Naturetrek Traveller Reviews

Being on a boat, traveling around the Baja Peninsula looking at whales close up and personal is a tour that would be hard to beat. I've been many places and have had many grand experiences and there are many places left in the world to explore. That said, I may just have to fit this trip in again.

Everything ran incredibly smoothly.

A six night stay in two different places in Aragon, Spain does not seem a long enough time to see well over 50,000 birds but that what we were promised and that is exactly what we got. First stop was a small town with fortress walls surrounded by canyon walls towering over it on three sides. Arriving at Alquezar with a huge 'orangy' moon right over it was magical. Those steep cliffs are home to wintering birds escaping the harshness of life in the Pyrenees in winter. Among them is a little gem called a Wallcreeper, which is small and mainly grey and a curved beak. Not easy to find you might think till it moves and sometimes flys and shows its specatacular vermillion coloured wing feathers. You can see them close up here but only from great distances in their summer haunts. Flying above are vultures in their hundreds and on the second day we go to a feeding station, where a devoted conservationist feeds them 100kgs of meat from a local supermarket twice a week.You trek up to the area of bare rock where there are over 400 Griffon Vultures waiting.You sit within twenty yards of them and they fly in just over your head. A bird the size of a turkey and all performing for your camera. Above flies a Golden Eagle over your head and two Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture that feeds off the bones left by the Griffons. Some of the biggest birds of prey in the world and just so close you don't need binoculars. But when watching some of these in flying around another spectacular gorge you hear first the calls and then see lines of even bigger birds flying high on their way to crossing over the Pyrenees as they migrate to breed in northern Europe. These are Cranes and create such an awesome sight.We saw so many that we feared that none would be left at the place they congregate in tens of thousands before flying off and that's where we were going for the second part of the holiday.But we need not have worried as 50,000 still remained when we arrived at the lake south of Zaragoza.Resting as they do at night here must be the greatest avian spectacle in Europe. Nothing could take anything away from this not even a blizzard for a day but then we were 1000mtrs above sea level. 'Awesome' is a commonly used word these days but nobody seeing what we saw could not say it would be the most appropriate description.

This is the first time I have been with Naturetrek after going with two other similar operators. I found it efficient and it delivered exactly what it said it would. Absolutely crucial to the success were the two tour leaders who were exceptional. Not only top quality ornithological experience but in the case of our Spanish leader excellent local knowledge mean we were in safe and capable hands throughout the week.

Excellent hotel apart from squeaky bedroom floor!

fantastic as always. My 4th time but the first in UK

We travelled for 12 days along the Pacific coast of Mexico for whale watching. I lost count of how many whales we saw! They included humpbacks, blue, grey, fin and pilot whales as well as hundreds of dolphins, sea lions, turtles, rays and a whale shark. The crew and naturalists on board were superb and took us close enough to stroke the grey whales which was just amazing. We walked on deserted islands, swam with the sea lions and snorkelled in crystal clear waters. It was the most awesome experience and one I would recommend to anyone with an interest in marine wildlife.

The web site was good and the staff very helpful when on the phone. The information provided pre tour was detailed and extensive so that we knew exactly what to take and what to expect on arrival. The tour guide, Lee, was always on hand with information and advice when needed and very reassuring when things went awry. (The ESTA computer link when down when we were trying to go through passport control in San Diego.)

