February 11-19, 2026 | 9 Days
Experience the natural side of the Dominican Republic with a birding trip that will focus on both migrant and island-endemic species. This unique guided trip will connect you to local people, nature, and the other bird lovers in our group! Along with birding hotspots, you’ll get to visit VCE study sites, meet some of our key research partners, and even visit a private cacao farm and forest reserve that VCE helped to conserve.
General Details
- The D.R. warmly welcomes tourists, and complications are minimal.
- There are multiple daily direct flights from NYC and Boston.
- Our guide will be Iván Mota from Cua Birding.
- We plan to reserve a small bus and dedicated driver to give us plenty of room, and to free up Iván from driving so that he can interact with us more freely during the trip.
- Susan Hindinger, Chris Rimmer, and Jim Goetz from VCE will join the trip.
- Just as a placeholder, all travelers must fill out an eTicket online, which takes about 10 minutes. More details on this as we get closer to the trip.
General daily schedule
- We will have a few early mornings, and some long days, but won’t go overboard. We will adapt the schedule to the preferences of the group.
- We won’t plan any arduous hikes, big uphills, or downhills.
- We will see lots of migrant and island endemic birds, but not all of them.
- We plan to have some evening talks about research and conservation work by VCE and local partners.
Main birding and other destinations
- Day 1. Arrival in the D.R., ideally by early evening.
- Day 2. North, to San Francisco, with visits to the Reserva Zorzal chocolate processing facility.
- Day 3. Visit the forest reserve and VCE Motus station an hour north of San Francisco.
- Days 4-6. West to the north slope of Sierra de Bahoruco
- Day 4. Lago Enriquillo – flamingos and lowland birds, then Puerto Escondido for mid-elevation specialties.
- Day 5. Zapotén – the biggest day, with lots of high-elevation specialties.
- Day 6. Loma Charco Azul – lowland specialties.
- Day 7. Laguna de Oviedo – hypersaline lagoon with lots of water and shorebirds.
- Day 8. Cachote – Eastern Sierra de Bahoruco, and return to Santo Domingo. Several endemics, coffee plantations.
- Day 9. Return to U.S. or onward travel.
Read detailed itinerary.
Fees:
$3,250/person.
What’s included:
All meals beginning with dinner on 2/11 and ending with breakfast on February 19th, lodging, expert birder and naturalist guidance, spectacular scenery, evening lectures, and all gratuities.
Registration:
To reserve your spot on this trip, please complete the trip registration form and submit it along with your $500/person deposit (or full payment of $3,250/person should you wish to make a single payment).
Full payment is due by December 1, 2025. We are unable to offer refunds, so we encourage you to contact us with any questions before reserving your spot and to purchase trip insurance in the event that you need to cancel.
For questions please reach out to VCE Director of Development Laura Prothero at .
