Testimonials

The whole birding tour was one I shall cherish. Such a wonderul experience seeing all its wild life and the beautiful birds. Seeing the nesting toucans at Villa Lapas was something I never thought I would ever see in the wild. Just loved our stay at Villa Lapas a little piece of heaven. Besides being drop dead gorgeous, we found [our guide] to be a great guide. He was most helpful always willing to share knowledge of the bird life we saw. How he manages to spot some of the birds I will never know. We wouldn't hesitat to have [him] as our guide if we were ever to visit Costa Rica again. - J.S., Isle of Man, UK

It was the best possible birding photo tour I could have had. I received valuable help with my photography. The variety of birds was outstanding. Enjoyed the boat trip, really loved seeing the macaws and toucans flying in the wild. All in all a really good cross sesction which was well planed. [Our guide] was a tip top chap. Very knowledgeable, he could not do enough for you and extremely pleasant with it. Hope maybe one day we will tour with him again. [Exotic Birding's] team made it all very memorable. - W.S., Isle of Man, UK

[Our] tour [to Belize] was a special experience because there were only three participants - ourselves and a long time friend. Jim [from Exotic Birding] was tour leader, Wilfred our driver and our bird expert - Lee Jones. Jim, Wilfred and Lee were able to customize the tour to meet our experience. For us, as novice birders, we were constantly amazed at the number and variety of birds we saw. The locales we visited were all very different and each had its own special feature to recommend it. However, our last stop at Crooked Tree is the highlight we have chosen. The trip on the lagoon and the wide variety of birds we saw during those two days made this locale a fitting closing highlight to a wonderful, and for us, different vacation. Lee Jones is obviously the expert on the Birds in Belize. He showed endless patience in answering our questions and was a wonderful teacher. We were doubly blessed when it came to finding birds and having our questions answered. Wilfred ,our driver, was also an experienced birding guide and his knowledge of the locales and keen eyesight, and the care and comfort he provided to us, greatly added to our overall experience and to the number of birds we saw. - D.R and U.R, Toronto, Ontario

I had many wonderful experiences on this tour [to Ecuador]. The birds were spectacular, and we had lot of great sightings. The scenery, including the marvelous variety of vegetation, was also fabulous. The food at several of the lodges was truly exceptional. And I enjoyed traveling with a small group of congenial and interesting people. [Our guide] Willie Perez was certainly one of the finest birding guides I've encountered. Besides his superb skills in finding and identifying the birds, his enthusiasm and pleasant personality were much appreciated. He was very patient and tried very hard to make sure everyone saw the birds. - W.A., New Jersey

Our overall experience was very positive. It was our first time on a birding tour and we were surprised by the number of bird species that we saw. The tour was set up in two segments, the Andean Mtns. segment and the Napo Valley segment. Because of time, we were only on the Andean Mtn. segment. In thirteen (13) days we (the two of us) saw almost 400 species of birds. We personally saw fifty three (53) species of hummingbirds and forty two (42) species of tanagers. The lodges that we stayed at were comfortable with excellent birding on grounds, most often with hummingbird feeders. The food was always beyond expectation at each lodge. We had a bonus with our driver, he was an excellent driver, a very nice person, plus he was a pretty good birder. For beer drinkers, the two brands of beer available were both good. Our birding guide had excellent birding and people skills. He knew where to look for particular birds, had an amazing ability to see birds; but his ability to identify the majority of birds by their calls was the most impressive. We feel [Exotic Birding] did an excellent job. - S.J. and G.J., Texas

Great tour! Covered an amazing amount of ground for 10 days! Not only saw many new birds, wildlife, and Costa Rica, but also improved birding skills a lot! Also, company of other birders and all staff a big plus!! [Our guide] is an incredible, world class birding guide! Has birding and people skills, and also immense knowledge and intelligence, and great sense of humor! AAA+++!!! - D.Z. and S.B., Florida

Andrew and I had a great time on the trip. We enjoyed seeing several different habitats, and the pace of the tour was good. [Our birding guide] was an amazing guide. He is obviously interested in and excited by the world around him. We appreciated his scientific background and willingness to describe many aspects of value, not just birds. We would love to have him as a guide on another trip. - R.T, Switzerland

Thanks once again for an outstanding trip. I'll be meeting with my field trip committee in May to, among other things, discuss our next Exotic Birding trip. - B.R., Florida

Overall a very, very nice trip! ... The birding and lunches were great.... [Our guide] was very skillful at finding birds and worked as long and hard as we wanted. [He] has an exuberant personality and we had a very good time with him.... His English and "people skills" are very good. His love for his country came through in all the interesting places he took us and things he told us about life in Panama. - C.D. and C.D., Pennsylvania

We had a very good trip...saw 290 species of birds, heard 8, and the group saw 2 species we did not see. [Our guide] was very good ... (1) very good English; (2) accomplished at hearing, seeing, finding and made every attempt for each of the four of us to see the bird; made every attempt to accommodate needs/wishes of all ... above and beyond what we might expect.... We enjoyed good fish, Italian, Greek and Jimmy's Steak House was a great meal and a real treat. - K.F. and C.F., Illinois

We thought the tour was wonderful. We have never been on a guided tour before and it was fabulous.... The overall experience of the country, its people, and the birds was delightful. We enjoyed eating at local restaurants and interacting with the Costa Rican people.... Our birding guide was a wonderful young man. He was extremely knowledgeable about the birds. My head is still spinning from all the beautiful birds, animals, plants, and flowers we saw. - B.W. and C. W., Minnesota

I really enjoyed the trip as I think most of the other participants did. The bus was air conditioned! I've been on trips where the bus driver will not turn on the a/c in order to save fuel. The group size was great. The small group allowed everybody a chance to see birds without fear of being trampled.... This is a definite advantage over other tour companies.... I appreciated the fact that we did not change hotels every night. Our guide [was] a delightful young man. He is gregarious and is knowledgeable about many things Costa Rican besides birds. - A.Z., Florida

Excellent! [Our guide] was constantly upbeat, cheerful and enthusiastic and a pleasure to be around. His English was excellent. His skill at bird identification, both by sight and sound, was truly impressive. Without him, we would probably have seen fewer than half the birds we saw, and we would have been able to identify only a small fraction of those. Accommodations were good ... The attempt to find good restaurants was much appreciated and the food was very good overall. [Our tour coordinator] handled the logistics well and was especially attentive to our personal needs, which we really appreciated. - O.J. and D.S., Virginia

We enjoyed birding the Plantation Trail, Pipeline Road, Old Gamboa Road, Achiote Road, Tocumen Marsh...Seeing the Resplendent Quetzal again was a special treat. Accommodations were great. - R.C. and R.C, Pennsylvania