Independent Tours

Independent tours

Independent Tours

Our Independent Tours are designed for couples, families, or small groups of friends who prefer to travel in their own exclusive company — enjoying freedom, flexibility, and privacy while everything is perfectly organized for them.

Each itinerary is thoughtfully crafted to highlight Costa Rica’s most rewarding birding and nature photography destinations, with comfortable lodges, smooth logistics, and trusted local partners ensuring a seamless experience from start to finish.

Below, you’ll find six sample itineraries that illustrate what’s possible and give you an idea of routes, experiences, and approximate pricing. Every tour can be customized to suit your interests, pace, and travel dates — creating a truly personal Costa Rica adventure.

Our Most Popular Independent Tours

Birding Costa Rica’s 4 Ecozones

The most complete Costa Rica birding tour especially designed to see as much bird species as possible covering the most important birding habitat.

Birding Costa Rica on a Budget

A Costa Rica birding itinerary designed for people on a low budget covering a wide variety of great but less touristy and more authentic rural places making use of small family run lodges.

Easy Birding Costa Rica

Birding tour Costa Rica at a relaxed pace, staying in some of the best birding lodges with easy birding at feeders, including several private boattrips and guided birdwalks.

Costa Rica’s Endemic Birds

Costa Rica birding tour focusing on the most important areas with endemic bids covering Talamanca highlands, South Pacific lowlands and the transitional zone

Eco Tour
Costa Rica

Costa Rica tour covering the main natural ecosystems using small ecolodges giving a great impression of the abundant fauna and flora in general

Photography Tour Costa Rica

A itinerary especially designed for nature photography enthusiast with low pace and the exclusive small ecolodges and active bird feeders and hides.

Customized Costa Rica Birding Tours

We would be happy to help you, your family or group of friends to design and organize a personalized Costa Rica birding tour based on your specific desires and needs. Our broad knowledge of and extensive experience with Costa Rica as a tourist destination, combined with our ecological knowledge guarantees a high quality product. Click here to request a customized itinerary or mail your travel desires and / or wishes directly to us. All sent information will be kept confidential.

Stories from Happy Customers

BEST TRIP OF OUR LIFE

Pieter set up the perfect Costa Rica birding & wildlife trip for me and my wife for the second straight year! He not only makes sure we have great guides, but makes sure every aspect of our trip is perfect for us. He takes the time to make sure all the accommodations, food, & transportation are perfect. This was very affordable for everything that we had planned.

BIRDING HEAVEN

Pieter Westra organized a tour for me--my second time! Wonderful birding, well-selected locations, lodges, and most of all, Pieter's excellent care and attention to detail. Thank you, Pieter.

GREAT TRIP, WELL ORGANIZED

I had looked at a lot of options for a a two week wildlife tour of Costa Rica and landed on Pieter of aratinga tours as offering best what we were looking for which was a personalised tour with onsite guides at each site. Discussion beforehand led to some tweaking which Pieter was very accommodating about and n the holiday itself everything worked like clockwork. Hotels transport and guides were all good and all the arrangements were on time and as expected.

WELL ORGANIZED 25 DAY TOUR

Pieter Westra organised our self drive tour in early february of this year. We had given him our requirements and he had put together the most amazing trip. I am a photographer and he really understood what I wanted and all the guides were very much photography focused. The highlights were the feeders at Arenal, the hummingbirds at Quetzal Paradise Lodge and the bird platforms at Laguna de Lagarto. Well done and hope to be visiting Costa Rica again.

Independent Tours

Independent tours