Country for starting neotropical birding (1 Viewer)

Hi.

My girlfriend and me are looking for the ideal Central or South American country as an introduction to independent neotropical birding. Besides a rich avifauna our main criteria are feeling safe when travelling (friendly people), (rather) inexpensive accomodation and accessibility of birding spots.
Could Costa Rica be the right place (or rather Belize or Panama)? Is English sufficient or do you need to have Spanish skills?

Kilian

Hi Kilian,
Costa Rica was one of the first places I went when I started birding on my own around the world. The public transportation system is pretty easy to use and there are plenty of cheap hostels and chances to camp all over. Birding spots are pretty easy to get to though I did have to hire cabs a few times when buses didn't get me all the way to where I wanted to go.
My Spanish was pretty atrocious at the time, but I still managed to get around just fine. The people tend to be very friendly and willing to help.
The fact that there are some amazing birds which are fairly easy to ID also helps! Good luck with your decision!

Cheers,
Benji

(Thailand is another very easy place to travel and bird independently. Probably a bit cheaper than Costa Rica, but it all depends on the flight costs to get there).

I agree with Benji that Costa Rica is the perfect starting point for the Neotropics. There are good field guides and loads of good trip reports. The country is tiny, so its easy to get to lots of habitats. Its geared up for tourists and its relatively cheap and easy to get to. There are lots of species to see, but its not like Ecuador (another great choice of a place to visit) where the number of species can be a bit daunting if you are new to the Neotropics. Spanish is not essential in Costa Rica, but it would help a lot in the more remote areas. If that worries you then Belize would be a better option, though with fewer species due to less variety of habitats.

Tom

I would also strongly recommend Panama, which felt very safe outside of the big cities. There is a trip report in the vacation reports section of birdforum (search for Panama). (I have not been to CR, so not opposed to that being a good choice).

Niels

I echo what others have said about Costa Rica and Panama. I think if you go to either country you will do well although IMO, it's easier to get to a wider variety of birding sites by public transportation in Costa Rica. Costs have gone up in CR but it can still be done very affordably. I make an attempt to post about little known, economical birding sites in CR at my blog.

Birdingcraft said:

I make an attempt to post about little known, economical birding sites in CR at my blog.

Click to expand...

You make more than an attempt Patrick, its a really great birding resource.

Tom

kilianwasmer said:

Hi.

My girlfriend and me are looking for the ideal Central or South American country as an introduction to independent neotropical birding. Besides a rich avifauna our main criteria are feeling safe when travelling (friendly people), (rather) inexpensive accomodation and accessibility of birding spots.
Could Costa Rica be the right place (or rather Belize or Panama)? Is English sufficient or do you need to have Spanish skills?

Kilian

Click to expand...

Just adding to what others have said...

One of the best things about Costa Rica is how well researched specific places are. There are a great number of trip reports, web sites with checklists, itineraries with short drive times, and diverse habitats within reasonable distances of each other. It's hard to say that about a lot of foreign countries.

And generally the people are quite friendly... having seen their share of tourists over the years.

Panama is also good - although the best places like Darien can be difficult to get to. Belize is a little harder than either of the other two countries and lacks a high mountain habitat... but I recommend it as a later trip if you get the tropical birding bug.

If you're driving by car, you can check the web site in my signature. Always check Patrick's blog as he archives a lot of information about specific sites.

Okay, it's obvious: CR will be the place to go!

Thanks for all the comments!

Kilian

3 1/2 years ago when I suggested to my wife we should go to Costa Rica she said 'Hmmph OK' so not overly struck. She held to that opinion right up until we arrived at our hotel just outside of San Jose late in the evening, approx 24 hours travel time from London (First thing to bear in mind) and allowing for crossing times zones. We were on an organised tour and the next day saw us meeting our fellow travellers properly and going to La Paz Waterfalls (Being rebuilt I believe following a major earthquake at the beginning of this year).

From that moment she was hooked and we are returning again for the third time in 2011.

Fantastic birding and seeing hummingbirds for the first time is one hell of an experience. Howler monkeys, sloths etc all terrific Great scenery and Mt Arenal is a wow factor being an active volcano. Get your timings right to get the drier season although that is also the busy season. If you intend to use the hanging bridges be aware they can be quite high and a bit wobbley so you should have a head for heights.

also try to get to one of the hot spring resorts near Arenal (best we've found is Tabacon) once during your stay. a bit pricey but also adds to the wow factor.

As with anywhere else though don't leave any valuables lying around.