Naturetrek Traveller Reviews

Excellent birdwatching in Coto Donana and Extremadura, staying at 2 comfortable hotels. Nice group of people and excellent guides.

Naturetrek were very good. All arrangements went smoothly. Good value for money.

This was a 3 week Tailormade holiday starting on 20th March 2018.We stayed in 3 National Parks, Kaziranga in Assam and Bandhavgarh and Satpura in Madhya Pradesh. Cultural sites included Varanasi, Khajuraho, Agra, Kolkata and Delhi. There were so many highlights! The logistics worked like clockwork with excellent guides throughout and the accommodation was first class. Wildlife highlights included numerous tiger sightings, mainly in Bandhavgarh but also in Kaziranga and Satpura. We watched a sloth bear with 2 cubs for half an hour in Satpura, had a wonderful elephant safari to get within feet of one-horned rhinos in Kaziranga and watched a jungle cat in the daylight in Bandhavgarh. Bird sightings were marvellous including Great Hornbill and Oriental Pied Hornbill, peacocks, bee-eaters, parakeets and owls and raptors including Brown Fish Owl and Grey-headed Fish-eagle. Cultural experiences were equally impressive. We visited the back streets of Kolkata to see Hindu statues being made, the flower and spice market and Kaligat Temple. In Varanasi we were stunned by the beautiful early morning light on the Ganges and learnt so much about Hindu beliefs and rituals. In the evening the crowded Ganga Aarti ceremony was exciting and uplifting as prayers were sung to the noise of conch horns, bells, cymbals and drums with ever more impressive displays of fire lighting up the banks of the Ganges. The temples at Khajuraho and the tombs and palaces in Agra were beautiful beyond description. We came back home exhausted but this goes down as one of our most interesting holidays ever and will be remembered for ever.

Naturetrek offer holidays all round the world with a special interest in nature and wildlife. These are both Group Tours and Tailormade trips. I believe Tailormade trips can be tailored around any destination group tours visit and can include as much or as little culture as individual customers require. Accommodation and travel costs can be tailored to the individual. Having booked many bespoke tours using other companies we have found Naturetrek provide just the mix of wildlife and cultural we are looking for. We have booked 6 holidays with them so far and have always been impressed by their local knowledge and efficiency.

1 week walking and birdwatching holiday with botanical advice.

NAturetrek

I enjoyed this holiday enormously, delighting in being in Puglia for the first time, with other people who care about the natural world. The abundance and variety of flowers, their tapestry of textures and colours, and the sheer number of different species, meant most to me. The handsome Puglia bee-orchid. So many wild orchids! Birders had good days too. I saw bee-eaters, lesser kestrels, a hoopoe, and a splendid Scops Owl through their scopes. Olive trees, butterflies, bees, bugs, turtles, lizards. Podolica Cows with traditional bells. This balanced by fascinating afternoons: Oporto on the coast, and the unbelievable city of Matera. Trulli. Food? Fresh-baked Pugia bread in the second hotel...and...and... This was my eleventh Naturetrek holiday, over 12 years. Grade A for walking difficultyI enjoyed it enormously.

Leader Jessica planned the itinerary beautifully, balancing different types of locations, energetic and more gentle days. Her enthusiasm, knowledge,and care of clients led to us all enjoying this exceptional week. Jessica gave us clear information about each day: location, travel time, landscape, flora, fauna...and whether boots and trekking sticks were advisable. She doesn't mind how often we ask her about the name of a plant. Co-leader Tom worked very well with her, and with all of us, helpful in many ways, on this his first Naturetrek week.

8 day holiday to Spain's Coto Donana and Extremadura region led by two very knowledgeable leaders who made sure that everyone got the best experience from the tour. Accommodation and food was very good especially in Extremadura where we were made to feel like extended family members of the owners of the hotel. The birdwatching day trips were well organised and aimed at all levels of birders.

