More than 50 species, from the 2 g scintillant to the violet sabrewing. Here's where the hummingbird gardens are, how to tell the common ones apart, and the local photo guides who set up the shot, compared and ranked.
By Lior, wildlife photographer and guide from Guanacaste
Reserve with a 25% deposit on secure WeTravel checkout · Refundable up to 60 days before trips, 48 h before day tours
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We don’t run tours. Licensed local guides and operators list them, we rank them openly, and you reserve through Lyferr’s secure checkout on WeTravel.
How it worksSighting odds
Some gardens give you very good odds of a dozen species in a morning. Here's the honest picture for a half-day session with a guide.
| Spot | Chance | Who you’ll likely see |
|---|---|---|
| MonteverdeCloud forest gardensViolet sabrewing, Mountain-gems, 20+ species | Almost certain | Violet sabrewing, Mountain-gems, 20+ species |
| San Gerardo de DotaHighlandsFiery-throated, Talamanca, Volcano | Almost certain | Fiery-throated, Talamanca, Volcano |
| CinchonaCaribbean slopeCoppery-headed emerald, Violet sabrewing | Almost certain | Coppery-headed emerald, Violet sabrewing |
| TurrialbaCaribbean slopeSnowcap, Hermits | Likely | Snowcap, Hermits |
| TapantíCloud forestHermits, Mountain-gems | Likely | Hermits, Mountain-gems |
| SarapiquíCaribbean lowlandsHermits, Crowned woodnymph | Likely | Hermits, Crowned woodnymph |
| La FortunaFoothillsGreen-crowned brilliant, Hermits | Likely | Green-crowned brilliant, Hermits |
| GuanacasteDry forest gardensCanivet's emerald, Cinnamon hummingbird | Good chance | Canivet's emerald, Cinnamon hummingbird |
Our local guides' estimate. As guests report what they saw on Lyferr tours, these become measured rates.
Each tour page shows what guests actually saw, once reports come in.
Compare hummingbird sessionsTown by town
Garden feeders and cloud forest: 20 or more species in a morning.
Hermits and brilliants at the hanging bridges and lodge gardens.
Hermits and garden species, but far fewer than in the mountains.
Few species along the canals. Plan hummingbirds for the mountains.
Lowland hermits and woodnymphs, with Cinchona's café feeders nearby.
Cinchona and Poás are about 1.5 hours away, San Gerardo about 2.
Garden hummingbirds around hotels. The variety is in the mountains.
A few lowland species in gardens. San Gerardo is about 2 hours north.
Some garden species. Head inland for real variety.
Dry-forest species in gardens, but no feeder lodges nearby.
Cinnamon hummingbirds and Canivet's emeralds in dry-forest gardens.
Dry-forest garden species. Monteverde is the closest big hotspot.
Species expert program
Lyferr certifies guides one species at a time. A Hummingbird Expert has the strongest proven record on Lyferr for finding and photographing hummingbirds, which makes them your best odds for a good sighting and a good shot.
At launch, we award Founding Expert badges to guides with several years of premium tours focused on this species. Each one is confirmed or removed once the guide has logged 20 trips on Lyferr. After that, the badge is earned with logged trips and score.
No guide can promise a sighting. The badge shows the strongest track record for this species, not a guarantee.
See Hummingbird Expert guidesDay tours from local guides
Day tours run by independent local guides, all held to the no-touch, no-feeding standard.
Ranked by sighting success, verified reviews and licence
Hummingbirds tours from local guides are being added. Tell us your dates and where you’re staying, and we’ll match you with a guide.
Ask Lyferrup to 60 days before trips, 48 h before day tours, on every booking made through Lyferr. Booking fee (11% of the price) excluded.
secure checkout on WeTravel, the rest paid before your tour
every listing shows its maximum group size
guide's name and WhatsApp arrive in your booking confirmation
only travellers who booked can review
Prices are set by each guide. The 25% deposit includes Lyferr’s booking fee (11% of the price), shown before you pay. Each card opens the tour’s booking page on WeTravel.
Which one is that?
The ones people ask about most, sorted by what you noticed first: the throat, the tail or the size.
Highlands above 1,800 m
Monteverde, Cinchona
Monteverde cloud forest
Gardens almost everywhere
Lowland forest, heliconias
Arenal, Monteverde, Cinchona
Central highlands
Highland gardens
Caribbean slope, Turrialba
TinyPoás, Irazú, Cerro de la Muerte
Lowland rainforest
San Gerardo, Cerro de la Muerte
Not on the list? Your guide will know it. The free ID sheet covers the 25 hummingbirds you're most likely to see.
Want names for every one you saw? Book a session with a local guide.
Compare hummingbird sessionsWhen to go
All year. Hummingbirds stay in Costa Rica, so the hour matters more than the month: they feed hardest from first light to about 9 am and again in the late afternoon. What's flowering changes with elevation, and a guide will know.
Why a guide matters
A garden shows you the common ones. A good guide adds the rare and local species by:
Not sure where to go? Send us your dates and where you're staying, and we'll suggest the right guide.
Ask Lyferr a questionBest light is 6 to 9 am, which is also when hummingbirds feed hardest.
Ethical wildlife watching
At private lodges and gardens, yes, with plain sugar water: one part white sugar to four parts water, no honey, no red dye, changed every day or two. Never in national parks.
Most hummingbird photos come from these feeder gardens, and the birds keep feeding on wild flowers too.
Short, low-power flash setups at lodges are standard practice, and the birds keep feeding. Keep flash and lights away from nests.
Never touch or chase a hummingbird, and don't move branches around a nest.
Book a hummingbird session with a local guide
Find a no-touch guideThe sound of the forest
That's a hummingbird. Their wings beat so fast they hum, and males of some species add a metallic trill to their display flights.
At the feeder you'll hear sharp chips too: often a rufous-tailed hummingbird chasing others away from its flowers.
Mornings are when hummingbirds feed hardest.
See morning walksNot booking yet?
One printable page: the 25 hummingbirds you're most likely to see, with where they live and how to tell them apart. Sent to your inbox.
Who wrote this
Wildlife photographer and guide who grew up in Guanacaste, and a finalist in the Sony World Photography Awards and Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Lior has spent years photographing Costa Rica's hummingbirds, from the garden feeders of Monteverde to the highland species of San Gerardo. This guide is what he tells friends before they go.
FAQ
More than 50, including the coppery-headed emerald, which lives only in Costa Rica.
No. Lyferr is a marketplace. Licensed local guides and tour operators list their tours here, and we rank them by sighting success, reviews and client experience (and photography expertise for photo tours). You book and pay the deposit through Lyferr, and the operator you choose runs the tour.
The cloud forest gardens of Monteverde, San Gerardo de Dota and Cinchona for the most species, plus lodge gardens across the mountains.
Any month. Hummingbirds live here all year; what's flowering, and which hummingbirds follow it, shifts with elevation.
From first light to about 9 am, and again in the late afternoon.
Garden visits start at about $15 to $45, and a guided half-day photo session costs about $75 to $150. Every session on Lyferr shows its price before you book.
Yes, with plain sugar water only: one part white sugar to four parts water. Never in national parks.
The scintillant hummingbird, about 7 cm long and around 2 g, in the highlands.
The violet sabrewing, up to about 15 cm, in mid-elevation forests like Monteverde.
Colibrí, plural colibríes. In Costa Rica you'll also hear gorrión.
Keep exploring
Most trips combine two or three of these. Each guide covers where, when and the local guides who know them.
BirdsOver 900 species, 10 hotspotsWhere to see them 
FrogsNight walks and poison frogsWhere to see them