Costa Rica ...and scratched an itch!

[kittykat23uk]

Really enjoying this trip report, quite some overlap with species I've seen in Brazil and Ecuador. I hear you about the escalating costs, it seems the same everywhere nowadays. Are there really any good cheap wildlife destinations left? 

[Alexander33]

Thank you so much for this report. Really enjoying it!  You were able to see some great things. 

 

We spent 2 weeks in Costa Rica in February, and, to be honest, I didn’t find it to be overpriced or prohibitively expensive in any way.
 

The food costs certainly were higher — but I’m finding that’s the case everywhere. And maybe that’s the key. Post-pandemic, every travel destination seems to be exponentially higher in cost. Weird and frustrating, to be sure.
 

But, as far as the costs of lodging and transportation, and value for the experience, I didn’t find them to be out of sorts versus other destinations that frequently are covered on Safaritalk. Africa has gone way up in the past few years!  But maybe that’s just all my impression and I’m off base. 
 

Again, loving your report.  Eager to hear more. 

[Dave Williams]

Only one full day left and where better to spend it than the Arenal Observatory Lodge. It is on the opposite side of the volcano to our hotel so not too far but still a decent drive especially as we wanted to get the as soon as it opened at 7.00am. We opted to miss breakfast at our hotel but that wasn't a great loss!

 

Claire and I spent a night there in 2008 and we had a Smithsonian Room with full picture window and a view of the red hot lava tumbling down the mountainside all night as I left the curtains open. It was a memorable sight but one that isn't available anymore as the volcano is dormant now. Back then I seem to recall that unless you were staying there was no way you were allowed in their considerable grounds of over 700 areas of gardens and trails. I also seem to remember that it was expensive, I think £125 for a night which considering I'd only paid £800 for the two of us for 2 weeks all inclusive down at the coast but that was a last minute deal and as such we splashed out on a night away. I was curious to see how much it costs now and was staggered to see it was $650 for one night the day we were there, however, looking on Booking.com you could stay for two nights on the 20th and 21st of April which happens to be next weekend. I decided to see what was on offer earlier today and a similar huge range of prices were showing.

I have a feeling , and in fact the number there when we visited suggested it too, that when they have a big group(s) staying availability is very limited so they bump the price, other nights its very reasonable by comparison. What is very reasonable is the entry fee as a day visitor which despite their web site suggesting its $15 pp is actually $18. You can pre book if you want, and the web then asks for $18, but it also offers meal deals too. We opted for just entry tickets at the gate not knowing for definite that we'd be going depending on the weather. It wasn't the best but we had little in the way of alternatives to choose and in hindsight I'm really glad we went. It was really overcast and dark when we arrived but the birds were already active on the feeders which are loaded with fruit. It's an odd metal feeder  system, basically long rods with fruit impaled on it all on a high pole which brings it up to the level of the large viewing platform behind the restaurant. It seems the big birds are the early visitors.

Great Curassow

Great Curassow by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Crested Guan

Crested Guan by Dave Williams, on Flickr

as well as a few Vultures all dominated the feeder area.

Photography opportunities were not the best in the conditions so we decided to have breakfast which at $12 pp was outstanding. A main course was served and the rest was help yourself to fruits, yoghurts, cereals, bread, toast cake, coffee etc . Best value and tastiest breakfast of the trip with the exception of the first morning when we stayed with our driver at his place. Credit where credit is due!

With the light improving it was back on the viewing platform with excellent views of the Oropendola, a bird which we heard regularly at the crack of dawn before it gets light but up to then at our previous places I'd failed to get a photograph.

Montezuma Oropendola by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Another new bird for the trip was Grey-headed Chacalaca

Grey-headed Chachalaca by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Everything was heading for the fruiting tree once the feeders were cleared.

White-nosed Coati. by Dave Williams, on Flickr

The Coatis once again displaying amazing climbing technique.

White-nosed Coati by Dave Williams, on Flickr

The branches didn't look big enough to support such a large beast.

The smaller birds were also evident on the fruit tree.

A pair of Scarlet-thighed Dacnis

Scarlet-thighed Dacnis by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Palm Tanager

Palm Tanager by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Blue-gray Tanager ( it's an American spelling as it's over there!)

