D all days

February 8-9: Puerto Viejo

Once on the road you will have a photography stop at a private residence. The owner is a photographer, and he has set up a fantastic backyard garden complete with a natural pond. There are both fruit and hummingbird feeders to attract a variety of birds. He built an area that serves as a blind so you can photograph without disturbing the various creatures that visit the area.

You will be making your way further south of Limon, your accommodations are nestled between the Cahuita National Park and the Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge. The hotel has both a pool and beach approximately 150 yards from Playa Chiquita, an unspoiled white sand beach lapped by crystal-clear waters and only accessible by a private walkway. The lodge is located on a five-acre stretch of forest, preserving its own wildlife and ecosystems, with one hundred species of birds, more than two hundred types of flora and a gigantic ceiba (or kapok) tree. Get settled in by enjoying the grounds and services of the hotel.

The next day rise early and after breakfast take a private tour of Ara Manzanillo. A project started to reintroduce the greatly endangered Great Green Macaws back into their natural habitat. They are dedicated to restoring and conserving wild parrot populations in the Caribbean rainforests of Costa Rica.

Next take a walk across the boardwalk at the Cahuita National Park, best known for the coral reefs close to shore, the trail is set between the beach and the forest. Enjoy lunch in town and continue to the animal rescue center and sanctuary. You’ll have another private tour of the temporary or permanent home for ill, injured and orphaned animals. With a focus on monkeys, sloths, other mammals, birds and reptiles. Overnight Puerto Viejo Meals: B, L, D all days

February 10-12: Highlands, Cartago Province

Depart after breakfast making your way to the Highlands of Cartago with photography stops along the way. Arrive late afternoon and have the next two full days to enjoy an exceptional birding experience with more than 70% of all Costa Rican hummingbirds!

Your hotel has an ideal location in the Costa Rican Highlands. The gardens provide shelter for hundreds of birds which make it easy to do birding even from your balcony. Discover mountain trails you can spot almost 400 different species, including the endemic ones with your professional nature guide. Photography lovers will take perfect shots thanks to specially designed feeders and your photography instructor.

You’ll also enjoy picturesque mountain views, surprising you each day with mysterious clouds and their play of shadow and light. You can discover the rain on the gardens, essentially while sitting on the terrace. Hiking trails offer you uncountable amounts of orchids and other beautiful plants. Moreover, you can jump into refreshing water of the Doña Ana waterfall.

Some of the emblematic birds that you can spot include highland tinamou, scaled antpitta, ochre-breasted antpitta, black-bellied hummingbird, green-fronted lancebill, coppery-headed emerald, cabanis’s ground-sparrow, barred parakeet and many more. Overnight Highlands Meals: (B, L, D) all days.

February 13: San Jose - Home

After an early breakfast you will depart for the SJO airport for your return flight home. Be sure to book your return flight for 12:30 PM or after. If it is prior the driver can drop you at an airport hotel of your choosing. Your hotel will either have a transfer or they can call you a taxi the next day in time for your flight home.

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