Colombia Bird Photography Tour: Santa Marta Endemics & Coastal Wetlands

Your guide Tristan meets you at Bogotá El Dorado Airport, where the welcome sets the tone for the journey ahead. A private arrival transfer then carries you from the terminal to the Movich Buró 26 Hotel, your base for the first night before the expedition continues north. Settle into this contemporary urban retreat in the city's business district, with a rooftop bar overlooking Bogotá, refined dining, and easy access to the airport.

A included breakfast precedes a flight from Bogotá to Riohacha, then a transfer onward to Boca de Camarones. Around the indigenous community, dry habitats and the ocean, Los Flamencos Sanctuary birding follows a distinct roadside block, with timing and access kept flexible. A generic lunch is provided before the short scenic drive back to Riohacha, followed by a generic dinner. Taroa, where dunes meet the azure Caribbean Sea, stands out as a desert-beach experience within La Guajira.

An early guided walk near Boca de Camarones explores tropical dry forest, thorn scrub and woodland patches, targeting flycatchers, tanagers and finches. After breakfast, birding continues around the indigenous community and dry habitats at Los Flamencos Sanctuary, with timing flexible to local conditions. A private transfer then runs from Boca de Camarones to Santa Marta, followed by a road transfer into the Sierra Nevada foothills to Minca. At La Casona Hotel, garden and hummingbird feeder birding unfolds at a relaxed pace, shaped by weather and bird activity.

Breakfast precedes a Minca foothill trail birding outing, where possibilities include Black-backed Antshrike, Lance-tailed and White-bearded Manakins, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Whooping Motmot, woodpeckers, Keel-billed Toucan and Golden-winged Sparrow, alongside lower-elevation Santa Marta foothill targets. Lunch follows before a transfer from Minca to El Dorado Nature Reserve, a cloud forest sanctuary with pristine trails and rare endemic birds. Dinner is served, then an evening Santa Marta Screech-Owl search unfolds around San Lorenzo and El Dorado, with timing and access kept flexible according to local conditions.

Morning light at El Dorado ProAves lodge feeders brings close views of Santa Marta Brushfinch, Black-cheeked Mountain-Tanager, Acorn Woodpecker, Crimson-backed Tanager and hummingbirds, with breakfast included before the trails. A full day of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta birding then follows through cloud forest, forest edge and changing elevation, paced to search for Santa Marta specialties without guarantees. El Dorado Nature Reserve, above Minca, offers pristine paths, rare endemic birds and eco-lodging within lush biodiversity, with lunch and dinner available.

After breakfast, head to El Dorado Nature Reserve in Minca for a trail walk block, searching for remaining targets with flexible timing. Later, a relaxed afternoon at the hummingbird feeders near Senekün restaurant offers photography of White-tailed Starfrontlet, Long-tailed Sylph, Crowned Woodnymph, and possibly the endemic Santa Marta Blossomcrown. Stay on the ridge as light softens for sunset views over the Caribbean coast and, on clear evenings, the snow-capped Sierra Nevada peaks. Lunch and dinner are available at additional cost.

After breakfast, birding moves through the El Dorado cloud forest, descending slowly with stops at changing elevations to follow mixed-species flocks and targets such as White-lored Warbler, Golden-breasted Fruiteater, Emerald Toucanet, and Strong-billed Woodcreeper. The route then continues from El Dorado to Minca, with birding stops along the winding mountain road. On arrival, feeder birding in the gardens of La Casona Hotel offers a relaxed session among hummingbirds and cloud forest views. Lunch and dinner are included before settling in at Minca La Casona Hotel.

Breakfast is included before leaving Minca for a coastal drive to Via Parque Isla de Salamanca, arriving shortly after sunrise. If your flight schedule allows, an optional birdwatching excursion in Isla Salamanca offers the chance to observe coastal and migratory species. Afterwards, arrange a reliable private transfer from Parque Isla de Salamanca to Barranquilla Airport for your onward journey.