20 Jun 2027 - 03 Jul 2027 (14 days)
USD6,295 SPACES AVAILABLE
Tour Leader: Lev Frid
Tour Price (Per person): USD6,295 (GBP4,786 * EUR5,478 * AUD9,077)
Single Supplement: USD780 (GBP593 * EUR679 * AUD1,125)
02 Feb 2028 - 15 Feb 2028 (14 days)
USD6,500 SPACES AVAILABLE
Tour Leader: James Wade Lee
Tour Price (Per person): USD6,500 (GBP4,942 * EUR5,657 * AUD9,373)
Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated, and dates may change*
Ecuador sits at the crossroads of an extraordinary range of habitats, from windswept Andean páramo to lush cloudforest and lowland rainforest, packing remarkable biodiversity into a compact and easily accessible area. Its small size, excellent infrastructure, and spectacular scenery make it one of the world’s premier birding destinations.
This tour is unapologetically focused on one of its greatest treasures: hummingbirds. Across a carefully selected network of sites, we encounter an astonishing diversity of these jewels, from the impossibly long-billed Sword-billed Hummingbird and shimmering Great Sapphirewing of the high Andes, to dazzling cloudforest species such as Violet-tailed Sylph, Empress Brilliant, and White-booted Racket-tail, and foothill stunners including Gould’s Jewelfront and Wire-crested Thorntail.
With extended time at some of the finest feeder setups in the Neotropics, we enjoy repeated, close-range views of dozens of species, offering exceptional opportunities to study behaviour, appreciate subtle identification features, and capture unforgettable photographic moments.
Ecuadorian, White-tailed & Green-backed Hillstars; Black-tailed Trainbearer; Great Sapphirewing; Purple-backed, Black-mantled, Blue-mantled, Purple-mantled & Rainbow-bearded Thornbills; Shining Sunbeam; Giant, Speckled, Many-spotted, Violet-headed & Sword-billed Hummingbirds; Collared & Bronzy Incas; Long-tailed & Violet-tailed Sylphs; Tourmaline Sunangel; Chestnut-breasted, Velvet-purple & Buff-tailed Coronets; Mountain Avocetbill; Tyrian & Viridian Metaltails; White-bellied, Purple-throated & Gorgeted Woodstars; Glowing, Sapphire-vented, Black-breasted, Hoary & Golden-breasted Pufflegs; Great Sapphirewing; Violet-fronted, Black-throated, Empress, Green-crowned & Fawn-breasted Brilliants; White-booted & Peruvian Racket-tails; Geoffrey’s Wedgebill; Brown Violetear; Bronzy & Brown Incas; Green & Sparkling Violetears; Gould’s Jewelfront; Golden-tailed Sapphire; Napo Sabrewing; Rufous-vented & Purple-bibbed Whitetips; Golden-tailed Sapphire; Blue-fronted Lancebill; Wire-crested & Green Thorntails; Fork-tailed & Crowned Woodnymphs; Green & White-whiskered Hermits; Ecuadorian Piedtail; White-tipped Sicklebill; Buff-winged Starfrontlet; White-necked Jacobin; Andean Emerald.
White-tailed Deer; Andean Fox; Mountain Tapir (rare); Spectacled Bear (rare); Olingito; Tayra; White-fronted Capuchin.
paramo grasslands and highland lakes, temperate tree line forest & polylepis, temperate cloud-forest, upper and lower subtropical cloud-forest, subtropical cloud-forest, tropical foothill forest
chilly at high elevations but pleasant in the subtropics
8 with 1 Rockjumper leader & local birding leader
UNDEMANDING: This tour is ideal for birders and wildlife enthusiasts of all experience levels. It’s suitable for most mobility levels and offers a relaxed pace, ensuring an enjoyable experience for everyone.
Undemanding. Suitable for all birding / wildlife interest levels. Our Relaxed series of tours are designed to focus on having an enjoyable holiday with a bird and wildlife focus. Where possible; we have reduced or removed long drives, single night stays and poor/rustic accommodation. We have also sought to reduce or remove difficult hikes, narrow/muddy trails and otherwise oppressive environmental conditions. Early starts and night birding are mostly optional, and we will not spend much time searching for difficult and/or skulking species. These tours are not suitable for hardcore birders and listers, or dedicated photographers.
