If you are a bird watching enthusiast then bird tours are one of the best types of holiday available. The great thing about bird watching is you can do it from practically anywhere, even your own back garden. However, nothing beats going on holiday to spot birds that you would otherwise not get the opportunity to see. However, if you choose to arrange a dedicated bird watching holiday, should you organise your own trip or go with a professional bird tour? Here are some of the benefits of going with an organised tour.
Better Organised
On professional bird tours you don’t have to worry about sorting out transport to locations, your eating arrangements or your accommodation, because everything is planned and arranged for you. That means there is less to worry about so you can spend more time focusing on bird watching. With the essentials taken care of, you can relax, unwind, and spend your time doing what you want to do, whether its exploring a little more of the location, or looking up different types of birds.
Equipment Provided
If you are a bit of a pro then you will probably have your own equipment already. However, on organised bird tours you will often be able to borrow or rent some great equipment from the company, so check out whether this is possible before you book your trip.
Go to Incredible Places
This is one of the best things about organised bird tours. Professional operators have the contacts and the experience to get you to places where you would find it hard to go on your own. They have the vehicles, the experience and the knowledge of local areas, and this means you can often visit fantastic places that may otherwise be out of bounds.
Experienced Guides
No matter how much you know about bird watching, you cannot beat the enjoyment of having a professional guide with you on bird tours. Your guide will have unrivalled experience of the area you are visiting and will be able to provide you with a lot more information than you could get from a book, as well as making the experience more interesting.
Using a professional operator for a bird watching holiday is even more important, and beneficial, than it is for a regular sightseeing holiday. Their local knowledge, experienced guides and insider information on the best locations to spot particular species, makes them the intelligent option.
Byron Palacios is a Tour Manager for Naturetrek, a tour operator specialising in expert-led natural history and bird tours worldwide. Naturetrek bring over 25 years of experience to their bird tours in some of the most spectacular regions on Earth.
