Best Birdwatching Lagoon Tour

I was looking for a way to experience the natural beauty of Puerto Esondido as a relatively new birdwatcher. Our driver and guide, Ephraim, along with his boatman Edmondo, were both kind, knowledgeable, and willing to go the extra mile to show us wildlife. Ephraim spoke very good English and has lived in this area his whole life and was very familiar with the birds. He provided my hubs and me each with a pair of great binoculars, as well as a bird book and quick reference sheet to help us understand what we were seeing. The lagoon was alive with life as the sun went down, the freshwater river, the surrounding farmlands, mountains and coastal area made this trip an excellent one to see all facets of natural beauty. We'll definitely try the sunrise tour next time and highly recommend this quiet and informative way to spend your time in Puerto.

We thoroughly enjoyed our morning birding tour at Manialtepec. Our guide and driver, Efraim, picked us up at our hotel at 6:45 am and drove us to the lagoon (about 20 minutes from PE), where we met up with our captain, Javier, and were supplied with excellent binoculars. We got a bit of a late start, but spent about 2 /12 hours in the boat, then stopped on a beach for a rest (and bathroom break) and a snack cooked to order by Senora Juanita (bring some pesos). Javier knows all the ins and outs of the lagoon and where all the different birds hang out -- we spotted over 50 species: two kinds of storks, lots of herons (including tiger herons), roseate spoonbills, two kinds of ibis, chacalacas, jacanas, parrots...Some of us on the tour were experiences birders and others not, but we all enjoyed being out on the lagoon and seeing wildlife (and cows and horses and mules!). The sun begins to get strong by 9am so wear long sleeves and pants and a hat and plenty of sunblock. It said to bring our swimsuits and towels, but we didn't swim. Water was provided. Totally recommend!

I visited Puerto Escondido for 7 days and tried multiple tours with Eco Adventures - Bioluminescence, Dolphin Watching, Surfing, Baby Sea Turtle Release, Bird-watching and the Ventanilla Eco Tour. Among the tours, bird watching feels peaceful and sweet. I did the sunset tour, got pick up around 4pm, then headed to a lake that has crocodiles and a lot of birds. The whole boat stays quiet, so we don't scare the animals away. I saw some really beautiful pink birds flying across the sky a couple of times. And I saw many birds resting on top of the trees when we pass by. The whole tour lasts a few hours and the entire experience is really great.