06 Jan 2027 - 10 Jan 2027 (5 days)
USD1,900 - 4 Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Dušan Brinkhuizen
Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated, and dates may change*
Tour price (Per person): USD1,900 * GBP1,475 * EUR1,670 * AUD2,936
06 Jan 2028 - 10 Jan 2028 (5 days)
USD2,000 - Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Adam Walleyn
Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated, and dates may change*
Tour price (Per person): USD2,000 * GBP1,553 * EUR1,758 * AUD3,091
Our pre-tour extension to Southern Ecuador takes us along Ecuador’s Pacific shores visiting Isla de la Plata for spectacular encounters with both Blue-footed and Nazca Boobies, possibly also Red-footed Booby, many Magnificent Frigatebirds, the odd Humpback Whale and Red-billed Tropicbird before completing our journey searching for the Endangered endemic Esmeraldas Woodstar, Grey-and-white Tyrannulet, Necklaced Spinetail, Parrot-billed Seedeater, Collared Warbling Finch, Sulphur-throated Finch, Red-lored Amazon, Roseate Spoonbill, Chilean Flamingo and the smallest bird in South America, the Short-tailed Woodstar.
Esmeraldas & Short-tailed Woodstars; Grey-and-white Tyrannulet; Grey-capped Cuckoo; Necklaced Spinetail; West Peruvian Dove; Crimson-breasted & Sulphur-throated Finches; Collared Crescentchest; Peruvian Thick-knee; Scrub Nightjar; Parrot-billed Seedeater; Short-tailed Field Tyrant; Collared Warbling Finch; Saffron Siskin; Red-lored Amazon (Lilacine Amazon); Ecuadorian Piculet; Collared Antshrike; Roseate Spoonbill; Chilean Flamingo; Blue-footed, Nazca & Red-footed Booby; Red-billed Tropicbird; Magnificent Frigatebird.
South American Sea Lion
Off-shore island, humid coastal forest, arid xerophytic scrub, salt pans, shrimp ponds, rocky seashore
Warm to hot and humid
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.
Easy to moderate
Comfortable
Moderate with several skulkers
possible snorkeling at Isla de la Plata
Good to very good
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.
This tour was fantastic. Dušan is an excellent leader. I learned a lot from him and he made the tour very enjoyable. I loved the lodges we stayed at. They were comfortable with birds and nature all around. I’m already looking into more tours in Ecuador with Dušan. Thanks Rockjumper!
[To Dušan Brinkhuizen] Truly, it was the very best birding trip I have ever been on, including several other Rockjumper trips which have all been great. As I think back on it, I can only marvel at your amazing ability to hear and identify the "chips" and "tsits" of birds calling or singing from deep in the understorey or high in the canopy of mature cloud forest while walking with a noisy group of folks or, even more unbelievable, from a moving vehicle. And if this wasn't amazing enough, you would then expertly call the desired individual bird into view and, with incredible calm and patience, succeed in making sure that everyone of us on the tour got a crippling look (and maybe even a spectacular photo) of the target bird -- that as often as not -- was not only beautiful but also both rare and furtive. And to further blow our minds, you often would pull out your vegetation clippers and create a setting and stage on which the bird would perform for us -- even sometimes, like some magician, telling us on which perch it would sit!! As a measure of your expertise as a trip leader, let me tell you that on the two back-to-back trips with you I "got" 110 life birds (101 seen and 9 heard) and only missed 1 species that would have been a life bird for me (Blue-mantled Thornbill). Never on any trip before in my life had I experienced such a high rate of success!! But above and beyond all of the uncanny skill and expertise that you exhibited, was the kindness, friendship, and humanity that you showed to each us. For this I am so very grateful. Thank you!!! Moreover, I'm sure everyone on the trip felt this way and I'm sure it created a safe and happy feeling among all of us that made the trip even more enjoyable. I truly hope that I can go with you on another trip sometime. And finally thank you also for the wonderfully detailed and beautifully illustrated trip report you sent. I remain amazed at how you could remember so clearly all the details of the trip.
Dusan was an outstanding tour leader. His knowledge of the birds, their habits, and calls was amazing as was his ability to manage the needs and goals of the tour participants. Both tours completely fulfilled my expectations. Thank you for an excellent experience.
Dušan is a very knowledgeable, passionate, dedicated and high-energy leader. He is also very cognizant of his charges and tries to ensure that each of us sees the target birds. At one point, it was to his detriment not being able to photograph a very rare bird so I could catch up to him as it flew away. Dušan’s easy-going personality and humorous life and birding stories not only had us in awe of his experiences but also helped create a dynamic rapport within our group which enhanced our interpersonal interactions and travels that much more. Dusan was not immune to some gentle (or not so gentle) ribbing either. All was in good fun and tolerated admirably. We however will remember fondly the “Dušan mile”.
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
Ecuador - Pacific Coast Extension 2023 - January 2023
Ecuador - Northern: Ultimate Amazon II 2022 - November 2022
Ecuador - Northern: Eastern Andes II 2022 - November 2022
Ecuador - Northern: Choco Cloud Forest II 2022 - November 2022