Day 1 - Arrival day
Pick up at the Cancun airport and transfer to the hotel in Puerto Morelos.
This charming Caribbean town overshadowed by its neighboring cities Cancun (north) and Playa del Carmen (south), is one of the oldest ports in Quintana Roo. Depending on your arrival time from the airport, you may have time to explore and enjoy its very relaxed atmosphere, go for a walk to visit the pier and some of the handicraft shops near the main square of the town.
We will go for dinner at a restaurant with great options of dishes from the very diverse and exquisite Mexican gastronomy. We will review the itinerary of the trip and answer any questions you may have.
☾ Night in Puerto Morelos.
Day 2 - Toh nature reserve and Rio lagartos at sunset
Our first birding day starts early with a visit to a low-medium jungle spot in Puerto Morelos. This is a great place to get familiar with some of the birds from the Yucatan including a few endemics. Some of our target species will be: Yucatan Flycatcher, Green-backed Sparrow, Orange Oriole, Rose-throated Tanager among other more common birds, but beautiful nonetheless such as the Yucatan Jay, Green Jay, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Squirrel Cuckoo, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Black-headed Trogon, Collared Aracari and many more. An early lunch cooked by a local family will be provided before we head to Río Lagartos. Once in Rio Lagartos, we will take a boat tour in the mangroves and search for the American Flamingo, Mangrove Warbler, Clapper Rail, several species of herons, egrets, terns, shorebirds and more. After sunset, we will continue on the boat to look for the Yucatan Nightjar, a bird difficult to find in other places.
☾ Night in Rio Lagartos.
Day 3 - Rio Lagartos and Valladolid
We will start the day birding by foot in the lowland jungle and mangrove swamp at the Rio Lagartos Reserve where over 350 bird species of birds have been documented. The Mexican Sheartail, Yucatan Wren, Black-throated Bobwhite, Zenaida Dove, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture are some of the specialty birds we will search for. After a tasty lunch in a local restaurant, we will head towards Valladolid, a beautiful colonial city. We will be birding the evening and night in a nature reserve managed by young Mayan birders who will help us find the endemic Yucatan Poorwill and perhaps other night birds.
☾ Night in Valladolid
Day 4 - Xocen and Punta Laguna Nature Reserve
Early morning birding near Valladolid in search of birds such as: White-fronted parrot, Lesson's Motmot, Gray-headed Tanager, Gray-throated Chat to name a few.
Transfer to Punta Laguna - Famous for its beautiful lake, mature jungle and huge population of spider monkeys, the area of Punta Laguna is also a potential habitat for over 360 species of birds. Deep into the jungle we have a great chance to see incredible birds and to experience the living Mayan culture while supporting local Eco-tourism initiatives.
For lunch, we will visit a Mayan family that is glad to welcome us to share their way of life. We will try a tasty local meal with handmade tortillas while we learn and contribute towards their efforts to preserve their environment and culture
☾ Night in the Coba
Day 5 - Coba and Sian Ka´an Biosphere reserve
The different ecosystems including some lakes allowed the early settlers of Coba to form their city; which was the largest settlement in the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula between 300 – 900 AD. These days a great place to visit and enjoy its great bird diversity in this #1 hotspot on ebird in the state of Quintana Roo. We begin with a walk around the lake of Coba where we search for water birds such as Spotted Rail, Least Grebe, Ruddy Crake, Limpkin, Snail Kite, Purple Gallinule and other beautiful birds around the lake such as Gray-crowned Yellowthroat, Blue-gray and Yellow-winged Tanagers, Orange, Hooded and other species of Orioles, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Morelet´s Seedeater and many more. Once the archaeological site opens its doors we will be one of the first people to get in to start birding in the primary jungle now covering this great ancient city in search of birds such as Ocellated Turkey, Lesson´s and Turquoise-browed Motmot, Black-headed, Gartered and Collared Trogons, Masked and Black-crowned Tityras, Yucatan, Green and Brown Jays, Yucatan Parrot… and the list goes on.
Transfer to Muyil: Sian Ka´an Biosphere Boat tour. We then take a boat trip across two lagoons and a lazy river floating experience to this tour. We float in a truly unique setting, listening to the sounds of nature, among mangroves, orchids & bromeliads. A calming experience like nothing you have experienced before.
☾ Night in Muyil
Day 6 - Muyil and archaeological site
Birdwatching in the Chunyaxche pueblo and archaeological site of Muyil, Ecopath.
We explore a variety of habitats with different types of vegetation: secondary vegetation and plantations in the Chunyaxche village, mature semi-deciduous jungle in the archaeological site of Muyil, and some fresh water wetlands as we walk through flooded jungle using a boardwalk until we reach a fresh water lagoon.
Transfer by ferry to Cozumel
☾ Night in Cozumel
Day 7 - Cozumel
On our last day of Birding will be on the amazing island of Cozumel, where we will explore various ecosystems such as jungle, mangroves and coastal dunes. The island endemics: The Cozumel Emerald, Cozumel Vireo and the Cozumel wren will be our main objectives, but the island is home to many more species and subspecies of interest. After a delicious lunch on the Island, we will return to Puerto Morelos in time to get ready for departure next day.
☾ Puerto Morelos
Day 8
Airport drop off.
Depending on the time of your flight, we may be able to go birding not far away from the airport.
* Birwatching trip planning in Yucatan: This is one of many itineraries that we can organize.
We specialize in personalized itineraries based on customers´wishes.