Naturetrek Traveller Reviews

11 days on the MV Searcher from San Diego provided us with some truly magical experiences. The main highlight (one of many!) was the interaction with the grey whales in the San Ignacio lagoon - long may it be protected. The crew of the Searcher were excellent and the holiday, though expensive, provided good value for money.

Wildlife specialist in remote areas. The tour leaders they hired for us were friendly, helpful and very knowledgeable. The organization and logistics were flawless.

This was an enjoyable way to get close up to plants, birds and other living creatures. Sometimes specialised, it was accessible in every way and we saw bundles of different habitats.

Approachable, knowledgeable and great attention to detail.

Nature guided holiday. Guides very good and saw lots of nature. Food and hotels good too

Very organised. Easy to deal with

I had a week staying in Kafunta River Lodge which was so restful going out twice a day to see various animals and plenty of birds in the beautiful wild. We also did night safari to see animals not seen in the day. Porcupine, genets, civets etc. Rainy season was almost over so it was green and lush and plentiful. Kafunta Lodge is very comfortable and the food superb. Our guide, Martin, was good at finding animals and telling lots of stories to keep us all amused.

Naturetrek are so easy to deal with and knew exactly what I wanted. They also arranged local flights to fit in and were most helpful.

We spent seven days exploring the wildlife of this area under the guidance of two excellent leaders. My wife and I saw and photographed many birds, plants & insects in a wide variety of habitats, ( no lazing about on beaches for us). All in all a great trip with a group of like minded people.

We have been with Naturetrek on several occasions over the years and have found them very satisfactory from the points of view of accomodation, travel arrangements, content and leaders.

This was our first holiday with Naturetrek and there was a good mix between scenery, birds and wildcats and the sudden snowfall prior to and during our trip actually enhanced our experience.

Naturetrek provide a good experienced local guides and the low number of travellers per guide and the rural nature of the locations makes it a welcome experience. We were so impressed we have booked another trip with Naturetrek in the same year. The guides are good at reacting to changes in weather and providing suitable alternative destinations due to their knowledge. The snow was so bad one day we visited a local cheese factory and whilst we were there more birds spotted in the car park than some other location. Good communications prior to departure and always felt personal.

This was a bird watching holiday in a less tourist frequented area of Spain - the far South West. The Hotel had a simple elegance, it was not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination but the room had a small balcony with a view of the lagoon. It was clean, well run and the staff were kind and courteous. We breakfasted and dined across the road in the hotel's own restaurant which offers spectacular views through huge picture windows of the lagoon. The cuisine was regional rather than cosmopolitan and all the better for that - a genuine taste of Spain, fresh fish simply cooked, local steak on the tough side but very flavoursome and local specialities such as chick peas wirh spinach. The service could not be faulted. In order to offer the guests as many varied birdwatching opportunities as possible the pace was a little relentless and a somehwat gentler and focussed timetable would personally have been preferable. The two Spanish guides were enormously knowledgeable and focussed all their attention on provisding their guests with the best possible experience. In short they were exceptional but this is the standard one comes to expect with Naturetrek.

A highly organised and efficient operation. Naturetrek treats the customers as individuals as opposed to numbers.

On this trip, I was able to see all of my target whales and birds. The highlights included seeing a blue whale, our largest living animal, for the first time ever and at very close range. We also saw five other live whale species - fin, humpback, Byrde's, minke and grey - and one dead sperm whale. We watched several of these whales fluking, spy-hopping and breaching, and even kissed a number of grey whales! About 250 common dolphins gave us an amazing display one afternoon, breaching in twos and threes and fives before swimming alongside us for almost three-quarters of an hour. Some of us swam with a whale shark, the world's largest fish, on a beautifully tranquil morning in La Paz Bay; others gazed in awe at it from the safety of a skiff, as it fed with its enormous mouth wide open. Among the stunning birds we saw were a red-billed tropic bird, black-footed albatross, scores of black storm-petrels, one or two least storm-petrels, several nesting ospreys, immaculate egrets, lovely herons, many species of terns, gulls, orioles, flycatchers and woodpeckers, as well as the endemic Baja California grey thrasher. We visited several tiny, desert islands adorned with huge cacti and bursting with birdsong. We also witnessed some spectacular sunrises, moonrises and sunsets, and were completely enthralled one night when the captain switched off all the boat's lights for us to stargaze in near perfect conditions. A fantastic holiday!

Very helpful staff. The itinerary was very well-planned. There was plenty to see and do throughout the trip and everyone's interests were catered for. Lee Morgan, our group leader, was quite exceptional, having excellent people skills and an immense knowledge of sea mammals, birds, reptiles and plants. One of the very best wildlife group leaders I have met in my 30 years of travel experience. The captain and crew members were very accommodating, extremely skillful, and great fun to be with. The chef gave us healthy, varied and tasty meals, and he went out of his way to cater for our individual dietary needs. They all made it a truly memorable trip for me.

This was a boat trip from San Diego down Baja California and in to the Sea of Cortez. There was plenty of cetaceans and other marine animals to see plus lots of birds. Highlight was touching Grey whale calves in the San Ignacio lagoon.

Everything was well managed, from the booking down to the naturalists on board the boat.

Despite the weather preventing us from whale watching, we thoroughly enjoyed our winter Icelandic experience. The scenery was spectacular, the elements exhilarating, and the history and culture fascinating. Highlights included good views of Barrow's Goldeneye and Harlequin duck, northern lights and lunch at a tomato farm! It was possible to photograph Whooper swans, Eider, Black guillemot and Red-breasted merganzer at close quarters. We also connected with majestic White tailed eagles in their fittingly majestic environment. The hotels and food were good and the people very friendly. Our guide pulled out all the stops to give us the best trip possible.

I have travelled with Naturetrek many times. Their customer service is excellent. The trips are good value. Naturetrek know how to deliver an authentic travel experience without sacrificing too much comfort. Guides, both local and employed directly by Naturetrek, are invariably knowledgeable, enthsiastic and great with the client group.