Now in our early seventies, my husband and I share a vision see as much of the world whilst both still physically and mentally fit. Ecuador and The Galapagos has been one of those "must do" destinations so this February we left behind the dark grey skies and relentless rain of England to embark on a holiday of a lifetime. We did our homework before leaving so we would hit the ground running on arrival in Quito but no amount of reading would have given us the "in-depth" knowledge of our local guides who were quite exceptional. Punctual, articulate,friendly and extremely patient wherever we went : nothing was too much trouble. The Cachelote was our home for a fourteen day passage around most of the thirteen islands of the Galapagos and during that time we became good friends with all the Crew who looked after us so well. Everyday was packed, with visits ashore under the tutelage of our Naturalist Guide, James, who himself is passionate about the National Park and it's well-being. No day disappointed, the wildlife was amazing, skies cloudless, waters calm and the people we met so genuine in their welcome. We can scarcely believe that it is only two weeks ago we were swimming and snorkelling with hammer-head Sharks, manta-Rays, sea lions, penguins, turtles, marine iguanas and shoals and shoals of stunning fish: a photographer's paradise in every respect. The highlights? For me, kayaking in the Pacific whilst blue-footed boobies dived majestically around me, affording a freedom and peace of mind that erased the everyday stresses of life we left behind in England. For my husband , snorkelling with a Go-Pro and capturing no fewer than six large hammer-heads as they swam beneath him. If you haven't yet visited start saving now! A holiday of a lifetime awaits!

This was our second long distance holiday with Naturetrek, the first being to The Arctic last summer. In addition we have enjoyed one week European visits to Spain/Portugal. All have been excellent. We are fortunate to live near Naturetrek HQ so have seized the opportunity to visit their base to speak directly to the Tour Managers. Their advice has been invaluable as has all the prompt paper work which they send out in a timely manner. Nothing is left to chance; their sole aim is they offer the very best holiday experience they can to all their clients. Their Guides are so well informed and their patience seemingly unending! On our recent trip to the Galapagos we had a day and a half based in Quito, either side of travellingThe programme organised for us to cover this period was outstanding, making the most of our brief time on mainland Ecuador. On our penultimate day we visited Otivalo and it's famous markets before having lunch in the Hosteria Hacienda Pinsaqui, a Three hundred year-old ranch. It was a stunning venue,serving beautiful Ecuadorian food whilst musicians entertained us with local folk music. It was VERY special and greatly appreciated by us all. We already have our next holiday with Naturetrek booked!

We had an amazing two week holiday aboard a two masted yacht sailing around the Galapagos islands in February 2016. We saw all the wonderful birdlife and land based wildlife but for me, the most incredible experiences were in the water. We snorkelled nearly every day and had unforgettable encounters with turtles, penguins, cormorants and several types of shark, including massive hammerheads.

Great itinerary for wildlife enthusiasts. Holiday was very well organized and naturalists excellent.

Brilliant guides Friendly fellow travellers Good accommodation Fantastic food Overall very good holiday

We travel with Naturetrek alot and have never had a poor holiday. Everything is so well organised and more than meets expectations

Seamless organisation and well planned itinerary delivered a lovely holiday. The only thing that Naturetrek couldn't control was the weather which let us down by raining a couple of days!

Every trip I have done with Naturetrek confirms their ability to pick the best guides and locations for fabulous and often "off the beaten track" birding.

Great cruise in southern ocean with comfortable cabin and good food. Well planned zodiac landings to hike and view wildlife: penguins, birds and seals in Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctic peninsular. On board whale and iceberg watching.

Well organised and responsive.

3 week wildlife cruise visiting the Falklands, South Georgia, South Shetlands and Antarctic Peninsula aboard MV Ortelius. Visiting the various penguin colonies was amazing and beyond expectations as was the scenery and just the vastness of the whole area. We had hundreds of great whale sightings and many close encounters with them approaching and going underneath the ship. The who;e trip was amazing nut you have to put in many hours of seeing nothing out on deck if you really want to see as much bird and mammal life as possible as many of the encounters are brief and if you're not out there in all weathers, you'll miss it. Not a typical cruise and not for the feint hearted as in an ice-breaker ship which is not particularly well stabilised.

Have travelled many times now with Naturetrek and their organisation is brilliant with everything well planned and all the staff very helpful with advice and options. There is loads of pre-departure information covering most questions to do with the country to be visited or the particular trip and e-mails with queries will always get answered quickly. The Leaders on the trips are very knowledgeable on the wildlife and always there to help if there are any problems when away on the trip