Blue-gray Tanager by Dave Williams, on Flickr

We decided the time was right to explore further afield and headed off to the gardens but in the process were caught out by an incredible rain storm. Fortunately we had a shelter close to hand to sit out the rain but another couple weren't as lucky and came in looking like drowned rats! It was an interesting chat though, the two others were UK visitors and they had managed to book flights direct from London Gatwick with TUI for £400pp. Unfortunately their big saving on last minute flights went awry because his driving licence was out of date and they wouldn't rent him a car at the airport. It's not just your passport that you need to watch the dates on!

Anyway, the rain stopped long enough for us to head back to the viewing platform and some more decent birds to capture.

The Golden-hooded Tanager is a real stunner.

Golden-hooded Tanager  -topaz-denoise-enhance-1.5x by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Another Tennessee Warbler

Tennessee Warbler by Dave Williams, on Flickr

and another new Tanager, Hepatic.

Hepatic Tanager-topaz-denoise-sharpen by Dave Williams, on Flickr

The feeding station was being reloaded and the Coatis were begging for some fruit as they can't climb the feeder!

Filling the feeders by Dave Williams, on Flickr

We decided to hang around here , just in front of the restaurant where the views are stunning, until the weather brightened up.

View from the platform at Arenal Observatory by Dave Williams, on Flickr

It looked a bit more promising, we'd wait and see.

TBC

[Atravelynn]

"The Golden-hooded Tanager is a real stunner"  That is an understatement!  So nice to get a pair like you did with the Scarlet-thighed Dacnis.

[Soukous]

"The Golden-hooded Tanager is a real stunner."

 

yes it is indeed.

[Dave Williams]

Our morning session had brought some decent species which were a first for the trip views, some lifers for me too, so all in all I was happy but in 2008 I remember photographing Hummingbirds for the first time and it has always remained at the top of my wish list to see and photograph as many as possible. There were some flying about on the flowers below the viewing platform where the feeders are but they were some distance away too as were some other smaller birds like the Red-legged Honeycreeper.

Red-legged Honeycreeper by Dave Williams, on Flickr

There were some closer opportunities in the nearest trees like this Tawny-capped Euphonia, we were still adding new birds everyday which was good.

Tawny-capped Euphonia by Dave Williams, on Flickr

I was starting to get tired of looking at birds on the ugly feeders though

Palm Tanager by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Certainly not where you want to photograph them that's for sure although the R7 having a 1.6 crop sensor body did help to get me closer to the Hummingbirds using the 500mmf4 lens in some instances.By the time these two female Black-crested Coquettes had flown up to eye level  whilst having a mid air argument, the sun had come out which improved matters greatly for Hummingbird photography. Time to head back to the garden then!

Duelling Hummingbirds by Dave Williams, on Flickr

The duelling Hummingbirds came as a bit of a surprise when I saw I had managed to capture a half decent image especially as I was hand holding my Canon 500f4 lens and the new R7 which had been proving difficult for me trying for flight shots. My aperture for that shot was f4.5 and consequently the second bird is out of focus because of the lack of depth of field in the shot, the higher bird was chosen by the camera as the target. Because they were some distance away finding the birds and keeping them in the viewfinder had proven easier than had they been closer. That's were a zoom lens comes in to it's own, find the bird in the bigger picture then zoom in to take the shot.

I headed off to the garden taking tripod, two cameras and both the 500f4 and 100-500mm f4.5-7.1 lenses but I soon took the R7 off the 500mm lens when I realised you could get much closer to your subject in the garden.

It did capture some decent images first though depending on your thoughts on blurred wings.

Rufus-tailed Hummingbird by Dave Williams, on Flickr

The smaller the Hummer, like this female Black-crested Coquette, the faster it appears to beat it's wings too so that's another consideration about what to prioritise between shutter speed and ISO.

Black-crested Coquette by Dave Williams, on Flickr

I decided to swop to the R5 which I was more confident of using., especially tracking the birds in thick vegetation. Problem was the sun kept on going behind the clouds and the light dropped.

Black-crested Coquette by Dave Williams, on Flickr

This photography lark isn't all plain sailing by any means but that's what makes it more interesting. The good thing is that modern technology helps a lot , both the latest cameras and post processing make a big difference.

