Need Father/Son Birding Trip Destination Idea (2 Viewers)

[jurek]

Thailand around Bangkok: Khao Yai, Pak Thale and Kaeng Krachan?

Doable in a week, warm, lots of birds, very friendly people, safe, great food, civilized (Thai Airways and Bangkok Airport are superior to American ones I know)
Disadvantages: slightly longer flight, time zone change, in weekend crowded with locals
Advantages: completely different birds, big mammals, different culture, can rent a tent and do rainforest camping in a safe environment, great beaches

 

[Wolfpack43]

I visited Colombia for the first time last year, and like you was intrigued by Jardin. I looked at some hotspots there and kept seeing eBird lists from Aramacao Tours. I did some research on Aramacao and ended up booking with them and had a wonderful time. So much so that I booked another trip with them this past January for a different part of the country. Guillermo (he runs the company) takes care of everything and will make arrangements based on what you want to do. My first trip was solo and based out of Jardin; my second trip, I had a companion and we visited 2 national parks each a few hours drive from Medellin. Each time he picked me up at the airport and took care of every detail of the trip. My lodgings were basic as we stayed at the park lodges, but I know he can put you up at nicer places to stay, as he was telling us about the clients he had coming in after us. He is an excellent guide and also a very good photographer, so he'll put you in places for the best view of the birds. He likes to stick to places he is familiar with, because he knows where the birds are, but he seems familiar with places all over the country. If you want to reach out to him, you can tell him what you are looking for and he can put together an itinerary for you. Just google Aramacao tours. He needs to update his website, but the WhatsApp number is there.

I'm also trying to arrange a trip to Black Rock Lodge in Belize this summer, so hopefully I can report on that in the future. It looks like a more upscale lodge near the Guatamala border. And I've been to Panama birding 4 times in the past 2 1/2 years, so let me know if you need any info from there.

It's great to have a 13 year old to share a hobby with. My son and I use to take dive trips together and we had some great times.

Have a wonderful year and let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks to everyone for all the great info! Heydn, I have gotten a hold of Guillermo and he seems like a great guy. He hasn't sent me any pricing or itinerary yet while a couple guides in Mindo did so just trying to compare apples to apples. Hopefully he sends me something soon. Brazil/Argentina look interesting but those distances seem so vast. If I can find a great lodge within a few hours drive of a major airport that can serve as our base that could work.

That's great about you and your son diving. I've followed my son's lead on birding. We've had great adventures so far together, our most recent getting lost at the top of Lost Maples Park Plateau in Texas in a driving rainstorm trying to flush out some black capped vireos Costa Rica was our first international birding trip and it was a blast. My goal is for this to be an annual Xmas present for him (beats buying a bunch of crap that will get thrown away) so I figure we got about 6 more of these boys trips left. So many choices so little time.

 

[Wolfpack43]

I visited Colombia for the first time last year, and like you was intrigued by Jardin. I looked at some hotspots there and kept seeing eBird lists from Aramacao Tours. I did some research on Aramacao and ended up booking with them and had a wonderful time. So much so that I booked another trip with them this past January for a different part of the country. Guillermo (he runs the company) takes care of everything and will make arrangements based on what you want to do. My first trip was solo and based out of Jardin; my second trip, I had a companion and we visited 2 national parks each a few hours drive from Medellin. Each time he picked me up at the airport and took care of every detail of the trip. My lodgings were basic as we stayed at the park lodges, but I know he can put you up at nicer places to stay, as he was telling us about the clients he had coming in after us. He is an excellent guide and also a very good photographer, so he'll put you in places for the best view of the birds. He likes to stick to places he is familiar with, because he knows where the birds are, but he seems familiar with places all over the country. If you want to reach out to him, you can tell him what you are looking for and he can put together an itinerary for you. Just google Aramacao tours. He needs to update his website, but the WhatsApp number is there.

I'm also trying to arrange a trip to Black Rock Lodge in Belize this summer, so hopefully I can report on that in the future. It looks like a more upscale lodge near the Guatamala border. And I've been to Panama birding 4 times in the past 2 1/2 years, so let me know if you need any info from there.

It's great to have a 13 year old to share a hobby with. My son and I use to take dive trips together and we had some great times.

Have a wonderful year and let me know if you have any questions.

Hi Heydn, Guillermo completely ghosted me so I'm back to square one. He was going to send me an itinerary when he got back to the office but he never sent it. A week later he hasn't responded to my texts or calls. I hope he is ok.

So now I'm back to square one. I have a really solid looking itinerary from Nelson Apolo in Mindo but it's a tad over budget. We may settle on that though if we can't find anything else. Someone mentioned Oaxaca so I'm open to that as well. If anyone has any ideas please let me know!

