chris_alcock Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 I have been talking to a tour company "Tico Tours" in Ecuador about going on a photography trip exclusively geared towards hummingbirds. For a 14 day trip covering a variety of locations, they quoted me a price of $4075.00. Does anyone know of any other Photography Tour companies or advice on possibly going on my own? It just sounded expensive to me. I'll take any advice I can get on tour guides, companies, locations for shooting, accessability on my own, etc. Thanks for everyones advice in advance! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucecyr Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Well of course it all depends on what is included, but I've been looking at birding tours for two in the same region, and that price looks like it might fall within the gamut of reasonable for one -- especially given the precipitous decline in the value of the US dollar, which is a form of a war tax. Maybe I'm looking at stuff that's high end? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg s Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 My wife and I have been to Ecuador (westside) twice. Places we liked were... Bela Vista Lodge: not too far from Tandayapa but up a bit higher, good for higher elevation hummers. You can easily arrange transport from Quito. Lots of trails + lots of feeders + a great canopy tree near the dome (for tanagers). There is also a private residence down the road that hos lots of feeders and something like 20 different sspecies of hummers. You can hire a guide or daytrip from here. Tandayapa Lodge: trails are nowhere near as good as Bela Vista, but easy to photo hummers... including Sylphs, depending on season (do a check on that). Again, it's easy to get transport... no problem. Yanacocha: we checked out this place last year. There are sword-billed hummers there, in number. Walk ALL the way to the end of the road/trail where the best feeder is. I didn't know how far in it was or what was down there in the cloud forest fog. Cheers, -Greg- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg s Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Also, there are places around Mindo... some of them in the forest and fairly new. We stayed at the restaurant on the first trip, but the birds right around the vicinity were sparse for some reason (there are hummers)... couldn't figure out why. We did take an early morning Cock-Of-The-Rock trip with a guide, which was a real treat. You can hire a lot of your own transport, lodging and guides for less than $4k... depends on how free wheeling you want to be. The general area up by Mindo and Tandayapa is quiet and always felt very safe. The mountains are beautiful. -g- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert DeCandido PhD Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Hi, What Greg S. said is sound advice...if you want to save about 50% of your budget (the $4000 or so quoted by the tour company), then: 1. Get the Passport Guide to South America (or just the Ecuador Guide) and do the research on the lodges Greg mentioned. I think the folks at Bela Vista Lodge might even be able to pick you up at the airport...(for additional fee of course). 2. Book lodgings yourself (easy to do with internet these days) and book guides directly when you get to a place. Obviously the more middle men involved the more $s etc. (By the way, you can book an 8-10 day trip to the Galapagos Islands while in Quito for cheap compared to booking the same trip from NA...). So for hummingbirds, the lodges that Greg S. mentions are good; perhaps you might stumble across others mentioned in that guide book. See also the web site about birds called worldtwitch managed by New Yorker John Wall. Many folks who have made trips to South America post their observations there. Excellent site particularly for places off the beaten track. Do save money but spend it locally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_atwood Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 The dollar still does well in Latin America. However, guided trips for one (vs. a group) are expensive anywhere. Hummingbird photography is damn difficult. Even Art Morris thinks so. He likes Tandayapa lodge and describes some of what he does here: http://www.birdsasart.com/bn246.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg s Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 Tinalandia < looks like this place is still open (where my Breakfast In Ecuador pic was taken). The owner was kind of a hustler (double check prices), but the grounds are interesting, different elevation... and they have Barbets! There are some other extraordinary birdss close by... like Torrent Ducks and Lyre-Tailed NightJar. The return drive from Tina to Quito was thru some incredible landscape... not exactly sure what road Sergio was driving (west then north I think). The trail behind Tandayapa Lodge is nice (thru native forest), but the trails at Bela Vista are truly something special. -g- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now