First time in CR; Rancho Naturalista or ??? (1 Viewer)

My husband and I are planning our first trip to CR over the coming December holidays. A friend of mine recommended Rancho Naturalista and I've been communicating with them. They have availability for 3-4 nights out of the week we want to spend. I'm thinking that we probably wouldn't want to spend more than 3-4 nights there anyway, but instead more to some other eco-lodge in different habitat or a different part of the country.

The price -- $410/day (if we hire a guide for both morning and afternoon of every day) -- is affordable for us, but pushing it. (If we found another lodge at around the same price, that would work out to about $2,800 for the week.) However, my husband suggested that before booking it, I check out the price of birding tours.

Well, I thought I could expedite that process by asking for your collective wisdom on the matter. Are there tours that:

1) are about a week long
2) have no more than about 8 birders (and preferably less) coming along
3) can guarantee that I will be able to keep medicine constantly refrigerated or cooled in a thermos w/ ice for the whole week
4) have good, dependable guides and are in general a good, dependable outfit
and
5) charge about $1,400/week per person.

In other words, should I even bother looking into tours, other options? If so, what might they be? Could we arrange our own lodging, then hire local birding guides in various places? Would this be hard to set up for someone (like me) who has never birded in CR before?

Thanks!

Well, I'm pretty sure at this point, we're going to stay at Rancho Naturalista for 3-4 days. I just told them that I want to book.

So, there is still the rest of the week to plan.

I'm also wondering how the heck we are supposed to get from the airport in San Jose to Rancho Naturalista? Just rent a car and attempt not to die? Or is driving not that bad in San Jose/Costa Rica?

Melisande,
it has been several years since I visited CR, and I only visited once.

We certainly enjoyed our stay at Rancho. We chose to have a guide one day, and do the rest of the birding on our own - but we certainly saw more the day we were with a guide.

Moving to a different habitat certainly sounds like a good idea for the rest of your week. Others might have better ideas for whereto than I have right now.

I did not find driving in CR that challenging. If you will, depends on where you have been driving before. We had been to several places that other people find challenging before visiting CR [we actually live in such a place ]. However, there is a company (I think the same one that does the Rancho booking) that can arrange transportation for you between lodges, obviously for a fee. I have that info from older threads here in birdforum. That may be economically OK compared to the car rental given that you only need to go to a couple of places. It may preclude you from the excursion out from Rancho that we did to see birds on the river etc.

I usually try carrentals.co.uk or rentalcars.com searching for car rentals. Notice that some of them might include taxes and more insurance than you are used to seeing on an initial quote, so look at what is included before you despair.

Niels

If I had a week, I would think about pairing Rancho Naturalists with Saverge Lodge, which is on the opposite side of the hills from the central valley and is a lovely place to be based for say 3-4 nights. The combination of those two sites and excursions from them, including the highlands of Cerro de la Muerte would not require too much driving.

cheers, alan

I agree with what Alan and Niels said. Rancho is a wonderful place- very accommodating, wonderful food, great guides, and great birding. Happy to hear that you are going there!

Would say 3 nights for 2 full days is plenty at rancho naturlista, especially with a guide. I would only spend the extra day there if you wanted a day trip to tapanti or the silent mountain from there(guided) as it is expensive! And either savegre or la selva for added variety for another 3 nights. There are excellent guides at all these sites

njlarsen, could you tell me a little more about the river excursion you took from Rancho Naturalista?

lewis & jwreeves, I've already looked into Savegre (because I'd read that it was good), but it seems that they are already fully booked for the time we have available.

The friend who recommended RN said that she combined it with some birding in the lowlands to round out the list. I'm going to get back in touch with her and see exactly where they went (she was with a tour group), but in the meantime, does anyone know of any "lowland" hotspots nearby?

Now Rancho Naturalista is saying that they have 5 nights available. And I'm seriously wondering whether we should just take that and find a way of doing an excursion elsewhere using RN as a base. So, maybe we'd have to rent a car, in that case. I've rented car in foreign countries before, but only in Europe and where I speak the language. Unfortunately, although I am fluent in a second language and can get by in couple more, I really do not know Spanish at all! I think if I knew the language I might feel more comfortable renting -- in case we get lost, or something.

We've been driven around in a number of countries in the developing world, and I have to admit, it's always my least favorite part of the trip (my husband's too)! I'm so nervous and chicken about it. Insects and snakes? no problem! Drivers passing blindly on twisty mountain roads with no guard rails? Yes ... Problem! But, at least when someone else is driving, I can just close my eyes and hang on. I couldn't even begin to imagine doing that myself. But maybe Costa Rica is not as bad as India/China, etc?

