2nd trip - need help deciding
 

Our first trip to CR was a few years ago, and ever since we wanted to go back. We finally will, but only for 8 nights in Jan 2017.

First time we did Arenal (Lost Iguana), Manuel Antonio (Tulemar villas) and Osa (BdC). Loved them all for different reasons.

This trip we'll stay at Rancho Naturalista for 4 nights, but I'm having a very hard time deciding the 2nd place. We are looking for something different, nice view, good food, not too rustic, new birds and I think I narrowed it down to these 3:
- Rio Magnolia
- Trogon Lodge
- Savegre

Are Trogon and Savegre in the same general area? Seeing quetzals would be something new for us. The lodge and grounds at Trogon seem nicer on the web site, but TA shows a lot more birds at Savegre.

Rio Magnolia seem to have more of a relaxation vibe, with great views and food.

How to decide? I need help....

We loved Savegre Hotel - a gorgeous property with a beautiful river running through it. They have a great modern bar area with a big firepit. It gets very chilly at night. I'd recommend getting a cabin with a fireplace. We had one of those little clocks that tell the temperature, and it was in the 50s in our cabin. Marino Chacon is the best guide, just really excellent and warm and personable. He helped write parts of the Birds of Costa Rica book. We saw tons of quetzals, about 10 one morning down by the road, and he took us to a nice little garden area where we saw tons more, and on a great forest hike.

Do you think 3 days/4nights is too long at Savegre?

They say on their web site that they recommend booking tours (and guides) in advance. How extensive are their trails? Can you walk them on your own? What tours/activities did you do?

I think that might be too long unless you want to do some intense birding. We had two full days if I remember correctly, and that was about right for us. Yes, you can walk the trails on your own; most everything we did was offsite though. They have hummingbird feeders set up all around the restaurants and tons of hummingbirds come all day long, so gorgeous. During the time of year that we went, the quetzals eat avocados along the road, so we spent two full mornings there. You can also walk to a waterfall, but we didn't do that. We did the morning quetzal birding, the offsite garden, the forest, and then a night hike with Marino to see owls.

No, no intense birding...but maybe we'll keep the extra day for the waterfall and some horse riding. This is supposed to be our relaxation trip, so just being in CR, enjoying the nature and the views with a book and do nothing for a day sounds good to me :)
Thanks.

Yes, it would be great to horseback ride there. Always nice to have relaxation time. Marino has such an eagle eye. We were out walking one day, and he asked if we had seen the kittens. When we said no, he pointed at this huge hill far in the distance, and there was a black dot there. We got out our binocs, and it was indeed kittens.

Trogon and Savegre are roughly in the same area, and are good for highland species.

Rio Magnolia has more foothills species.

One thing you could do--if you get an early enough head start--is do a mid-day birding tour somewhere along the road to Rio Magnolia, for example the Paraiso Quetzal lodge--after Rancho Naturalista.

Views at Rio Magnolia are amazing--you can see the Pacific ocean on a clear day, as the lodge is on its own small hill overlooking a valley. Food is very, very good as well.

I posted the bird lists for each location(Paraiso Quetzal, Rio Magnolia) on my 2015 trip report.

From Rio Magnolia you could also visit Los Cusingos, and pick up Lovely Cotinga, Speckled Tanager and more.

I lost my post...so let's try again:

RAC, with fresh eyes, I re-read your TR; great info and it did not make it easier to choose.

I think that because birds in the highlands are so different and new for us, and because we're never experienced the cloud forest, we'll do San Gerardo de Dota this time. We'll save RM + Tikkivillas combination for a future trip.

Now...between Trogon (DH's choice) and Savegre (my choice)...how to pick when priorities are birding opportunities on my own and with guides, food and accommodation?

I know it's cold there in January....VG, is the fireplace a wood one? What if none of us has any experience starting a fire? City people, what can I say?

DH is not into birds, are the ground and the views good enough for him to spend some time there, while I'm out with my camera?

Hi, x - I've never started a fire before in my life, total city girl here as well. They provide you with fire starter, little blocks you toss in there and set on fire. We didn't have any problems at all.

Not sure about your husband, maybe check out the reviews and photos on Tripadvisor and see what you think. It is sort of a rustic place with lots of beautiful flowers blooming everywhere, mostly hydrangeas and imaptiens. It has a garden, and the gorgeous river, but birding is a pretty big focus of the entire area. I'm not sure what he would do if you're out with your camera. Like I said the bar area is great, that part is very modern, and they had games and books in there, and there's horseback riding, and probably fishing since the area is famous for trout, but most people are there for the birding and to see quetzals and hummingbirds.

VG, thanks for the fireplace info.