Underexposed shot

Black-crested Coquette by Dave Williams, on Flickr

rescued to a certain extent with Photoshop and Topaz noise reduction.

Black-crested Coquette by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Be careful not to allow auto settings to over do it though, I prefer a little less sharpening to the image that Topaz produced  so took it off for the final finish.

 

Earlier in the trip report  I posted some shots of a Hummingbird feeding from a placed flower in a clamp which had been sprayed with a sugar solution.

Fiery-throated Hummingbird.  Costa Rica 2024 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Not everyone approve saying it's cheating, I call it engineering a shot which can be very satisfying. Photographing in totally natural conditions can be very frustrating with other stems getting in the way of a clear shot to say nothing of fooling the AF system of your camera.

Scaly-breasted Hummingbird by Dave Williams, on Flickr

The alternative is many shots being binned

 Black-crested Coquette by Dave Williams, on Flickr

I could of course do some "gardening" and reduce unnecessary foliage and if it was my garden I would probably do a bit of that but in a hotel garden that should certainly not be considered!

If you have the time and the patience though there's a good chance you'll get the shot you are after and that's very satisfying.

Just enough wing blur to show movement where as then eye would just see a total blur

Black-crested Coquette by Dave Williams, on Flickr

and in good light even better!

Black-crested Coquette by Dave Williams, on Flickr

It was a great afternoon session, a great way of spending the last day photographing the same subjects as the first one, my favourite species, Hummingbirds. I just wish I could see them closer to home. 

Edited April 16 by Dave Williams

[TonyQ]

Some beautiful birds and photos there @Dave Williams

[offshorebirder]

Great photos Dave - I love Coatis and their arboreal skills.

 

The 'Tennessee Warbler' is actually a Chestnut-sided Warbler - the latter is a green above, gray-white below like Tennessee but has bold wingbars and white eye rings.  And the green is more of an electric lime green, not a forest green.

[Dave Williams]

5 hours ago, offshorebirder said:

Great photos Dave - I love Coatis and their arboreal skills.

 

The 'Tennessee Warbler' is actually a Chestnut-sided Warbler - the latter is a green above, gray-white below like Tennessee but has bold wingbars and white eye rings.  And the green is more of an electric lime green, not a forest green.

Thanks Nathan...I was getting above myself thinking I didn't need to check the ID out properly and assuming I recognised it! Another image from our final stop coming up soon shows a hint of Chestnut.

[xelas]

Claire and I spent a night there in 2008 - that same year Zvezda and Tanja and I also had the pleasure to enjoy the tumbling rocks ... just not from the Smithsonian room.

 

Your hummers shots are top notch pro stuff, congratulations!

[Dave Williams]

And so the end was near, Tuesday the 12th of March and we had had near perfect weather and it had only rained once, the previous morning at Arenal Observatory Lodge but the day had ended with some  sunshine with Phil sat on the deck watching the feeders and trees  while the clouds rolled over the Arenal Volcano.

 

If yesterday morning's rain was heavy, today's was absolutely torrential. We used to see the Arenal Volcano from this side too. We watched as all the schoolgirls left their various cabins and headed off for their waiting coach , perhaps 100m away. I guess they had been given a time to be there and there was no way of stopping them as there were no phones in the rooms. Maybe those in charge didn't care but these poor students were getting drenched like the one in the shot below, dragging her case behind her.

 

Our stay in La Fortuna was a success, I have to give the birding 10/10, the place we stayed 7/10 but the food once again sadly lacking.

With our flights home from San Jose not until the evening we had the luxury of waiting until it stopped raining before going for breakfast. After that it was a leisurely drive back towards San Jose and the airport. We had good news though, our Lufthansa flight had left Frankfurt and was on its way to pick us up. it was one of very few Lufthansa flights to leave that day as the cabin crews were all on strike for the day. Fortunately our place was flying under the Star Alliance banner and was, Christian told me, staffed by German speaking Swiss crew. That was a relief, we didn't want to be stuck in San Jose and better still as it was an overnight flight we were not due back until the following day and the strike would be over. We'd been lucky missing the one day strike on the way out and our luck held again.