 

[temmie]

I've heard good things about Nelson Apolo, so even if you don't find anyone else, consider it a solid choice that you could as well have picked if you had more options.

 

[DMW]

I would personally stick to the northern Neotropics just because of the relatively short time you have, and Mindo seems as good a base as any. If you want to go a little further afield, you could look into REGUA in SE Brazil. It's a nice lodge with good food, excellent birding in the large reserve, and day trip excursions further afield. It's about 2.5 hours from Rio airport, so quite accessible The lodge | REGUA

 

[lgonz1008]

So now I'm back to square one. I have a really solid looking itinerary from Nelson Apolo in Mindo but it's a tad over budget. We may settle on that though if we can't find anything else. Someone mentioned Oaxaca so I'm open to that as well. If anyone has any ideas please let me know!

Personally birded with Nelson for a 6 day period with a base in Mindo, got to see 330 species (30 more heard only), great guide, caters to your needs and updates the itinerary on the ground based on what targets I needed. If you are not interested in full time birding, it might be an option to hire him for a few days, stay in a nice Mindo lodge like Sachatamia Lodge and from there do casual activities like zip lining and chocolate tours.

I would personally stick to the northern Neotropics just because of the relatively short time you have, and Mindo seems as good a base as any. If you want to go a little further afield, you could look into REGUA in SE Brazil. It's a nice lodge with good food, excellent birding in the large reserve, and day trip excursions further afield. It's about 2.5 hours from Rio airport, so quite accessible The lodge | REGUA

To add to this, REGUA might be a bit out of budget if Nelson's costs are too high, but Trilha dos Tucanos (south of Sao Paulo) is a nice location/base and the birds come to you without a worry in the world, including some megas like Saffron Toucanet and Red-ruffed Fruitcrow.

 

[Wolfpack43]

Personally birded with Nelson for a 6 day period with a base in Mindo, got to see 330 species (30 more heard only), great guide, caters to your needs and updates the itinerary on the ground based on what targets I needed. If you are not interested in full time birding, it might be an option to hire him for a few days, stay in a nice Mindo lodge like Sachatamia Lodge and from there do casual activities like zip lining and chocolate tours.


To add to this, REGUA might be a bit out of budget if Nelson's costs are too high, but Trilha dos Tucanos (south of Sao Paulo) is a nice location/base and the birds come to you without a worry in the world, including some megas like Saffron Toucanet and Red-ruffed Fruitcrow.

This is great. I'm going to look into these lodges. Nelson himself isn't over budget. Getting to Quito is a nightmare on the dates we have to work with. It's going to cost a fortune for flights that don't have us bouncing all over. So it's the flights that really get us a tad over budget. Budget I'm less concerned about. I'm more concerned with just seeing a lot of different birds and having a really awesome vacation for my son and I.

 

[lgonz1008]

This is great. I'm going to look into these lodges. Nelson himself isn't over budget. Getting to Quito is a nightmare on the dates we have to work with. It's going to cost a fortune for flights that don't have us bouncing all over. So it's the flights that really get us a tad over budget. Budget I'm less concerned about. I'm more concerned with just seeing a lot of different birds and having a really awesome vacation for my son and I.

I've learned to bite the bullet when it comes to flights, especially around holidays like Christmas. Most places that show a "cheap flight" result in having to leave at an inconvenient time or day of the week, with horrible layovers or are simply in the middle of the worst season for that location (read peak rainy season in the Andes or early winter in northern US).

If you manage to get the flights to Ecuador, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how much Nelson will make Costa Rica seem quaint by comparison.

 

[Wolfpack43]

Hi Heydn, Guillermo completely ghosted me so I'm back to square one. He was going to send me an itinerary when he got back to the office but he never sent it. A week later he hasn't responded to my texts or calls. I hope he is ok.

So now I'm back to square one. I have a really solid looking itinerary from Nelson Apolo in Mindo but it's a tad over budget. We may settle on that though if we can't find anything else. Someone mentioned Oaxaca so I'm open to that as well. If anyone has any ideas please let me know!

Wanted to update the record on Guillermo who guides out of Jardin. His phone and laptop took on water so he was without electronics for a week which is why I couldn't reach him. We are back in contact and hoping to nail down an itinerary soon. So far my conversations with him have been great. If I end up touring with him I'll report back on how it goes!

 

[heydn62]

Wanted to update the record on Guillermo who guides out of Jardin. His phone and laptop took on water so he was without electronics for a week which is why I couldn't reach him. We are back in contact and hoping to nail down an itinerary soon. So far my conversations with him have been great. If I end up touring with him I'll report back on how it goes!

Glad to hear it. He sometimes gets delayed by being where he can't get online, but otherwise he's pretty good at responding. Glad to hear he's back in touch. I look forward to hearing about your adventures whether you use him or not!