Book a 2021 vacation and take 35% Off the normal rate for deluxe accommodations, delicious meals and up to five world class dives per day! Book Worry Free with the ability to reschedule your vacation for up to 18 months at the same rate.

Deposit 50% within 7 days of your booking, the remaining 50% is due 60 days prior to arrival if the country is open to tourism
Or
If the country is not open to tourism 60 days prior to arrival, you can reschedule the same vacation during the next 18 months at no additional charge for accommodations, meals and diving, subject to availability.

Guests may cancel up to 1 week before their arrival date with no penalties.
Cancel 2-7 days prior to arrival - 20% Cancellation Charge
Cancel 24-48 hours - 80 % Cancellation Charge
Cancel less than 24 hours - 100% Cancellation Charge
Cancellations will be given a credit, net of the cancellation charge, toward a future booking at either of our land based resorts or liveaboard to be utilized within 12 months. Offer expires March 31, 2021

Or
If the country is not open to tourism 60 days prior to arrival, you can reschedule the same vacation during the next 18 months at no additional charge for accommodations, meals and diving, subject to availability.

Guests may cancel up to 1 week before their arrival date with no penalties.
Cancel 2-7 days prior to arrival - 20% Cancellation Charge
Cancel 24-48 hours - 80 % Cancellation Charge
Cancel less than 24 hours - 100% Cancellation Charge
Cancellations will be given a credit, net of the cancellation charge, toward a future booking at either of our land based resorts or liveaboard to be utilized within 12 months. Offer expires March 31, 2021.

Learn how to make the best of your underwater camera with TAUCHEN – Magazine -Photographer Timo Dersch August 21, 2021 to September 01, 2021 

12 Days, 11 Nights

$3,165 USD Per Person Double Occupancy

Take your photography skills to the next level on this 12-day wildlife safari and photography workshop in Costa Rica, a bio-diverse country in Central America home to amazing marine life and unique tropical wildlife. Join Timo on a 12-day photographic adventure through stunning Costa Rica as you learn what it means to shoot underwater, and how to use wide-angle and macro lenses to capture a diverse array of sea life such as sharks, schooling fish, turtles, eagle rays, and humpback whales. On land, we will search out hummingbirds, resplendent quetzals, toucans, other colorful birds, sloths, monkeys, frogs, flowers, and much more.

DAY 1 – Arrive San Jose - Guests will arrive in the capital city of Costa Rica in San José where you will be met by your driver for the short trip to your San José hotel. If you arrive early you will have time to explore the city at your own leisure, before you meet for a group meeting This will be a great opportunity for you to get to know your guide and fellow travelers, as you discuss the itinerary for the days ahead. It is the perfect time to ask any questions that you may have before the tour well and truly begins.

DAY 2 – Guanacaste - We will get an early start as we head north to the beach town of Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste. The beaches here are beautiful, with gorgeous scenery and blue waters.
On the way, we will make a stop for lunch and a visit to the Llanos de Cortés Waterfall. a spectacular cascading waterfall with a nice pool for a quick swim before reaching our hotel at the beach.
In the afternoon we will have a dive briefing and introduction to the underwater workshop over the next few days.

DAY 3 to 7 – Guanacaste - Spend the next 5 days diving the waters off the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica rich with marine life, (10 dives in total) Information will be given daily on topics such as wide-angle underwater photography, ambient light shots, diving with large animals, strobe exposure, and positions, avoiding backscatter and composition. You will dive for 3 days locally throughout the Papagayo area, 1 day at Catalina Islands off of Playa Flamingo, and 1 day at the Bat Islands National Park area famous for the Bull sharks that frequent the area.

DAY 8 - Palo Verde National Park- Today starts the land portion of the trip and we will explore three unique and different ecosystems over the next four days. Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before we head out for a wildlife boat trip on the Tempisque River. Palo Verde National park is an exceptional place for birdwatchers and nature lovers in general, a two hours boat trip will introduce us to these important ecosystems, gigantic crocodiles, monkeys, iguanas, and more wildlife than you ever imagined may be spotted. Great bird-watchers prizes can show up, such as the Jabiru, osprey, the white ibis, tiger herons, and scarlet macaws amongst others.

