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News - February 2014

Newsletter February 2014

Ecotours - Kondor EcoLodge

The original & only registered Ecotours - offices at 2 continents

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Europe, Latin America, Africa
 

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Dear Eco-travellers & Friends,

Winter will leave us soon and although we are just halway through our always exciting half-year period in Latin America with tours in Guatemala, Honduras & Cayman Islands, Mexico's Yucatan & Chiapas, Colombia, Costa Rica and more, we start to finalize our bookings for an ever-busy Spring. Will have 6 groups during April & May with different Birding, Mammal & Wildlife programmes in Belarus which became one of the prime destinations in Eastern Europe during the last couple of years thanks to our extremely successfull tours. Still a few places available in some groups, so please contact us for details!

From Belarus we plan to continue to Georgia with several Caucasian endemics at breathtaking sites, there are still spaces available!

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We are happy to announce that we have made a huge step to improve the range of our Professional & Amateur Bird Photography Hides available to our guests. Beside a Drinking and Feeding station hide we have a new Tower Hide for Red-footed Falcon photography, a Raptor Hide for Eagles, Buzzards & Harriers and 2 Lake Hides which follow water-level for Shorebirds & Waterfowl. Please check details here!

Our new Uganda Birds, Mammals & Wildlife itinerary with surprisingly good price you can read clicking here, accompanied with a Photogallery from our 2013 tour. Some more great pictures can be found at our Facebook page which you can check without being a Facebook member! We posted a couple of pics from our latest Ethiopia tour as well.

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There are 2 new Honduras itineraries with amazing species, one with a direct London-Cayman flight and another through the US. Please check out details by clicking here!

We also work on a new attractive Guatemala itinerary which will concentrate Central American species ranging from Resplendent Quetzal through Horned Guan to Red-faced & Pink-headed Warblers; please send an email. 

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Do not forget that we became the first Natural Swarovski Showplace in Hungary at our own Kondor EcoLodge where you can try, hire or buy the latest top market scopes, bins & digiscoping accessories. Unique Tours & Optics deals availablePlease ask a pricelist!

Get special discounts on tours if booked till 31March, 2014

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Late availabilities

Belarus - Birds & Mammals at Ultimate East Europe Read More  18-26April & 4-12May2014; 1299+179EUR

Great Grey Owl, Azure Tit, Terek Sandpiper, Great Snipe, 3-toed- & White-backed Woodpecker, Smew, Corncrake, Greater Spotted Eagle, Bison, Elk, Beaver & many more

Georgia - Caucasian Birding between Europe & Asia  Read More 14-22May 2014; 9 days at 1100GBP+110GBP

Great Rosefinch, Guldenstadt's Redstart, Caucasian Black Grouse, Caucasian Snowcock

Bird Photography from professional hides! Read More; 

European Roller, European Bee-eater, Red-footed Falcon, Hoopoe, White-tailed Eagle, Lesser Grey & Red-backed Shrike, Tawny Pipit, herons, egrets, waterfowl & many more

Best Birding of Hungary at Kiskunsag & Bukk National Parks Read More, 1-8June, 799GBP+116GBP 

9 woodpecker species, Saker Falcon, Imperial Eagle, Great Bustard, Ural Owl, Stone Curlew

Colombia -Western & Central Cordilleras, Cauca Valley & Choco Read More

25March-8April, 2014 - 15 days at 3900USD + 490USD

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Early Bird Offers - Forthcoming attractions


Dragonfly Tour in Czech Republic - Whitefaces, Bluets, Emeralds; Read More; 14-20June,2014; GBP700 + GBP70

Winter Birding Bonanza & Budapest, HungaryRead More; Wallcreeper, Alpine Accentor, masses of Geese including rarities, Great Bustard, woodpeckers; flexible dates; 6days at GBP599 + GBP99

Lake Kerkini; Greece; Read Morewith wintering Lesser White-fronted Geese, Dalmatian Pelicans, Greater Spotted Eagle; 25-29January or 2-6February, 2014; 5days at GBP520 + GBP60

Caribbean Endemics - Cuba, 14 days;  27Dec2013-9Jan2014 14days at 2790EUR + 490 EUR Read More

Birds at Rainforests, Volcanoes & Beaches-Costa Rica, 15days; flexible dates from Nov till April each year

15days at 2990 USD + 410 USD Read More

Ecuador - Highland Special; NW and East Cordilleras, 9 days; March, 2015 Highland Special 9 days at 1,990 + 250 USD

Ecuador – Galapagos Cruise, 8 days Read More; March, 2015 Cruise 8 days at 3,490 + 490 USD

Ecuador All in One March, 2015 - 15 days at 5,390 + 740 USD

Millions of Monarchs & Excellent Endemics; MexicoRead More; 7 days at 1790 + 240 USD - Febr-March, 2015

with pre-tour to Colima-San Blas-Tufted Jay Preserve; 14days, 3,190 USD + 390 USD Febr-March 2015 all 2 parts


Super Saver Offers

From 1-day-long birding to weeks-long circuits in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico from GBP100!  Read More 

Dozens of endemics, easy walking, Mayan nature & culture hands in hands, flexible dates from Nov till April!!

