A valid passport is required, with at least six months' validity remaining beyond your planned departure from your home country. Visas are required for entry by United States citizens. Non-U.S. citizens should consult their consulate or embassy for specific entry requirements and instructions.

To ensure a smooth and comfortable journey, we ask that participants limit their baggage to one medium-sized, soft-sided roller bag, duffel bag, or suitcase, plus one carry-on, as vehicle space is limited. This is especially important for birding expeditions or trips involving domestic flights. For Culture and Nature trips in Costa Rica, we recommend keeping luggage under 18 pounds per person. Extra luggage can be safely stored at our hotel in San José, and laundry services are available at all hotels where we stay for more than one night.

For convenience, we suggest packing essential items like travel documents, medications, toiletries, a change of clothes, and your binoculars in your carry-on. Keep in mind that airlines now strictly enforce baggage regulations, and any excess baggage charges, which can be substantial, are the responsibility of each traveler. Please consult your airline for specific weight restrictions.

Due to frequent changes in airport security protocols, we recommend checking the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website for the latest updates: http://www.tsa.gov/.

For all our tropical tours, including those in Costa Rica, Colombia, and Ecuador, lightweight field clothing is essential. We recommend wearing long-sleeved shirts, a hat, sunglasses, and applying a high-SPF sunscreen for sun protection. It's also important to pack a pair of good water-resistant hiking boots or walking shoes, along with a second pair of lightweight shoes—mud boots are not necessary. If you have any questions about appropriate footwear, please contact our office before your trip.

Generally, you can expect warm to hot and humid weather, with daytime highs ranging from 75 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. However, nights in the highlands can be cool, with temperatures dropping to the 40s or lower, depending on the season and elevation. Therefore, a thermal top, warm sweater, and/or jacket are essential for layering. You might also want to bring gloves and a warm cap for added comfort.

Most days will warm up quickly once the sun rises, and trails should be manageable, except on some of our birding trips, where you may encounter wet and remote locations that require rubber boots. For those instances, water-resistant footwear is ideal. Don’t forget to pack a small umbrella and/or poncho, as we may encounter mist or rain during our adventures.

We recommend packing a pair of well-maintained binoculars, along with a belt pack or day pack to carry essentials like books, sunscreen, and extra film. As a precaution, it’s wise to keep your binoculars, a change of clothes, toiletries, medications, and travel documents in your airline carry-on bag.

Your guide will provide a high-quality spotting scope (Vortex Razor 27-60 x 85 with both long-range and close-up lenses) for optimal viewing. However, if you have your own spotting scope and would like to bring it, please feel free to do so!

A number of traditional booksellers and online stores list excellent inventories of field guides and other natural history resources that will help prepare you for this tour. We recommend www.amazon.com, which has a wide selection; www.buteobooks.com and www.nhbs.com, which specialize in ornithology and natural history books; and www.abebooks.com for out-of-print and hard-to-find titles.

Field Guides (Birds):

Garrigues, Richard and Robert Dean, The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2007. Compact and complete, now the recommended field guide.

Stiles, Gary and Alexander Skutch. A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1990. The first field guide specifically for Costa Rica and still very useful, especially the text.

Ridgely, Robert S. A Guide to the Birds of Panama. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992 (2nd ed.). Edition expanded to include Costa Rica and suitable for use here.

App´s: 

Merlin Bird ID. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The best app to use in the field. Nowadays considered the “future of birding.” Once you download the app, you must download the pack for Costa Rica. Includes bird description, photos and voices. Also, there is a section for Bird Photo ID which can be useful in the field. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Ebird. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This is nowadays your best way to keep your life list, all in a single application. When taxonomic splits are incorporated, your list will be automatically updated. Furthermore, your guide will be able to share the daily list. You can just accept the list, and have it uploaded in your files! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Bird Call Xeno. This app gives you access to one of the largest online bird libraries in the world. Provided that your phone has an active data service, you´ll be able to listen to the bird recordings uploaded in the site.

Costa Rica Birds. Field Guide. Birding Field Guides. A good source of information with bird voices and range maps. It provides multiple filter choices and easy search function. Downloadable in the App Store, Amazon appstore and Google Play.

Mammals of North, Central and South America - A mammal app.

Sky Guide. If you’re interested in stargazing, you might want to consider using this app. Just hold your device overhead and it will show you the stars, constellations and planets. Downloadable in the App Store and Google Play.

Maps.me. If you like checking routes, roads and locations, this app allows you to track the tour route even with your phone offline! Just download the app and the Costa Rica map and you will be all set. Downloadable in the App Store and Google Play.

General Introduction to the Tropics:

Forsyth, Adrian, and Ken Miyata. Tropical Nature. Scribner, 1987. Paperback available. Excellent chapters, very readable and informative. Written for the layman; highly recommended.

Forsyth, Adrian, Portraits of the Rainforest. With photos by Michael and Pat Fogden. Camden East, ONT: Camden House, 1990. Stunning photos and a superb text by one of the best nature writers in the business.

Hilty, Steven. Birds of Tropical America. Shelburne, VT: Chapters Publishing Ltd, 1994. An excellent, easy-to-read book on the ecology of neotropical birds. Highly recommended.

Kricher, John C. A Neotropical Companion. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999. Good introduction to the tropics.