A friend and I are hoping to go on a birding tour to Bolivia, probably later this year. We would rather go with an organised tour rather than working out the logistics ourselves. Looking at what is available, most of the major birding tour companies have tours of various lengths, but there are also some smaller/more local companies that either have scheduled departues or will run their itineraries for 2 people. I'm looking for people's opinions and experience with organised tours to Bolivia - quality of the guide being the most significant, but also hotels/logistics.
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pbjosh
missing the neotropics
Can’t really comment based on any personal experiences but Hugo Santa Cruz and Jose Balderrama are two of the best known and respected local guides. Both are super nice guys as far as I know them.
Tanager Tours (Miguel Lezama of Peru) also offers tours and is a great guy.
Of the international companies going with Field Guides would presumably put you with Dan Lane as a guide and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone more knowledgeable of the birds of that part of S America.
As far as logistics go it varies: Volcanes is peaceful and lovely and affordable and everything you would want in any birding lodge. A classic tour from Santa Cruz to La Paz is a mix of dirt and paved roads and some of the lodging a bit basic but nothing to be upset about if you are a bit understanding of what country you’re in. Going to, say, Apolo is a 15+ hr drive on bumpy dirt roads and you’ll have basic accommodation and basic food.
Ever present is the risk of road blocks impacting your itinerary. It can be better or worse at times but is a timeless “charm” of Bolivia 🤣
Lately there are also fuel shortages but going in a guided tour should assure you that the operator will have fuel sorted ahead of time to avoid queues. Certainly something I would confirm ahead of time but it shouldn’t affect a tour too much.
Tanager Tours (Miguel Lezama of Peru) also offers tours and is a great guy.
Of the international companies going with Field Guides would presumably put you with Dan Lane as a guide and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone more knowledgeable of the birds of that part of S America.
As far as logistics go it varies: Volcanes is peaceful and lovely and affordable and everything you would want in any birding lodge. A classic tour from Santa Cruz to La Paz is a mix of dirt and paved roads and some of the lodging a bit basic but nothing to be upset about if you are a bit understanding of what country you’re in. Going to, say, Apolo is a 15+ hr drive on bumpy dirt roads and you’ll have basic accommodation and basic food.
Ever present is the risk of road blocks impacting your itinerary. It can be better or worse at times but is a timeless “charm” of Bolivia 🤣
Lately there are also fuel shortages but going in a guided tour should assure you that the operator will have fuel sorted ahead of time to avoid queues. Certainly something I would confirm ahead of time but it shouldn’t affect a tour too much.
Jeff Hopkins
Just another...observer
I just did a tour of Bolivia with Field Guides and Dan Lane. It was fantastic. Dan has run the trip 9 or 10 times and knows all the locations and the birds. He's also bilingual. And he's great company. I would also add that the driver FG uses, Carlos, is amazing and can spot birds better than anyone I've ever seen before. He's done the tour almost as many times as Dan and knows the birding locations, too, not to mention back-up locations if something goes wrong. And it's Bolivia...something will go wrong.
FTR, Field Guides was willing to run the tour with four people (with 3 they would charge a small party supplement). However, about a month before the tour started one of the four people dropped out, and the day before the tour started a second person dropped out. Therefore, our tour was two clients, Dan, and Carlos.
Some logistical issues we ran into:
- Lack of diesel. It meant we had to use a gasoline-powered van. And that was horribly underpowered on some of the mountain roads.
- The road over Corani Dam near Cochabamba was closed for maintenance. Carlos knew of a different road nearby that Dan said later was as good or better than the original one. However, the stake-out for Black-hooded Sunbeam was on the far side of the dam. We nearly missed that (but got it near the Coroico Rd.)
- There was political unrest around La Paz. Carlos was unable to drive between Cochabamba and La Paz because of protests - some violent. The rest of us flew, and fortunately FG's local ground agent was able to find a new driver in the La Paz area, and the tour continued.
- There were multiple roadblocks around Lake Titicaca. Our hotel on the lake shore had to close since no clients could get through. Again, the ground agent was able to get us lodging in La Paz instead, but we missed Berlepsch's Canastero. OTOH, we ad libbed the final day and got the Titicaca Grebe as well as Andean and James' Flamingos, which were unexpected.
As to the birds, I saw 462 species. That doesn't include heard birds and birds I missed. Here's my eBird Trip report. The official tour list was closer to 500.
