Birding Tours: Finding the Best Guide for Your Travels

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I always use the same birding tour company when planning a big trip. Why? Because they’re great. And also because I’m lazy. This technique can work for you too! But maybe not. Who am I to tell you how to live your life? Now get out there and bird, folks. But first, find a good bird guide!

Decisions, Decisions

Okay, look. There are loads of companies out there providing wildlife-oriented tours, especially of the feathered persuasion.

Birding companies aren’t remotely rare. So I’m just going to tell you who I’ve used before (and recommend), and a tiny bit about why (when I feel like it).

And, full disclosure, no tour company is paying me for my assessment so my opinion is my own. Believe it or not, my 5-person readership simply is not going to impress any travel corporation. 

Global Companies

Based in North America, you could go with VENT or Wings. Quite frankly, these aren’t in my budget. Also, I might have heard that some of their tours lean a little heavily on the luxury and less on the actual wildlife sightings. I’m not judging if you use them anyway.  It’s just not a price I could pay.

Also based in North America, there’s Pitta Tours, and Hillstar Nature Tours. And loads of others. Many Audubon chapters do domestic or international trips. And there is Field Guides, similar in scale and offerings to VENT and Wings but more like international counterparts in terms of price tag.

I’ve never used a domestic company, even one that provides international options.  Because I’ve never paid for a domestic birding trip. And, I’ve no idea if this remains true, but (ten years ago) the North American companies seemed to always come with a higher price tag. 

My birding tours started with Ecuador, and I went with the cheapest option at the time.  You’ll find many, many options for birding tours – regionally based (like South America) or global.  When I was in Ecuador, I found a tour based out of one private reserve.  It was just more affordable than other competitors at the time. 

The Bird Guide/Company I Use

Pretty soon, I found Rockjumper Birding Tours, which does a reasonably priced catalog of trips (especially in Africa, as they’re based in South Africa). And I’ll recommend them, because I think they provide good value for the product. Especially in Africa. But if you’re getting one of their great, well-traveled guides, then it’s a great value anywhere.

Now, to be clear – there’s a caveat in that sentence. I’ve been on Rockjumper tours before when the guide was new to the country. And it didn’t make the trip a mistake, per se, but it definitely highlighted how amazing and prepared the local guide was!

And since I can do what I want, I’ll share info for those guides/companies, too.

Some “Local” Birding Options

Weird observation:  Most countries require a local guide!  What’s that mean?  If you can find a locally based company, you’ll probably cut out some extra costs.  Will the guide be as good or speak your language as well?  Hard to decipher with the overwhelming options online. I’ve not found it to be easy information to assess or access, honestly. But these are two that were used on my Rockjumper tours and were great, including having excellent bird guides on our tour.

Uganda

You couldn’t go wrong with Livingstone Safaris. The owner is just amazing as a birder, can put together gorilla and chimpanzee treks for you too, and is an all-around friendly, approachable guy. This man went to every local establishment in the Buhoma area to find ice, because I twisted my knee on my gorilla trek. Then he did it again to ensure I could treat my injury properly. Then he provided a separate, less taxing birding option for me while I was injured. And on our last day, he made sure our lunch was local fare so we’d have a Ugandan dining experience to end our tour. Everyone on our tour loved this guide! Truly, I can’t recommend him enough.

Brazil

Birding Pantanal is fantastic. Especially if you’re focusing on the Pantanal and Cerrado, this company is more than capable of providing an exceptional experience. Giuliano was a great, experienced guide and (like most of the local guides) handled all the logistics. The lodges got progressively more comfortable, the birds were great, and few critters are more impressive than the jaguar. That cat has swagger.

Hawaii

If you’re going to Hawai’i (The Big Island, specifically), and you don’t want to dedicate yourself to weeks of birding among the islands… you can at least see honeycreepers with Jack Jeffrey. He knows all the history of the refuge where native honeycreepers can be found, is super communicative, and has surprisingly good rates for day tours. Our one-day trip to Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge is definitely the best one-day birding tour I’ve experienced.

Other Options… and Related Warnings 

There are also wildlife trip options from luxury companies to the big group travel companies like gadventures and Intrepid. Now, anyone could possibly provide a quality African safari or Galapagos adventure without being a died in the wool wildlife tour company… so I’m not saying you can’t use those companies.

But seriously, if you’re a birder? Don’t use those companies. You will not focus on birds. They’ll probably point out hummingbird gardens and hornbills and cranes. Ya know, the flashy stuff.  But you won’t be actively seeking them out. You won’t know when to look for specific birds you’ll never have a chance to see again.  If you do go with those companies and really want to see a lot of birds, speak up and make your interests known to any guides! You won’t see as much as a birding tour, but you might mitigate your losses a little bit.  

If you want culture with a very specific wildlife thing (i.e., gorilla trek), then tours with these companies are likely just fine. I used Intrepid before for a cultural trip and had a great time!  I’ve also met fellow travelers who also had great wildlife tours with Intrepid, although – again- tours were not specifically aimed at birding.

Bird’s the Word

If you want to really focus on seeing all the wildlife, especially if birding is the purpose of your trip… Bite the bullet, pay extra, and get a bird guide who is going to do everything in their power to make sure you SEE. the. DANG. GHARIAL.  

That’s what great guides do. At least the ones at Rockjumper. (And that’s why I keep using them for my tours!)

Note: As I was reminded many times in India, gharial are not birds. But if you pick the right tour, you can get wildlife along with birds. If you pick the right guide, they’ll be accommodating when you’re obsessed with crocodiles. 

Happy birding!