Imagine waking up every morning to the calls of toucan, trogons, and mot-mots in your charmingly rustic and comfortable cabana nestled deep in the forest of a 260,000-acre protected area. Birding and nature observation are the order of the day on this unique avian adventure. We will explore the wilds of the Rio Bravo with Program for Belize's top-notch local naturalists and bird guides and visit the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, home to the largest flying bird in North America, the Jabiru Stork.
Day 1 & 2: Rio Bravo Conservation Management Area
Tours originate from the international airport in Belize City unless other arrangements are made. You will be met by a Program for Belize (PfB) and a Mesoamerican Ecotourism Alliance (MEA) representative. We will have a three hour drive to the remote La Milpa field station, hidden in the Rio Bravo Conservation Management Area. Exploring the Rio Bravo, Belize's largest private protected area, will provide you with an unparalleled regional birding experience. With about the same area as Massachusetts, Belize boasts more than 540 species of birds. The Rio Bravo alone is home to 392 species of the country's avifauna. About 25% of these are neotropical migrant species. The Rio Bravo is not only home to a rich sample of avifauna, but also 200 species of trees, 70 species of mammals and 12 endangered animal species.
Owned and managed by the Program for Belize (PfB), La Milpa is surrounded by an extensive system of trails where you will often find species such as Ornate Hawk-eagle, Ocellated Turkey, White Necked Jacobin, Purple-crowned Fairy, Keel-billed Toucan, Red Capped Manakin, Slaty-tailed Trogon and Black-faced Antthrush.
La Milpa Field Station is located only three miles from the La Milpa Ancient Maya archeology site, Belize's third largest. La Milpa dominated the ancient world in the late Classic Period for a short time and is a center for long-term archaeological research and environmental education.
Days 3 & 4: Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary
After an early birding walk and breakfast, we will transfer to the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary. Crooked Tree is truly a birder's paradise. Comprised of a large network of inland lagoons, swamps and waterways, Crooked Tree supports a large and diverse population of birds.
We will venture by boat through the waterways of the sanctuary. This mode of travel will provide the opportunity for excellent sightings of the diverse and abundant bird life. A few of the species which can be found here include: Sungrebe, Agami Heron, Bare Throated Heron, and American Pygmy Kingfisher. We will also explore Crooked Tree Village's pine-oak savanna in search of the Yucatán jay, Yellow-lored Parrot and Yucatán Woodpecker.
On our final day we will have early birding opportunities and arrive at the Belize International Airport for early afternoon departures.
Accommodations Listing
La Milpa, Rio Bravo, 2.5 Star, ecolodge nestled in the rainforest.
Crooked Tree Inn, 2 Star, quaint and comfortable.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
This trip covers a wide variety of activities. We will be on foot and in boats, and there is always the possibility of rain. All accommodations will have showers, air conditioning and/or ceiling fans. We will be driving in twelve-passenger air-conditioned mini-vans.
WEATHER:
The weather, depending on the time of year, will be warm with varying rainfall. We can expect daytime highs in the mid 80s to mid 90s.
TOUR SIZE:
This tour will be strictly limited to a maximum of 16 participants and a minimum of 4 participants.
TRAVEL DOCUMENTS:
A US passport valid beyond your anticipated date of return to the US and tourist card (available upon arrival) is required. Currently no visas or immunization certificates are required. Those with foreign passports should contact the Embassy of Belize for details.
FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS:
The fee for the tour is $975 per person based on double occupancy. Single rates are an additional $250. This includes: a detailed pre-trip packet including a reading list, country bird list, packing suggestions, and some background reading and conservation project information; all food, three meals per day, from dinner on Day 1 to breakfast on Day 5; all lodging for 4 nights during the tour; ground transportation; and guide services provided by the tour leader and local expert guides. The tour fee does not include alcoholic beverage, special gratuities, phone calls, passport fees, airport departure taxes or items of a personal nature. Rates are based upon group tariffs; if the group does not have sufficient registration a small party supplement may have to be charged.
HEALTH PRECAUTIONS:
For comprehensive health information please contact the Center for Disease Control and Prevention on the Internet at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/camerica.htm or by phone at 1-877-394-8747 (traveler's health hotline). The CDC information is a comprehensive listing of any disease reported in a particular region or state. Belize is included with Central America. We have not had any problems with diseases. If you have any questions please consult a health care professional.
STATE DEPARTMENT TRAVEL ADVISORIES:
For general information about Belize please refer to the Consular Information sheet: http://travel.state.gov/belize.html. You will be updated on any travel advisories.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
Refunds are made according to the following schedule: If cancellation is made eighty days or more before departure date, the deposit less $150 is refundable. If cancellation is made between seventy-nine and sixty days before departure date, the deposit is not refundable, but any payments covering the balance of the fee will be refunded. If cancellation is made fifty-nine days or less before departure date, no refund is available except for amounts recoverable through our agents. We recommend that you purchase trip cancellation insurance which you will receive upon registration.
If the Mesoamerican Ecotourism Alliance (MEA) cancels the tour or the tour must be postponed during a time period starting seven days before tour departure and /or through the duration of the tour, MEA will refund all money recoverable through our agents, not yet spent and/or all refundable deposits. MEA reserves the right to cancel, postpone or suspend any tour based on the judgment of MEA, its staff and representatives, in order to insure the safety of our guests.
RESPONSIBILITY:
MEA, and/or their Agents act only as agents for the passenger in regard to travel, whether by railroad, motorcar, motorcoach, boat, or airplane and assume no liability for injury, damage, loss, accident, delay, or irregularity which may be occasioned either by reason of defect in any vehicle or for any reason whatsoever, or through the acts or default of any company or person engaged in conveying the passenger or in carrying out the arrangements of the tour. They can accept no responsibility for losses or additional expenses due to delay or changes in air or other services, sickness, weather, strike, war, quarantine, or other causes. All such losses or expenses will have to be borne by the passenger as tour rates provide for arrangements only for the time stated. The right is reserved to substitute hotels of similar category for those indicated and to make any changes in the itinerary where deemed necessary or caused by changes in air schedules. No refund will be made for any unused portion of the tour. The right is reserved to decline, to accept, or to retain any person as a member of the tour. Baggage is at owner's risk.
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