 

Having been before Christian had suggested stopping at the Costa Rica Eco Bungee platform which you would never have guessed was a bird watching spot, in fact I didn't see anything about bungee jumping but set in a lay by off the road is a row of souvenir shops and snack bars. Behind one of them there's a small platform where there is a zip ride station. The weather all the way there had been poor, we were up in the cloud forest and although it wasn't raining it was very misty and the prospects for photography didn't look good. I enquired at the visitor centre and was told it was $10 pp to enter the platform where there was a small feeding station loaded with banana. I told the girl I needed to look before agreeing to pay, and on doing so decided that there was very little activity and it wasn't worth $10 each. I offered her $5 pp which we would pay in local Colon. A price of 7000 was agreed and Phil gave her a 10,000 note. She went off to get change and with one hand gave him 1000 note in change. Phil challenged her saying we agreed 7000 to which she replied "Oh yes" and produced a 2000 note from the other hand. This summed up Costa Rica to us I'm afraid. Everyone is out to take advantage and squeeze every drop of tourist cash they can . 

Anyway ,we went on to the platform and through the swirling mist saw a few birds sitting around on branches and occasionally coming down to eat some banana.

Fortunately for us the weather improved and other than a brief period then the platform was swamped with helmeted zip liners the only other people there were two Aussie photographers and their bird guide.

It turned in to a rather rewarding hour or so with I think five new species and a few we'd seen before.

Crimson-collared Tanager

Crimson-collared Tanager by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Silver-throated Tanager

Silver-throated Tanager by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Bay-headed Tanager

Bay-headed Tanager by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Emerald Tanager

Emerald Tanager by Dave Williams, on Flickr

and even a "lifer" for Christian who we had to go and find as he'd lost interest having been and done all that before.

The apparently shy and elusive Blue and Gold Tanager

Blue and Gold Tanager by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Wherever there are feeders with Bananas there seem to be Coatis and this place was no exception.

White-nosed Coati by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Another Chestnut-sided Warbler seen through the mist

Chestnut-sided Warbler by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Great views of Green Honeycreeper, although the male is Blue.

Green Honeycreeper by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Blue Gray Tanager

Blue and Gray Tanager by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Black-cheeked Woodpecker

Black-cheeked Woodpecker by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Tawny-capped Euphonia

Tawny-capped Euphonia by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Common Chlorospingus ( which still sounds like a foot infection to me)

Common Chlorospingus by Dave Williams, on Flickr

and last of all in my final bird shoot...suspense, I'll keep that for my postscript summary!!

We headed back to San Jose stopping for a coffee on the way before dropping off our drivers suitcase as promised. He seemed to have fully recovered as he came to the locked gates of his property to meet us. With a face of that of someone whose just licked a cactus he largely ignored us, Christian offered a hand which he took as Christian told him he was sorry it ended the way it had. He just muttered 'yes" turned his back and went back up to the house.

We had no guilt, he'd been well rewarded for his contribution. Was he really that bad that first weekend or had he a prior engagement he didn't want to miss and conjured up an excuse to get home? On the other hand if he was genuinely in agony the risk of him continuing and having another relapse was one we didn't want to take, and one he shouldn't even been suggesting either. As he has excommunicated us we will never know the truth now.

Ah well, it doesn't matter.

The trip had been a success, and that's what does.

 

Edited April 17 by Dave Williams

[Dave Williams]

The Postscript!

Without a doubt we had seen some great birds, a few mammals and the odd reptile too.

The company was great too

If I were to advise on planning this is what I would suggest.

Hummingbirds and Quetzals were probably best seen at San Geraldo de Dota as although it was cold, it was dry and sunny. Were we lucky? I don't know but it was better than Monteverde from a weather point of view. I wouldn't waste a day walking the river there if I was on a birding trip though.

I would highly recommend the boat trip at Tarcoles (but not the place we stayed)and it's worth heading that way just for that. I think there are probably more good birding spots we didn't explore although we found a couple ourselves.

The birding ranch at La Ensenada Lodge I would give a complete miss to, too remote and you are stuck with the eating options they have to offer. I'm not sure what birding opportunities there are about but we didn't find too many but it is popular with bird tours it seems.

Similarly, I'm hesitant about Cataratas Bijigua too. The garden birding was OK, but again the day we walked to the waterfall was a day's birding wasted really and the food options no good either! I'd have preferred to head to Monteverde and stayed near there and visited the park more than once. Santa Elena although commercialised probably had much, much more to offer in terms of accommodation and eating.

