Didn't receive any information from the company and they never showed up to pick us up. Called their number and it was a dead line. Now I'm wondering how to get my money back for a trip that never happened.

If you are into nature, this is the place to see the vast diversity of birds Colombia has to offer. Amazing macaws, silly toucans, magestic peacocks and monster iguanas, amongst others.

I had thought this was to be a small group, but it was the guide, driver and me The driver was expert in navigating difficult roads, horse and donkey drawn carts and many motor cycles wearing in/out. PLUS a deluge. The guide was friendly, had led several groups into the Aviary and was knowledgeable, fluent in English and often prepared me for upcoming sights. The Abiary is not to be believed. I was there during a rainstorm, had the place to myself and birds were super friendly and comfortable going up to me, landing on my head and arm This is not to be missed. Allow at least 2 hours. Worth every penny

This deserves zero stars. 1 star for the tour guide. But the actual experience is a scam!! DON'T DO IT!!!

The small group half day tour to the aviary was wonderful. Our tour consisted of four people and the tour guide, Andrea; as well as the driver and two apprentice guides. Andrea was amazing, as were the two apprentices!! Andrea knows so much about the birds in the aviary, as well as the local environs, and was able to answer all our questions. The aviary is a beautiful place to visit if you are interested in birds and the natural environment around Cartagena, but the signage is limited so a guide is a big help. The local lunch that followed was excellent. The morning departure was a few minutes delayed as the driver needed to pick up the group members at various locations around the old city, but the team updated us by text so we were aware. The tickets to the aviary and the lunch were included in the tour fee. I highly recommend this tour!

The tour was so very much worth it! Guides were very knowledgeable and personable, very flexible and very attentive to the needs of our group . We opted to have lunch at the beach and a little beach time which was a great experience in itself— excellent lunch and fun in the water. Again we were very well taken care of. I can’t recommend this highly enough!

The visit to the Aviary was simply wonderful, made even more so by our guides Yerlis and Wilberto. They were very accommodating , allowed plenty of time in the aviary and also pointed out various other things on our way to and from the Aviary. Lunch was delicious and it was special to sample the local cuisine. Yerlis and Gilberto have my highest recommendations.

Our guide Yerlis along with our driver Wilberto picked us up at our hotel exactly at 8am as booked. A 45 minute drive to the Aviary, arriving just as it opened and no one else was there. The buses arrived just as we finished. We avoided the heat of the day. Yerlis was an excellent guide, identifying the birds and local flora and fauna. This place is amazing! Most of the trips are half day at the avairy lunch and the beach. We aren’t beach people and definitely wanted to spend lots of time learning about the birds and local life. We did! See some attached pics. After we were finished we went to a very local restaurant where Yerlis ordered a fabulous fish soup, a fried whole fish, coconut rice, avocado, fresh lemonade and a coconut lemonade which is a local drink. Couldn’t have been better! This your may be a bit more expensive then others but worth every bit. Yerlis also offered suggestions for other tours we were interested in and restaurant recommendations.

We had a wonderful time with Yerlis and Wilberto as our guides! Yerlis communicated with us the night prior to the tour to confirm pick up location and time. They ran a bit late in the morning due to unexpected street closures, but Yerlis kept in constant communication with us. She was a wonderful guide and let us take our time in the aviary. We had a wonderful meal after the tour at a local restaurant. Wilberto was our driver and he was very kind and even stopped for us to take some photos of a view on the way back. I highly recommend this to anyone hoping to visit the aviary.

The Aviary itself is a beautiful, enchanting place - so many different species of native and migratory birds to see and learn about. Our guide, Yerlis, was incredible - very kind, accommodating, and a great photographer :) She was knowledgeable about the birds and helped us understand even more about the local culture in Cartagena. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at a local spot after the tour - she ordered Mojarra Rojo for us, which came with patacones, arroz de coco & and avocado salad, plus a refreshing limonada. We were full from such large portions, but truly delicious local cuisine. If you don’t want to eat fish, be sure to ask what else is available. We didn’t have any plans later that afternoon, so Yerlis offered to take us to a few different excursions based on our interest and availability. We were enjoying our time with her and our driver Wilberto so much that we agreed to visit another place with them that afternoon, and decided on a canoe ride through the Mangroves, which was a very interesting and enjoyable experience. Afterwards, she shared many photos of us that she captured throughout the day, and gave us a recommendation for a beautiful upscale eatery in downtown Cartagena, which we did end up visiting that night (Úma Catina). We look forward to our next visit to Cartagena and will surely reach out to Yerlis and Wilberto as our guides for our next adventures :)

This company cancelled my tour on the morning of the tour by email. I think cancellations should be the evening prior at least?

