Naturetrek Traveller Reviews

Best time ever in western Iceland, lots of snow lots of Northern Lights (best ever)and spouting sperm whales, orca and white tailed eagle, what's not to like! Food was great, hotels really good and the scenery simply stunning.

I've been away with Naturetrek a dozen times and they never let me down. They know and understand their customers, and their destinations. I feel really well looked after every trip I book, worth every penny.

The holiday was targeted at seeing the Monarch butterflies in their winter roost in Mexico - up at over 10,000 feet above sea level. It was quite an expedition to get there, but the sight was phenomenal. We will never forget the sight of so many butterflies, perched on branches in such numbers that the branches bent down under the weight of so many insects. Then it was off to the Pacific where the Humpback Whales were giving birth in the warmer waters there. A totally different scale, from tiny insects to huge whales. Then it was on to another site, and a trip into a Mangrove swamp in late afternoon with so many interesting birds beginning to roost up for the night, and a few crocodiles to be seen, followed by a trip back after dusk. Another memorable event. Lastly there were a few days for birdwatching or butterfly spotting with an expert with us to help find the unusual. We have lots of photos and lots of memories of a wonderful holiday, and will be travelling with Naturetrek again in the near future, as we have found their holidays reliably full of wonderful wildlife, and we are always escorted by experts who add so much value to the trips.

Naturetrek are really well organised, have a huge variety of tours focussing on Wildlife, and employ experts to share their knowledge with participants.

Two weeks of touring in Costa Rica staying in lovely locations with a vast range of wildlife to see and photograph. Our guide / group leader was first rate, as was our driver. All was very well organised. Very good tasty and healthy food too!

Naturetrek are always extremely helpful.

Pico Bonito is a beautiful peaceful resort with great wildlife, an extensive trail system, and a pleasant pool. The cabins are large, and the food excellent. Olbin and Santos are outstanding bird guides with great knowledge and enthusiasm. The resort is several miles up a private road and very safe to walk around- it is an oasis. The trips out to different sites were varied and interesting and added to our bird tally. Although some stamina is needed for the very early starts, it was an advantage to have a single base. The arrangements by Naturetrek all worked well, and the only problem was with the totally inefficient customs in Atlanta, which nearly cost us our connection, but which is obviously outside of Naturetrek's control.

Very efficient and helpful before the holiday. Great itinerary and arrangements.

Sailed in the MV Searcher down the west coast of the Baja Peninsular. We encountered a variety of seabirds, northern elephant seals and ground-nesting ospreys en-route to Laguna San Ignacio. Here grey whales come to mate and give birth. In an extraordinary encounter some whale cows bring their calves right up to the small boats and both seem to like being touched by humans. Considering either could easily overturn the boat it is a singularly trusting meeting and very much on the whales' terms. Subsequent encounters with breaching humpbacks only a few yards from the ship, huge numbers of dophins, enormous and beautiful blue whales, some of which show their tails when diving, and the opportunity to dive with sea lions and whale sharks, round off one of the most remarkable wildlife encounters anywhere in the world.

The organisation was flawless. Naturetrek are excellent value for money, very efficient and employ first-rate guides. In this case Lee Morgan was exceptional; his wide-ranging knowledge even impressed the locally-based Americans and his style and manner were faultless.

I have travelled many times with Naturetrek over the years and their service has been excellent. A considerable increase in the number of trips offered by the company has not led to a deterioration in quality of service or personal attention to queries or problems from their clients. Honduras was an example of this. Pre- and post-tour extensions were arranged without fuss, as well as different routes to our destinations at different times, Apart from unavoidable weather-affected plans (capably handled by the company), events proceeded very smoothly with no unwelcome surprises for the group. Tour guides were excellent and knowledgeable in the many aspects of interest to the clients in addition to the main feature of the trip - ornithology. Accommodation, transport and food was the best available and helped make a strenuous trip as comfortable as it could be. In order to make these tours as valuable as clients desire, there is a cost implication that cannot be denied. However, these costs were not jaw-dropping and I believe the trip was excellent value for money.

Naturetrek has operated for more that 30 years, providing tours which, as their name suggests, focus on all things natural. They have expanded into the private/family/tailormade tour industries effortlessly and a dramatic increase in staff level has not deteriorated the service offered. Staff at Naturetrek are without exception experienced in the travel industry as well as being experts in their fields of interest in the natural world. Their overseas agents are of the highest available standard and tour prices compare very favourably with other equivalent operators.

a week in Extremadura Spain, spent in a lovely homely hotel with great hosts. Good choice of leaders who were knowledgeable and organised our days so that a variety of habitat & birds were seen. Good company & great choice.

well organised & good info on their website. always able to offer advice & to organise personal requests if possible. good & timely information about the holiday & joining instructions.

Like entering a different world, we took time to listen and look and enjoy the world around us. Guided to many different birds, their habits in flight and choice of trees or other habitat were clearly explained so our knowledge base grew.Travelling as a small group to wooded glades, lakes, a meandering stream and much more , our guide gave us the space to explore and the direction needed to make the most of each moment. Combined with being amply fed and rested in ideal hotel accommodation when we returned home we felt very blessed to have enjoyed such a special week-end away. Memories of the song thrush and siskin we saw and heard are especially precious.

Everything slot in just right ... our guide was very accomplished in seeking out and sharing wildlife moments, paperwork was good with a well thought out tick list.

Our 19 day trip included the Simien and Bale Mts regions as well as the lakes of the Great Rift Valley. We saw many endemic mammals and birds thanks in great part to our outstanding Naturetrek Ethiopian and British guides whose knowledge and expertise was superb. I really feel as though I got to know the country and its people and I thoroughly enjoyed the variety of landscape, walking in the mountains as well as the parks and living in the peaceful, rustic accomodation. All my wildlife hopes were fulfilled!

Naturetrek are friendly, informative and responsive to all communication made and to individual needs. This was my eighth trip with them and I continue to be very impressed with their research (which gets us to the right places to see the wildlife,) genuine wildlife interest and knowledge. The expertise, knowledge and enthusiasm of the tour leaders is second to none.

This was a 5 day holiday in mid-February 2017 which blended outings to see Iceland's scarce resident and overwintering birds with wonderful viewing of the lava landscapes, geothermal waters, boiling and steaming mud pools and snow covered craters. One night permitted extended viewing of the Northern Lights during a period of clear sky as pseudopodia fingers of atomised dust particles rose up and metamorphosed into larger curtains sweeping the sky. Time and the cold night (between midnight and 3.00 a.m) seem to stand still during this breathtaking experience that made the holiday more than worth every penny spent. The 2 hotels we stayed in at Kriunes and Myvatn offered very sufficient warmth both in terms of room temperatures and personable hospitality with very good quality food and clean facilities and the entire holiday was very well organised, superby led by our group leader, Marcus, and ticked along very smoothly and enjoyable. What a pity we had to leave so soon!

Naturetrek have immense experience in organising wildlife holidays and I have travelled with them 2 years ago in Spain. As then, the overall standards of organisation, attention to travel detail (information, advice, suggestions) were of a very high standard and the group leader selected to lead this holiday, Marcus John, really knew his stuff and communicated very well his enthusiastic & positive impressions of Iceland, its history, wildlife and geology. I can only say that in all aspects of the holiday Naturetrek excelled and I would not hesitate to travel with them again to any suitable place of wildlife interest.