Easy, one-centred Budget Weekends at Kondor EcoLodge, Hungary from GBP299! Read More

Easy, one-centred Budget Weeks at Kondor EcoLodge, Hungary from GBP699! Read More

Choose one of our tours and one of our Swarovski Optics products and get a super price for both! Read More

Choose any of our tours which use our own Kondor EcoLodge and get 10% off till end of year!

We offer excellent quality for attractive price in Eastern Europe, Latin America & Worldwide.

All prices above include all the services, single room supplement, but without flight tickets! Please ask for details! All pics were made during our tours!

We hope we can enjoy a great tour together with plenty of wildlife soon!

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Newsletter Ecotours GiveAway & ABE 2017

 

Ecotours GiveAway & American Bird Expo from 29September 2017

Ecotours - Kondor EcoLodge

The original & only registered Ecotours in Hungary - offices at 2 continents

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Europe, Latin America, Africa
 

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Dear Ecotours Travellers & Friends,

First of all many thanks for spending with us some minutes at the British BirdFair at Rutland Waters, UK during the third weekend of August. This was our 18th BirdFair and was so great to meet with all of you!

Since we sent you a Newsletter in August we do not want to bore you with loads of things again, but there are a few special announcements which we would like to share with you:

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1. GIVE AWAY ANNOUNCEMENT

We arethrilled to announce that our Mayan Birding, Wildlife and Culture program has been nominated as an Unordinary Trip of the Month by InfoHub.com, the #1 travel portal on the Internet specialized in the out-of-ordinary vacations. Passionate about birdwatching and wildlife in general, we see this as a good opportunity to further popularize this form of leisure and to generate awareness in people of the eco issues.

In light of this, we are glad to offer our guests a special prize! Any of you who book the above tour before September 15, 2017 may be eligible for a very special prize from InfoHub's sister-company GPSmyCity - publisher of travel apps for Apple and Android. The GPSmyCity app features offline city maps, self-guided walking tours and travel articles for 1,000 cities worldwide, using which you can turn your mobile into a personal tour guide. With this app you can explore any major urban destination in the world on your own, at your own pace. The GPSmyCity app works offline so there's NO need to worry about roaming charges when traveling abroad.
A lucky winner will be chosen at random to get a one-year full membership of the GPSmyCity app including access to ALL the GPSmyCity content - over 6,500 self-guided city walks and travel articles – to the total value of over $8,000!!!
Book now and enjoy your bird-watching, wildlife and cultural adventure!

We have several flexible dates, different itineraries and very attractive prices!

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2. AMERICAN BIRD EXPO 29Sept-1Oct, 2017

A bit more than 3 weeks and we will be in Philadelphia as exhibitors for the 3rd time at ABE. We would love to meet with you there where we will wait for you with special offers regarding our Kondor EcoLodge in Hungary, other Eastern EuropeanLatin American and Worldwide destinations. Good birding and wildlife experiences with a touch of culture, tasty local food and memorable wine. 

3. LAST MINUTE NEWS

GEORGIA - Incredible Raptor Migration & Caucasian Endemics

4-12October, 2017- 9days at USD1549+USD149 single room supplement

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HUNGARY - 100thousand of Cranes & masses of Geese & many other East European specialitie

7-14October & 4-11November, 2017 8days at USD1199+USD199 single room supplement

BRAZIL - Jaguars, Jabirus & other Jewels of Pantanal & Mato Grosso
22Oct till 3November, 2017 USD4759+USD500 single room supplement
This tour is FULL, but we started to accept prebookings for 2018 with similar dates!
 
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10-19November, 2017 10days at USD2499+USD350 single room supplement
 
We can hit a BIG DAY with 1.2 million Raptors literally in front of us within a few hours. It is surely an unforgettable experience for everybody! We spend also some days with finding tropical rarities, such as Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Lovely Cotinga, Brownish Twistwing, Rosy Thrush-Tanager, several species of Antshrikes, Antwrens, Antbirds and Black-faced Ant-thrush & Streak-chested Antpitta. Alongside the coast and other watery habitats we can find a wide variety of herons, egrets, shorebirds & others, including Cocoi, Agami & Boat-billed Heron, Blue-footed Booby, We can end up with 2 dozens of Raptors, 5 species of Trogons, 3 species of Motmots, Puffbirds & Manakins.
 
Belize -Belize - tropical forests & marshes with Spectacled Owl, Royal Flycatcher, Agami Heron, Jabiru, Mexican Ant-thrush, Orange breasted Falcon, various Parrots & Hawk-Eagles & many more
For some more photos please visit our FaceBook page, you do not need to be a member to enjoy it!

