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Booking your trip:
To reserve your space for the tour we request a deposit of $315 / person. Payment of balance
will be due 3 months (90 days) prior to the tour stating date, this means that if you are paying by check it
will need to be mailed a least two weeks prior to the due date. We will provide you with the mailing
address where your checks need to be sent.
For credit card payments we will provide you with a payment authorization form
to fill out and fax back to us at +506-2-770-2674. We will require a copy of both sides of your ID and Credit Card.
Payments can also be done by money transfer in which case we will provide you with the information you will need to provide your bank with.
The trip will be full with 8 people, however we will still operate the tour with a minimun of 5 people.
If there were less than 5 participants, and in order to operate the trip a small supplement will
be charged. We will inform you about this.
Cancellation policies:
- If you cancel 91 days or more before departure date, we will refund your deposit minus US$130 handling fee per person.
- In the case of cancellations between 90 and 60 days prior to the tour starting date, the deposit will not be refunded,
however the payment of your balance will be refunded in full minus processing bank fees to wire.
- Cancellations with less than 60 days prior to departure date will not be subject of refunds.
Important Note: For your convenience we always recommend to buy a travel insurance for this purpose.
- If you are booking with less than 90 days of the tour starting date we will require full payment.
What to wear and what items to bring?
Costa Rica is a tropical country, weather is humid and commonly warm or hot, our coldest location for the trip
will always be San Gerardo de Dota near Cerro de La Muerte where temperature can be as low as 40º F sometimes.
Other than that, most locations will average temperatures between 70º F - 90º F.
Given these conditions we recommend to bring light cotton clothes, long-sleeve shirts could be handy in certain locations
to keep away the insects, a light fleece jacket, hat, sunglasses, and ideally waterproof hiking boots. Don't forget your rain gear,
a light poncho works well, and we like recommending to also have a little umbrella which makes birding
easier when light rain is around, this way your binocualrs don't get so wet and fogged up. Sunscreen is really important,
using a high protection factor (45+) is the best. Bring a good insect repellent
Other items to bring are binoculars (7x42 tend to be the best for our type of habitats, however 8x and 10x are fine too),
flashlight and pair of extra batteries (please don't bring 500,000 or 1 million candel power lamps,
we don't like to disturb the nocturnal wildlife with such bright lights),
water bottle. You are more than welcome to bring your spotting scope,
however for your convinience we carry one in our tours.
Camera and charger, our electricity in Costa Rica is 120 volts.
Luggage:
We would like to ask tour participants to limit their luggage to two pieces: one carry on
(hopefully the daypack for the trip) and one suitcase. It is also good to remember
that sometimes airlines delay the delivery your luggage. Since you don't want to miss any good times of your trip,
we recommend to have your binoculars (and scope) and any other personal documents and medications in your carry on luggage.
Health Concerns:
The most common question will be about the water. Water quality in Costa Rica is good,
however to prevent inconvient situations for you, we recommend to drink bottled water.
We will always have water in the van for you. Brushing your teeth with the hotel's tab water is fine.
Please make sure you bring any personal medications.
Alteration of the itinerary:
If for any reason out of our control we had to cancel a birding trip we will be refunding any payments made to us.
We reserve the right of modifying the tour due to weather conditions or other types of situations,
however all trips are operated in the a very stable time of the year to avoid those circumstances. The tour particpants
will be informed inmediately of any changes and will have the right to cancel without penalty.
Group interaction and safety issues:
Participants must follow the instructions of the tour leader in terms of the good flow of logistics
of the tour, as well as safety of the group and respect for the cultural and natural environments.
Not following the leader recommendations and comprising the trip's integrity and enjoyment of
particpants could be reason of separation from the group and tour. There will be no refunds for this.
Any expenses generated for such action will be the client's resposibility.
Sometimes participants want to do some digi-scoping with their digital cameras, using our spotting scope.
This will be perfectly fine as long as all other participants in the group have taken a good look at the bird in sight.
Please let us know if you have questions.
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