Expérience privée d'observation des oiseaux de 5 heures à San Juan La Laguna

This is an easy walk up into the cafetales to view birds. Our friendly and knowledgeable guide, Eduardo, had a set of binoculars for my friend and me to share, plus a beautiful telescope that he would set up to view some birds. I have the Merlin app, so he was able to share a list of the 35 birds we identified! If you’re a bird expert or just getting into it like me, you’ll enjoy this easygoing experience. We even ran into some very friendly farmers along the way.

Our guides Benjamin and Eduardo were fantastic and were very knowledgeable about the birds and environment in Mirador Rey Tepepul Reserva Natural de Atitlan. We were very fortunate to see the official bird of Guatemala, the Resplendent Quetzal and spend some time watching it fly from tree to tree. We had many sightings of the Northern Emerald Toucan as well. We saw and heard many more birds, but those were the main highlights. It was very cool seeing some birds that are here, as well as at home in Canada depending on the time of year.

3.5/5. Here’s some extra info that’s relevant: pickup was around 5:30-6:00AM, binoculars are included but not for each person so you will have to share with one other person. Prior to the tour, we were asked to provide a list of a few birds we wanted to see. The morning of the tour, the guide was in a huge rush to get to the area where quetzals tend to be. We heard calls from toucanettes, parakeets, and motmots which we really wanted a chance to view, but were made to rush past them to arrive at the quetzal. We spend 1/3 of the active bird watching period looking at a quetzal (beautiful, of course) but missed so many great birds along the way and during the quetzal viewing period. Overall, good day because we got to spend time in nature checking out some new birds. However, we felt disappointed by the quetzal-hype that forced us to skip over some really neat birds. Total species observed around 20.

I had mixed feelings about this birding tour. First, I want to say that the guide was absolutely incredible. He was knowledgeable, passionate, and clearly very experienced. Thanks to him, we saw around 30 different bird species, many of which I had never seen before, which was really special. However, the location itself was very disappointing. I had expected a peaceful, forested hike based on the photos and description online, but the reality was quite different. Much of the walk took place through areas that were heavily littered, including what felt like private fields filled with garbage. At times, we were literally walking over trash, which took away from the experience and made it hard to fully enjoy the outing. It’s a shame because the birding itself and the guide were excellent. I would absolutely recommend the guide, but I would strongly suggest choosing a different location if possible.

Easy hike, knowledgeable and friendly guide, saw 31 species, many new to us! It is morning so you will need layers as it's chilly to start and then gets warm. You also get a tour of local farmsteads by default.

Birdwatching with Benjamin was a treat. We saw almost 50 species, including many new lifers for me! Benjamin is an experienced birdwatcher and is highly knowledgeable of local birds. Additionally, his English is excellent. He picked us up directly from our hotel in San Pedro. Binoculars are provided if you did not bring your pair and Benjamin brings a scope for long range viewing as well.

I was really impressed with Benjamin‘s birding skills. I am a beginning birder, and so it was great to learn from him. Including good places to look for birds, some of the calls and in general to advance my birding skills. We had a lot of fun and I saw over 25 new birds on the tour. Also, Benjamin‘s fluency in English is truly impressive. We were accompanied on our birding tour by some friendly street dogs which was fun. This tour really made my visit to Lake Atitlan special.

The tour guide Benjamin was terrific. It was a solo tour so I had the opportunity to speak with him for hours mostly in Spanish, which is helpful. When I told him I was hungry. We went to a restaurant to get a snack and coffee and he seemed to know everybody he made it a really memorable tour and we analyzed birds and plants. He seemed very knowledgeable of the route that we were walking.Highly recommend because while it was strenuous, it wasn’t as strenuous as one of those five hour 10 hour hikes up the mountain

Highly recommend this tour! We had an incredible time on the drive to the forest anc during the tour. Stunning landscape and birds and an amazing. kind, and flexible tour quide! You won't be disappointed! The tour guide took photos and videos through his scope with my phone, so I was able to have an artist paint my favorite bird!

Highly recommend this tour! We had an incredible time on the drive to the forest and during the tour. Stunning landscape and birds and an amazing, kind, and flexible tour guide! You won't be disappointed! The tour guide took photos and videos through his scope with my phone, so I was able to have an artist paint my favorite bird!