Not to worry about DH, he'll be fine with a nice garden, views, a river, etc. He will probably bring his guitar, too...don't ask.
He survived for 4 very rainy days at Pico Bonito this year (and loved it actually), so he'll be fine at Sagreve. Can't wait, need to go book it now :)

Darn, Savegre is fully booked on our dates. It wasn't 2 days ago...

Maybe look into Paraiso Quetzales lodge--the cabins look lovely, and it's very, very birdy. They have arrangements with local landowners that allow them to access their property to view quetzals up close, and you get Fiery-throated Hummingbirds at the restaurant.

As it's just off the highway, you're also a 1 hour away from Bosque del Tolomuco and the Mirador del Valle, which are very good spots for middle elevation species like Red-headed Barbet, Collared Trogon, etc.

Oh no, that's terrible. Wow, I'm surprised they are booked up so far in advance.

RAC,
I checked - Paraiso Quetzales lodge is fully booked, too. It even was 2 days ago....popular place :)

Maybe check Trogon Lodge or Dantica. I think you could still probably book something with Marino even if you stayed somewhere else.

VG, I emailed Savegre and somehow they were able to accommodate us. I'm a happy girl now :)

Oh, yay, I love it when things work out. It's such a bummer not to get your first choice when you finally decide. That's great. Hope you like it! Marino's parents are the ones that founded the lodge - the Chacons - there are tons of them there. They have some great stories. When Marino took us on our forest hike we saw fresh puma tracks in the mud. I so wanted to see that puma! Seeing the tracks was pretty cool though.

I'm sure we'll love it there, plus it's the first time for us in a cloud forest. Hoping for a warm and dry Jan now :)

Did you book your tours/activities in advance? Do they offer regular morning birding tours and/or night tours like BdC? We got spoiled there, I know...

Yes, I booked them ahead because we wanted Marino specifically, and he books up. We had other people along with us for all the tours except the night tour. I believe they offer the morning birding tour and night tour every day, but you do have to pay for them, no complimentary tours as far as I remember.

Ok - I'll make a list and see what we want to do. The problem is there is very little detail on their web site about activities....just a note that if you have a special interest you should contact them.

I know, I remember that. I just emailed them and said I wanted to book Marino for our first morning, and that we wanted to see quetzals. I think I added the forest hike and the night hike after we were there because we liked Marino so much. He'll take you anywhere you want to go, he kind of laid out all the options for us and we picked what appealed to us. That garden we went to was an orchard on private property with hummingbird feeders and a feeding station set up. Marino brought nectar and fresh fruit and set it out, and then we sat in folding chairs under umbrellas and just watched all the birds come. That was a tough hike haha!! He said they were going to develop some sort of little viewing area there, with a restroom, etc. but when we did it it was just totally natural. I liked everything we did.

Thanks for the advice, we booked Marino for 2 half day tours, so I'm sure he'll figure out what to do with us.
Also told them we want the night tour.

The hummingbird garden sounds wonderful - one of my favorite birds. Got to see and enjoy them at Pico Bonito, and I'm ready to see more on this trip.

You will see tons of them just right outside the restaurant; they're everywhere. I loved that so much. Pretty hydrangeas and succulents everywhere too. Just bring something warm to sleep in. I actually brought long underwear and slept in it. My husband loved that - ha. :)

Marino is a total bird whisperer. He would say, "Mira, please look at this. This woodpecker will circle around our heads and land on that tree," and it would. He also has some kind of device that plays bird calls and the birds just flock to it. He seems kind of magical.

I see you've already had good advice, so I'm just chiming in to say "hooray".

I don't know if anyone has mentioned that Savegre has a spa and the bar is pretty nice (good way to stay warm and not use up all the firewood in your cabin).

You might turn husband into birder if you take him along for the quetzal.

I think I love Marino already :)

mlgb, I knew there must be a practical reason for that bar!

I asked Marino to sign my Birds of Costa Rica book - it's such a nice memory to see that when I use the book. He's very humble, so I hope I didn't embarrass him too much. The bar is awesome. I was surprised how nice it was - it's pretty. Good drinks too.

Only 5 months t go...need to buy the flight tickets and I'm done!

We'll have 4 nights (3 full days) at Rancho Naturalista in January. They offer morning and afternoon birding guides, plus other 4 birding trips: La Mina, Rio Tuis Valley, C.A.T.I.E and Base of Cerro Silencio, each for 2+ hours.
I am more of a bird photographer, in other words, I prefer good (close) views of birds, even more common ones, than views through the binoculars of rare birds. Having said that, what do you recommend? I'm overwhelmed with so many choices...not to mention the white water rafting.

From the description on their website it seems CATIE offers the most cooperative birds (other than the feeders at the Lodge itself).

Will be interested to hear from you how RN compares to other birdy locations. On the fence re: including it on our next trip to CR.

RAC,
I'll let you know...can't wait to get there. At this point, any warm location sounds wonderful :-)

Yes please report back xyz99.