Name: Wildlife Wonders of Mexico - Birds, Butterflies & More
Start: 2025-01-19
End: 2025-01-26
Location: Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico

Reefs to Rockies

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122 reviews

Jan 19 - 26, 2025

Group size: 7 - 11

Wildlife Wonders of Mexico - Birds, Butterflies & More

Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico

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Reefs to Rockies

Email address verified

122 reviews

$NaN

Jan 19 - 26, 2025

Group size: 7 - 11

Accommodations
Double occupancy. Standard Room at Circulo Condesa; Grand Luxury at Misión Grand; Deluxe at Casa Bocana.
Airport transfers
On arrival and departure days
In-country transport
Expedition Leader
Sheridan Samano, Co-founder of Reefs to Rockies
Local guides
From community-based tourism projects
Actives
Entrance fees
Meals as listed
Gratuities
For guides and drivers, and at restaurants for included meals
Horse rental
if applicable at monarch sanctuaries
Purified drinking water
Available throughout
Conservation donation

Private Room

$875

Deposit: $0

Mexico City Cooking Class

$450

Sold Out

Deposit: $0

Flight Delay - Transfers and Dinner

$40

Day 1
Day 1
Sun, Jan 19: Arrival to Mexico City
Upon arrival to Mexico City, we’ll be met by our local guide and transferred to our hotel conveniently located close to neighborhood parks and markets. Get to know fellow travelers this evening during our Welcome Dinner.
Accommodations: Circulo Condesa
Meals: Dinner
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Day 2
Day 2
Mon, Jan 20: Mexico City, Piedra Herrada Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary
After a bird walk close to our hotel, we’ll head west to Piedra Herrada Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, the closest reserve to Mexico City. It’s possible we’ll be greeted by masses of monarchs in flight down the hillsides even before hitting the trail.
We’ll travel by horseback and on foot uphill to the heart of the sanctuary to witness massive aggregations of monarchs. Standing in the forests of the reserve as millions of orange and black monarch butterflies swarm overhead is a magical sight. Today, we’ll experience it first-hand. There’s also time for birding at Piedra Herrada before continuing to Valle de Bravo, one of Mexico’s Pueblos Magicos and our home for the next three nights. Our hotel offers excellent birding on site, too.
Accommodations: Hotel Misión Grand Valle de Bravo
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
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Day 3
Day 3
Tues, Jan 21: Valle de Bravo and Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
No two days at the monarch sanctuaries are alike so we’ll enjoy a second visit today. In addition to time with the monarchs, we’ll explore on foot in search of birds. Exact locations today will be determined based on current monarch aggregation behavior and locations, weather, and recent sightings.
Accommodations: Hotel Misión Grand Valle de Bravo
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
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Day 4
Day 4
Wed, Jan 22: Valle de Bravo, Mexico City and Huatulco
After a final bird walk and breakfast at our hotel, we’ll make our way back to Mexico City in time for our early afternoon flight to Huatulco. There’s time to settle into our hotel before our turtle walk at nearby Playa La Bocana tonight.
Accommodations: Casa Bocana
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
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Day 5
Day 5
Thurs, Jan 23: Huatulco Pelagic Boat Trip
Today, we’ll explore Huatulco National Park and Biosphere Reserve by boat. In January, it’s possible to observe a variety of pelagic birds including Jaegers, Storm-Petrels and Shearwaters relatively close to shore. In addition to pelagics, we’ll also be looking for marine mammals and sea turtles. Huatulco’s beautiful bays and rocky coastline set the stage for a memorable day on the water.
Accommodations: Casa Bocana
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
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Day 6
Day 6
Fri, Jan 24: Huatulco
Our day begins with a birding tour at Sendero El Candelabro Copalita where we’ll be hosted by Cornelio, well known in Huatulco for his bird-guiding prowess. This is his property so he knows exactly where to go to find the birds. With any luck, we’ll catch a glimpse of local highlights including Northern Potoo, owls, trogons, and more. This evening, we’ll embark on a night hike and turtle walk at Huatulco National Park.
Accommodations: Casa Bocana
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
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Day 7
Day 7
Sat, Jan 25: Huatulco
This morning, we’ll embark on an enchanting jungle experience at Hagia Sofia, an agro-ecotourism farm. A warm welcome breakfast of freshly harvested seasonal fruits and traditional Oaxacan quesadillas awaits us. After breakfast, we’ll explore Hagia Sofia’s network of forest, garden and riverside trails that showcase an array of exotic flowers and fruit trees teeming with butterflies and birds. For those interested, we can enjoy a refreshing swim and natural hydro-massage at “La Compana” Waterfall. Relive trip highlights this evening during our Farewell Dinner.
Accommodations: Casa Bocana
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
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Day 8
Day 8
Sun, Jan 26: Departure
Transfer to Huatulco International Airport (HUX) in time for our flights home. Afternoon departure recommended.
Meals: Breakfast
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Day 1

Sun, Jan 19: Arrival to Mexico City

The Botanical Wonders of Chile was truly an extraordinary trip. The landscapes in Patagonia and the Lake District are jaw-dropping. All of our guides were excellent with quite a breath of knowledge in many areas and we learned so much from them, not just about the abundant diversity of flora but also about birds, animals and the history of the country. Our accommodations were outstanding and one in particular was really exceptional. The food was terrific and even gourmet at several restaurants. We were well treated everywhere we went. The vehicle used to transport us was large and spacious and had plenty of room for our large group. All in all a stellar experience with a wonderful group of very interesting and intelligent people.

