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.