Tour Information
ENTERING BRAZIL: A passport is required for traveling to Brazil for any purpose. Your passport should be valid for at least six months after the date the tour ends and have a blank page available for the entry stamp.
VISA: Starting April 2025, a visa will once again be required for U.S., Canadian, and Australian citizens to travel to Brazil, regardless of the purpose of travel. For more information about visa requirements, visit the Brazilian government-authorized website, https://brazil.vfsevisa.com. Visas must be sorted in advance of your trip or you won’t be allowed to board your flight to Brazil. For more information, see https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/consulado-miami/information-about-visas-in-english/electronic-visitor-visa-e-visa
For current entry and customs requirements for Brazil, travelers may contact the Brazilian Embassy at 3006 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20008; telephone (202) 238-2700; http://washington.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us.
It is always a good idea to take photocopies of your passport and air ticket with you when traveling abroad. They can prove invaluable in helping you get replacements if your original documents are lost or stolen. You should pack the photocopies separately from the originals. It’s also a good idea to have a scan of the passport (and visa) saved somewhere online: in Dropbox or in your email, for example.
COUNTRY INFORMATION: You can review the U.S. Department of State Country Specific Travel Information here: http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/country/brazil.html, and the CIA World Factbook background notes on Brazil at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html.
PACE OF TOUR: As on most of our Neotropical tours, we have only 12 hours of sunlight for birding, and because Bahia is quite far east in the country, sunrise is around 5:00 am. Thus we will be making early starts most days (4:30-5:00 a.m.) so as to be out in the field for the first few hours of the day when birds are most active. We will normally have very early breakfasts at our lodging before birding, rather than come back for a later breakfast. There will be occasional optional owling excursions before or after dinner, and these will of course be longer days. Although we walk at a slow to moderate pace, we will bird for hours at a time on most mornings. Be aware that you may not be able to return to the lodge or vehicle on your own if you become tired. Other than on traveling days, we will return each day to our accommodation for lunch, venturing out into the field again in midafternoon. Participants should be able to walk at a slow to moderate pace for four to five hours at a time with frequent long stops (the longest trail is about 3 km), and a small travel stool is handy for those who find standing for long periods especially tiring. Most trails are flat and well-maintained but may have numerous exposed roots and rocks. The trail to Morro do Pai Inacio is steep and rocky and only the fittest of us will be able to enjoy the view at the top, while most of the group will probably just hike the lower, easier part of the trail – enough to see most of the interesting birds there. If you have any concerns regarding your physical ability for the walking demands of this tour, please contact the WINGS office.
ALTITUDE: Locations visited during this tour are at low elevations, from sea level to about 4,000 feet.
HEALTH: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all travelers be up to date on routine vaccinations. These include measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, polio vaccine, and your yearly flu shot.
They further recommend that most travelers have protection against Hepatitis A and Typhoid.
Malaria: Malaria is basically nonexistent in the areas we’ll visit, and the CDC considers the risk low. There have been no outbreaks in over 20 years, and we’ll be here during the dry season. If you choose to take anti-malarial drugs, please remember that many must be initiated one or more weeks before the period of exposure and continued for several weeks after it concludes; there are some potential side effects to consider.
Yellow Fever: A current Yellow Fever vaccination is recommended by the CDC but is not required by Brazil for entry. Note that new evidence suggests that a single such vaccination lasts a lifetime. Please consult your physician.
Please contact your doctor well in advance of your tour’s departure, as some medications must be initiated weeks before the period of possible exposure.
The most current information about travelers’ health recommendations for Brazil can be found on the CDC’s Travel Health website at http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/brazil.
Elevation: Locations visited during this tour are at fairly low elevations, from sea level to about 3,500 feet.
Insects: Many potential health problems can be prevented by adequate protection against insects. Even when mosquitoes may be sparse, biting gnats, ticks, and chiggers can still be a nuisance.
Smoking: Smoking is prohibited in the vehicles or when the group is gathered for meals, checklists, etc. If you are sharing a room with a nonsmoker, please do not smoke in the room. If you smoke in the field, do so well away and downwind from the group. If any location where the group is gathered has a stricter policy than the WINGS policy, that stricter policy will prevail.
Miscellaneous: We do not often encounter snakes and take time to observe them whenever possible; most are not venomous, and venomous ones are not aggressive; we’ll always be within driving distance of medical assistance in the case of an emergency.
One can never completely escape the risk of parasites or fungal infections. Please consult with your physician.
We avoid tap water but filtered and bottled water are readily available.
CLIMATE: We’ll be in Bahia at the very start of the rainy season, when song activity peaks. This usually means a good chance of an afternoon or evening rain or two, but it probably won’t rain most days; having a poncho or travel umbrella in your daypack is recommended, but trails will not be muddy enough to warrant rubber boots. As we’ll be at lower elevations during the entire tour, it will be hot in the sun, with daily highs usually in the upper 80’s F (30 ºC). Night and early morning can be cool (around 50ºF; 10ºC)
ACCOMMODATIONS: We’ll be staying in good quality hotels in Salvador, Lençois and Porto Seguro. Hotels in Mucugê, Canudos, and Boa Nova are more simple but very nice options near our birding locations. In Serra Bonita we are staying in a family run lodge, were rooms and food is simple but with a wonderful view on the forest from your room terrace, excellent feeders and wonderful forest all around the lodge. All rooms will have a private shower and toilet. Wifi is available at all our accommodations (sometimes slow). AC is available everywhere but at Serra Bonita (where the nights are cool and AC will not be needed).
FOOD: The food is varied and scrumptious throughout, typically served buffet style. A green salad (often with locally grown greens), rice, and beans are standard fare, and the main dishes, sides, and desserts vary continually.
Drinks: Bottled water and/or a soft drink or a beer is provided at lunch and dinner, as is coffee or tea. All other drinks or ‘personal’ drinking water for use in your room etc. is the responsibility of the individual; our lodges typically have filtered water available for refilling your own bottles. We also provide purified water on the bus for use during the day. As it can get hot and dry, we recommend you bring a large, good quality water bottle and keep this topped up.
Food Allergies / Requirements: We cannot guarantee that all food allergies can be accommodated at every destination. Participants with significant food allergies or special dietary requirements should bring appropriate foods with them for those times when their needs cannot be met. Announced meal times are always approximate depending on how the day unfolds. Participants who need to eat according to a fixed schedule should bring supplemental food. Please contact the WINGS office if you have any questions.
TRANSPORTATION: We will use the same minibus during the all tour. We will need to use 4x4 vehicles to reach Serra Bonita lodge. Some roads may be quite bumpy; anyone susceptible to motion sickness should bring an appropriate remedy. The tour includes four long travelling days, so bring a book or music to enjoy these drives.
Updated: 18 April 2024