Birding & Bird/Wildlife Photo Tours
Central & South America Tours
Kenya Birding & Photo Safaris

We offer two types of tours: birding tours for birders and photo tours for photographers. The pace and goals of each are very different (see below). We now offer birding and photo safaris to East Africa in addition to our tours to Central and South America. Our first Africa tours are to Kenya. We'll begin offering tours to Tanzania in spring 2014.

BIRDING TOURS

Our birding tours are carefully designed to maximize species count by visiting diverse habitats, altitudinal zones, and locales while still maintaining a reasonable tour pace. Every tour is led by an expert birding guide and a separate tour leader who oversees conduct of the tour and all logistics. Detailed information about each tour is available on our tour pages, accessible from the menus above or by clicking "Birding Tours by Country" on the sidebar. Our tour pages include dates, pricing, itinerary, tour map, detailed description, information about accommodations, links to checklists and target bird lists, and more.

BIRD/WILDLIFE PHOTO TOURS

Our bird photo tours are intended for nature photographers interested in capturing images of a wide diversity of birds and other animals. Our goal is always to photograph as many different species of birds and animals as possible by going into the field every day. The pace of our photo tours caters to photographers, not birders. Every tour is led by a professional bird photographer, Laura Fellows, whose work can be found throughout our website. Laura knows equipment, can assist with technical aspects of bird photography in the field, and understands how to conduct the tour for best photographic results. In addition to Laura, each tour is co-led by an expert birding guide whose role is to find and identify subjects for our photography.

Other birding tour companies began offering photo tours not long after we did. For the most part their tours are led by a birding guide, not a professional photographer. They can find the birds, but they can't offer much technical advice. Many of our clients who had taken tours with other companies have found that Laura's expertise has greatly helped them improve their technique so they could get better photos than they had before.

Detailed information about each tour is available on our tour pages, accessible from the menus above or by clicking on "Photo Tours by Country" on the sidebar. Each tour page includes dates, pricing, itinerary, tour map, detailed description, information about accommodations, photos from past tours, checklists, and more.

WHY TRAVEL WITH US

We offer a personalized travel experience meant to be enjoyable as well as birdy. We are happy to answer all your questions by phone prior to the tour without subjecting you to a phone menu, and we take care of all your travel needs while on tour. All calls are answered by Laura or Jim, not by a clerk or order taker.

We travel in small groups. Smaller groups allow everyone to see more and miss less. We limit our tours to 8 participants maximum with the exception of Galapagos cruises, and many depart with fewer than the maximum.

All our birding and bird photo tours are led by expert guides. Our guides live and guide where we travel year-round, so they are always current on where the special birds can be found. They are adept at finding even the most secretive birds.

Our bird photo tours are co-led by professional bird photographer, Laura Fellows, who offers expert advice for anyone who asks both before and during every tour. Competing companies sell photo tours with the claim that although they're not expert photographers, they know how to put clients in front of the birds. In our experience every expert birding guide, including ours, knows how to put clients in front of the birds. The difference is that even the more advanced bird photographers can learn new techniques and get better photos by traveling with an expert photographer. Laura's skills are evident by viewing her body of work, both on her gallery pages and on the country pages of our website, and she has helped many of our clients get better results. Almost anyone with a long lens can get the occasional great photo, but it's another matter entirely to get many great photos on a single tour. Laura has been doing just that for years and is happy to help participants do the same.

Because we have low overhead, we can offer our tours at an economical price without sacrificing the quality of the experience. We don't travel in large groups, we don't stay in the cheapest accommodations, and we don't scrimp on land transport. Nevertheless, our prices are typically similar or lower than comparable tours offered by other North American tour operators.

SCHEDULED BIRDING TOURS

BRAZIL TOUR SCHEDULE   Show Tours

	2012 Brazilian Amazon Tour Aug 31-Sep 9, 2012 (9 days, 8 nights) Price: $2750; (Single Suppl $125) Natural Reserve Heliconia, Leticia Click for Tour Details
	2012 SE Brazil Atlantic Forest Tour Oct 26-Nov 11, 2012 (17 days, 16 nights) Price: $TBA; (Single Suppl $TBA) Intervales SP, Ubatuba, Itatiaia NP, Guapi Assu Click for Tour Details

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COSTA RICA TOUR SCHEDULE   Show Tours

	2012 Summer Costa Rica Tour Jul 7-15, 2012 (9 days, 8 nights) Price: $2660; (Single Suppl $350) Carara, La Selva, Talamanca Highlands Click for Tour Details
	2013 Costa Rica Hotspots Tour Jan 26-Feb 3, 2013 (9 days, 8 nights) Price: $2725; (Single Suppl $350) Carara, La Selva, Talamanca Highlands Click for Tour Details
	2013 Costa Rica Hotspots II Tour Mar 16-24, 2013 (9 days, 8 nights) Price: $2725; (Single Suppl $350) Carara, La Selva, Talamanca Highlands Click for Tour Details

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ECUADOR TOUR SCHEDULE   Show Tours

