Birdwatching Tour: Quetzal Spotting in Monteverde

Embark on an incredible bird-watching and wildlife spotting adventure at the Curicancha Preserve. Join a local naturalist guide, explore the stunning hills, and observe an array of beautiful Neotropical birds and mammals. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with nature!

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • 854R+HX - Embark on an unforgettable birdwatching adventure with a local expert naturalist guide during the Resplendent Quetzal season (January–July) at the Curicancha Wildlife Refuge, one of Monteverde’s premier locations for observing quetzals in their natural habitat.
    This 2–3 hour guided tour is meticulously planned and navigated through prime…
What's Included
  • Professional BirdWatcher naturalist tour guide
  • 2.5 hours tour
  • optic gear
What's Not Included
  • Entrance fees
Additional Information

This birdwatching adventure, available from January to July, is set in the Curicancha Reserve, a premier spot in Monteverde for observing the Resplendent Quetzal in its native cloud forest environment. The tour is expertly crafted by a local naturalist guide, who selects trails and schedules to optimize wildlife activity, enhancing the likelihood of…

Location
854R+HX
Meeting Point: Curicancha Wildlife Refuge main front office, Monteverde. If arriving by car, park at the official parking area and meet at the reception. Address: 300 m NW of Monteverde Cheese Factory. GPS: 10.306859, -84.807602.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(99 Ratings)
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Mariamcdade
Apr 16, 2026
Excellent experience, recommended - Excellent experience, we went with positive thoughts but low expectations in terms of the wildlife (it is wild, rarely performs on cue) , but our guide, Olger, was amazing - we saw a mottled owl, capuchin and spider monkeys, a bell bird, a toucan, a hummingbird, a viper , and briefly , a quetzal!
Review provided by Viator
Sunshine47110286521
Mar 30, 2026
Great experience with Jonny - Jonny is a great guide. He is super experienced, knows the Reserve by heart and spots birds that are impossible to locate without a guide like Jonny. We had lots of fun and highly recommend Jonny for a bird watching tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maddy1962
Mar 17, 2026
Beautiful birding day! - Glorious experience with Johnny Loves Nature. We saw toucans,owls,hummingbirds,vibrant little blue birds and on and on. The guide was so skilled at spotting them and we came away with beautiful pictures that he took through his scope. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Melaniek1326
Feb 28, 2026
Great experience - Jonny was very enthusiastic guide with lots of personality. He worked hard to ensure we got to see a Quetzal the rockstar of the cloud forest! What a stunning bird. We got to see lots of other birds, but the quetzal is a special highlight. Nice small group.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Semnoa
Feb 22, 2026
Wonderful guide, amazing experience! - I had the most wonderful time with this tour. I was traveling solo and there were only 2 other people plus our amazing guide Holgar (I hope I spelled your name right!), making the group small and flexible. Holgar made sure we saw the most we could, and we even spend 45 minutes extra after the ending time to try to spot the quetzal (which sadly wasn’t a success, but that’s nature!). My personal highlight was seeing the beautiful keel-billed toucan. Holgar was an expert in taking pictures and videos through the telescope (is that the right word for it?). I cannot recommend booking this tour enough, thank you so much!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dakotahs63
Feb 19, 2026
Johnny Villegas made this an unforgettable experience - We had an incredible time. Our guide, Johnny Villegas provided an unparalleled experience. He was both intimately knowledgeable about the many birds of Costa Rica, but also explained many of the local plants and flowers we encountered. It was one part birdwatching, one part botany, one part natural sciences lesson. The adults and kids all loved it. I would seek him out personally again for another tour. We saw many varieties of birds and our children said it was the best part of the trip!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Patr48
Feb 14, 2026
Great bird guide! - Johnny was a great guide. He was incredibly knowledgeable about resident and non-resident birds. He identified birds by sight and sound and assisted us in getting amazing photos. He was great fun to be with and provided information about the area and country.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michelle_n
Jan 26, 2026
Olger is the Best!! - Wow! What an amazing time we had at Curicancha! Our guide Olger was so wonderful, he taught us so much about his culture and the history of Monteverde all while listening to and showing us the birds of the forest! He shared the Spanish names for some of the birds we saw and even we we couldn’t see some birds he told us about their calls and showed us what they looked like in his book. He was kind, enthusiastic, and very fun. We had the most enjoyable and relaxing time.
Review provided by Viator
Larissa_s
Jan 17, 2026
Bird watching so beautiful - Our guide was super passionate about birds and everything, we are not really experienced bird watchers ourself but we’re excited to see. We saw the Quetzel, toucans hummingbirds everywhere and then some! So awesome! Oh we also saw white faced monkeys! So cute
Review provided by Viator
Matteo_m
Feb 19, 2026
The tour did not meet our... - The tour did not meet our expectations. We started walking inside the reserve 30 minutes later than the actual program and spent a lot of time apparently doing nothing. The guide did not explain to us that much about the birds, and had some difficulties in spotting them, so we walked around randomly. Overall, the reserve is not very big, does not offer beautiful landscapes as the cloud forest, and actually we did not see many birds; I think however that it would have probably been a better experience with a different guide. Very much expensive compared to the quality of the tour
Review provided by Viator
From $31
up to 15 guests
2 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).