Private Tour: Birdwatching From Cancun

Carlos was a great guide - extremely knowledgeable and made sure we saw birds to add to our life lists.

We had a morning tour with Carlos and had an amazing time, he was really knowledgeable and knew what birds were around just by their song. My son and I don't do much birdwatching but my father is an avid birdwatcher and has travelled extensively around the world birding and was also really impressed with his knowledge and skills. I can recommend Carlos to anyone whether they are a novice or expert birder. Thank you Carlos 👌🏻👍🏻

Our trip to Mexico started off well with our first morning spent birding with Carlos. My fiancée and I love birdwatching and were so excited for this tour. We saw 64 species thanks to Carlos! Without him, we really wouldn’t have seen more than the grackles, Eurasian collared doves and pelicans in and around the city. Carlos was awesome. He is attentive easy going, and we really enjoyed him sharing his historical knowledge with us. We would definitely book again if we returned to Cancun :)

Great trip despite the rain. Carlos and Lugo local guides were great, their knowledge and expertise was invaluable in spotting the different species. Saw 53 different species, however they said we would have seen many more if the rain had stopped.

Wow! This was such a wonderful, fantastic day! My friend and I had so much fun! I’m an avid birder but it was my friend’s first time birding (but now not the last!) we saw over 50 species (18 lifers for me!) and it was just so so much fun! Carlos and Lugo were so easy to be with—great conversation, great birding, great lunch, great communication before, promo ebird listing, and great and easy pick-up meeting. I definitely want to come back to Cancun and when I do the first thing I will do would be to schedule more trips with Carlos and Lugo! Thank you both for such a special day!

I had an amazing tour with Carlos. We saw over 45 species of birds in a morning. Carlos is excellent at spotting birds and is enjoyable to be with. I highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to do see some cool birds in a relatively short amount of time.

Two guides were really expert. My wife prepared a list of birds she wanted to see, they found most of them!

We had a phenomenal time birding with Carlos and Lugo. I took my boys, ages 7 and 10, and my mother in law as well as an avid birding friend. They were so accommodating of our entire group. We saw 60 species of birds in just a few hours - it was incredible!!! The photos that Lugo took were awesome and my kids were completely engaged. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone new to birding or even if you are a very avid birder. Our friend who came with us has been birding for 35 years and she even saw 25 new ones to add to her lifetime list. They had coffee and plentiful snacks, and they stopped at a very local place for us to have delicious quesadillas on our way back. The kids will always remember this experience and I'm so grateful we were able to go with this tour!

Carlos was amazing! He is a serious birder and is very knowledgeable in sight and sound of birds. He definitely has an eagle eye and doesn’t miss a thing. He provided more than we had even hoped for, including: coffee, croissants and an amazing local, authentic lunch. We will be seeking him out specifically for our next trip.

I went on a bird watching tour with Contoy excursions and Carlos was our host. We went to a quiet area of the jungle and saw an amazing amount of birds in the first few minutes alone. One of the birds I wished to see was a toucan and a hummingbird as from Europe we don’t see these exotic birds at home. As we were looking at the birds a group of spider monkeys appeared in the trees and as I turned around a tarantula walked across the road. It was a spectacular experience and I loved every minute. Carlos was an expert in the bird calls and knew all the songs and what was around us. We also received photos of the birds we saw on the day was a fantastic touch It was a day I will always remember

I can’t recommend this tour and, in particular Carlos, enough! My daughter and I were looking for a tour where we could get off the resort a bit and see some interesting birds and other jungle creatures. Carlos’ enthusiasm was contagious! He was so kind, knowledgeable and so much fun! When he saw that my daughter was more interested in the insects than the birds he started to also point things out for her and she was thrilled when he found a tarantula! I was thrilled at the little grey fox and the over 30 bird species, all new for me! At the end of our amazing day birding we arranged for Carlos to take us on a night time herping and insect hunting tour, and that absolutely blew our minds!! Seriously, the most amazing thing I have ever done. We saw everything from tree frogs and tarantulas to mantises and scorpions! Carlos and Lugo kept us safe, laughing, amazed, and gave us the experience of a lifetime. I would book with him again 1000 times!

Carlos was an incredible guide and this is a tour not to be missed if you’re a bird watcher. We spotted 57 species, almost all of which were new to us even though we’re experienced birders with 400-500 on our life list. Carlos was able to spot and identify the birds instantly, and he kept a running list on eBird for us. He even offered to take pictures with his camera on our spare memory card and got a few pictures of species that we missed. Among the highlights were a ruddy wood creeper, a Pygmy owl, a laughing falcon, a Yucatán Woodpecker, Altimira Oriole, and Black-headed Trogon, just to name a few. Can’t wait to come back again and find another 50 new species! Highly recommend this tour and Carlos as a guide.

Carlos was a pleasure to bird with. His knowledge, skill, and friendly personality were so much fun to spend a morning with. He knew some great places to see a variety of birds, including all of my top wish list species. I would love to go birding with him again!

