This was my first trip with Physis Photo Tours, and it won’t be my last. Andy and his team were like a well-oiled machine, getting us up close to wildlife without disturbing it. The highlight for me? Photographing not one, but four species of toucans! I never thought I’d get shots like these, and I owe it all to the team’s expertise. Costa Rica is absolutely magical. Nacho – Nicetyphoto

I had a wonderful experience with the services offered by Physis and would recommend them to anyone interested in photography and visiting Costa Rica.

In November 2024, my husband and I had the pleasure of having Andy Bezara from Physis Photo Tours as our private guide throughout our time in Costa Rica, and the experience was absolutely phenomenal. As a travel and wildlife photographer, I was thrilled with the locations we visited, while my husband, who enjoys photography as a hobby, found the experience equally rewarding.

Andy guided us through diverse and stunning areas, including Boca Tapada, Sarapiquí, Heredia, San Gerardo de Dota and parts of San Jose. He was punctual, well-prepared, and always prioritized safety, especially when photographing wildlife. His friendly and approachable nature, combined with his deep knowledge of the region, made the experience both enjoyable and highly educational.

Having a private tour with just the two of us made it even more special. Andy ensured we had the best opportunities to capture Costa Rica’s breathtaking wildlife and landscapes. His passion for photography and nature shone through every moment, and the locations he selected were absolutely perfect.

My husband and I wouldn’t hesitate to work with Andy again. Highly recommended for photographers of all levels looking for a safe, professional, and unforgettable private experience in Costa Rica.

Everything incredible!!! Really great logistics. I am a true lover of photography and I recommend this unbeatable opportunity to get closer to nature.

I’m just back from a 12-day trip around Costa Rica with Andy Bezara and Physis.  It was an amazing experience, and I’m absolutely thrilled with the photos I’ve returned with.

Andy is an expert photographer but just as important as that, he is a brilliant organizer, with countless expert guides around the country ready and willing to give guests the best photo experience.

Everything on our tour ran like clockwork and Andy was always ready the flex the plans to suit my needs, which I think is really important as you don’t know until you get there what’s going to be your main focus.

All in all I can’t speak highly enough or Andy and have no hesitation in recommenting him to other like minded photographers.

I just returned from an 8-day trip with Andy, and I loved every minute of it. He is a wealth of knowledge and easy to be with. He made sure that I saw everything, and he tailored the entire trip to my exact liking. I can’t recommend him enough. Let Andy show you his beautiful country, and you will have a lifetime of fabulous memories and pictures!

Unser Wunsch war es, in Costa Rica während drei Wochen verschiedene Wildtiere (Vögel, Säugetiere, Reptilien, Insekten) zu fotografieren. Dies selber zu organisieren haben wir schnell aufgegeben.

Aber eine Gruppenreise wollten wir nicht. Die perfekte Lösung haben wir mit Andy Bezara von Physis Photo Tours gefunden. Er hat für uns zwei eine wunderbare Fotoreise organisiert, abseits der ausgetretenen Touristenpfaden.

Andy war die ganze Zeit an unserer Seite und hat dafür gesorgt, dass wir jeden Moment voll genießen konnten und wir mussten uns um nichts kümmern. Und dank seinem Netzwerk an lokalen Guides hatten wir unzählige wundervolle Fotosujets.

As very seasoned travellers we were nevertheless blown away by Costa Rica. Our photo trip with Andy and Juan of Physis Photo Tours was extraordinary. Not only did we see many wonderful birds but the trip included excellent simple accommodation and lunches at private homes where bird watching was set up.

Photographic assistance was on hand if you needed it. We had such fun and captured the most wonderful landscapes and birds. It was truly a marvelous experience in every way. Pura Vida! Patricia Haslimann Staffordshire, UK.

My wife and I have gone on tours on all seven continents, many several times over. But the recent tour Andy from Physis Photo Tours organized and led stands out from them all. Andy has intimate knowledge of the communities into which he leads his tours and works closely with select wildlife guides to maximize the opportunities for sightings. He was able to identify and organize unique photographic opportunities such as nighttime bat photography, macro butterfly and toad photography, and multi-flash hummingbird photography.

What we were looking for, and what Andy at Physis specializes in, is small group tours, staying at small lodges, and engaging in small-group activities. You will not be finding yourselves crammed into a boat with two dozen strangers; Andy will arrange a private boat and guide. In Costa Rica the weather, and sometimes therefore the plans, can change with little notice. But Andy’s knowledge of the communities, from the lodge operators, to the local photographers, to the wildlife guides, to the lodge cat allows him to pivot quickly and plan alternative activities.

Such can also be the case with driving around Costa Rica, where the limited quality and quantity of roads, not to mention traffic and accidents, can make getting around and staying on schedule challenging. Here again Andy uses only the best drivers, in our case Juan, to insure a comfortable and timely journey. Don’t underestimate the importance of a good driver in Costa Rica. Yes, you could probably do it yourself, but you wouldn’t know where and when to go, and would miss lots of things along the way.

My wife and I give Andy from Physis Photo Tours our highest recommendation.

If you’re looking for the experience of a lifetime photographing wildlife in Costa Rica, wildlife expert Andy Bazara of Physis Photo Tours is the one man you want to be with. Andy’s business was built by photographers for photographers.

He’ll help you design the kind of tour that exactly suits your needs, make all the reservations for your stay, take care of transportation and all other logistic details, and accompany you on all photo sessions so that all you really have to do is take photos. Incredible photos! My wife and I travelled with Andy for five days.