Finally there was La Fortuna. Christian had had an input here for sure, he'd stayed before and chose it for the peaceful setting out of town. You couldn't fault that but for eating out it was a drive away and none of us wanted to forgo a couple of beers in the evening so we stayed in and suffered poor food! I would have loved to have booked in at Arenal Observatory again, pick carefully and get a good deal on price. The whole area is a great holiday location, I imagine the best inland tourist spot in Costa Rica perhaps?

What makes a good holiday? Obviously on a birding one it's the number one priority but food plays a big part of my enjoyment and I have to say for me it was poor. Everywhere we stayed was very clean, some more luxurious than others perhaps but I guess the prices are comparable to the UK which is getting more and more expensive all the time. 

The average income in the USA is twice that of the UK, so I have a feeling American tourists will probably see prices in a different light to me. The trouble is the countries they choose to spend their tourist dollars in also realise this too and take advantage wherever they can. Costa Rica is one of them in my opinion , they even price in dollars in many places. We had left our driver to choose the places we went to, I hadn't done any research at all, and I don't know what made him choose the places we did although as a birder/photographer himself I'm sure he prioritised that. I don't know what influenced my thoughts , maybe it was the greed of the driver to ask for $500 long after we had all agreed to paying all his expenses. Even he has baulked at the cost of a guide who had doubled his price from $150 to $300 in just one year. In San Gerado we were approached by one guide who asked us if we'd be interested in photographing a Quetzal at the nest, not at $100pp we weren't! Then there were the little things, the strictly portion controlled buffet meals , charging extra if you wanted fruit juice as well as coffee at breakfast which was already overpriced at $12. Trying to short change you wasn't the amount it was the way it was done, taking us for fools.

Would I go back to Costa Rica? Yes, I think I would but I'd want to research and organise it myself making sure the trip ticked the boxes of my choice. One thing is certain though, my itch has been well and truly scratched so if I don't return I won't feel I have missed out. The world still has many options to visit and I haven't got the time to fit them all in. it's no wonder I have dropped out of the Big Year thread, it's taken a month to write this report I have been so busy.I didn't even attempt a list for Costa Rica but it must be over 150 I'm pretty certain. Next stop will be Majorca. This time we are renting a villa with a couple of friends. Good food is guaranteed as we will be self catering much of the time, the weather will be better than the UK and the bird migration in full swing.

I'll try and report back on that one too!

Meantime I'll leave you with the mystery bird from our last stop in Costa Rica and one of the last species seen too.

The Clay-coloured Thrush

 Clay-coloured Thrush by Dave Williams, on Flickr

With all the stunningly beautiful birds to be seen in the country, this one was chosen as the National Bird. Interesting decision!

 

Edited April 17 by Dave Williams

[offshorebirder]

Great trip report @Dave Williams - you got some superb images and it sounds like you had a lot of fun.

[Atravelynn]

Those hummingbirds whether arguing or just filling up on nectar are quite spectacular.  I'd say the engineering of the garden worked!  Many other colorful, beautiful, unobstructed birds as well plus that National One.

[xelas]

Clay-coloured Thrush as a national Bird does have an interesting story behind its "election".

 

Dave, Thanks a lot for your insights about Costa Rica's tourism today. A few weeks before your TR started, a fellow traveler asked me about the country, and its high costs. After checking the few places we have stayed on our previous visits (last in 2018), I could not believe my eyes! 

 

There is a story I have "made" about why prices in Costa Rica are pushed up and higher each year. It is to blame the majority visitors (over 75%) that came from the USA.

 

"A private transfer from San Jose to the coast used to be around 50 USD per car back in 2008. Every gringo added 10 bucks as a tip. After a year or two the driver recon he can charge more so the price went up... but the gringos continues to add 10 bucks (or more, because the driver is so "nice and chatty and he can speak a few words in English ...)." The price spiral only goes upward.

I don't know how much is the actual transfer cost now, but for sure it is double that ... per person!

 

On the bright(er) side, there are still affordable accommodations to be found, self driving is easy, and eating at a local soda is not that expensive. But the food generally lacks taste. Gallo pinto is not everyone's favourite .