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During all of our tours we use Swarovski bins & scopes which you can try at our Kondor EcoLodge, Hungary's first and only natural Swarovski showroom. You can check the quality of the products in our garden or around, focusing on Rollers, Bee-eaters, Orioles or Hoopoes. Try, hire or buy and you will get a special discount from our tours as well.

We offer excellent quality for attractive price in Eastern Europe, Latin America & Worldwide.

All prices above include all the services, single room supplement, but without flight tickets! Please ask for details! All pics were made during our tours!

We hope we can enjoy a great tour together with plenty of wildlife soon!

Get special discounts on some tours if booked before 31December, 2017!!!Raptor Migration Panama-S05A0868

 
 

Ecotourism

Eco Tourism - The Sustainable Future of Holidays

With an ever increasing focus on sustainability, greener alternatives and cutting down the damage we collectively do to the environment, ecotourism is a great option for holiday makers and wildlife lovers that want to not only have a memorable break and enjoy natural settings, but also help reduce the global carbon footprint of the traditional tourism and holiday industry as a whole. When we think of holidaying in Europe, for example, the destinations that spring to mind are often locations in Spain, Greece, Italy, and so on. However, if you are looking for something not only a bit different to the standard package holiday, then ecotourism is worth considering. There are a number of options in Europe alone, not to mention more exotic locations in South America, that can offer a truly unique and environmentally-aware form of break.

The Current Impact of Tourism

Apart from the reasons listed above, there are wider reaching environmental problems that ecotourism can have a direct and positive impact on, and by choosing this holidaying option, you are personally contributing to these solutions. One of the main problems caused by the ever increasing global tourism market is often related to the development of tourist and holiday compounds, large hotels, and so on. While - within reason - these facilities do not pose a problem in themselves, many new developments are being constructed in locations that were not previously tourist areas. This can lead to a number of local environmental problems. Additionally, as a holiday maker, taking advantage of what ecotourism has to offer can lead to a truly unique experience. Visiting Belarus, or Poland's national parks with the wealth of bison, wolves and elks for example, gives you a degree of freedom not available in most package holidays. These forests are some of the last undisturbed primeval forests in Europe, and offer a wealth of rare bird life and environments that are unique to the region

One concern is how local water supplies are affected. In areas of the Mediterranean for example, or areas with hot climates, water consumption is often increased by tourist facilities, such as swimming pools and golf courses, but tourists themselves often end up consuming a lot of water in hot climates they are not used to. The United Nations Environmental Program, for example, suggests that tourists may consume up to 440 litres a day, which is nearly double what a local Spanish resident might consume.

Additionally, greater tourism brings with it many of the problems associated with greater populations, and often these areas are not prepared or equipped for such a large, albeit temporary, growth in the local population. This can lead to more demand for energy, causing a knock on effect to the environment as more energy must be generated, waste disposal and litter often become more of a problem, and finally the degradation of local natural environments and ecosystems.

How Ecotourism Helps, and What you can do

Ecotourism is based around some key principles that aim to ensure that any ecotourism venture has only a positive impact on local communities and their associated ecosystems and natural environments, while reducing and attempting to eliminate the negative effects that tourism can unfortunately often produce. When it comes down to what you can do personally, simply choosing an ecotourism based holiday is of course one of the better options, and there are some great ways to get hands on. Helping to create and place new nest boxes for bird species like the Roller, Hoopoe and Scops Owl is one, such example, and finding new nesting possibilities for the Red Footed and Saker Falcons can also be very rewarding. Alternatively, a butterfly holiday, where you will help count population density and restore local habitats will offer some fantastic sights of the colorful, elegant creatures, as well as helping to maintain their survival. Furthermore, introducing your friends and family to the ideas behind ecotourism can often be rewarding, and everyone’s first ecotourism experience is often a very eye opening one. You have the advantages of experiencing wildlife first hand in an untouched environment, as well as local communities that are authentic. These experiences alone can really reinforce the need for more ecotourism and the benefits it can bring. There are of course, other sustainable and environmentally friendly ways to holiday. Cruises for example, are often a good choice, as seas travel in general causes much fewer carbon emissions than air transport. Additionally, you have the benefit of experiencing a number of cities worldwide without causing additional strains on local resources. In fact, according to Iglucruise, cruise companies are tackling the sustainability of cruising head on, with many new innovations and sustainable measures being taken to ensure the environmental impact of cruising is as low as possible.

Perhaps the key thing to remember is that whether you are on a traditional holiday or an ecotour, respect for the locations you visit is paramount. Small things such as making sure you leave no litter, keep to allotted trails and paths, and finding smaller, local accommodation can often go a long way to easing the strain large scale tourism can place on communities and wildlife.