We headed off for our first group trip in The Flock birding community to Costa Rica. Honestly, I was nervous about how the dynamics, the people and meeting each other the first time would work out. We all knew each other from the community but this was our first face to face. The first day of our trip, we had a delay in flights that caused some schedule changes. Thankfully, our tour guide who I had organize the entire itinerary, had that under control. I used Costa Rica Outdoors Waves. Highly suggest Juanjo and his team if you want to have a top notch experience in Costa Rica with birds. More on that later!

First Stop Atenas

We had a short stay in Atenas. Everyone was able to meet at Colinas del Sol, a local hotel. This place had an amazing pool, garden and walkable area where there were birds everywhere. We had at least four from our group that didn’t show up till after 8pm. Was that the plan, no, BUT thankfully we all were able to eat a late dinner at the hotel together and get to know each other before our seven day journey!

Second Stop the Highlands

We woke-up around 5am for our first birding adventure. We had an amazing guide, Yostin, who was able to take us to a secluded spot in Atenas. We saw some amazing birds. It was a shocked to see all the lifers. The entire group was excited and the energy was off the charts. Trogons, Motmots, and some other crazy birds- we started to realize very quickly, the amount of birds we were going to see was going to be in the hundreds. I love the overall enthusiasm of everyone

After birding, we packed up and headed to the highlands. The highlands is a mountainous area in Costa Rica. We had a long drive, however, driving through the country was one of the things I truly enjoyed. We got to see things that you wouldn’t be able to see in high touristy areas. We took back roads, had amazing views, stopped at a fruit stand, and had fresh mango and coconuts! Our guide was just able to stop in places that he knew and loved, it made the trip so much more exclusive and exciting.

After we arrived at our hotel in the highlands, we had a few hours to hang out and eat our dinner. This hotel was on of my favorites on the trip, well, my second favorite. The Lauraceas Lodge had some of the best food and accommodations on our trip. The birding was stunning and the weather was fucking perfect! We were in a mountain valley and it was pretty chilly at night. Just a side-note, no where we stayed had air conditioning. It was rather cool at night, but was especially chilly in the highlands. This is where we were able to get up close and person with the Resplendent Quetzal.

Our guide in this region was Dario. He took us to see the Volcano Junco, the Quetzal and so many other birds that blew our fucking minds! Not only that the scenery and views were breathtaking.

If you area scared of heights or a timid driver, this maybe a little difficult for you. The roads around the country are their own fucking challenge. I could not fathom driving there and many times, I didn’t think the roads were wide enough for one vehicle. Coming down and up the mountain sometimes required a pep-talk. I was glad I wasn’t behind the wheel, nor would I ever fucking drive in Costa Rica, I’d shit my pants.

To be Continued…

I’ll write part two of our journey next week, in the mean time, if you have any questions about our trip or want to join The Flock we offer a free 7 day trial and are headed back to Costa Rica in January of 2027!