General Tour Information
ENTERING MEXICO: Mexico is now requiring a valid passport for entry by U.S. citizens. Citizens of other countries may need a visa and should check their nearest Mexican embassy. Tourist cards are required and are distributed by your entering airlines.
MAP AND COUNTRY INFORMATION: You can view maps of Mexico here. To adjust the map size, click on the lower right corner. You can review the U.S. State Department’s Background Notes on Mexico here.
HEALTH: It is the opinion of the Centers for Disease Control that travelers to the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chiapas are at risk for malaria. The recommended anti-malarial drug for this area is chloroquine. You should consult further with your doctor about the CDC’s recommendation and what action you should take. You can review the latest CDC traveler’s advisories here.
PACE OF THE TOUR: As with all tours in the tropics, we will try to be in the field at dawn or shortly afterward. Mercifully, this does not entail a 4:30 a.m. departure, as in some other regions. Most birding sites are about 30 to 60 minutes from the hotels, except the drive from Tehuantepec to Oaxaca City, which takes most of the day (with birding stops and lunch en roure). Most or all breakfasts will be picnic-style in the field. Some lunches will be picnic and some will be in restaurants. All dinners will be in restaurants. On several days we plan a afternoon break (siesta) after lunch, when it will be too hot for enjoyable or productive birding.
Birding in and around the Valley of Oaxaca is at five thousand feet, and other than uneven ground, and a few, narrow, scrubby trails, the walking presents no particular problem. We will also venture up to 8,000-9,000 feet in the mountains of Chiapas and Oaxaca, where we’ll will be birding on dirt roads and not in any rush. Near Tehuantepec and Arriaga we may be on narrow trails (one quite steep) in thorn forest, and at El Sumidero we will be birding mostly from a paved road. Near Arriaga, some may wish to venture onto the sandy mud-flats, which could involve getting wet feet.
CLIMATE: Overall the weather should be warm (70s to 80s) and dry (inland) to humid (near the coast), although possibly cool (40s) in the early mornings, especially around Oaxaca City. We rarely encounter rain, except at El Ocote (which is rain forest), but light rain or mist is possible in some areas, especially at Cerro San Felipe.
ACCOMMODATIONS: We stay in comfortable hotels throughout the tour, with private bathroom facilities and restaurants.
TRANSPORTATION: Transportation is by 12-passenger or 15-passenger vans.
SMOKING: Smoking is not allowed in the vehicles or when the group is gathered for meals, checklists, etc. If you are sharing a room with a non-smoker, please do not smoke in the room. If you smoke in the field, we ask that you do so well away and downwind from the group. If any lodge, accommodation or location where the group is staying or is gathered has a more restrictive smoking policy than WINGS’ policy, the more restrictive policy will prevail.
GENERAL INFORMATION & CONDITIONS OF WINGS TOURS: Please take a moment to read the General Information & Conditions here. This section contains important information about how we conduct tours, e.g., what is included in the tour price, refund and cancellation policies, pace of the tours and other information that will help you prepare for the tour.
Updated: April 2007