Comfortable
Mostly undemanding. Birding is primarily at lodge feeders & trails, roadside or in parks/preserves.
Good to very good, numerous feeders.
I was particularly impressed by Dušan Brinkhuizen. His knowledge of Ecuadorian birds, both visual and auditory, was amazing. He showed an unflagging energy and was sensitive to the myriad of special interests of our participants.
Dušan Brinkhuizen is a wonderfully skilled birder and he readily shares his enthusiasm for birds and their environments. He is also skilled in Spanish and knowledgeable about the country.
I had a great time on the two Ecuador tours. I have been wanting to bird with Lev Frid since I viewed his webinar on Mexico, and he was every bit as fun and as good a guide as I thought that he would be. Lev's cheerful energy and care for his tour members were always evident, and his bird finding and identifying skills were superb. He worked hard to make sure that everyone was able to see the birds whenever possible, and he dealt with the varying experience levels of the various tour members very well. The list of tour members changed from tour to tour, with a wide range of ages, birding agendas, and personalities. Lev took it all in stride and provided what I considered to be an excellent experience for all. He worked particularly well with the local guides, with whom he shared friendship and respect, and his ability in speaking Spanish was an excellent asset. The local guides were all excellent, and worked hard to give us the best birding experience possible. Our driver kept us safe on the road and got us where we needed to go. The lodges were all great, with comfortable accommodations and excellent food. I picked up several birds that I had missed on an earlier tour through the area, and got a good look at a Mountain Tapir, as a rare bonus mammal. All in all, it was an excellent trip, and I look forward to future trips with Rockjumper.
In the Rockjumper tradition, Dušan Brinkhuizen went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure the serious birders in our group found our birds. This included several later night expeditions into the forest for owls and other nocturnal critters. Dušan managed to handle everyone with great patience and skill. A very kind man, dedicated advocate for the environment, a master birder.
What a tour! We ended up with nearly 700 species seen and heard, and I ended up with almost twice as many lifers than I had anticipated. Dusan was excellent: Attentive to those having difficulties, enthusiastic, energetic, indefatigable, and a complete whiz at the birds. He was as excited about each new sighting as was the rest of the group, right through to the last day. We saw many very special birds, birds that I have missed over three previous trips to Ecuador as well as quite rare birds that, although specialties for this tour, require great effort and skill to unveil (think Buff-fronted Owl). Climate change affected the tour to a certain extent, but Dusan always had a clever plan or an alternative site to try for the bird again. The tour was a bit more strenuous than the itinerary led me to believe, but all at the participants willingly went the extra mile with Dusan every time. We were fortunate to have a pretty good group, a great driver, and good luck with the weather.
Ecuador - Hummingbirds Adventure (Relaxed) 2026 - February 2026
Ecuador - Northern: Ultimate Amazon II 2025 - November 2025
Ecuador - Northern: Eastern Andes II 2025 - November 2025
Ecuador - Northern: Choco Cloud Forest II 2025 - October 2025
Ecuador - Northern: Ultimate Amazon I 2025 - April 2025
Ecuador - Lester & Lloyd & friends 2025 - February 2025
Ecuador - Southern Endemics 2025 - January 2025
Ecuador - Northern: Ultimate Amazon II 2024 - November 2024
Ecuador - Northern: Eastern Andes II 2024 - November 2024
Ecuador - Northern: Choco Cloud Forest II 2024 - October 2024
Ecuador - Northern: Ultimate Amazon I 2024 - April 2024
Ecuador - Northern: Eastern Andes I 2024 - February 2024
Ecuador - Northern: Choco Cloud Forest I 2024 - February 2024
Ecuador - Northern: Eastern Andes II 2023 - November 2023
Ecuador - Northern: Choco Cloud Forest II 2023 - October 2023
Ecuador - Northern: Eastern Andes I 2023 - February 2023
Ecuador - Northern: Choco Cloud Forest I 2023 - February 2023
Ecuador - Southern Endemics 2023 - January 2023