Tour Price (Per person): USD5,000 (GBP3,820 * EUR4,380 * AUD7,640)
Pricing notes : Tour price estimate based on a minimum group size of 6 guests. Please contact our Tailor-made team on tailormade@rockjumper.com for more details and accurate costs.
Referred to as the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean, the island of Socotra is a biodiversity jewel with almost 700 endemics species of flora and fauna. Our weeklong tour is designed to enjoy a wide variety of habitats to find all the principal island endemic and potential future endemic birds. Along the way, we are sure to find several interesting reptiles and plants, as well as enjoy the idyllic and rarely visited landscapes.
This tour is made available through our Tailor-made tours department. To explore this offering further for pricing, precise day to day itinerary, inclusions & exclusions, or to tailor the tour to your personal requirements, please contact our Tailor-made team on tailormade@rockjumper.com
Persian Shearwater; Masked Booby; Socotra Cormorant; Socotra Buzzard; Sooty Gull; Socotra Scops Owl; Socotra Warbler; Socotra Cisticola; Socotra Starling; Socotra White-eye; Socotra Sunbird; Socotra Sparrow; Socotra Golden-winged Grosbeak; Socotra Bunting
wadis, lagoons, beaches, mountains, scrub, gravel plains
tropical desert, high temperatures year round with light rain possible
reasonable, some longer days in the field. Walking is mostly easy with a few moderate walks over uneven ground can be expected
comfortable
mostly easy with a few tricky species
Dragon's Blood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari), very rarely visited island
good to excellent
I really enjoyed having Lev as a tour guide, he was very knowledgeable and helpful and great at giving directions to see "hidden" birds in the jungle.
Note that some of the comments I made regarding the Thailand extension apply to the main Thailand tour. I liked the sequence of sites visited; it ensured the Spoonbill Sandpiper was seen early on and then designed to minimize travel. Staying multiple nights at one site is always appreciated and seemed to be done as much as possible. The guides made special efforts to see bird species sought by the group; we saw more bird species than I expected. The drivers were excellent and also one of them, Jaime, was a good birder who helped the guides track down some species; it was an asset to have internet while in the vehicles. The drivers also produced an excellent video of the trip - a nice touch; they also did an excellent job with mid-morning breaks. I especially enjoyed visiting a hide all morning early on in the trip - it gave us a chance to see some elusive species but also several species very well. One morning was spent looking for a rare duck; I would have rather spent the time looking for a variety of Thai species. Quite a bit of birding was done along roads - it might have been better to bird trails etc. if they are available and afford good views of birds pointed out. Food was excellent (Uthai selected great dishes for the group) and accomodations were good. It was an enjoyable trip with rewarding looks at many of the bird species seen.
Stu is a personable, helpful, and organized guide and was a pleasure to travel with. He was ready to help not only with finding and identifying birds, but also with little problems that popped up during our trip, as they so often do. Our local guide was likewise consistently friendly and helpful. My main concern is that on this trip, as on past Rockjumper trips, there doesn't seem to be any effort to vet the physical ability of potential group members, and as a result those of us who are prepared for the experience are held back by those who are physically not ready for it. I know that trips are rated on the website in regards to the level of exertion required, but this does not seem to help -- I have been on multiple tours with people who are not physically capable of maintaining a steady level of exertion while birding. This is not fair to those of us who are.
Despite the heat and humidity, Guyana is a magical place with gorgeous rainforests and savannahs and lots of beautiful birds and the wonderful giant anteater. Lev Frid was a wonderful guide full of great enthusiasm. I especially appreciated his patience in helping everyone get a good view of the birds. He is a joy to travel with. Our local guide was also great and a lot of fun to be around and so helpful as well in identifying the different birds. Also a special shout out to Leroy, who helped us on the last full day of birding; he was great. The drivers Renford and Devon were awesome as well.
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