This is the route we designed for people who are just starting out, whether they are beginner birders, beginner photographers or new to international travel. If this is your first trip to Mexico, or one of your first, it is an easy way to begin: we walk on flat and shaded trails, we spend real time at every stop, and every day includes something beyond birding, whether it is a cenote, an ancient Maya city, a village kitchen or an afternoon on a Cozumel beach.

Beginner birders are especially welcome here. Photographers who are still learning will find boats, roadside marshes, open trails and fruiting trees where birds come close and stay still, with time to set up the shot. The ruins, the food and the landscapes are part of every single day, so birds can be one of the reasons you are coming rather than the only one.
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The pace is unhurried, the walks are short and easy, the vehicle is comfortable and the afternoons leave room to rest. We travel in small groups of 4 to 8 travelers: the tour departs with a minimum of 4 and we never take more than 8, which is perfect for couples and for friends traveling together.

9 days

7 full birding
days

+230 birds

2 states

The route begins in Cancun, crosses Uxuxubi, Cozumel Island, Río Lagartos, Las Coloradas, San Felipe, Chichen Itza, Valladolid, Xocen, Ek Balam, Cobá and Muyil, then returns toward Cancun for departure.

Full Itinerary

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Dates Reserve this tour

Day 1 Easy arrival rhythm

Arrival Day

Cancun Airport → Playa del Carmen

We will pick you up at Cancun airport and transfer to the hotel in Playa del Carmen. There is nothing demanding today, so you can settle in, swim or rest. Depending on your arrival time we can plan to go birding in the evening to try some crepuscular and nocturnal birds. We will have dinner together and will review the itinerary of the trip and answer any questions you may have.

Day 2 First forest, then the island

Uxuxubi and the crossing to Cozumel

Playa del Carmen → Uxuxubi → Cozumel Island

We start the morning at Uxuxubi, a Maya community surrounded by well preserved medium forest, where flat tracks and open edges make for very easy walking and a perfect first morning of birding. Our targets will be the Yucatan Flycatcher, Green-backed Sparrow, Orange Oriole and Rose-throated Tanager, along with many other species of the region. The birds here perch in the open and the morning light is soft, so this is also where beginner photographers usually take their first good pictures of the trip. Before lunch we stop at a cenote for a swim in cool, clear fresh water, an introduction to the underground rivers that shaped this whole peninsula. In the afternoon we take the ferry to Cozumel, a short crossing with frigatebirds and terns from the deck, and check into our hotel on the island. For those who still have energy, there is optional snorkeling straight from the beach before dinner.

Yucatan Flycatcher Green-backed Sparrow Orange Oriole Rose-throated Tanager Black-headed Trogon Squirrel Cuckoo

Day 3 Island endemics and a beach afternoon

Cozumel Island

San Miguel → El Cedral → San Gervasio → Punta Sur

We begin at El Cedral, where open trails and flowering vegetation are ideal for spotting the Cozumel Emerald, Caribbean Dove, Caribbean Elaenia and Cozumel Wren. We continue to San Gervasio, the main Maya site of the island and once a sanctuary of Ixchel, goddess of the moon and fertility, where Maya women crossed the channel by canoe to leave their offerings. Its shaded stone paths are also one of the best places on the island for the Cozumel Vireo and Western Spindalis, so we visit the ruins and bird them at the same time. After lunch the afternoon belongs to the sea. You can choose Punta Sur park, with its lighthouse, its lagoon and an almost empty beach, or simply spend the time snorkeling and swimming. We return to the hotel for our second night on the island.

Cozumel Emerald Cozumel Vireo Cozumel Wren Caribbean Dove Caribbean Elaenia Western Spindalis

Day 4 A slow island morning

Cozumel to Río Lagartos

Cozumel → Playa del Carmen → Colonia Yucatán → Río Lagartos

On our last morning on Cozumel we visit a wetland and mangrove zone where the Ruddy Crake and several herons can be seen, and a stretch of coastal dune vegetation with shorebirds, terns and gulls. Most of it is done from the road or from short flat paths, with the birds close and the light soft, which makes it an easy morning with a lot of photography. We take the ferry back around midday and drive northwest into the state of Yucatán, with a late afternoon stop at Colonia Yucatán, where a mix of low and tall forest creates a diverse habitat and a good excuse to stretch our legs. We arrive in Río Lagartos, a small fishing town built along the water, in time for dinner.

