Costa Rica
October 27 - November 6, 2008
 

Note: This tour is currently filled.  Please contact us at
travel@njaudubon.org if you wish to be wait listed.

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Costa Rica is a small Central American country whose natural areas support a dazzling variety of tropical wildlife. Land area is about the same as West Virginia (which is about the same as Vermont & New Hampshire combined), yet the country’s bird list is nearly 900 species. Habitats in Costa Rica include mountain forests (the highest peaks are above 12,000 feet), rain forests, dry forests, mangrove swamps, tropical marshes, and coasts on both the Pacific and the Caribbean. The country’s great species diversity is one benefit of this great habitat diversity.

 

PACE, WEATHER AND TRAVEL CONDITIONS:

Costa Rica is also a peaceful country with a social democratic system that provides
quality public education, maintains high standards of public health, and offers reliable public utilities to all of its citizens. The country’s tourism infrastructure is excellent. For this trip, our group will stay in comfortable lodges surrounded by excellent natural habitat. All rooms have private hot water bathrooms. Food and water are reliably safe in all tourist areas, and meals are provided throughout the trip. Our group will travel together in a private mini-bus driven by a professional driver.

Our goals will be to visit many different habitats and to search for birds and other wildlife while we learn about tropical ecology and conservation. Many days will start with an optional pre-breakfast bird walk, or with breakfast before heading afield at sunrise, and this means getting up before dawn. Our schedule is full – days will be filled with birding and other nature explorations – but there will be opportunities to skip some activities to relax around the lodges and/or explore on your own. We have not built time into the schedule for visits to the shops and museums around San José, Costa Rica’s capital, or any other city. Let us know if you’d like to see the city and we can help arrange for an extension of your stay.

This trip is limited to 14 persons

DATES: Monday, October 27 through Thursday, November 6, 2008

APPROXIMATE PRICE:
$2,850.00 per person, double occupancy; single supplement (payable if you request single occupancy or if we cannot find you a suitable roommate) is $475.00. A deposit of $500.00 will hold your place until August 26, 2008, when full payment becomes due. Registration must take place before August 26, 2008.

PRICE INCLUDES:
Lodging for 10 nights, meals from dinner on arrival day (October 27) through breakfast on departure day (November 6), transportation around Costa Rica in a private mini-bus with professional driver, group activities and admissions, expert leadership, and resource materials.

PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE:  Not included in the cost: round-trip transportation from your home to meeting point in San José, Costa Rica, bar beverages, telephone calls, laundry service, airport departure taxes (currently $26/person), gratuities for guide, driver, & lodge staffs, or other items of a personal nature. Tips for the guide and driver are customary in Costa Rica; most travelers choose to offer generous tips.

TRAVEL DOCUMENTS:  A valid passport is required for this tour.  Your passport should be valid for a minimum of 6 months beyond the tour dates.

SEND DEPOSITS AND OTHER PAYMENTS TO:
NJAS Eco-Travel
P.O. Box 126
Bernardsville, NJ 07924
(908) 204-8998
Make checks payable to the New Jersey Audubon Society

TOUR LEADERS:

Mark Garland lives in Cape May and works as a freelance naturalist. He has held the position of Senior Naturalist for the New Jersey Audubon Society’s Cape May Bird Observatory and also for the Audubon Naturalist Society, based in the Washington, DC, area. He has led over twenty-five trips to Costa Rica, teaming with Charlie Gómez on most of these trips. He has led six Costa Rica trips for the New Jersey Audubon between 2003 and 2007. He has also led Costa Rica trips for the Smithsonian Study Tour program, the Audubon Naturalist Society, and the Massachusetts Audubon Society.

Carlos “Charlie” Gómez is one of Costa Rica’s most highly regarded naturalist guides. He has been leading tours for birding groups for over 20 years, mostly in his home country of Costa Rica, but also in Panama, Nicaragua, Belize, and South America. Before guiding he worked as the Station Manager of the La Selva Field Station, the cornerstone facility of the Organization for Tropical Studies, a consortium of 64 Universities in the U.S., Latin America, and Australia. He also worked as field assistant to ornithologist Gary Stiles, principal author of A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. He is an expert birder and an exceptionally skilled all-around naturalist.
 

Photos courtesy Mark S. Garland

For tour itineraries, to register, or for more information contact:

NJAS Eco-Travel at: (908)-204-8998
9 Hardscrabble Road
Bernardsville, NJ 07924
or email travel@njaudubon.org

If you are not a member and would like to become one, consider Joining New Jersey Audubon Society.