Local Treasures & Coastal Birds of Banderas Bay

Recommended by 99% of travelers

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

7 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Whether you are already a dedicated birder, or just getting interested in winged animals, this is the tour for you. Spend the day spotting birds that are native to the Puerto Vallarta area, and those just passing through on their annual migration. The distinctive ecosystems surrounding Puerto Vallarta mean there is a wide variety of species to see.

Spend approximately 7 hours birding with a biologist guide
Visit the regions of Desembocada and the Ameca River
Wear your walking shoes and bring your birding log
Air-conditioned transport from the marina is included

What's Included

Bottled water
Snacks

Snack at the palapa restaurant
Driver/guide
Biologist professional guide
Transport by air-conditioned van
Coffee and/or Tea

Lunch
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Ecotours Vallarta / Dive Shop
Proa 20, Marina Vallarta, 48335 Puerto Vallarta, Jal., Mexico
Next tothe ramp at the end of Calle Proa

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.6:45 am

What To Expect

Playa Boca de Tomates

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Minimum age is 8 years
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate
Not recommended for travelers with knee problems
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

erinn_w

Cynthia was a spectacular birding tour guide. She was completely knowledgeable of all the birds and knew exactly where to find the beauties. The van was cool and comfortable. Coffee stop was charming. The end of tour counting ritual at the coastal restaurant was perfect. Get out in nature!!

Reviews

4.9

based on 84 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

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Triple check your tour is actually happening

loryjohn, Dec 2025

I received a confirmation several days before my tour but the night before something told me I should double check. Low and behold it was cancelled due to not enough participants but I was only informed because I was the one to reach out. Not impressed! So unprofessional. This left me without any ability to find another suitable birding tour and wasted a day of my trip. I had also paid in full so am now waiting for a refund.

Our guide was very...

Geoff_H, Mar 2025

Our guide was very knowledgeable about the various species of birds and very patient in answering questions. Use of the scope was also very helpful as well. We also appreciated at the end of the tour going over all of the birds that we saw and the checklist (which we were able to keep) will be very helpful in recalling what we saw. Would have appreciated a bit more "shore bird" watching and perhaps in an alternate location other than the one we visited. Overall, a very pleasant experience.

Amazing day.

LauraLee_L, Mar 2025

We saw so many different birds. It was a great day with Michael. He is a bird whisperer. He didn’t just take us to the birds, the birds came to him!

Happy Birding!

David_W, Jan 2025

Out guide Michael was super friendly and knowledgeable. He brought a scope, helped identify birds by ear and sight, and was a wonderful host throughout the day.

Mexico Birding Experience

Gerald_L, Oct 2024

We saw 70+ birds in their natural habitat. Michael spotted most before us and had a master command of the area birds which he shared with us in detail. The locations along the river were very productive. We highy recommend this tour. Michael was excellent.

Excellent birding

Carol_H, Oct 2024

Michael was very knowledgeable and made a point for everyone to try and see the bird they wanted to see most! Would definitely go again!

Fantastic

Lorelie_T, Aug 2024

Michael was a very good guide. He was very accommodating and professional. Very knowledgeable and enthusiastic.My highlight is spotting the Macaws albeit from afar.

The Early bird sees…the birds…

erinn_w, Jun 2024

Best Birding Day!

Elizabeth_D, Mar 2023

The day we took the Birding Eco-Tour was the best day of our vacation in PV! Cynthia, our friendly guide, was most knowledgeable and knew the best locations to see the most birds. Her van was equipped with binoculars and a scope to provide many opportunities to see the birds up close. Also provided was plenty of fruit, snacks, and cold beverages. Cynthia offered valuable instruction on how to observe birds based on behavior, markings and color. We went to several inland locations and finished on a lovely beach to see waterfowl. While there, we were graced with sightings of humpback whales breaching and playing right offshore! Cynthia is a brilliant naturalist and is passionate about her career. In all, we saw over 80 species of birds and other wildlife. I recommend this trip for anyone who wants to be in the wild for a day and make new friends with like minded folks.

Great time

Garry_J, Feb 2023

Michael did an awesome job of finding and identifying all the birds we were able to find on our tour

Painted buntings!

grace_s, Jan 2023

Our guide Cynthia was excellent. We saw painted buntings!!! Also memorable were military macaws, stilts, crested caracara and appreciating the farming community of desembocada.

The highlight of our Puerto Vallarta vacation

Michael_C, May 2022

Fantastic experience. Cynthia was an excellent guide who really knew where to take us to find a large variety of birds. At the end of the day we had identified 63 birds of which 32 were new to our personal bird list.

A great time with new birds and friends.

Ted_C, Apr 2022

Seeing a pair of motmots up close, a lifer like the ferruginous pygmy-owl and citreoline trogons, whistling ducks posing on a palm tree snag, and making new birding friends.

Great day of bird watching

Claire_B, Mar 2022

Our guide Michael was absolutely fantastic. We explored several different areas and saw over 50 birds. His knowledge of the local bird population is very deep and he was so good at recognizing the various calls and sounds. He took us to a lovely restaurant off the beaten path and we tried some dishes that were new to us. A wonderful day in Jalisco!

Over 50 birds spotted at a leisurely paced trip

Kerensa, Mar 2022

Michael is a wonderful guide who took us on this leisurely paced bird watching trip. He provided concise and clear directions which made it really easy for us to spot the birds. We finished the day with some snacks and a drink at a little causal restaurant facing the Holi Day beach which was most pleasant. The only down side is most tours at Puerto Vallarta don’t seem to provide transportation pick up/drop off service and this is most inconvenient. We stayed at the Conrad and it cost us USD100 just to get to the meeting point and even with the hotel car, the driver wes not able to locate the agency easily. If you wish to do a bird watching trip, it will be advisable to book it with a tour agency that is close to your hotel; getting a taxi was almost impossible from where we were and cars seemed not to be easily available on Uber as well.

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john_p, Feb 2020

Good birding tour, friendly knowledgeable guide--Christina?-- We were cramped in the suv, four birders plus guide--a bigger vehicle would have made the driving part more enjoyable... Was wishing we could have stopped and viewed some marine birds sometime during the day, to add to our "checklist"-- Over-all, a lot of driving, but the sites she took us to, esp. the "ranch" with all the birdfeeders and the marshland, were productive.

Great company - wonderful tour

kbauman2, Feb 2020

Everything about this birding trip was great. Cynthia is very knowledgeable and sees birds that I wouldn’t have spotted. The trip to El Tuito resulted in over 50 species observed (including a mot mot). Cynthia set a relaxing pace.

Birding Paradise!

ksullivan965, Feb 2020

Cynthia was excellent, taking us to different places, and keeping a watchful, patient eye out for different species., of which we saw many! Very enjoyable!

Response from Host, Feb 2020

We really appreciate your comments, Hope to see you soon.

Best Birding Tour ever!

Silvia_S, Oct 2019

Our tour guide, Mike, was exceptional in pointing out birds that he recognized by their call or song before they came into view. He knew all the hot spots for awesome endemic species, like grassquits, buntings, crane hawk, parrotlets, and Tanagers. Mike shared his ebird lists with me and I saw 12 new species. Really awesome!