Naturetrek Traveller Reviews

Although the main objective was to see tigers - which we did, 5 different tigers in total, we were equally fascinated by the other wildlife, especially the birds of which we saw 120+ different species. We would not have seen or identified many of these without the excellent guide, Anand, and the National Park spotters, who not only saw wildlife which were brilliantly camouflaged, but were able to hear and interpret alarm calls from potential prey which identified that predators - tigers and/or leopard were about. The accommodation in the lodges was excellent, where we well fed and watered, albeit the picnic breakfast sandwiches lacked imagination. The hot water bottles and blankets were much appreciated on the very chilly early morning starts. As we have found on previous holidays in India, travelling from place to place was also fascinating - watching locals going about their daily routines, be that tending animals, making chappatis over open fires, fetching water from the village pump or well, or carrying huge loads of fodder or wood on their heads - in one instance this was a lady balancing a sewing machine on her head. We then chose to go to Amritsar rather than the offered Ranthambore extension. Naturetrek certainly delivered here. The Golden Temple was an amazing spectacle which we were lucky to see both in daylight and at night for the 'putting to bed' ceremony when the Holy book is literally ceremonially taken from the Temple to its bed in a separate building. Equally interesting was visiting the food halls where food is prepared and cooked by volunteers 24x7 for 1000's of people who form a never ending orderly queue to be fed sitting cross-legged in neat rows. The border ceremony was an entertaining, unusual and at times almost comedic spectacle, but one which should not be missed. Discussion with our local guides as to what we could do in our free time, led to two very unexpected highlights. Randeep suggested an evening meal with a local family - this turned out to be with his family where we had a wonderful evening watching the food being prepared, eating it, and drinking 'English wine' i.e. whisky. Guri, our guide for the temple and border ceremony, suggested we might like to visit a local village before our evening flight back to Delhi. This was amazing, visiting their school, a village house where we were made very welcome, flying kites from their flat roof, Roger had a turban fitted, we walked round the village seeing their 'shops' and the village gym before boarding a tractor and trailer to view the wheat and pea crops in the fields. It was all topped off with a very nice meal with the family before leaving for the airport.

We have now travelled with Naturetrek twice and have always found them to be helpful and very professional. Having been to India several times, we had already visited Ranthambore and so although wanting to do the Tiger Marathon, we didn't want to repeat Ranthambore but had always wanted to visit Amritsar. A quick email to Rajan Jolly asking if this would be possible received a very quick response with costings of what became our extension to Amritsar. Nothing is too much trouble.

I had a long weekend with Naturetrek in Wells in January 2020. We were accompanied by two remarkable guides who were able to show us a huge variety of birds as well as being extremely informative about the trees and other wildlife. The hotel in Wells was excellent and the whole area delightful.

Naturetrek had thought of everything and their guides were outstanding.

3 nights in Kathmandu, 2 in Koshi Tappu, 3 in Chitwan watching wildlife

very experienced, I know I can trust Naturetrek

One week in two of central India’s tiger National Parks - Pench and Kahna. An amazing experience packed with excitement and wonderful insights and excellent accommodation too.

We booked and travelled with Naturetrek. Communication was excellent throughout. We have no criticism regarding this company.

It was very well organised by our leader. Everything Went as it was supposed to do.

The whole experience from first booking to the end was so well organised. The pre departure pack covered everything we could possibly. Ed The pre holiday pack contained. Everything we needed to know from clothes, medicines, equipment visa and money. All the hotels used were of a high standard. to know

We spent three days at Koggala Beach Hotel which was brilliant. We went out early each morning from Mirissa on boats to watch whales. We saw 4 blue whales, dolphins, turtles, flying fish and Tuna fish flying out of the water. The bird life was amazing.We then went to Yala National Park and saw Leopards, wild boar elephants water buffalo and a mongoose catching a snake and eating it, lots of crocodiles, sloth bear, deer and incredible bird life including Hornbill painted stork bats and owls

Professional, helpful and charming in every way.We had two tour leaders, Saman Kumara and Dhanushka Samarasinghe. They were very knowledgable. Very kind to one participants who injurred herself and needed stitches. Nothing was too much trouble and all parties on the tour had a very enjoyable holiday, exactly as stated in the brochure.

Our holiday was absolutely fantastic. We were so well looked after by everyone. All the staff involved in our stay deserve a massive thank you. We don't eat Indian food at home so we weren't sure we were going to like the food. However we were amazed at how fresh and delicious it all was. We were blessed on seeing tigers up close. They are so much bigger in real life, they are such beautiful creatures. We saw a male, a female, and females with cubs. We saw beautiful birds which were so colourful, the birds of prey were also stunning. Our guides pointed out everything and had amazing knowledge. We were the only vehicle to have the absolute pleasure of seeing wild dogs too, which decided to play just in front of us. It was an honour. We also saw snakes which was an absolute treat too. A fantastic holiday, I'd love to do it all again!

They were fantastic. Very informative, and would reply to any queries we had.

On the 7th February we travelled from Heathrow airport via Dubai to Male then took a water taxi to Bondos where we stayed overnight. on the 9th we transferred to the Keanna for the rest of the holiday. Every day we snorkelled early morning and late afternoon and sailed all day searching and watching whales and dolphins. We returned home on `17th Feb +

We found Naturetrek to be extremely professional, knowledgeable, supportive and caring. Their priority was to provide an excellent holiday experience for us . this was achieved from every aspect

Cricket,birds,safari holiday with excellent guide accommodation and food

Always helpful and efficient

A first rate experience of living aboard the MV Keana touring the Atols of the Maldives in search of whales, dolphins and manta rays in between twice daily snorkel trips around the islands. The snorkel sites were very varied offering a range of corals, fish, reef sharks and sting rays. On a couple of evenings, manta rays and whale sharks were found feeding under the spot lights at the back of the boat. Many of us entered the water and held on to the guide ropes to watch under the water. Magic! The accommodation was adequate & clean and the food amazing with 3 hot meals a day. The crew were friendly and most helpful. The Naturetrek guides ensured we got the best out of the experience.

I've travelled to Europe several times with Naturetrek and always preferred their holidays with the better quality hotels. The hotel in Bandos, Maldives where we stayed for the first night was extremely good offering quality accommodation, choice of restaurants and very good snorkelling.