Birding tours guided by local experts

Our tours are led by local guides who know these forests, wetlands, and coastlines as well as their own backyard. From regional endemics in the dry forest to flocks moving across the salt flats, every outing is guided by experience, local insight, and a deep respect for nature.
Whether you're after great photos, looking to add endemics to your life list, or hoping to bird near ancient Mayan ruins, we invite you to explore our tours. Feel free to reach out with any questions or special requests.

FEATURED MULTI-DAY TOUR

9 day birding trip around the Yucatan Peninsula 

Our most popular multi-day tour is a 9-day (7 full days) trip around the Yucatan Peninsula. It covers the main regions and offers the chance to see around 240 species.

​Please take a look at all of our tours and decide which one is the best fit for your needs, you can also customize your own itinerary. 

SEE OTHER MULTI-DAY TOURS

DAY TRIPS

We cover the entire Yucatan Peninsula and would be delighted to plan a one day trip with you. Please check our birding spots section to explore where you can go birding with us. 
Our main departure areas include:

• Cancun
• Playa del Carmen
• Tulum and Riviera Maya area
• Merida
• Valladolid
• Rio Lagartos
• Holbox
• Mahahual
• Calakmul
• Cozumel 

and others

Check out the itinerary and very interesting information of each location here

Custom experiences

While all of our tours offer opportunities to take good photos, we also offer custom and scheduled bird photo tours for more enthusiastic photographers. These tours will give you more chances to take the perfect shot of that special bird. 

See our custom experiences

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OUR NEXT SCHEDULED MULTI-DAY TOUR

Classic Route: 9-days birding trip

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10th - 20th October 2026

Reserve your spot here!

Our Birding

Spots

BIRDING SPOTS

Our spots are located across the Yucatan Peninsula, covering all the different habitats, from sand dune vegetation in the coast
to tall forest in the south of the Peninsula.
Explore our map, which includes a description of each site and
​ the most frequently seen birds.

Explore

Client Testimonials

❮ ❯

• ★★★★★

  5.0 Excellent

  Birding and Archeology

  We had a great experience with Birding in the Yucatán! Joel was very responsive and helpful in tailoring our birding to what we were looking for. He set us up with a local guide out of Campeche, Wilberth Salas, who is exceptionally knowledgeable about birds and Mayan culture. He led us on two afternoon tours (we were fishing in the mornings) the second included a tour of Edzna Archeological Site. We had a fun time and saw more birds than I expected for afternoon birding.

  Greg S.

  Apr 2026
• ★★★★★

  5.0 Excellent

  Birding experience in Yucatan

  For my first vacation in Mexico I contact Joel Ortega from Birding in the Yucatan to propose me places and guides for birding. He answer me with very good advice for places not far from my hotel. I had excellent birding experience with tho guides - Elvis Jimenez in Cozumel and Axel Vasquez Méndez in Uxuxubi al Natural. They help me to find a lot of birds. For 6 day vacation, including tho ornitho trips I saw 144 spices of birds and 53 lifers.
  
  Thank you Joel, Elvis and Axel for your competence, kindness and helping me to find such a wonderful birds!

  Paradise52514793305

  Mar 2026
• ★★★★★

  5.0 Excellent

  A truly exceptional birding trip with Joel Ortega from Birding Mexico Expeditions

  We have just returned from having a fabulous time with Birding Mexico Expeditions led by the wonderful Joel Ortega on the 12 day tour of the Yucatan Peninsula.
  
  Every birding site, hotel and experience was carefully chosen so that we got the maximum from the trip - Joel could not do enough to ensure that every level of birder was catered for, and with sensitivity to our abilities to spot and identify the over 200 birds that he expertly guided us to find. And Joel's absolute passion for birding meant that we saw most of the endemics and target birds we were searching for, including during some beautiful boat trips where we got up close to so many water birds as the sun set - watching hundreds of Brown Pelicans, Skimmers, Frigate birds, Herons heading home to roost will be unforgettable. And Mexico birds certainly have a lot to give when it comes to making a splash of colour - we adopted the Ocellated Turkey as our emblem for the trip, went on a quest, and found, a Painted Bunting, and spotted a rainbow of warblers, orioles and hummingbirds.
  
  Aside from the birds, it was also important to us that the trip would be a comfortable experience as we knew we would be on the road a lot, that there would be a little downtime and that the accommodation would be a welcomed end point to a long day. This was all absolutely spot on with Joel's planning and it was not a problem when one day we decided to spend the day in the vicinity of the hotel to have some rest (and were rewarded with a day of watching a bat falcon going about its daily business!).
  
  We had some specific requests as a group (and for the main part of the trip there was only four of us), including needing an abundant supply of vegetarian food, fruit and coffee (for those early morning starts!) as well needing to incorporate some walking to keep our steps up. Joel could not have been more generous and kind in looking after us.
  