Here’s a partial list of the wildlife we photographed with him and the local guides he works with: Amazon Kingfisher Anhinga Bairds Tapir Baltimore Oriole Bananaquit Barred Antshrike Black Spiny-tailed Iguana Black-cheeked Woodpecker Black-collared Hawk Black-headed Trogon Blue-gray Tanager Boat-billed Heron Brown-throated Sloth Buff-throated Saltator Capuchin Monkey Cattle Egret Central American Agouti Chestnut-headed Oropendola Clay-colored Thrush Collared Aracari Common Basilisk Crimson-collared Tanager Crimson-fronted Parakeet Fasciated Tiger-Heron Fer-de-lance Fruit Bat Geoffreys Spider Monkey Glossy Ibis Gold-hooded Tanager Gray-headed Kite Great Black Hawk Great Blue Heron Great Curassow Great Egret Great Green Macaw Great Kiskadee Green Eyelash Viper Green Heron Green Honeycreeper Green Iguana Green Kingfisher Green-black Poison Dart Frog Hoffmanns Woodpecker Howler Monkey Keel-billed Motmot Keel-billed Toucan King Vulture Leaf Cutter Ants Lesser Anteater Little Blue Heron Long-billed Hermit Melodious Blackbird Montezuma Oropendola Northern Jacana Olive-throated Parakeet Orange-chinned Parakeet Palm Tanager Peregrine Falcon Pinnated bittern Plain Chachalaca Purple Gallinule Pygmy Fruit-eating Bat Pygmy Kingfisher Rainforest Hognosed Viper Red-eyed Tree Frog Red-legged Honeycreeper Ringed Kingfisher Roadside Hawk Roseate Spoonbill Rufous-backed Wren Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Scarlet-rumped Tanager Shining Honeycreeper Slaty-tailed Trogon Snowy Egret Social Flycatcher Spectacled Caiman Strawberry Poison-dart Frog Striped Owl Summer Tanager Tapir Valley Tree Frog Tropical Kingbird Turquoise-browed Motmot Variable Cracker Variegated Squirrel Violet-headed Hummingbird White Ibis White-collared Manikin White-crowned Parrot White-lined Tanager White-necked Jacobin White-nosed Coati Wood Stork Yellow Eyelash Viper Yellow-crowned Euphonia Yellow-throated Euphonia Yellow-throated Toucan

I had been meaning to take my father on a photography tour in Costa Rica for some time. Organization was slightly last minute, and yet Andy (who heads Physis Photo Tours) and Physis were fantastic.

We had a zoom meeting to discuss our options for subjects and locations for the time of year we were planning to visit (as well as lenses and equipment), and he took into account our preferences for species and locations and also made recommendations to craft a personalized itinerary.

Juan who picked my father up from the airport and who was our driver for the week was so kind. Guides, from the folks at the The Nest Nature Center in Aguas Zarcas where they are reclaiming an area of farmland and transforming it into habitat that is more suitable for native fauna, to the fantastic guide in Boca Tapada to our guides near Sarapiqui and Limon were fantastic.

My father and I were floored by the species we were able to photograph in great settings, from multiple species of toucan, to mannequins, to owls and king vulture, to multiple species of hummingbirds, to bats and reptiles. Andy is a photographer and many of our guides were photographers, and I think they really cater to situations and set-ups that are optimal for photography, not just for seeing wildlife or birding per se.

As Andy lives in Costa Rica they partner with local guides and businesses who know the areas and the animal well and who were incredibly welcoming, sometimes into their own back-yards and properties.

It was a fantastic trip, and I can’t complement their professionalism and expertise enough. Physis is highly recommended and we are excited to come back soon as well.

Andy and his team did a tremendous job.

They were timely, organized, efficient and got us a wide variety of wildlife photography in great locations. Would not hesitate to use them again. On top of their effectiveness, Andy and Juan are really nice people and fun to travel with.

Our wish was to photograph various wildlife (birds, mammals, reptiles, insects) in Costa Rica during three weeks. We quickly gave up organizing this ourselves. But we didn’t want a group trip. We found the perfect solution with Andy Bezara from Physis Photo Tours.

He has organized a wonderful photo trip for the two of us, off the beaten path. Andy was by our side the whole time and made sure we could fully enjoy every moment and we didn’t have to worry about anything. And thanks to his network of local guides, we had countless wonderful photo subjects.

Thank you Andy, it was awesome.

I’m not a pro photographer, so I was worried I’d feel out of place, but Andy and the guides made sure everyone felt welcome. The session with frogs and snakes was unlike anything I’ve ever done—I was nervous but ended up with some of my favorite shots from the trip. I left feeling more confident in my photography and more connected to nature. Thank you for making this such a special experience.

Thank you very much for the phenomenal journey in November 2025! Over the course of three weeks, we enjoyed outstanding experiences and sightings without a single critical situation. The support and guidance were consistently friendly and highly professional; accommodation and catering were authentic to the country, solid yet comfortable.

Our private small-group tour (6 participants) was a complete success, with well over 200 species observed, including approximately 180 bird species—various hummingbirds, quetzals, kingfishers, jabirus, motmots, owls, raptors, resident and migratory birds, and much more—as well as bats, reptiles and frogs, coatis, sloths, tapirs, and egg-laying turtles.
For each day, Andy had organized one to two highlights—all of them exciting, regardless of whether it rained or not.

We relaxed thoroughly and returned home with many thousands of photographs, some of them truly spectacular. When we look at the best of these again and again, we relive the journey and continue to rave about Costa Rica.

We can highly recommend traveling with Physis and tour guide Andy Bezara—it was outstanding.

Gerhard Staudacher, Aachen, Germany