FTR, Field Guides was willing to run the tour with four people (with 3 they would charge a small party supplement). However, about a month before the tour started one of the four people dropped out, and the day before the tour started a second person dropped out. Therefore, our tour was two clients, Dan, and Carlos.
Some logistical issues we ran into:
- Lack of diesel. It meant we had to use a gasoline-powered van. And that was horribly underpowered on some of the mountain roads.
- The road over Corani Dam near Cochabamba was closed for maintenance. Carlos knew of a different road nearby that Dan said later was as good or better than the original one. However, the stake-out for Black-hooded Sunbeam was on the far side of the dam. We nearly missed that (but got it near the Coroico Rd.)
- There was political unrest around La Paz. Carlos was unable to drive between Cochabamba and La Paz because of protests - some violent. The rest of us flew, and fortunately FG's local ground agent was able to find a new driver in the La Paz area, and the tour continued.
- There were multiple roadblocks around Lake Titicaca. Our hotel on the lake shore had to close since no clients could get through. Again, the ground agent was able to get us lodging in La Paz instead, but we missed Berlepsch's Canastero. OTOH, we ad libbed the final day and got the Titicaca Grebe as well as Andean and James' Flamingos, which were unexpected.
As to the birds, I saw 462 species. That doesn't include heard birds and birds I missed. Here's my eBird Trip report. The official tour list was closer to 500.
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Jeff Hopkins
Just another...observer
To add, you asked about hotels.
In Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, and La Paz we stayed in top of the line hotels. More than I needed, but no matter. Outside of the cities:
- We stayed at Los Volcanes Lodge and the Red-fronted Macaw Reserve. Both were typical birding lodges. Not luxurious, but very comfortable and great staff. The Macaw Lodge has good feeders. FTR, the Macaw Lodge only has shared bathrooms, but since there were only 3 of us, we essentially each had our own bathroom.
- In Comarapa, we stayed in a small local hotel. It's not fancy, but it was faultlessly clean, with en suite bathrooms and big rooms. Per Dan, it's the best in town. If you're birding that area, that's where you'll stay. In fact, there was another birding group that was staying there when we were.
- In Coroico, the hotel that Field Guides usually stays at cancelled our reservation about a month before the tour. They had a bigger group and we were too small for them. We stayed at a smaller nearby lodge near town. It was a nature lodge not focused on birding per se, but it was in forest and did have good birds on the grounds.
As to meals, breakfast was either a box meal prepared by the hotel or a hot meal prepared in the field by Dan and Carlos. Sometimes both
. Other than at the two birding lodges, lunch was generally in-the-field picnics. We carried a lot of food with us and had a cook stove, so the picnic meals were hot and very good. For our day on the Coroico Road, our driver picked up some (very good) pizzas from a place in La Paz and that was our picnic. Dinners were usually in the hotels/lodges, although in Cochabamba we also went to a couple of restaurants.
If you want any more details, feel free to PM me.
In Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, and La Paz we stayed in top of the line hotels. More than I needed, but no matter. Outside of the cities:
- We stayed at Los Volcanes Lodge and the Red-fronted Macaw Reserve. Both were typical birding lodges. Not luxurious, but very comfortable and great staff. The Macaw Lodge has good feeders. FTR, the Macaw Lodge only has shared bathrooms, but since there were only 3 of us, we essentially each had our own bathroom.
- In Comarapa, we stayed in a small local hotel. It's not fancy, but it was faultlessly clean, with en suite bathrooms and big rooms. Per Dan, it's the best in town. If you're birding that area, that's where you'll stay. In fact, there was another birding group that was staying there when we were.
- In Coroico, the hotel that Field Guides usually stays at cancelled our reservation about a month before the tour. They had a bigger group and we were too small for them. We stayed at a smaller nearby lodge near town. It was a nature lodge not focused on birding per se, but it was in forest and did have good birds on the grounds.
As to meals, breakfast was either a box meal prepared by the hotel or a hot meal prepared in the field by Dan and Carlos. Sometimes both
. Other than at the two birding lodges, lunch was generally in-the-field picnics. We carried a lot of food with us and had a cook stove, so the picnic meals were hot and very good. For our day on the Coroico Road, our driver picked up some (very good) pizzas from a place in La Paz and that was our picnic. Dinners were usually in the hotels/lodges, although in Cochabamba we also went to a couple of restaurants.If you want any more details, feel free to PM me.
