Private Tour

Full Day Birdwatching and Nature Tour

Overview

Available languages

English

Spanish

8 hours

Mobile ticket

A birding tour during your stay in Colonia can be a great chance to experience and learn about the more natural aspect of the city, especially if you´ve already been to the more typical historical sites. Colonia is a highly touristic city, but ecotourism is not exploited in the least. To date there are no other local operators which provide ecotourism services.

Colonia Birding offers nature tours to any nature enthusiasts who would like to get to know our rich biodiversity. At the same time, this would provide income to local communities, thus promoting conservation and awareness of natural areas and species, something much needed.

Furthermore, your guide is a professional biologist and ornithologist with ample field experience. He´s worked in diverse research projects accross Uruguay, where he's learned much during long field hours, not only about birds but also the natural life of Uruguay in general. He is bilingüal in spanish and english, and sometimes ventures into portuguese.

Additional Info

Wheelchair accessible

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Service animals allowed

Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

Bottled water

The typical Mate is included, you will learn how to prepare it and share it during one of our snack stops.

Small snacks of typical local food are included

Private transportation

Tour participants are strongly recommended to bring their own binoculars.

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

What To Expect

Colonia Birding will take you on bird watching and nature tours within the city of Colonia del Sacramento and the surrounding countryside. Around 200 species of birds can be seen in the area. Many of these are specially appealing to tourists from other continents because endemic bird families from the Americas and South America are well represented. More widespread birds such as waterbirds, raptors, and pigeons are also common, although many species from these groups will be new to the overseas visitor. Tours are aimed for anybody ranging from general public and nature enthusiasts to hardcore birders. Focus is on bird watching but you will also see and learn about other fauna, flora, the neighbouring ecosystems, and local fossils. Tours are carried out on foot if in the city itself, and by a mix of driving and short walks if visiting the nearby countryside. Distances are short, so a combination of different sites can be arranged for rich full-day trips. It is up to you to choose which places will be visited. Depending on your preferences we can put together a full-day experience to match your personal interests.

Options

Full Day Birdwatching and Nature Tour

Pickup included

Reviews

5.00

7 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Brilliant tour
D6476WBsusane,
Nov 9, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Rafa is a brilliant birding guide. He also is a biologist, knowledgable about all of the natural history of Uruguay. He is so much fun, he loves giving tours, he loves natural history and he loves people. As a senior woman, traveling alone, it was the highlight of my month in Uruguay. I had many highlights, but my morning with Rafa was the best. We saw 44 species in 3.5 hours, and he shared his understanding of the flora as well.
Totally outstanding guide
charlesbG3570AV,
Oct 29, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
The competition has been excellent, but my wife and I decided that Rafa was the best bird guide we have ever had. Why? Well clearly he knows his stuff, having published a field guide to the birds of Uruguay (author: Rafael Tosi German). But he knew about plants and trees and butterflies too. Rafa speaks fluent English and even drove us around Colonia del Sacramento during the heat of the day. And he also produced the best picnic ever. A great selection of quality meats and cheeses. Thank you Rafa. Needless to say, he found a large variety of birds close enough for my camera...
Exceptional Birder, Biologist, and Guide!
P1438CSglennj,
Apr 19, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
I did a full day with Rafa and had an amazing time. I'm a biologist and birder--and Rafa dialed in the perfect day I was hoping for, even after a last-minute change due to some other family members dropping out. Even though it was windy much of the day, we had almost 80 species, most of which were "life birds" for me, and/or birds I hadn't gotten good looks at earlier in my travels in Uruguay. He took care of all the eBird lists so I could focus on birding, and shared them along with a full eBird Trip Report to pull it all together. Rafa is an exceptional birder, and guide, and really a great biologist with a lot of knowledge to share about local natural history and culture. He's totally bilingual which made things easy for me. He'd be a great guide for hardcore birders or those merely curious about birds and natural history and just wanting to see some areas off the beaten path. Treat yourself to a great day of birding and getting to know the Colonia area!
Birding experience in Colonia del Sacramento
587stijnd,
Aug 24, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
This tour was the best experience we've had in Uruguay. It was the first birding experience abroad of my brother-in-law and myself and we made it count! We wanted to see as many birds as possible from the ones mentioned in Pablo Neruda’s poem “Vienen los pájaros”. We had five possible targets with reasonable chances of connecting with, and we got all of them by midday: cardinals who “bled the dawn”, hummingbirds that “kept the sparks of lightning”, the parrots like “ingots of green gold”, “engineer” horneros, and the Rufous-Collard Sparrow with “its flute recently obtained from the eternity of water”. We also had some pretty neat sightings, including two rare Lake Ducks showing up for the first time at Las Delicias wetland, alongside the largest grebe in the world (Great Grebe). We got two range restricted Warbling Finches, some beautiful tanagers, and shared a picnic lunch with uninvited Great Kiskadees and Horneros as a guest. Hard to top a day like that, thanks to Rafa for a great experience!
Birding - a great way to explore the countryside
LLvcrbc,
Nov 19, 2022
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
We just finished a 2 day tour last week, starting in the Villa Serrana area on day 1, and then heading up the coast from Punta del Este to Laguna de Rocha on day 2. As others have already noted, Rafa is very knowledgeable in ornithology, natural history in general, and Uruguay, and is shares his knowledge very generously. His keen ears, eyes and instincts provided us with a memorable birding experience, and his friendly and easy manner extended that experience to all things Uruguayan. The tour was completely self contained, with transportation and snacks included. Since we were having to book a place to stay one night anyway, we just made sure to find an appropriate place for the night between the two tour days. I would highly recommend this tour for both birding, and getting out into the Uruguayan countryside to learn more about Uruguay.
Fabulous Experience with Rafael!
Steve M,
Apr 13, 2020
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
I can't say enough great things about the tour operator, Rafael Tosi! I am from the United States and am not a birder. Rafael put together an eight hour tour for 3 of us. He picked us up at our hotel in Colonia and initially took us into farmland outside town and then onto privately owned La Arenisca Natural Refuge. During the course of our outing we were able to spot 51 different species of birds. Rafael took photos and kept a birding species checklist and shared these with us. He provided a wonderful, and substantial, snack of traditional Uruguayan food. We also were taught how to prepare the mate drink. Rafael speaks excellent English, is very engaging and humorous. I appreciated the extensive communication he provided before, during, and after the tour. He provided us information about not only birds, but of Uruguay, its flora, culture, and social norms. It was evening by the end of our tour and on the way back to our hotel, Rafael stopped to identify the stars of the Southern Hemisphere for us. It was unbelivable fantastic. We bonded as friends during this tour. I highly recommend this tour to anyone. It was a great introduction to Uruguay. Rafael is a great representative of the best of Uruguay.