MANAKIN NATURE TOURS 

Why choose MANAKIN NATURE TOURS - Colombia?

Simply, because we are a completely Colombian company, that knows the whole country very well. Also we are 100% committed with our customers safety. In addition, because our main goal is to offer the best and with the highest quality service in Colombia and achieve  that the experience of watching birds and nature, in the most biodiverse country in the world is thoroughly enjoyable, memorable and successful for you

We have a wide variety of set itineraries, but we always try to make our trips completely customized depending on the needs and scope of each client. We offer the highest quality transportation, lodging and food that you can find in Colombia. We have professional Colombian guides. All of them:  young, kind, funny and very passionate about birds and nature. Also, they know all the places we visit and have excellent relationships with local people.

Also because we don not think of you just as our customer, we think of you as a great friend.

Our commitment to Colombia!

We use high quality local resources and strongly support community-tourism. We are witnessing that in Colombia wages are low, so we always try to reward and pay well for people services who work with us in the hard days that a nature tour implies. We appreciate these people do their best in order to the tour success.  Keep in mind that this is a necessary factor for having an excellent tour.  People who work with us are really our friends. They know a lot about the nature - tourism business. They are happy about working with us and they are our trustworthy persons. We are sure that you want your money benefit local communities in Colombia by promoting the development of the country.

We want you to be convinced that Colombia is a great country, completely safe and that Colombian people are friendly and committed to good service. We want you to know that here you can find high-quality and category tourism, so we always use the best of the best in all the logistic details and nothing is left unchecked. Being with us you can be absolutely sure you will have a successful trip in Colombia.

Our Tour Leaders!

 All our leaders are young Colombian professionals highly trained and very passionate about birds and nature, they are: kind, organized, painstaking, fun, able to solve any problem, and lead a perfect logistics in any tour. They know all sites we visit, the safety aspects, logistics and have very good relations with local people. All of them have a large network of contacts in all places, that aims that our customers enjoy the maximum staying in Colombia and their nature or birdwatching tour

The Best Logistics for Our Tours!

Hotels

 We carefully select all the hotels where we stay over in order to assure your comfort. We always use high quality hotels which is an essential part of our trip, because we want our customers to have the best impression of Colombia, our accommodations include private bathrooms and showers in each room. Unless otherwise stated. In remote places sometimes it is difficult to have these services.

Transportation

We always use vehicles in perfect mechanical, visual and comfort conditions. During our long runs, we have air conditioning, reclining seats and enough space between them. Likewise we hire drivers with extensive experience in Colombia, very friendly and helpful who meet the regulations and are familiar with our customers demands in terms of mobility. Usually, we use four-wheel drive vehicles or jeeps for short journeys to remote locations where we can watch birds or nature in general. Even if these vehicles do not expire with all the expectations of comfort, we assure you we always choose the best in each location; in order to promote service improvement within communities. For long journeys over 10 or 12 hour road trip, we prefer air services. Colombia has airports in almost all the major cities, fortunately.

Food

We have a wide options range for people with special diets.  So if you are vegetarian, we can arrange according to your needs. We always ask our clients if they have any special requirement regarding food, usually someone does not tolerate dairy foods or does not eat beef. All before is very important for us

Itineraries and Information

We always follow  a schedule and we plan daily activities for you. Never be anything left to do. There will always be a common interest among our clients, either the general observation of nature or birdwatching.  We do not improvise anything in our trips unless circumstances out of our control, deserves it

We report accurate pre-trip details about each route, places, health issues, safety, climate, clothes to wear, activities, journey times and a complete package about what you need to know for having a successful tour in Colombia.

Group size and Clients

We have a maximum groups size; it is 8 clients plus the guide of MANAKIN and an additional guide if it is a tour in association with any birdwatching company. Since we believe that it is essential for carrying out a good trip. In this way we offer you a much more personalized attention, also our guide will be able to respond to each of our clients needs without neglecting none

If you are wondering how are the customers who travel with us, we can say that in general terms they are very passionate people about nature and birds, moreover they are  friendly and willing to do some extra work in order to watch what they want. Our clients are always attentive to every detail and to assess the quality of the trip all the time. They gently advise us about issues for improvement and put all their trust in us. These people have a respectable level of tolerance for Latin manners and they always want   to learn more about where they visit. In sum they are very good people.

The Rhythm of Our Travel

The rhythm of our travels is relatively easy and suitable for guests of all ages.  You do not have to be an expert nature traveler to travel with us, but note that Colombia is a mountainous country with a variety of climates and habitats throughout its territory. There are usually outstanding roads in some of the sites we visited, very cold places, or ones with high temperatures. We generally do not have to walk long distances to find a bird or a special place; however it will have a bit more harder places than others about which our customers will be informed earlier and in great detail. For road trips you should learn that remote places in Colombia usually do not have good roads, for that reason certain travels become sluggish in some sections. But do not worry, transportation is always very comfortable (with air conditioning and comfortable chairs and wide space between them so that you can stretch your legs) we will notify when needed if we have to be in that kind of roads or if we have to replace vehicles for those with four-wheel drive or jeeps to the wildest places.

If you are a passionate bird watcher you should know that we emphasize strongly on finding the birds you need to increase your list. Our trip is pace will depend in this case on how many specialties you need and what is your physical condition. However we have to confess that we are very determined at the time to find your target species, so we offer in our travels the possibility of observing more than 67 endemic bird species and over one hundred of specialties.

Generally and based on our experience we are in a place long enough for you to see all the birds found there. Since we know how frustrating it is to leave one place and not see all the birds due to lack of time. You should not worry because we have to leave soon and hurry; the itineraries are planned always thinking about your satisfaction.

We usually have some breakfast or lunch (which our customers do not have to carry that, except personal water bottles and snacks) in the countryside where we have to sit on the floor. Usually we are always coming to the hotel or lodge before dinner and we never stay over in camps or hammocks. At the end of the day we will be doing a compilation of all species we saw on a detailed and current checklist, provided by us.

All activities within the tour are optional, so long as this does not affect the normal development of tour.  Our permanent goal is that our client achieves the objectives by which he-she chose this trip. We will be always willing to encourage and support you.

If this is the first time you make a nature or birdwatching trip in a foreign country or in Colombia and you have questions, don not hesitate in contacting us. We will be completely pleased to give you as much detail as possible and the best advices for you to have  a enjoyable and memorable trip.

The Cost - Quality relationship!

Our prices include all fees set for the trip from the very moment you step on Colombia, so that no additional fee will be charged. Then, what is included?

All hotels and lodges within the tour accommodation.

All transportation (except for international tickets)

All meals, snacks, and open menu in restaurants.

All entrances to natural parks, reserves, wildlife sanctuaries.

All guides including professional guide for every days tour, carriers, cooks, porters, etc.

Travel insurance for every days tour, which is mandatory in Colombia.

Our prices imply a high quality on your tour. Keep in mind that if you find a company in Colombia with lower prices, it may not offer you a complete package of high quality as we do. Compared with foreign companies our prices are much cheaper, since, as we are a Colombian company, we operate only with Colombian people. Our prices can compete without neglecting the tours quality, which is comparable with major nature or birding tourism companies in the world.

We are one of the few tourism companies specialized in nature and birdwatching in Colombia. Also we have available electronic payments with the best and safest online payment portal of Colombia (www.pagosonline.net) you can pay your trip with any of your credit cards or by transferences to Citibank from virtually anywhere in the world where there is this bank.