Naturetrek always supply all information needed to book your holiday with confidence. Their brochures, booking procedures and pre-holiday information is always excellent. We have now travelled with them 3 times and have nothing but praise for their professionalism throughout the holiday and the value for money, considering everything that is included, is second to none

In spite of a late spring we saw so many flowers and also birds and we truly enjoyed it all!

Paul guided us splendidly - he found all that could be found (I think). Again and again we asked "what is this?" and he answered with great patience for the same species over and over again. Paul also made us lovely picnic lunches - also important, they kept us going until we came back to our temporary home. Yes, Hotel Cortijo Las Piletas felt like home to us, warm and friendly.

A well organised birding holiday in the Gambia with an excellent leader and local guides. Transportation (with Titan airway/Gambia experience) sand catering (at Mandina Lodge)also very good.

very efficient arrangements for travel and holiday itinerary, resulting in a most enjoyable holiday and good value for money.

Excellent botanising, beautiful country, very good hotel and its location. Good birding even though the exceptionally hot weather had affected migration ..... but the bonus was the number of hoopoes bobbing around!Swifts screaming overhead and swallows and house martins hard at nestbuilding on the hotel buildings. Lovely fresh food and insights into a fascinating and complex history and culture...... so far more rounded a holiday than we might have expected. The botanist guiding us was a brilliant all rounder naturalist and really made the trip

Nature Trek Accompanied by one botanist, one biring expert and an excellent driver with considerable knowledge of natural history in Cyprus

This was a whale watching trip on the Searcher, from San Diego down the Baja peninsula and into the Sea of Cortez. The crew were extremely skilled, very courteous and took great care to make sure we saw as much as possible. Whales every day. with extra dolphins, turtles, elephant seals, whale sharks and all kinds of bird life. It was amazing. We saw many kinds of cetaceans, including the rarely spotted Couvier's Beaked Whale and a sighting of three blues.We were treated to tail lobbing and flipper flapping displays from humpbacks and enticed by the baby greys in the San Ignacio lagoon into tickling them. Whales feel, it seems, like bristly wellie boots. I cannot recommend this enough - such care of us, our safety, the environment. Amazing

I have travelled with Naturetrek a few times now and have always been impressed by the attention to detail and the way in which they work with local, often not for profit, people and organisations. More than happy to travel with them again and to recommend them to others. This is quality wild life experience.

I booked the holiday at the last minute and as per usual Naturetrek was on the ball and had everything organised straight away. They are a very efficient company. I had to make my own flight bookings and hotel booking in San Diego{ to enable me to join the trip with the least fuss Naturetrek arranged & booked for me to stay at the same hotel as the other participants. Once I had made contact with the tour leader everything was taken care of. This was a Whale,Dolphin & hopefully snorkelling with Whale Sharks. The boat we used " The Searcher " was very comfortable albeit smallish cabins but as we were only using them to sleep in perfectly fitted the bill. The Captain and crew were exceedingly helpful to me as I have a slight disability with walking. The tour guide Duncan was very considerate and helpful when I needed his help and was again " nothing was too great to deal with " The trip and food were well organised and when we left the boat on Skiffs the Searcher crew were very considerate of our safety and well being. Luckily the weather was very good and on occasion there was a small swell. For the participants the Whale Shark experience was able to take place as the weather was good and everyone who snorkelled had excellent views of the sharks, albeit I nearly brained one by jumping in the water with it's head only about a foot beneath me.

I have used Naturetrek many times and have found them to be very knowledgeable on each of the holidays I have undertaken in suggesting ideas of how to improve the holiday where necessary. The staff are always very friendly and always greet you as an individual when I see them at the Bird Fair and Travel shows. One does not feel as if you are a number. The tour leaders are well chosen and seem to have a very good understanding of the area being visited and of the local Flora & Fauna. I have a slight difficulty in walking especially on rough ground and have had no trouble as the leader and any local guides always make sure that I am safe and get to see the particular bird, animal or Cetation that is on view. If I have found that I am unable to get to the particular area the leader always seems to find a way for me to see the bird/animal so I never feel like a burden or extra baggage on the trip. I cannot recommend Nature trek enough for their organisation and care of clients.