Thirteen days across lowland rainforest, hides and highland cloud forest — from night macro to King Vulture blinds and Resplendent Quetzal mornings.
Every day, location and session is planned around light, species activity and field access. Small group, complete logistics, photography first.
Led by Elías Peña · Yeudy Hernández · Denis Fernández
Every workshop is request-only — nothing is charged when you send the form. All workshops.
A route through Costa Rica’s most productive photography locations: Arenal macro nights, the Boca Tapada hides, Sarapiquí lowlands, La Selva trails and the Talamanca highlands.
Groups of 2–8 photographers keep instruction personal and field conditions workable. Locations are scouted for light, species activity and photographic angles before the group arrives.
This is not a standard photo tour: lodging, meals, permits, transport and specialists are coordinated by VIVO so your attention stays on the camera.
Field coaching and logistics are handled by the same people you talk to before the trip.
Founder · Expedition Planner · Costa Rica Field Lead
Founder of VIVO Expeditions. Designs every workshop route, coordinates hotels, ground transport, permits and local specialists, and leads field sessions in Costa Rica. He is also the person travellers talk to before, during and after each workshop.
Bird & Wildlife Photography Partner
Collaborating photography leader on selected international departures, focused on in-field coaching for bird and wildlife photography — multi-flash hummingbird setups, birds in flight and low-light forest work.
Photography & Conservation Partner
Collaborating partner on conservation-minded field practice and photography sessions in Costa Rica — ethical approach distances, habitat care and species behaviour reading.
Sites, travel times and species targets per day. Wildlife is never guaranteed — the schedule is built around the highest-probability windows.
Arrive to San José, transfer to Hotel Bougainvillea. Introduction to the program by your local guide and welcome dinner.
Early departure to Arenal. First macro session with a local herpetologist — frogs, lizards and snakes. Introduction to the macro world by the leaders, followed by afternoon photography of local species.
Second macro session to refine techniques and create new compositions with different lighting. Afternoon at Arenal Observatory for natural-light hummingbird photography on garden trails.
Transfer to Boca Tapada. Photography at Nest Nature Center with naturalist Juan Diego. Lunch included on-site. Evening bats-in-flight session with flash.
Morning in a professionally designed bird blind — King Vultures landing for flight photos and portraits. Afternoon hummingbird session with strobes, then bats in flight again with a dinner break.
Morning dedicated to Toucan photography using optimal light. Then small birds in flight — Euphonias and Honeycreepers. Flexible afternoon for Toucans, parrots or more macro.
Transfer to Sarapiquí with a stop at Finca Dos Cadáveras — Scarlet Macaws in flight and White-faced Monkeys. Afternoon walk on Selva Verde Lodge trails for habitat photography.
Full day at a private garden — White Tent-making Bats, mimic insects, nightjars, basilisk lizards, sloths and more. An incredible diversity day.
Morning at La Selva Research Station — birds and mammals in natural habitat on world-class trails. Afternoon transfer to the Talamanca highlands.
Early departure to search for the iconic Resplendent Quetzal. Return for breakfast, then a full hummingbird flash session in the highlands.
Second Quetzal search at dawn. Late breakfast, checkout and transfer to San José with a lunch stop. Arrival at Hotel Bougainvillea. Farewell dinner — end of workshop.
Target species are the ones the route is designed around. Everything else is a realistic possibility, never a promise.
Chosen by proximity to field sites so pre-dawn departures stay short and shooting hours stay long.
Licensed tourist vehicles with space for tripods, long lenses and lighting gear.
SJO arrival and departure transfers on the program dates.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner planned around field time, not around fixed restaurant hours.
Reserve entrances, hide access and private property permissions arranged in advance.
Local naturalists and a herpetologist for the night macro sessions.
Pre-dawn departure, morning session, midday break and review, late-afternoon or night session.
Flash and diffusion setups on site; personal camera bodies and lenses are your own.
Written briefing with gear list, season notes and ethical field practice before departure.
Strongly recommended for every departure — arranged by the traveller.
Extra nights, private tours and transfers coordinated by the same VIVO team.
Non-photographer partners can follow a lighter parallel plan.
Remaining lodges are selected per departure according to route, availability and shooting hours. We confirm every property in writing in your proposal before you commit — we never list hotels we have not secured.
All ground transport inside the program is coordinated by VIVO. Arriving early or staying longer? We can arrange private airport and hotel transfers around your workshop dates.
See private transfersResplendent Quetzal
King Vulture
Green Violet-ear
Hummingbird macro
Keel-billed Toucan
Silver-throated Tanager
Red-eyed Tree Frog
Glass frog
Poison dart frog
Glass frog & eggs
Jumping spider
Spectacled caiman
Hognose pit viper
Field session
This is a request, not a booking. Nothing is charged now: we review dates, lodges, guides and group size, then send you a written proposal with the exact route and cost.
No. Every workshop starts as a request. We review dates, season and availability and reply with a written proposal. Nothing is charged when you send the form.
Beginner to advanced. Sessions are coached individually, so a beginner and an advanced photographer can shoot the same setup with different guidance.
2 to 8 photographers. Larger groups only by prior arrangement, and never in hides where space is limited.
No. We plan season, sites and timing to maximise opportunities and we work with ethical field practice — but wild species are never guaranteed.