2012 Ecuador Andes Birding Tour Nov 25-Dec 8, 2012 (14 days, 13 nights) Price: $3875; (Single Suppl $300) Tandayapa, Mindo, Papallacta, San Isidro, Wild Sumaco Click for Tour Details

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GUYANA TOUR SCHEDULE   Show Tours

2013 Guyana Rainforest & Savanna Tour Jan 19-Feb 2, 2013 (15 days, 14 nights) Price: $TBA; (Single Suppl $TBA) Georgetown, Coast, Iwokrama, Surama, Rock View, Karanambu, Karasabai, Ireng River, Dadanawa Click for Tour Details

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KENYA TOUR SCHEDULE   Show Tours

2013 Kenya Birding Safari Nov 17-Dec 6, 2013 (20 days, 19 nights) Price: $TBA; (Single Suppl $TBA) Nairobi, Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, Lake Baringo, Kitale, Kakamega, Masai Mara Click for Tour Details

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PANAMA TOUR SCHEDULE   Show Tours

	2013 Panama Canal Zone Tour Feb 17-24, 2013 (8 days, 7 nights) Price: $2225; (Single Suppl $235) Pipeline Rd, Gamboa, Cerro Azul/Jefe, Achiote Rd Click for Tour Details
	2013 Western Panama Tour Feb 23-Mar 2, 2013 (8 days, 7 nights) Price: $2225; (Single Suppl $225) Volcan Baru, Finca Lerida, Fortuna Road Click for Tour Details

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SCHEDULED BIRD PHOTO TOURS

COSTA RICA TOUR SCHEDULE   Show Tours

2013 Costa Rica Highlights Photo Tour Jan 19-27, 2013 (9 days, 8 nights) Price: $2725; (Single Suppl $350) Carara, La Selva, Talamanca Highlands Click for Tour Details

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ECUADOR TOUR SCHEDULE   Show Tours

2012 Ecuador Andes Photo Tour Nov 16-25, 2012 (10 days, 9 nights) Price: $2650; (Single Suppl $250) Mindo, Tandayapa, Papallacta, Guango Click for Tour Details

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GALAPAGOS TOUR SCHEDULE   Show Tours

	2012 Galapagos Islands Photo Cruise Jun 9-18, 2012 (10 days, 9 nights) Price: $4950; (Single Suppl $1800) Galapagos Islands Click for Tour Details
	2013 Galapagos Islands Photo Cruise Jun 8-17, 2013 (10 days, 9 nights) Price: $TBA; (Single Suppl $TBA) Galapagos Islands Click for Tour Details

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KENYA TOUR SCHEDULE   Show Tours

Kenya Photo Safari Jul 26-Aug 12, 2013 (18 days, 17 nights) Price: $6500; (Single Suppl $TBA) Nairobi, Samburu, Mt Kenya, Lake Baringo, Nakuru, Naivasha, Masai Mara Click for Tour Details

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PANAMA TOUR SCHEDULE   Show Tours

2013 Panama Canal Zone & Chiriqui Photo Tour Feb 9-17, 2013 (9 days, 8 nights) Price: $2825; (Single Suppl $275) Soberania NP, Achiote Road, Western Highlands Click for Tour Details

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EXOTIC BIRDING PRICE GUARANTEE

Exotic Birding publishes its prices well in advance of departure based on its best estimate of tour costs. Lodges, transport companies, and other providers sometimes raise prices unexpectedly thereafter, which could necessitate an increase in the tour price. Should that occur, Exotic Birding will honor the published price in effect at the time deposit is received. Any subsequent increase in tour price necessitated by increased costs will not apply retroactively to anyone already registered for the tour. If for some reason the price of a tour is reduced, those signing up earlier will be charged the reduced price, not the price published at the time they signed up.

HOT NEWS "SPOTS"

This page contains hot news about noteworthy events or future plans.

Kenya & Tanzania Tours - We're offering a bird photo tour to Kenya for late July 2013 at the height of the famed Wildebeest migration in Masai Mara. We're also offering a birding tour covering central and western Kenya in mid-November 2013 when most birds are in breeding plumage. The logistics for both tours will be handled by an established Kenya tour operator used by many of the largest birding tour companies in the US and Britain. Beginning in spring 2014 we're also planning a birding tour to Tanzania. We'll post more information about Tanzania as those plans firm up.

January 2013 Guyana Tour - We're offering a new tour to Guyana that will include sites where we expect to see the critically endangered Sun Parakeet and highly range-restricted Hoary-throated Spinetail and Rio Branco Antbird, both of which are not included on most birding tours to Guyana. We'll also visit sites where the endangered Red Siskin was re-discovered, also not included on most birding tours to Guyana.

Galapagos Islands Photo Tours - We're now offering Galapagos Islands Photo Tours led by professional photographer Laura Fellows. Our tours in 2012 and 2013 will be in June, one of the best times of year to visit the Galapagos. For more information visit our Galapagos tour page from the PHOTO TOURS menu.