So, if we really do chicken out and just have someone drive us up there and we are "stuck" at Rancho Naturalista for 5 days, will we risk getting bored, or will we just risk not maximizing our Costa Rica trip list? I can live with the latter, but not the former. I should also say that I do tend toward patch birding more than listing. In other words, I like to become an expert (or in this case, feel like I'm gain a sliver of maybe not expertise, but something like knowledge) in one area, rather than go all over the place trying to increase the numbers. On the other hand, if we are just going to bird the same trails and see mostly the exact same birds every day, maybe we should bite the bullet and rent a car. Just trying to get a feel of what will work for us.

And, of course, there's another complication. My husband just told me that if he goes to Costa Rica he will not be able to get away without visiting a certain colleague who lives in San Jose. So we will be spending at least a day there (sigh). Is there any birdiness in San Jose? Or is it just a concrete jungle?

Near Rancho, there is a place called Silent Mountain and along the way there, Rio Mina. I think it was about 1 hour or less?

I have a trip report here: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=194095

We came from the area around Sarapiqui when going to Rancho. That is where La Selva and other famous destinations are found. It is considerably more lowland than Rancho. I am reluctant to give more details because other people often looking at this area know CR better than me.

I have never been to east Asia, but I doubt you will find CR similar to India or China re traffic. I have driven in areas such as Egypt, and I would think twice before renting in India based on what I have heard.

Niels

melisande-
For my two cents, I drove in Costa Rica for the first time this spring and survived. All of the drivers want to live to see another sunrise but they do tend to drive aggressively. Unlike in much of the US, horns are a means of communication, not the first step towards road rage, which seems mostly absent in Costa Rica. However, I did not go through San Jose which is where your patience and defensive driving will likely be tested. It's big city driving without a four or six lane interstate going through it. If you do decide to rent transportation, I had a very good experience with Wild Ryder (http://www.wild-rider.com/car-rental-rates/). They offered me a good bit of driving instruction for the specific area I wanted to go. Their main office is in San Jose and you could possibly arrange a pickup. Thorsten, the owner, was very straightforward and communicative. The vehicle, a Hyundai Tucson, worked without any problems for 5 of us and our luggage.
One caution about rancho Naturalista, unless they have been updated, their trail maps are not reliable. Use a guide or pay attention to where you are going. On the other hand, the bird feeders and food are worthy of an entire day's attention!
I wonder if your friend was directing you to Pacific or Caribbean lowlands?
On the Caribbean side of the country, Niels' mention of the Sarapiqui area is worth considering as a second destination, though it would require some driving effort. I would suggest Heleconia Island Lodge (http://www.heliconiaisland.com)? My last visit is reported here at Birdforum:
xhttp://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=303568&highlight=Costa+Rica+Hamhed

Steve

I'm not as experienced in Costa Rica as the others but I'd say:

• RN is indeed great, but 3 nights would be enough.
• Driving in CR is not terrible, no comparison to India as mentioned above. But I believe RN can arrange transport.
• Because of its location and the paucity of other sites nearby, I do not think it would be a good base for exploring. Getting to e.g. Savegre or Sarapiqui as others mentioned would be better for that.

I highly recommended Barrett Lawson's bird-finding guide for making the decisions you're deciding on.
Have fun...
Steve

Steve,
Your trip link only works as a cut and paste, I think the xhttp or whatever gets in the way. Eager to read at
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=303568&highlight=Costa+Rica+Hamhe d

Cheers,
Mike

If Saverge is full, then try Paraiso Quetzales on top of the ridge; as well as being cheaper I think (I've not stayed there), there are lots of great birds in the grounds and on the feeders. I agree that RN is probably not worth 5 full days - the trail system is quite limited for that time.

cheers, alan

ebwilderae said:

Steve,
Your trip link only works as a cut and paste, I think the xhttp or whatever gets in the way. Eager to read at
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=303568&highlight=Costa+Rica+Hamhe d

Cheers,
Mike

Click to expand...

Hi, Mike-
Not sure how the "x" got in the way. Must be rated "xtra good"!

Steve

lewis20126 said:

If Saverge is full, then try Paraiso Quetzales on top of the ridge; as well as being cheaper I think (I've not stayed there), there are lots of great birds in the grounds and on the feeders. I agree that RN is probably not worth 5 full days - the trail system is quite limited for that time.



cheers, alan

Click to expand...

We stopped at PQ for lunch on our way past in July, and it looked like a great location. Great feeders and lots of hummingbirds.

We stayed at Trogon Lodge, just upriver from Savegre, and had a great experience. Prices were quite reasonable, the room was comfortable, and quetzals on site! I'd recommend them if you want to find an alternative along the river.

--dave