Carlos did a wonderful job finding us the birds we were anxious to see, such as the Motmot and the Trogon. My wife is not as experienced birding as I am, and Carlos made sure she saw everything and had a good experience. I would love to go birding with him again someday!

Carlos was my guide for the birding tour. He was extremely knowledgeable, easy to talk to and caring during the trip. He made sure everything was on track and customized my trip so that I saw the priority birds that I wanted to see, in addition to many of the endemic birds that I would not see anywhere else in the world! He is a birder of passion and enjoys finding good bird, which makes the trip whole worthwhile and enjoyable.

Carlos was the best tour guide we've had the pleasure to meet, he is an avid and experienced birdwatcher and knows all the best spots. We would come back just for another tour with Carlos.

This was such a good experience. 47 bird species including two species of Toucan and two species of Hummingbird. Carlos was a fantastic guide, he was so knowledgeable and friendly. Because of his bird calls a lot of the birds came to us from him calling them, so much so a Ferruninous Pygmy Owl actually followed us for a part of the walk! You got the feeling from Carlos that he really enjoyed birdwatching and he was just as excited to see the birds as I was, which was great. His knowledge of the flora and fauna was also excellent.

Wife and I booked a price bird watching tour. Our tour guide, Carlos, picked us up from resort lobby on time. While driving, Carlos asked us about our expectations for day. (Is there a specific bird you want to see, do you want to do long hikes, short hikes or very short hikes.) We told Carlos we simply want to see as many different birds as possible. Carlos drove us about and hour from the resort. We made 3-4 different stops where each stop was a short hike. In the end we saw more than 50 different species of birds. Carlos is a passionate, knowledgeable and enthusiastic birder. The tour greatly exceeded our expectations. We may return just to book another tour with Carlos.

Our excellent tour guide located 35 species such as toucan, tanagers and orioles in short time to us!

I had an AMAZING day of birding with my guide Carlos. He picked me up at my hotel right on time (Contoy also texted upon booking and again the day before the tour to confirm). We drove about 20-25 minutes from Cancún before making our first birding stop and hopped around between multiple locations, making the most of the day and following the bird activity. Carlos was a true expert in finding and identifying the birds of the Yucatán peninsula, with a knack for finding hidden birds in the brush and locating birds by their call. We were able to see 70 species of birds in just a half day (!!!), including two kinds of toucans, multiple kinds of orioles, beautiful jays, Pygmy owls, a yellow warbler, lineated woodpeckers, and countless more. I was traveling solo but paid for 2 passengers given their minimum booking requirement, and even so feel like I got a steal of a deal. Following my trip, Carlos was kind enough to share photos commemorating our sightings and an eBird checklist with all the birds we saw. 100/10, would absolutely recommend!

Carlos was a truly amazing tour guide-- extraordinary knowledge about the birds of the Yucatan, particularly endemics-- as well as habitats, ecology, and bird behavior. He has unmatched enthusiasm--truly loves birds and showing them to you. He tailored the day to interests and skill level. He was relentlessly determined-- and successful--in finding the birds and was kind enough to extend the tour to see more. 70+ species in one day trip, including over 50 lifers-- far exceeded my expectations. He knew the places to get great views for photography. Just an extraordinary number of habitats right near Cancun to bird with an amazing guide. Pickup and drop-off from hotel was easy.

This bird tour was absolutely amazing! We were with Carlos, and you could tell he both had deep knowledge and genuine excitement about the birds in the area. He was able to easily spot and identify each bird, and help us find them as well with the extra binoculars he provided. We first walked along a more woody-area path, and then along a costal area, and saw birds ranging from adorable to majestic, including some only found in that region. The scenery of the tour was quite beautiful as well - we were in Isla Blanca. At the end, I surprised my girlfriend with a proposal, and Carlos helped set all that up too, being our surprise photographer. He also provided us with coffee and pastries for the early pick-up, and some sandwiches for lunch afterwards. The contents of the birding tour was amazing, and our guide, Carlos, made it even better. This was truly an unforgettable experience.

We absolutely couldn't be happier with our birding tour. Lugo picked us up at 6am sharp at our hotel in Cancun. We stopped for coffee and breakfast to go and then made our way to the first stop. He asked what we were excited to see and chose the route based on the list we shared. We saw over 45 different species of birds (toucans, motmots, orioles, trogons- see pics) with the help of Lugo. He knew the calls, behaviors, and common spots for all of the birds that we hoped to see. We very much enjoyed his company and would love to come back next year for the same tour. It was the highlight of our trip.

We loved our guide, Lugo. Thank you Lugo! The trip was nice, he knew all the birds we saw and thanks to his knowledge of bird call sounds, we ended up spotting a lot of birds we wouldn't have otherwise seen. It was clear he was passionate about birding and protecting nature. We thought out guide would know English and Lugo was not fluent but he knew enough to help us learn about the local birds but not enough for us to get to know each other at 6am. He was on time to pick us up and was very generous with his time at the end. Thank you!