  The highlights were also meeting members of the Mayan community who welcomed us on their own reserves and cooked fabulous meals and members who were also expert guides of their specific areas. It was clear that Joel was not only passionate about birds but has a deep commitment to and care of the local Mayan culture and communities.
  
  And finally, a big thank you to Sandra, a birding colleague of Joel, who joined us for some of the days - an expert spotter, with a fabulous sense of humour and who generously helped with the purchase of a couple of hammocks, and offered her expert tuition on how to prepare them for your washing machine!

  WanderingLinda69

  Jan 2026
• ★★★★★

  5.0 Excellent

  Great experience with Birding in the Yucatan

  Our experience birding with Joel was excellent. Although we covered a great area of the Yucatan, it never felt rushed. The extra guides he introduced to us kept the days varied and interesting. Boat rides and visit to ruins including Chichinitza, along with the bat cave (incredible!) added to the complete experience. Joel also accommodated our different dietary needs easily. The trip was a success with a respectable increase in lifers and some terrific photos.

  Sandra A.

  Jan 2026
• ★★★★★

  5.0 Excellent

  Yucatán birdwatching

  We did two half day tours one with Axel in Uxuxubi and another with Elvis in Cozumel arranged by Joel Ortega. Both experiences were amazing in spotting numerous endemics and lifers. We are from Texas and would highly recommend this birding trip.

  Bettina W.

  Dec 2025
• ★★★★★

  5.0 Excellent

  Birding in Xocén

  We had an excellent birding trip through Xocen, near Valladolid City we discovered the birds from this birding hotspot. In our first stop we saw the incredible Bat Falcon (Falcon rufigularis). In our second stop we saw and heard more species of birds such as Tourquoise browed motmot, Rose-throated Tanager Yucatan Flycatcher and more.

  Angel Castillo

  Dec 2022
• ★★★★★

  5.0 Excellent

  Hands down one of the best birding days of my life

  I went birding with Joel Ortega in Puerto Morelos in December of 2021, and it was an amazing experience. Joel is excellent at bird identification and has tons of fun stories and experiences that added to the trip. We saw an amazing mix of species I was familiar with, as well as new species and Yucatan endemics. Highlights included a Rose-throated Tanager, a few Ruddy Crakes, and a very nice Masked Tityra. If you are ever in the area and are looking for an amazing guide, I can't recommend Joel more.

  Trevor L.

  Dec 2021
• ★★★★★

  5.0 Excellent

  I highly recommend Joel Ortega as a birding guide!

  My husband and I had two terrific days of birding with Joel Ortega near Merida in January 2022. He speaks English well, is an excellent guide and good company. His fee included transportation in his new car, lunch, and the costs of the various activities. He is very good at finding the birds and at pointing them out so that you get really good looks.
  
  Our first day we birded around the Uxmal Archaeological site. At the first location we saw 41 species in two hours, followed by 17 in the site, and 7 more at the cenote. He arranged for an additional guide while we were seeing the ruins to add the historical perspective. We finished the day by driving down a long dirt road to a cenote where we swam in clear clean water. It was beautiful, with stalactites and mites, changing rooms, and available life vests. The best part was that we saw a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl and got great looks and photos of a Mot Mot.
  
  The second day we went up to Sisal on the coast. Joel worked hard to find all three endemic birds plus a lot more. We started in a brushy area near the coast, then went on a boat ride through a shallow lagoon to an island of nesting birds (being careful not to disturb them). Finally we took another boat ride across a lagoon with flamingos to an estuary into the jungle. At the end was a spring where we could swim. The day ended with a late lunch on the beach, followed by one more stop. It was a great day.
  
  I recommend Joel highly for anyone who wants a birding guide in the Yucatan or elsewhere in southern Mexico. He has a Master's degree and does monitoring and research for various scientists in addition to guiding. He really knows his birds!

  Barbara D.

  Jan 2022
• ★★★★★

  5.0 Excellent

  Birding from Merida

  A trip to the Yucatan is not complete without going birding. You need a guide and Joel Ortega is terrific. He knows where the birds are. He can take you to them and, quietly and precisely point them out. On a recent March morning we saw over 35 species including many endemics and flamingoes! I highly recommend him as a bird guide!!! The experience was as impressive as Uxmal and the Museo del Mundo Maya which were awesome. If you are lucky he will even show you where to get some good tacos!

  Rudolfo212

  Feb 2020

• All reviews available here!

  Leave us a review on the web or discover more stories from our travelers on Tripadvisor.

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If you are interested in explore other states of Mexico, explore our  Birding Mexico Expeditions website 

NOW FEATURING:

 

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