We thought this was going to be a day trip with birds in the morning and beach in the afternoon with a meal sandwich in between. I think there was a glitch on the trip advisor site because the beach wasn't included. What you get is a chauffeur driven ride to the bird sanctuary accompanied by a guide followed by a meal at the canteen for the local oil refinery. Decent hearty meal but I doubt Anthony would agree with some of the comments made by other. The host was nice enough, I do wish he hadn't told my gf that she looked better on film than in real life.

Wonderful experience, highlight of our trip to cartagena. Jose was an excellent guide. Aviary beautiful and not too many tourists. Excellent local lunch afterwards.

If an excursion is operated by JV travel you know you're in good hands. Our guide Jose was very knowledgeable about the birds within the aviary along with the history of Cartagena and how to navigate the beach without being ambushed by people selling things. This was like 3 tours in 1 and worth every penny. I know when I come back to Cartagena or any part of Colombia and JV travel has an excursion I'm definitely signing up.

The aviary opened around 2018 and is well designed with walkways that sometimes are a tree height so you can get a very good look at the birds. The areas for the birds are usually quite large and there is a good variety to see. We enjoyed the excursion there and would recommend it to anyone who would enjoy seeing some of the many bird species in the area. Lunch at a local restaurant is included in the trip which we also enjoyed.

Oh my gosh, Katty is an amazing woman. She drove me out to the Aviary, which is in an isolated location. She is knowledgeable and she gave me a thorough background of the birds. She is a great conversationalist! I felt like I was on a trip with a friend. Afterwards, we went on a mini hunt through the Old Town to find local fruits (I'm vegan) for my lunch. If you're not vegan, the tour guide will be sure to take you to a great place for traditional arepas or other Colombian fare. I got a fruit plate from the Palenque women. Then, Katty found fresh coconut water and azucar mangoes. Don't forget the sweet mangoes! I felt just like Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmerman on a culinary tour. 😄 Make sure you have some sort of bug repellant. You cannot use a spray inside the Aviary because of the birds. You might want to bring repellant lotion or a wrist band with citronella. It's shady so you don't necessarily need sunscreen.

I booked this experience through AirBnb, and it looks like it would have been slightly less expensive on Tripadvisor (I would have saved $4). I had not made the connection with the prior to my booking. The AirBnb site they have a 4.8 rating I think with a lot more reviews. However, I would have saved $4 and booked with TripAdvisor if I had made that connection. This experience was amazing. Jose was great with the communication and made sure that everything was planned out in advance. Carlos was my tour guide and he was fantastic. He made the drive seem short both ways and was extremely personable. The birds were beautiful and some of the birds also interacted with us. The food was great. The whole experience was worthwhile and I highly recommend it.

I can’t say enough great things about our tour yesterday to the Aviary with Carlos! We were looking for something special and unusual to do near Cartagena. Saw this excursion to the Aviary near Cartagena and we booked a private tour for 4. Carlos was simply a joy. He is a very positive person whose enthusiasm was infectious. He is very interesting and will gladly talk about any topic we were interested in from history, to politics, to birds, sports, and very importantly food! His English is impeccable. Also Carlos was completely on top of the COVID controls and an excellent, non aggressive driver. Apparently Columbia has more species of birds than any other country and the Aviary is the largest preserve. We have a nice drive down to Baru Island where the Aviary is located. We were greeted by pheasants and parrots at the entrance. The place is enormous and we pretty much had the place to ourselves! I have never seen so many exotic and beautiful birds. The layout was so inviting. There was a demonstration at one point which blew our minds. We spent about 3 hours there but it went by so quickly. Then we went to a local restaurant and had a wonderful meal with Carlos. The food was not fancy but was so fresh. The conversation was great. Then a nice drive home where we talked about restaurants and food. The tour went almost an hour beyond what we scheduled. I don’t know which was the bigger highlight - the Aviary or getting to know Carlos. I highly recommend this tour!

Highly recommend this place! I got to see so many species up close and doing their thing! It is more of a bird sanctuary rather than a zoo. They are well cared for, and their habitats have so much attention to detail. They recreated the birds’ natural surroundings (mangroves, dessert, etc). Jose was an excellent guide, and so knowledgable! I swear he knew every individual bird and its personality. My favorite was the Toucans. Lunch was also delicious. Don’t skip this one!

Jose provided a wonderful experience at the National Aviary of Colombia in Barú, just outside Cartagena. From the timely pick-up in the morning to the expert information provided along the way and in the Aviary, it was beautiful day of birds, good companionship and fabulous food at Reynatos, a local gem of a fish restaurant. It is clear that Jose both knows and loves wildlife and nature and is committed to furnishing his guests with a world-class experience.