How do I get to Boca Tapada from La Fortuna?

Approximately 2.5 hours from La Fortuna (~90 km via San Carlos). VIVO Expeditions coordinates private transport. If you're already staying at a lodge in the area, local round-trip transport to Edward's sites can be added during booking.

Do the Edward Vargas sessions require advance booking?

Yes — all Edward Vargas sessions require availability confirmation before payment. Nesting-season tours (Agami Heron, Great Green Macaw, Royal Flycatcher) and the bat photography session should be booked 30+ days in advance. Other sessions usually confirm within 24–48 hours.

Do I need professional camera equipment?

No — sessions are designed for all levels. Hummingbird garden and feeders work with any camera, including phones. Multi-flash setups for bats, hummingbirds and macro are provided. A 300–500mm telephoto is ideal for the King Vulture hide and boat tours but not required — Edward configures the setup around what you bring.

What is the cancellation policy?

Edward Vargas sessions: 3+ days notice → 95% refund (5% processing fee retained). Under 3 days → no refund. The VIVO Expeditions Full-Day Expedition has a separate policy (10 days for full refund).

Boca Tapada Bird Photography Tours

King Vulture perched — Boca Tapada, Costa Rica

Agami Heron nesting colony — Boca Tapada wetlands

Royal Flycatcher displaying crest — Boca Tapada rainforest

Bats in flight multi-flash photography — Boca Tapada

Red-eyed Tree Frog macro — Boca Tapada, Costa Rica

Agami Heron from boat — Río San Carlos, Boca Tapada

American Pygmy Owl at nesting cavity — Boca Tapada

Hummingbird in flight — Boca Tapada lowlands

Explore by intent

What you can do in Boca Tapada

Northern lowland photography territory — hides, feeders and nesting specialties.

Boca Tapada

Bird Photography

Hides, multiflash setups, perches and nesting sessions with controlled light.

9 experiences

Boca Tapada

Birdwatching

Great Green Macaw, Agami Heron and lowland specialties observed from boat and forest edge.

4 experiences

Explore more categories

Red-eyed tree frog photographed on a Boca Tapada night walk

Night Sessions

Owls and frog macro after dark in the lowlands.

Signature Sessions

The sessions that define Boca Tapada

Purpose-built hides, flagship lowland species and river work — the photography sessions that make this zone unique in Costa Rica.

Signature Hide

King Vulture Photography Hide

The purpose-built hide session Boca Tapada is known for, with controlled backgrounds and close range.

2 hoursBoca Tapada

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Flagship Species

Great Green Macaw Nesting

Critically endangered Great Green Macaw in the lowland corridor where it still nests.

3–4 hoursBoca Tapada

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Rare Heron

Agami Heron Nesting Colony

One of the world’s hardest herons to photograph, reached by boat along quiet channels.

4–5 hoursBoca Tapada

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Multiflash Session

Hummingbird Multi-Flash Workshop

A technical multiflash setup for hummingbirds in flight with clean, repeatable light.

2 hoursBoca Tapada

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River Session

Boca Tapada Photography and Wildlife Boat Tour

Río San Carlos by boat: herons, raptors, sloths and lowland riverbank wildlife.

2.5 hoursBoca Tapada

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Night & Macro

Frogs and Reptiles Macro Session

After-dark macro work with frogs and lowland nocturnal species.

2 hoursBoca Tapada

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About Boca Tapada

Costa Rica's best-kept photography secret

Tucked in the Northern Caribbean Lowlands, Boca Tapada sits at the edge of the last contiguous rainforest corridor connecting Costa Rica to the Nicaraguan border — a region of extraordinary biodiversity rarely visited by mainstream tourism.

The area hosts globally significant populations of Agami Heron (one of the world's rarest herons), critically endangered Great Green Macaw, Sunbittern, and dozens of species not easily seen elsewhere in Costa Rica.

Globally significant Agami Heron colony
Critical habitat — Great Green Macaw
Purpose-built photography hides
Boat access — Río San Carlos

Our local partner

12 years in the Northern Lowlands

Edward Vargas

Maquenque Wildlife Spots

Boca Tapada, San Carlos, Costa Rica

Edward Vargas is the specialist behind every VIVO Expeditions session in Boca Tapada. A resident naturalist and wildlife photographer, he has spent 12 years documenting the biodiversity of the San Carlos lowlands — building purpose-designed photography hides, identifying nesting colonies, and forging relationships with private landowners that give our guests access to sites unavailable anywhere else.

His multi-flash setups for hummingbirds, bats and macro subjects are among the most technically refined in Central America. Sessions run semi-privately — small groups only — and Edward or his trained team configure your camera, position you for the shot, and share years of field knowledge with every guest.

Guided birding tours
Birding tours
Bird-spot photography tours
Local lodging arrangements

Local sessions · Boca Tapada