Carlos was extremely knowledgeable and friendly! He had a level of excitement and passion for birdwatching that was infectious. Carlos clearly has a natural talent for spotting and calling the birds. He was also genuinely excited to share this experience with fellow bird lovers. We got to see 30-40 different bird species on this excursion. And it will not be the last time we go with Carlos! To note: Carlos has a pair of binoculars for himself and one extra pair to share. If you’re going with a group best to bring your own pair.

Transportation from the hotel and back was seamless and on time. Our guide Luís was friendly and identified all the birds by both sight and sound in both Spanish and English. He was able to help us find clear views of birds through dense jungle. We saw more than 40 different species. This was truly a breathtaking experience.

Fantastic! Couldn’t say enough good things. Carlos picked us up at our hotel with coffee, pastries and fruit. He pointed out each bird and called them to attract when he heard them nearby. He is extremely knowledgeable and you can tell he is passionate about the birds. We saw over 40 species and he provided extra binoculars. He took wonderful photos that he shared with us along with the E-Bird list. We had a nice roadside lunch. We had the most amazing time. I’d recommend long pants and bug spray. We had only packed for pool and beach, but I wished I had been better prepared. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed even the buggy parts.

Saw almost 50 species of birds, many for the first time for my spouse and I. Our guides passion for birds and nature was apparent from the first minute and his knowledge of bird calls, habitat, and sharp eye helped us see many species that would have been hard to find. Even our driver got in on the action! Definitely recommend booking with a group to save on per-person costs.

We went bird watching with Carlos and Hernán. The entire experience was brilliant and we had a great time. Neither of us had been birding before, but they explained everything perfectly and the entire experience was super relaxing and enjoyable. We saw 41 different species of birds, and Hernán took amazing photos they were kind enough to send very soon after our tour. We even saw a spider monkey which was awesome! Try this out, you won't be disappointed. Perfect unique experience :)

I had a trip planned to the Riviera Maya of Quintana Roo with friends in September 2020. I was going to do a significant amount of birding while there, walking from the hotel each morning, but I wanted a guide to take me to a local hotspot for at least one day. I did a bit of research and chose Contoy Excursions with Carlos as my guide. It worked out very well for me, it probably could not have worked out better. We stayed near Playa del Carmen and during covid I did not want to venture far from the hotel or deal with public transport. Contoy Excursions recommend birding the Ruta de los Cenotes, the Route of the Cenotes, originating from Puerto Morelos where Carlos would take me to his ‘secret spots’ along the roadway and onto some branch roads and trails to see the Yucatan specialties of the area. Birding did not take us literally to the famous cenotes which are along this same route. I have been birding for 40 years and have led birding trips. I have birded in the tropics twice so I have experience there also. Carlos did an excellent job as a trip leader. He is very knowledgeable, communicates very well, is pleasant to be with and really excels at ‘getting you on the bird’ to get you a good look and, when conditions are right, a good picture. Carlos kept an eBird log for the day and took his own pictures which he later shared. Regarding birding, I entered 50 species for the day, of which 40 were birds of the Yucatan that you do not see in the states. I was well satisfied with those results. Prior to coming I had a target range of reasonable (not rare) species that would be Life Birds for me for the trip and I hit the upper end of that target range. Regarding the logistics, Carlos picked me up right on time in a nice sedan, 5:30 am, from the hotel entrance, brought coffee and a croissant, and we were off. We birded into late morning. Carlos had brought extra bottled water along with a basket with fruits and good sandwiches for a mid-morning break. Knowing this in advance I did not have to plan anything, just get up and go. The tour group that I was with had their own birding excursion. They could not match what Contoy Excursions can do for you. I can recommend Contoy Excursions and Carlos to both experienced birders and to travelers new to adventuring south of the border. We had a great day together. Excellent job.

carlos was very educated in the local birds and areas. my wife and i saw about 41 different birds including the beautiful mot mot and pygmy owl. this is a must trip for a birder.we cant wait to return and see new areas with carlos. see you soon and thank you michael and amy west.

my wife and i saw about 41 different birds including the beautiful mot mot and pygmy owl. carlos is very educated in the local birds and areas. his excitement lasted all morning and yours will to. we will do this trip again in new areas in the future. this is a must trip for a birder. thank you michael and amy west.

The bird watching tour went from 5:30 AM and throughout the morning with 59 species seen in the Central Vallarta Town and Reserva Toh. Eduardo and Carlos were extremely experienced and knowledgeable. They were very patient with me, a fairly inexperienced birder, as they repeatedly pointed out birds if I could not easily spot them. Carlos's enthusiasm was marvelous and Eduardo took pictures, sending some afterwards. What a bonus! I cannot recommend this tour enough for both experienced and less knowledgeable bird watchers. I would do it again!

Fabulous! Best birdwatching tour ever. We saw 46 species in less than 3 hours. We saw 4 speices of hummingbirds in just a 200 metre stretch! Carlos and Eddie were very knowledgeable and patient with us novice birdwatchers. We gleaned so much.