Naturetrek Traveller Reviews

The trip was based in 2 eco-lodges in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest which were very comfortable and provided us with good food. The days were long and some were quite physically demanding but well worth the effort. The bird-guide was excellent, full of energy and extremely knowledgeable, and he always made sure that everyone had seen the bird before moving on to the next one. It all ran very smoothly and I highly recommend the trip.

Everything is made very clear before departure and no stone is left unturned in making the trip a very enjoyable experience. I have always found Naturetrek to be easy to deal with and ready to help with any request.

After booking a nature trip to Vancouver Island with a Dutch company, we looked for an extra tour in Canada and soon found that cruising the Great Bear Rainforest on a small boat would be just the right thing. Naturetrek's itinerary looked very promising, especially because there was a real chance to see whales, orcas, sealions, grizzly bears, brown bears and the very rare Spirit Bear. You always hope to see some of these animals, but we didn't expect to see them for a long time or very close. It turned out that we had set our expectations too low. To mention some of the highlights: we've seen an incredibly number of whales: blowing, sleeping, bubblenetting, passing under our ship, etc.; bears fishing for salmon; a bald eagle sitting right in front of us, calmy eating some salmon; hundreds of sealions playing, showing off and making terrible noises; a full day near a stream where some Spirit Bears came real close to us while we were just sitting on the riverbank. For seeing this amount of wildlife of course a certain amount of luck is involved, but the chances were certainly much improved by the very knowledgeable skipper and his crew. This kind of trip we normally judge mainly by the nature experience, but during this tour the excellent catering was not a minor point to the success of the trip. We've done quite a lot of traveling, but this trip -although reasonably short- stands out as a major highlight. On our website you can find photos and information: www.kantoorbediende.nl/reis.php?sub=kr/can2018/select2/2. It is in Dutch, but Google Translate can make some kind of English out of it.

Being Dutch, we hadn't heard of Naturetrek before and booked this trip just on the information found on their website. The previous trip reports also gave a good insight into the kind of trip you could look forward to. Of course information on websites can sometimes be misleading, but it turned that our expectations were more than met in reality. Most of the time we travel with just the two of us, but this kind of small group tour to difficult destinations with a dedicated tour operator is also very rewarding.

Two weeks in Western Canada enjoying the remarkable wildlife

Good brochure, well organised tour, excellent tour guides, good accommodation, altogether excellent job!

Excellent itinerary. Most bird species anticipated were seen well.

Very good accommodation. Tour leaders were excellent

As a first safari we did some research and following personal recommendations as well as talking to members of the Naturetrek team we decided to decided to go for the trip South Africa - Just Cats! Met at Johannesburg airport by Leon Marais, our guide, we then met our 4 other travelling companions. we stopped the first night at Blyde River Canyon. We had 2 walks there, spotting lots of birds and monkeys. Starting in Kruger staying in Skukuza and Satara camps we enjoyed long game drives, Leon is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic which really made them a great first experience of safaris. Having our own chef for the 4 nights in Kruger meant we ate really well at breakfast and dinner, and eating outside with just our small group was a special experience. Moving onto Sabi Sands we stayed at Elephant Plains lodge and Nkorho Bush Lodge, both were excellent. Great game drives, delicious food, very clean, comfortable and friendly. All plans and journeys went smoothly and were really happy with the whole holiday.

Naturetrek were very helpful and informative. Their enthusiasm for wildlife and nature on an open day we attended helped us to choose them as an operator, and talking to them directly helped make the decision over which trip to go on.

Started at Waterbury Lodge on the Zambezi in Zambia, Moved to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and was followed by 10 days camping in three Botswana National Parks

Letaka organisation and staff were all excellent and most professional. The nature Guide (Shadreck Tschegane) was world class and had top flight knowledge of all aspects of Botswana wildlife. Time spent in the company of several packs of wild dogs was a privilege.

A week staying in Nkonzi camp in South Luangwa, Zambia was wonderful because we had plenty of opportunity to see the smaller nocturnal mammals, scrub hare, genet, civet and porcupine, as well as the diurnal birds and mammals. The crimson bee eaters colony is wonderful at this time of year. And it is a real experience to camp out in the bush, but with enough comfort to make it an entirely pleasurable experience.

Naturetrek covers every base. A nice website and helpful staff when you phone. They send out a really good pre tour pack which covers everything you need to know - what kind of plug and charging facilities for batteries for example - which most tour operators don't seem to know. And a lovely checklist of birds and mammals to use which is properly specific to the area.

Excellent guide, Marcos Felix, ensured we had great sightings of jaguars, ocelot and giant river otters. Marcos works well with other guides to maximise views and is considerate and courteous to all guests. He works exceptionally hard and put on evening and early morning drives in order to improve our chances of seeing mammals and birds. We saw an impressive number of birds and mammals on a great holiday.

Easy to deal with, clear information and advice results in a great service to customers.

We went on Naturetreks just jaguars tour hoping to see ........ jaguars! Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine that we would see so many, so close and for so long! and that's not to mention the giant otters, tapirs, anteaters, ocelots, caimans and thousands of birds including the beautiful hyacinth macaws. The flotel was fabulous too. Wow just wow!!

Naturetrek are always a pleasure to deal with. Mouthwatering brochure, a huge variety of trips to choose from, excellent customer service, intimate knowledge of the countries and wildlife, knowledgeable tour guides, great places to stay. Need I say more?!

Reviewer's images:

We had 23 Jaguar sightings from 11 different animals. Amazing Birdlife.. Small group of 8 people was ideal.

Naturetrek have been excellent from the first inquiry, through all the planning ,predeparture information and then on to the holiday. .All the way friendly and helpful. We travel a lot and rate Naturetrek as our favourite travel company for quality and efficiency.