DAY 9 – Monteverde Cloud Forest - On day 9 we will head inland as you head up the continental divide to the misty cloud forest of Monteverde offering great views and a number of landscape compositions as we change from dry forest to cloud forest. A stop will be included at the Llanos de Cortés Waterfall where waters cascade into an incredible pool below before we arrive at Monteverde. In the evening we’ll again see what surprises the night time cloud forest has for us on a guided walk with one of the local guides followed by dinner at a local restaurant in the mountain town of Santa Elena.

DAY 10 - Monteverde Cloud Forest to Arenal Volcano
You will spend the morning exploring the misty cloud forest and on the lookout for the famous Resplendent Quetzal that is endemic to the region. Among the subjects will be the high elevation hummingbirds. Capturing these tiny birds takes some skill as they flit from flower to flower feeding on nectar. After the cloud forest visit, you will continue your adventure towards the Northern Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica, home to the iconic Arenal Volcano and lots of tropical birds and wildlife. The focus for the next few days will be exploring the volcano area and wildlife photography as we immerse ourselves in the tropical rainforests of San Carlos.

DAY 11 – Arenal Volcano

After breakfast, we will head out to explore the Arenal Volcano. There will be many opportunities to photograph the extraordinary Arenal volcano, surrounded by lush rainforest and tropical scenery We will visit the hanging bridges and the La Fortuna waterfall as we capture the volcano from different angles along the way. We will get the chance to have lunch and homemade tortillas with Dona Mara followed by a relaxing evening in the volcanic hot springs amidst a variety of abundant tropical gardens.

DAY 12 – Departure

You will have the morning to relax and explore the photographer-friendly grounds before packing up for your departure flight. We will head back to San José for drop off at the San José International airport for your evening departure home.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is an estimated schedule & we’ll do our best to stick to this itinerary, but certain conditions may necessitate changes. Good photographic experiences & plenty of chances to view wildlife will be our goals at all times.

• Participants are required to bring an underwater camera, laptop for editing
• Optional recommended equipment: Memory Cards, battery, Battery charger, Flash and Macro Flash, wide-angle lenses, Macro, Telephoto, additional lenses, power cord, drone (optional)
• Once you have booked your trip you will receive an equipment checklist
• Itinerary works for flights in and out of San José (SJO) Costa Rica
• Must be certified Diver to participate.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expanding the requirement for a negative COVID-19 test to all air passengers entering the United States.  Testing before and after travel is a critical layer to slow the introduction and spread of COVID-19. This strategy is consistent with the current phase of the pandemic and more efficiently protects the health of Americans.

Variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus continue to emerge in countries around the world, and there is evidence of increased transmissibility of some of these variants.  With the US already in surge status, the testing requirement for air passengers will help slow the spread of the virus as we work to vaccinate the American public.

Before departure to the United States, a required test, combined with the CDC recommendations to get tested again 3-5 days after arrival and stay home for 7 days post-travel, will help slow the spread of COVID-19 within US communities from travel-related infections. Pre-departure testing with results known and acted upon before travel begins will help identify infected travelers before they board airplanes.

Air passengers are required to get a viral test (a test for current infection) within the 3 days before their flight to the U.S. departs, and provide written documentation of their laboratory test result (paper or electronic copy) to the airline or provide documentation of having recovered from COVID-19. Airlines must confirm the negative test result for all passengers or documentation of recovery before they board. If a passenger does not provide documentation of a negative test or recovery, or chooses not to take a test, the airline must deny boarding to the passenger.

• 01 - 08 March 2021   7 Days  Was $6150, now $4305 USD
• 08 - 15 March 2021   7 Days  Was $6150, now $4305 USD
• 15 - 22 March 2021   7 Days  Was $6150, now $4305 USD
• 22 March - 01 April 2021   10 days Was $7820, now $5474 USD

• Marine Park & Port Fees: $100 USD Galapagos National Park Fees (upon your arrival in the San Cristóbal)
• Tourist Card: $25 USD (before boarding your domestic flights to the Galapagos visit the INGALA booth at Guayaquil airport)
• Chamber Support Fee: $35 USD

Departure Dates:  

• November 7, 2020
• December 19-26, 2020
• January 2, 2021
• January 30, 2021