Birding Costa Rica - Tours
Birding Costa Rica - Tours
Birding Costa Rica - Tours
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Private ToursNature & Wildlife ToursPhotography Tours
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Birding Costa Rica provides tour services with the highest levels of customer satisfaction. Johan Fernandez will share the beauty of nature and birds on Costa Rica and help those birdwatchers from different parts of the world who want to visit Costa Rica and do birdwatching, so he is ready to respond those questions to make your trip more successful.
Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
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Birding Costa Rica - Tours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
5.0
30 reviews
Excellent
29
Very good
1
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
0
peddlemaniac
Pitman, NJ6 contributions
May 2015 • Couples
Spent 10 days birding with Johan Fernandez in late April/early May 2015. From the moment he collected us at the airport he was spot on!! From the gardens of Hotel Bougainvillea, to Arenal, everything was wonderful! Johan knows his birds! Where they nest, when they come and go, how to spot them, tips on photography, and where to stop for great local food! He is a very patient guy, and has a wonderful sense of humor! We met his family, and he even took us to his father's house to an area where there was a spectacled owl roosting. So he does everything he can to give birders a great and memorable experience! We are definitely going back to see him again and bird some different areas of Costa Rica!
Written 28 June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
WarrenFish
Northridge95 contributions
Jan 2015 • Couples
We spent 11 days birding with Johan Fernandez in late January. Of the many great guides I have had the pleasure of working with, Johan was the best. He understood that I was a bird photographer but also was colored blind and had some difficulty finding the birds in the dense low light vegetation. He was patient and he was exceedingly helpful. As a result, I was able to capture images of 237 birds, of which 117 were new to me. This has increased my bird photographs to over 1,100 bird species. It should also be mentioned that Johan has a very keen sense of hearing and could identify birds that I could not hear or see. I observed that he is well respected by all of his fellow birders, who are keen to know what he has seen and where in the local area. We took all of our meals with Johan and never tired of his company. He has a good sense of humor and can carry on a very intelligent conversation of any topic. He is a graduate of Costa Rica's best university and continues to study and learn about nature and ecology for his own satisfaction as well as to improve his skills. So I unconditionally recommend Johan as a guide for birding anywhere in his wonderful country.
Written 17 February 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bozotraveller
Chicago, IL162 contributions
Jan 2015 • Couples
We did several bird tours with Johan Fernandez, and he is great. Really knows his birds, has patience and great skills. Honest about what you can and cannot expect to find in an area, and goes the extra mile to try to find a target bird. He is courteous and fun to travel with, enthusiastic and passionate about birding. Very good at helping you see the birds once he locates them!
Written 17 January 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alison P
Milan, Italy3 contributions
Aug 2014 • Couples
We have just spent 2 weeks birding in Costa Rica with Johan Fernandez.
Johan is in his thirties and has plenty of energy to keep up the pace so that we could see the maximum number of species on a 2 week trip.
He has been leading birding tours for 11 years and is second to none in identifying different species both by song and visually.
He uses playback responsibly without stressing the birds to call them out so that we could have a good look at them.
He also has an excellent knowledge of the best birding sites and also has a good understanding of other wildlife.
In 15 days we saw just over 390 species including difficult birds like the Streak-breasted Antpitta and Silver-fronted Tapaculo.
I hope you enjoy your birding trip with Johan as much as we did
Johan is in his thirties and has plenty of energy to keep up the pace so that we could see the maximum number of species on a 2 week trip.
He has been leading birding tours for 11 years and is second to none in identifying different species both by song and visually.
He uses playback responsibly without stressing the birds to call them out so that we could have a good look at them.
He also has an excellent knowledge of the best birding sites and also has a good understanding of other wildlife.
In 15 days we saw just over 390 species including difficult birds like the Streak-breasted Antpitta and Silver-fronted Tapaculo.
I hope you enjoy your birding trip with Johan as much as we did
Written 24 August 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Richard J
Christchurch7 contributions
Aug 2016 • Couples
We had a fabulous 10-day trip with Johan, covering several of Costa Rica's excellent national parks. Our focus was on CR's amazing birds (although we're naturists rather than birders). Johan's knowledge of CR birds, including ability to find and identify them, is phenomenal. He is also very friendly, has a good sense of humour, and knowledgable about his country and CR's flora and other fauna. Highly recommended.
