We were a group of five friends (two couples, one single) for a six day independent/guided birding tour. The lodging and food was very good to excellent. Each of the lodges were excellent in terms of providing opportunities for us to walk around the grounds independently to see many additional species. The driver Sergio was superb as were each of the local bird guides (Gabriel, Geiner, Raul). The bird guides were extremely knowledgeable and worked with us to find the maximum number of species (259) during this short visit. Their knowledge of bird calls were exceptional. I was impressed with how they patiently helped us learn calls and field marks. Most of all, we were very impressed with helpfulness of Adri and Tavo. Not only did they provide invaluable advice and help along the way, they were incredibly responsive to our queries, often responding within hours if not minutes! We would definitely use the services of Costa Rica Focus next time any of us visits!

From beginning to end the trip exceeded my expectations. The small group I was with [4 others] were all wonderful people, there was never friction between us. The lodges were all very comfortable and the food was great, often interesting local fare. This goes for the boat on the Galapagos extension as well. I have never been in such a comfortable room on a boat. The birding was fantastic, made more so by the diligence of our guide Jorge Luna. The trip covered elevations from 14,000 feet down to the Amazon Basin. Costa Rica Focus really knows how to put together a trip !

Went on a 12-day birding tour of Ecuador organized by Costa Rica Focus and their Ecuadorian partner Tropical Birds Tours. This was my first trip to Ecuador and my fourth trip with Costa Rica Focus, and their endorsement of Tropical Birds Tours as their Ecuadorian ground partner was what sealed the deal for me. The trip was flawlessly executed by Diego Cruz and his Tropical Birds Tours team. Logistics, including transportation and lodging both at their own Hacienda Jimenita and other properties was excellent, food was great, and our guide, Jorge Luna, was extraordinary. I had some special dietary requirements which were meticulously looked after. Ecuador itself is an amazing world, bigger and more complex than Costa Rica, and at its current state of development, a little more challenging for the casual traveler. I would not recommend it for roll-your-own touring, but tours like this one will offer you the opportunity to experience it with minimal hassle and risk. The tour itself was a comprehensive introduction to Ecuador, with its 10 days of birding taking us to the high Andes to look for (and successfully see) Andean Condors, to the incredibly rich Choco region around Mindo and Tandayapa on the West Slope and then back through Quito to travel to the East Slope and eventually down to the Napo River and the upper reaches of the Amazon basin. BTW, this is a tour for hardcore birders - more than one day started with a 4:30 departure, and several days involved not terribly fancy box breakfasts, sometimes eaten on the bus. We walked over 4 miles per day, a fair bit of it on dark, steep and/or muddy trails. But the rewards - early morning with Andean Condors, Cock-of-the-Rock Leks and early viewing of many, many forest dwelling birds, were more than worth it. All in all we saw over 300 species of birds and a handful of mammals. All in all, a fantastic introduction to Ecuador, and I I would not hesitate to travel with them.