By Patty J for Botanical Wonders of Chile on Dec 19, 2025

Thank you so much for your kind words. It was a pleasure helping develop The Botanical Wonders of Chile, so it means a great deal to hear how meaningful the experience was for you. We're especially glad the landscapes, guides, accommodations, and cuisine all contributed to such a memorable journey. We're also happy that the group itself added to the richness of the experience. Creating trips that combine outstanding natural beauty, deep learning, and wonderful people is exactly what we strive for. Thank you for traveling with us, and we look forward to seeing you on another trip soon!

By Reefs to Rockies on Dec 19, 2025

This was our third trip organized by Reef-to-Rockies. Each was different but all well executed by the team. Strong marks for accurate trip description, pre-trip communication, and thorough planning. This trip in particular offered an opportunity to see things in Yellowstone we would have never been able to view on our own. This is not your average sightseeing trip. We were fully satisfied and look forward to seeing where we might join Reef-to-Rockies next.

By Victor S for Wildlife Wonders of Yellowstone National Park on Oct 15, 2025

Overall, the trip was great. There were a few on the ground glitches. And several places I was not keen on visiting. Singapore was lovely as always. I had a really wonderful guide and I enjoyed my hotel. As for Kuala Lumpur; at first I was not quite sure why I was there and had a few issues with the hotel initially. Overall, I loved the staff at the hotel, but was surprised at the lack of even a hot pot in the room. My guide starred out a bit odd, but I ended up really liking him and he had a good knowledge of the city and culture. As for Kuching, I was not a fan and actually would not recommend visiting there. The guide was ok, but it clearly was not his main thing in life. I thought the reserve in Kuching was poorly handled by the park staff and the quantity of ill-behaved tourists was pretty awful. I felt really bad for the orangutans actually. Overall Mulu was great and I loved my guide. She was fabulous. The resort was nice, but sadly a had a group of 36 German tourists who were at 2 locations and air travel as I was. Many were unruly and their head guide was totally rude. As for Sandakan, I was caught off guard by the visit to the WW2 POW camp. I truly loathe visiting places like that. Somehow I missed that we were going here. I am truly glad my husband was not with me here. His father and mother spent WW2 in one of the Indonesian Camps run by the Japanese, barely escaping with their lives. Pete was shocked when I called to tell him that’s where I visited. The nature resort was lovely, the river was fascinating and I I a wonderful guide. The markets in Koto Kinabalu were visually lovely. I would have like to go inside the mosques, which were quite beautiful. But my female guide was not prepared for that or willing to do this at all. The next stop was the Borneo Rainforest Lodge. It was lovely and my guide was wonderful. The staff was terrific and my on-site guide was very helpful and accommodating. Overall Singapore Airlines was accommodating. But, sadly their business class is huge step below business class on Emirates. And the lay down seats are super short and I a quite tall. It was a good trip and I did get to see everything in the wild I actually hoped to see.

By Janet M for SINGAPORE AND MALAYSIA: A CUSTOM JOURNEY on Oct 06, 2025

Carly is an outstanding tour leader with incredible knowledge of birds, mammals, snakes (!), tarantulas, beetles and other bugs, tracks, geology, restaurants, short-grass prairies, tall-grass prairies, and environmental news/issues. She is polite, deferential, patient, and worked hard to give us an experience beyond what we expected. I would travel with her anywhere. The trip's itinerary had enough variety to suit people like me. The ranches and SPLT were highlights, as was seeing the badger cross the road! The day where dinner came late--9 p.m.--was hard; much better to go out again after dinner, as we did the next night. The Cow Palace in Lamar is not great. Breakfast sub-par and rooms that aren't well thought out. No phone charger by the bed, poor lighting, air-conditioning that didn't reach the bathroom in the back, only one towel bar. But I understand we weren't on this trip for the accommodations. It was OK overall. By contrast, the Holiday Inn Express in LaJunta was fantastic in every way. Thanks for booking that one. The van is way noisy inside when on the highway, and we were on highways more than not. It was quite hard to hear others, but not hard to hear Carly. She did a good job projecting. The second-row seatbelt is beyond uncomfortably tight, and I'm a small person. It's a rough ride, but visibility was excellent.

By Janice S for Southeast Colorado Wildlife Weekend - Fall Migration and Tarantulas on Sep 24, 2025

it was the last trip for an octogenarian that included all my key destinations. Unfortunately, it had to be cancelled for medical reasons. Sheridan Samano stepped up promptly with key documents needed to process the travel insurance claim that was processed in a timely manner for full reimbursement. i cannot thank them enough for all their support.