Ruddy Crake Bright-rumped Attila Herons & egrets Terns Shorebirds

Day 5 Reserve immersion and pink lakes

Río Lagartos

Río Lagartos Biosphere Reserve and Las Coloradas

A day to have the best of Rio Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, with over 350 bird species documented. We start early with a boat trip through the mangrove channels, where the Mangrove Warbler, Clapper Rail and several species of herons, egrets, terns and shorebirds can be seen at close range and at eye level from a slow, stable boat. It is a good opportunity to practice your bird photography. We continue to Las Coloradas, the pink salt lagoons that are one of the most photographed landscapes of the peninsula. We come back for lunch and a proper rest during the hottest hours of the day. In the late afternoon we bird the coastal sand dune vegetation, a very particular habitat and home to restricted-range birds such as the Mexican Sheartail, Yucatan Wren and Black-throated Bobwhite. After dinner there is an optional and very short outing to look for the Yucatan Nightjar, a bird difficult to see in other places. We spend our second night in Río Lagartos.

Mangrove Warbler Clapper Rail Mexican Sheartail Yucatan Wren Black-throated Bobwhite Yucatan Nightjar

Day 6 Coast, then a Wonder of the World

San Felipe and Chichen Itza

Río Lagartos → San Felipe → Chichen Itza → Valladolid

We drive west along the coast to San Felipe, a village of wooden houses painted in bright blues, greens and yellows that is a photograph in itself. The coastal scrub around it is the place to look for the Yucatan Gnatcatcher, an endemic restricted to this narrow strip of habitat, along with the Lesser Roadrunner, Zenaida Dove and Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture. From there we head inland, stopping at a cenote for lunch and a swim, and reach Chichen Itza in the afternoon. We spend the night in Valladolid, a colonial town made for an evening walk, and near our accommodation we will look for the Yucatan Poorwill for those who want a short night outing.

Yucatan Gnatcatcher Lesser Roadrunner Zenaida Dove Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture Yucatan Poorwill

Day 7 A Maya village and a hidden city

Valladolid, Xocen and Ek Balam

Valladolid → Xocen Reserve → Ek Balam → Valladolid

We start early on the trails of Xocen Reserve. This is a very active trail where we will have chances to see forest birds like the Thicket Tinamou, Mayan Antthrush, Gray-headed Tanager and Gray-throated Chat, with White-fronted Parrots and Lesson's Motmot around the edges. Afterwards we spend time in the village of Xocen itself, known in Maya tradition as the center of the world, where we can see the traditional houses and the milpa. In the afternoon we visit Ek Balam, a smaller and greener site than Chichen Itza where you can still climb the main pyramid and look out over the same canopy we birded at dawn, and we finish the day at the cenote next to the ruins. Night in Valladolid.

White-fronted Parrot Lesson's Motmot Gray-throated Chat Thicket Tinamou Mayan Antthrush Gray-headed Tanager

Day 8 Lagoon, Mayan sites and forest

Cobá and Muyil

Valladolid → Cobá → Muyil / Sian Ka’an → Cancun

The day starts near Cobá, on a forest trail with mixed vegetation that attracts various birds such as the Canivet’s Emerald, White-bellied Emerald, Yellow-winged Tanager and Blue-gray Tanager. We then visit a nearby lagoon, surrounded by aquatic plants, where we can find species like the Ruddy Crake, Snail Kite, Pinnated Bittern, herons, egrets and kingfishers. Next we explore the Cobá archaeological site, where the Ocellated Turkey is often seen depending on the season, and where many travelers take the best photograph of their trip. After lunch we head to Muyil, in the Sian Ka’an Reserve. We will walk through the village and the surrounding forest for about an hour and a half, exploring habitats with flowering and fruiting plants, where birds include the Keel-billed Toucan, Collared Aracari, Lineated Woodpecker, Wedge-tailed Sabrewing and Black-headed Trogon, among others. The day finishes with an optional boat tour to cross the lagoon by the site, and we then travel to Cancun for our last night.

Canivet’s Emerald Ocellated Turkey Snail Kite Keel-billed Toucan Collared Aracari Wedge-tailed Sabrewing

Day 9 Flexible departure

Airport Drop Off

Cancun Area → Cancun Airport

Depending on the time of your flight ticket, we may be able to go birding at some places near the airport before dropping you off. Near the airport are two special places to go birding, Toh Reserve or Malecón Tajamar, where we can try to spot any missing target species.