Travel - Central America

Where the hummers come to you

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Many hummingbird destinations are privately owned and operated to attract both hummers and human visitors. Many have expended great effort to enhance your hummingbird viewing experience and offer fabulous diversity.

We do not endorse nor have a relationship with any of the facilities. We simply list them here as we believe they are some of the best we have visited. If you know of others please let us know.

If you are an avid traveling birder and seeking specific species I suggest you read some of the trip reports on CloudBirders. They offer coordinates, images, maps and species. Especially the trip reports by Ross Gallardy


Central America > Belize

Twenty-five (25) species recorded. List


Central America > Costa Rica

Fifty-one (51) species recorded. List

  • Quinta GALEON Lodge, (10-15 species) is a beautiful, private, house/mountain boutique lodge, designed to serve small groups who want to enjoy Costa Rican hummingbirds from a soft-nature perspective. Conveniently located in Jardín de Dota, on the northwest corner of Los Quetzales National Park, about 35 miles from San José. Pablo & Tere provide an excellent hummingbird experience.

  • Forty (40) hummingbird species in one day. Writer, birding guide, photographer and Costa Rica travel wizard Patrick O'Donnell offers a 'How many hummingbird species can you see in Costa Rica in just one day?- a plan of attack'

  • Monteverde cloud forest reserve Hummingbird Gallery. Perhaps as many as twenty-six (26) hummers can be seen at the park

  • Costa Rica National Parks

  • La Georgina Restaurant If you ever get a chance to drive the Pan-American highway in Costa Rica, down towards San Isidro de El General, make it a point to stop in at La Georgina for a rest stop. You won't regret it. More

  • Bosque De Paz
    A lush jungle paradise, (and it is a paradise) 1,000 acre private reserve with a lot of variation in altitude, surrounded by magnificent cloud and rainy forests, which constitute the richness of the tropics, in the middle of Costa Rica, at barely 1-1/2 hours from the capital, San José. They claim twenty-two hummer species. We saw twelve in two days.

  • Savegre Hotel, Natural Reserve & Spa
    Eighty-nine kilometers (55.3 miles) south of San Jose in a private natural reserve of 400 hectares and just 9 km. (5.5 miles) from Los Quetzales National Park.

  • Hotel Bougainvillea
    A hotel inside a beautiful garden is the best definition to understand the true essence of the Bougainvillea Hotel. Located 10 minutes from San José downtown.

  • Rancho Naturalista
    Has hummingbird feeders and hummingbird pools. On the balcony at Rancho Naturalista the hummingbird feeders are renowned for attracting many species of hummingbirds. Some of the species possible include the Violet-crowned Woodnymph, Brown Violet-ear, Green Hermit, Green Thorntail, Violet Sabrewing, Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer and Green-crowned Brilliant. On the Verbena Hedges at Rancho Naturalista the Snowcap is a frequent visitor along with the Black-crested Coquette, the Violet-headed hummingbird and possibly the Garden Emerald. 

  • Buena Vista Lodge Adventure Center

  • La Gamba, a small village in southwestern Costa Rica---When the plants are in bloom, this area can be really good for hummingbirds. Heliconias in the gardens attract 4 species of hermits, Charmning Hummingbird is common, and a nice variety of species come to the flowering Erythinas. We had at least 13 species during our stay, including 2 to 3 White-crested Coquettes!

  • Cafe Colibri at Cinchona. To visit the Cafe Colibri, watch for it on the east side of the main road between Varablanca and San Miguel (the road that goes by the La Paz Waterfall gardens). It is situated between the waterfall and Virgen del Socorro.

  • LaPaz Waterfall Gardens
    La Paz Waterfall Gardens is the #1 most visited privately owned ecological attraction in Costa Rica featuring the best hiking near San José, the most famous waterfalls in Costa Rica, rescued wildlife preserve with over 100 species of animals and an environmental education program.

    La Paz Waterfall Gardens attracts 26 different species of hummingbirds from Costa Rica, more species than any other in Costa Rica and quite possibly the world. Approximately 57 different hummingbirds have been reportedly seen in Costa Rica and it is possible to see over 40% of them here! Because you can stand just inches away from the feeders and our hummingbirds have no fear of humans our hummingbird garden is the best place in the world to photograph hummingbirds close up. If you arrive before 9:00 AM or after 4:00 PM you can feed them by hand with our specially designed hand feeding flower.

  • Catarata del Toro in the heart of Costa Rica has more than 27 different species throughout the year. 


Central America > El Salvador

Twenty-two (22) species recorded. List

  • El Imposible National Park
  • Montecristo National Park
  • Walter Thilo Deininger National Park
  • Perquín area along the Honduras border Hotel Perka Lenca
  • Complejo Los Volcanes
  • Coffee Plantations (Finca La Giralda)

Central America > Guatemala

Forty (40) species recorded. List

  • Lago Atitlán An interesting report from someone who moved there and installed feeders. The images are worth a look.

  • Hotel Villa Cuba and others

Central America > Honduras

Forty-four (44) species recorded. List

Central America’s rarest bird, the 'Honduran Emerald' inhabits arid, thorn scrub forest where it feeds on bromeliad flowers, cacti flowers and others as well as small insects. The only populations known to still exist are in the upper Río Aguán valley, the Agalta valley and Valle de Telicathe in remnant patches of suitable habitat.

In the Aguan Valley (Dept. of Yoro) there is now a Honduran Emerald Reserve that was decreed in 2005. In the reserve the Honduran Emerald is actually quite common.


Central America > Nicaragua

Thirty-three (33) species recorded. List


Central America > Panama

Fifty-nine (59) species recorded. List

  • Los Quetzales  Ecolodge, hotel and spa in Guadalupe, Chiriqui. Offers hotel rooms, suites, cabins, excursions, birding, tours and more images.

  • Cana Field Station (Darién National Park). Originally a research facility, this rustic lodge is nestled in the Darién, the wildest and most remote region of Panama and renowned as one of the best birding sites in the world. Ancon Expeditions owns and runs the lodge, but birding specialty tour operators book here, too. Rooms are basic, with shared bathrooms, and meals are shared communally. You can even book an overnight stay at the Pirre Tent Camp in the cloud forest.

    Read more at Frommers

  • Canopy Lodge & Canopy Tower (El Valle de Antón & Soberanía National Park). Birders flock to these two ecolodges for their focus on bird watching and their location in habitats friendly to a wide range of species. The Canopy Tower, a remodeled military radar station in thick jungle, is a cross between a stylish B&B and a scientific research center. It's just 25 minutes from Panama City but feels worlds away, and the 360-degree observation deck here provides stunning views and a platform with scopes. The Canopy Lodge is more luxurious, with minimalist design that blends into the forested surroundings. Outstanding birding guides, a well-stocked library, day trips, and chats are a part of the stay.