 

Please do write a TR about Majorca, it is a close-by destination for us, and a good option for a shorter birding trip. TIA!

 

 

On a side line note, last week there was (were) again "Stevie's slip" (or two or three), breaking the hearts of fans around the world .

[kittykat23uk]

A very enjoyable read @Dave Williamsthank you.. 

 

I wonder if you would mind setting out what your budget expectations were for this trip and to what extent you met or exceeded it? Also any thoughts on more cost effective birding /wildlife destinations that you are aware of? I'm pretty budget conscious but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find anything at what I would consider a reasonable cost these days.. No worries if you don't want to say. I'm jut curious 

 

 

[Dave Williams]

46 minutes ago, xelas said:

Clay-coloured Thrush as a national Bird does have an interesting story behind its "election".

 

Dave, Thanks a lot for your insights about Costa Rica's tourism today. A few weeks before your TR started, a fellow traveler asked me about the country, and its high costs. After checking the few places we have stayed on our previous visits (last in 2018), I could not believe my eyes! 

 

There is a story I have "made" about why prices in Costa Rica are pushed up and higher each year. It is to blame the majority visitors (over 75%) that came from the USA.

 

"A private transfer from San Jose to the coast used to be around 50 USD per car back in 2008. Every gringo added 10 bucks as a tip. After a year or two the driver recon he can charge more so the price went up... but the gringos continues to add 10 bucks (or more, because the driver is so "nice and chatty and he can speak a few words in English ...)." The price spiral only goes upward.

I don't know how much is the actual transfer cost now, but for sure it is double that ... per person!

 

On the bright(er) side, there are still affordable accommodations to be found, self driving is easy, and eating at a local soda is not that expensive. But the food generally lacks taste. Gallo pinto is not everyone's favourite .

 

Please do write a TR about Majorca, it is a close-by destination for us, and a good option for a shorter birding trip. TIA!

 

 

On a side line note, last week there was (were) again "Stevie's slip" (or two or three), breaking the hearts of fans around the world .

 

Interesting insight on rising prices Alex. I had come to the same conclusion myself ...American tourists are to blame!! 

As for LFC. Unbelievable . Mentally I think they are shot right now.

[pedro maia]

Very entertaining report Dave, Costa Rica is on my list and you provided some very useful information, although not all positive, the prices issue is important, especially cmnsidering that my vacations are allways in high season, that´s something I can´t change.

The situation with the driver was odd, to say the list, and even if it´s an isolated thing it may be result of an economy that is mostly tourism dependent where some people may think that tourist are there just to give them money.

Anyway, in what really matters, your photos are as good as expected and those hummingbirds feeder sessions were a pleasure to see.

Edited April 17 by pedro maia

[pedro maia]

2 hours ago, xelas said:

"A private transfer from San Jose to the coast used to be around 50 USD per car back in 2008. Every gringo added 10 bucks as a tip. After a year or two the driver recon he can charge more so the price went up... but the gringos continues to add 10 bucks (or more, because the driver is so "nice and chatty and he can speak a few words in English ...)." The price spiral only goes upward.

 

 

I´m with you on this, I hate that tip system.

[Soukous]

Thanks for a very comprehensive TR Dave. Easy to see why it took a while to complete.

 

What a wonderful species of bird the Tanager is, so much colour and so much variety - and I've never seen even one of them

[Dave Williams]

49 minutes ago, kittykat23uk said:

A very enjoyable read @Dave Williamsthank you.. 

 

I wonder if you would mind setting out what your budget expectations were for this trip and to what extent you met or exceeded it? Also any thoughts on more cost effective birding /wildlife destinations that you are aware of? I'm pretty budget conscious but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find anything at what I would consider a reasonable cost these days.. No worries if you don't want to say. I'm jut curious 

 

 

 

Originally I probably expected to pay about £2.5k,  but having paid £1150 for my air fare (which rose by £150 in the 24 hours before I booked it), I was hoping to keep it under £3k. I think my contribution to the kitty for the three of us was $2500 so I went a little over that but that wasn't helped by the driver and car insurance mess up which would have brought me in under my new budget slightly. I think the biggest disappointment was food really, I would struggle to remember what I ate it was that memorable, that and a couple wasted days out of the 12 we had going on unproductive walks. If you check out packages for Costa Rica you will struggle to find one for less than I paid though. 

