Tour Overview and Pace

Our small group tours visit areas rich in biodiversity and endemism, maximizing the number and diversity of birds we encounter. Most of our tours focus on the New World tropics where, in addition to seeking out the myriad bird species, we involve local communities in the tour experience, helping to facilitate grass-roots conservation. For every tour, your primary guide will be Charles Clarkson, a bilingual (English and Spanish), U.S.-based Ornithologist with a PhD in avian physiology and decades of experience leading tours and teaching avian natural history. The remainder of our tour personnel will be a mixture of local guides, lodge owners and transportation outfits. The goal is to employ as many locals as possible to translate our birding tour into a profitable venture for those who live in the areas we visit, thereby making them effective stewards of the environment. Therefore, for most of our tours, you can expect a team of incredibly gracious, kind and hardworking individuals tending to our group, but often only one English speaking staff member.

Birding often requires early morning departures and physical exertion in the form of lengthy walks along trails and roads and standing stationary for long periods. Many of our days begin prior to sunrise with a pre-breakfast walk or an early breakfast prior to the start of our day. Most days conclude after dinner, allowing for individuals to retire early and get the requisite sleep for early morning departures. Our days often involve fairly continuous birding with occasional breaks and often the option to return to the lodge for a lengthier mid-day rest. Depending on the location, we may have picnic lunches or may dine at a local restaurant or our lodge.

Throughout the day, our pace is generally slow and may involve entering and exiting tour vehicles multiple times. Unless otherwise mentioned in tour descriptions, all tours will involve easy to moderate walks and hikes and individuals should be capable and comfortable with this level of exertion.

Tour participants should be self-sufficient birders: owning their own binoculars (and knowing how to use them) and prepared for full-days of birding with appropriate footwear, clothing, water bottles, medication, snacks, etc. If you feel unprepared for a tour, please contact us to discuss the appropriate preparations you should consider.

If your personal goal is different than that of an advertised tour, such as seeking specific species (listing), please contact us to discuss possible customized tour options.

Tour Costs and Single Supplements

Our tour price includes all lodging, meals, transportation, a pre-trip Zoom meeting and the guiding services of the trip leader. Tips for local guides, drivers and lodge owners are also included, however additional gratuities are always appreciated. Gratuities for your tour leader are not included in the cost of a tour.

The tour price also does not include costs associated with: flights and transportation to tour departure points, baggage charges, laundry, room service, phone calls, obtaining/renewing passports, required visas, country-specific departure taxes or immunizations.

Our lodges are comfortable and include a mixture of small ecolodges that cater specifically to birders and hotels/motels near our tour destinations. Due to potential space limitations in the lodges we visit, all single tour occupants will be paired and will share a room and bathroom (all rooms will have a private bathroom unless otherwise noted in the tour description). Individuals may request a single room and, if available, the request will be accommodated. In such a situation, a single supplement will be charged and the cost of this supplement will be detailed in the tour description.

Price Alterations

While Antbird Tours prices its tours in advance, it is not always possible to anticipate increases in cost of air travel, transportation or lodging. While we try to avoid cost increases, there are times when this might be necessary. If unexpected changes in tour costs occur, tour participants will be contacted with the change in cost and given the option to withdraw without any penalty.

Reservations and Deposits

To reserve a spot on a tour, a deposit of 50% of the tour cost will be due at the time of reservation, of which $275 will be non-refundable. All tour spots are filled in order of reservations received with deposits. Email reservations will be held for a tour provided the 50% deposit is received within 5 business days. An invoice for the balance of the tour cost will be emailed to tour participants 12 weeks prior to the tour departure date and full payment will be due upon receipt of the invoice.

All payments must be made in US dollars in the form of check, bank transfer or through Paypal.

Tour Confirmation

Once a tour fills, a notice will be sent to all participants. If we are unable to confirm a tour prior to the 12 week mark when invoices would be sent out, all deposits will be refunded in their entirety.

Refunds

If a participant cancels their reservation prior to receiving the invoice (12 weeks prior to trip departure), a refund of the trip deposit (less the non-refundable $275) will be given. If a tour participant cancels their reservation after receiving the tour invoice, all deposits and payments will be non-refundable.

No refunds will be given for any part of a tour that a participant chooses to skip (meals, outings, etc).

Travel Insurance

It is highly recommended that all tour participants purchase travel insurance to protect their investment.

Travel to Departure Point

The exact meeting location and time will be given to all tour participants, whom are then responsible for booking their own travel. If assistance is needed in booking airfare/ground transportation to the tour departure point, please contact Antbird Tours and we will be happy to assist. In the event that a tour participant does not arrive at the departure point on the specified date and at the specified time, they will forfeit their space on the tour and no refund will be given. Consideration will be made for delays out of the control of the tour participant (flight delays/cancellations/etc).

Travel Health

If a tour participant experiences health complications within one-week of a tour, it is highly recommended that they receive clearance to travel from a certified physician. The health and safety of ALL of our tour participants is our number one priority.

If a tour participant has pre-existing medical conditions that may be exacerbated by traveling or may affect their ability to participate in all aspects of a tour, contact Antbird Tours before reserving a place on a tour. Participants should be capable of the light to moderate physical exertion of our tours as well as the other aspects of traveling and birding abroad (riding in different vehicles for extended periods, early morning departures, etc).

Requirements of any immunizations necessary for a tour will be outlined in the tour description and it will be up to the tour participant to comply with these requirements. Optional immunizations will also be listed.

Please note that gastrointestinal distress is a fairly common phenomenon when traveling abroad. Drinking bottled water and avoiding certain foods can help minimize this risk, but there is always the possibility that tour participants may experience traveler’s diarrhea (TD). It is incumbent on tour participants to educate themselves on the cause and prevention of TD and come prepared for this possibility.

Liability of Release Agreement and Tour Terms Release Form

All tour participants must sign a Liability of Release Agreement and a Tour Terms Release Form in order to travel with Antbird Tours. Both forms can be accessed using the buttons below.