Richard & Chris
Richard & Chris
Written 16 October 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Malcolm B
Portland, ME186 contributions
Dec 2014 • Couples
We've gone on private birding tours in a number of different countries, and think that Johan Fernandez is as good as they get. We were with him in five different locations (and traveling!) over 8 days, and he helped us to over 300 species, many of them new to us. He speaks excellent English, is an extremely careful driver, and a pleasure to spend time with. Be warned: if you're only interested in quick hit-or-miss birding, Johan is not for you: he will invite you to very patient stalking of birds that seemingly only he can hear in the distance, with the resulting reward of a view that few tourists will ever get. And like all good guides, he has a great ability to call or interest birds while teaching you a lot about how mixed species function in the tropical forest. He listened to what we wanted to see and do, and was respectful in honoring those requests.
Written 30 December 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fishgumbei
Hong Kong, China2 contributions
Dec 2013 • Friends
I had a 6 days’ birding trip in Costa Rica during April 2013. This was my virgin birding trip to central America. With the expertised guiding of Mr Johan Fernandez, over 230 species of birds were spotted during the trip although there were rains in the first few days.
I was impressed by Johan’s superior skill and patience in spotting and calling birds. His ability of imitate birds’ call was wonderful that he never let me down. His sense of mobility in spotting birds was supreme.
As when we come across the Sunbittern, his decision let me got a close encounter of this displaying beauty. That exciting moment could never be erased in me.
Well done Johan. Wish to join you again!
I was impressed by Johan’s superior skill and patience in spotting and calling birds. His ability of imitate birds’ call was wonderful that he never let me down. His sense of mobility in spotting birds was supreme.
As when we come across the Sunbittern, his decision let me got a close encounter of this displaying beauty. That exciting moment could never be erased in me.
Well done Johan. Wish to join you again!
Written 12 November 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John F
Christchurch, UK38 contributions
Feb 2016 • Couples
Contacted Johan thru other TripAdvisor reports, and we were not disappointed. He organised all hotel, dining and local travel arrangements. He is a "hawk eye" when it comes to tracking and spotting birds. Very knowledgeable. Our 10 day trip covered a good variety of local terrain types with a wide range of species seen and photographed. Good company also. Would highly recommend.
Written 15 March 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Robyn P
Bridgewater, VA16 contributions
Jul 2014 • Friends
We were travelling in Costa Rica and as avid bird watchers, we had heard Carara NP was an excellent site. Our experience is it is very helpful to have a local guide to assist with finding birds both by sight and sound, and Johan F was super! We met at 5:40 am in Quepos, birded up the road to Carara, did one hike in the park and quite a bit of road birding. He was very knowledgeable about all aspects of natural history with his university training in botany, and he was great for finding birds by sight and sound. He also showed us white ghost bats at roost! He also gave us excellent advice about how to find a King Vulture on our own the next day. Johan was very flexible, we are not the kind of birders that check off and run to the next bird, we like to look and listen and hear the life history of species. Johan was a wealth of information about the birds, areas, trees, butterflies, and funny - on of his best of the days is this quote, "Costa Rica has many mushrooms, most edible only once!" We were only able to be out with Johan one day, basically 12 hours, and we wished we had been able to do another day with him! Our day pushed to 110 species seen or heard, and it was a great experience. Johan is also the coordinator of his local Christmas Bird Count, so he will know the birds of all seasons in Costa Rica. Pura Vida!
Written 24 July 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Myles H
Wausau, WI11 contributions
Dec 2013 • Family
II had arranged a birding tour with Johan via the internet as I was planning our family vacation in Jaco Costa Rica this past December 2013. For my birthday my wife and son join joined me and we had the honor of spending a full day birding with Johan Fernandez. It was an honor because rarely does one get to spend so much time with such a skilled and accomplished guide and birder. His ability to locate and identify birds continually amazed us as we identified 122 species in that one day. He took his time to explain and point out the birds to us as this was a new experience for all of us. His skills also go beyond just identifying every bird call and flash of feathers. His knowledge and enthusiasm of his native country was contagious. While we just met Johan that one day, he felt like family by the end of the day. He exceeded all of our expectations. I highly recommend Johan and won't hesitate to use him again when we return to Costa Rica. Myles and Sue, Alex Hurlburt - Wausau WI
Written 17 June 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I'm going to make a trip to Costa Rica with my wife, I'd like to observe the birds. I have scheduled 2 days in Quetzales National Park and 2 days in Manuel Antonio. I would like a birdwatching guide. How much would it take to guide me by day or by hour?
Best regards
Written 4 December 2017
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