With all the time to spare most of our spare cash goes on holidays, we rarely eat out at home or go to the pub.For reasons other than the cost I have even stopped spending what amounted to a holiday a year on following my football team. I aim to spend three months of the year on trips somewhere, either by myself but usually with Claire for the more exotic holidays.

Pre-covid I'd expect a two week holiday short to medium haul to cost me about £2k for two weeks for both Claire and myself. Since then it's upped to £2.5-4k depending on where you are going. Further afield is sometimes less for longer. Accommodation and food in places like India is really inexpensive so the longer you stay the cheaper the daily cost works out. You also have to factor in the cost of staying at home, or lack of it , especially when you are away in the winter.

I think the most expensive holiday we have taken was an organised tour of the Far East and India which came in at £15k 7 years ago. It was really disappointing, everyone complained and we were all given a £750 refund which in actual fact wasn't enough in hindsight.

My belief is that the more you pay doesn't necessarily mean the more you get and the improvements are certainly not in line with the extra cost. We all have areas we are prepared to spend money on and others where we don't perceive value for money.

Economy vs Business class air fares for example. Both get you where you want to be but for twice the price and more you get a better seat and food. Not a good trade for me, the saving on fares flying economy is often what the rest of the trip costs! 

As far as wild life and photography is concerned more and more people are getting on the bandwagon and exploiting the opportunities that are there. Professional hide photography can be very lucrative for the owner and often very unrewarding for the client too. No guarantees with nature is the ready excuse and of course there aren't. My recent trip to The Gambia had me wandering around the local area on my own where those on a guided celebrity tour were pay hundreds to do likewise, not only that they were in a big group and could never get the close up encounters I was getting. Their choice of course and there are lots of reasons people go for it. A good guide is usually worth the money but it's far cheaper to use a local one than to pay for someone to escort you from the UK, they usually have to hire a local guide too. I know of someone who seems to be doing Ok in his business taking clients on foreign trips that usually consist of four guests plus  him and his partner. Effectively those guests are paying 50% more for accommodation , food and travel before a salary and their other costs like insurance are all added. You still need a local guide anyway, so my preference is to cut out unnecessary expenses where I can, others obviously choose not to. 

In summary then it's not just where you go but how you choose to go about it as well.I doubt you will ever find a cheap trip to Antarctica for example but in South Africa you can safari at every level of budget and still get to see everything. The higher the price you pay the more exclusivity too of course, get's you away from the crowds but there again if you do your research you can find out how to avoid the crowds too.  I certainly don't want to waste my time on unnecessary and unwanted sundowners, coffee stops or afternoon tea laid out on a table in the middle of nowhere. I'm there purely for one thing. The wildlife.

Anyway, that's my thoughts on the matter!

cheers Dave

[kittykat23uk]

Thanks @Dave Williamsfor your comprehensive response. Your thoughts definitely chime with mine, I have found myself time and again finding a local guide or company to work with to get the cost down or finding like minded people who are willing to self drive which also really helps. I usually find that a local, knowledgeable guide or company offers best value for money, although some experiences have been better than others. I would not use kalahari safaris of upington again for the type of tour I booked with them and I would probably choose a different company if I were to do Sri Lanka again for instance.. More on that later... 

[TonyQ]

Thank you for an interesting report with great photos. You saw many beautiful birds.

An interesting discussion on costs also

[xelas]

@kittykat23uk, I believe Costa Rica can be done affordably, but you would need to do your own driving, and that also means sharing the cost of the vehicle and of the room with one more person. Guides are welcomed but not obligatory, at least not for birding. All or at least the majority of birding locations are within public access. Staying at places like Arenal Observatory Lodge or Rancho Naturalista is beneficial but not mandatory.

 

In Central America, Guatemala is more affordable and has good birding, plus much better cultural options. Panama is also nice birding destination, with option of a short (or long) beach vacation.

 

I have found north of Thailand to be an excellent value for an independent birder, and I think @PeterHGwould share my opinion. 

[Dave Williams]

The UK couple we were talking to when caught in the rain at Arenal Observatory were in agreement about prices in CR and he suggested Panama too. Not as commercialised and the birding just as good in his opinion.