Naturetrek Traveller Reviews

We landed in Quito, the capital for interesting sightseeing before two days later we flew out to the Galapagos islands. We were met by a very knowledgeable Ecuadorean guide who led us on our 7 day cruise visiting some of the islands. We were amazed by how tame the animals and birds were, so amusing to see the Pelikans and Sea lions at the Fish Market counter! in Puerto Ayora.Each island we visited was interesting and we saw the animals and birds we had hoped to see. Back in Quito we had an interesting stay at Puembo Birding Garden we also visited Otovalo. We then went on to stay at Sacha Lodge in the rain forest,another three fascinating days. The three guides we encountered on our tour were all very knowledgeable and helpful. It was a brilliant holiday.

Naturetrek from the start has given us good service. Our guides, accommodation, transport and the itinerary suited us well and we would travel with them again.

I went to Spain to try and find the Iberian Lynx. We were very lucky to find the Lynx and had a great view of him. That obviously was the highlight of the trip. However, the whole experience was great. Our guides were exceptionally good and a lot of fun. I highly recommend Naturetrek to anyone who wants to a holiday wildlife watching.

I have travelled with Naturetrek eight times now and every trip has been top rate.

It was a bird watching holiday touring the south and then flying to the north of Guatemala.The accomadation was first class starting in Antigua a beautiful old city and a world heritage site. We had humming birds flying around the flowers of the courtyard as we ate breakfast. The amount of birds we saw was stunning. The second half of the holiday was in the north around the tikal area. As well as seeing fantastic birdlife we explored the ancient temples and pyramids of the mayan people. It is very difficult to describe what it was really like as it was such a magical and awe inspiring place.

The tour operator was very helpful with all my communications with them. The tour leader was a remarkable person he managed to locate the birds and identify them before I even knew they were there. While I was there I had an accident and cut my head which needed stitches. Our leader Byron took care of me and stayed with me until I rejoined the tour. It would have been very difficult to have done it without him, thanks again Byron. They don't come any better.

A short two-centre trip, hoping to see and photograph lunx. Despite very poor weather in the Donana National Park, we did see a lynx and got some photographs. Moving north to the Andujar Natural Park,we found beautiful mountain weather but no lynx. However, the scenery was great and we saw a good variety of wildlife, including red stags roaring into the night.

I have travelled many times with Naturetrek and have further trips booked. I find them to be well organised; providing interesting venues with good wildlife watching opportunities,in small group of like minded people.

Within two short winter days travelling through the wetlands of the Somerset Levels I was introduced to some of the many birds that frequent these fertile peat rich wild places. The Naturetrek guides were incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic and with their patient guidance I saw for the first time a Bearded Tit, a Great White Egret and a Stonechat. Reacquainted with elusive Kingfisher and introduced to the starling murmuration I left Wells for home sure that I had had the very best short break possible.

The two Naturetrek leaders were efficient, professional, friendly and knowledgeable. I will definitely travel with Naturetrek again. In fact I have already booked a birding holiday in Sicily after the success of this break.

This was a short break to experience and learn more about Coto Donana in Spain with a Group of seven amateur naturalists and a "local guide". Once again we enjoyed seeing a wide variety of species and experiences across different habitats maximising the time available while being able to relax as well. The locations and the accommodation were carefully chosen and added positively to the whole experience. The leader was sensitive to the needs of the individuals and the group and was generous with his knowledge. The experience was well organised and benefitted from careful thought and planning.

I have used Naturetrek on several occasions and never been disappointed (which hasn't always been the case when I have used other operators who purport to offer nature holidays). The experiences I have had with Naturetrek have often exceeded my expectations and I have always learnt more about my interest in nature. They are resourced with well organised and kind staff interested in their work and the holiday experience. Overseas guides they use have been excellent and engaging deploying their local knowledge to great effect. Such holidays also require good company and I have been lucky that Naturetrek seem for the most part to attract like minded people who appear easy to get on with.

Excellent trip visiting various different sites in Borneo, seeing a huge variety of wildlife iincluding wild Orang utans, monkeys, crocodiles and many species of birds. Accommodation, scenery and food all excellent.

Arrangements were efficient, information was good, tour guides and accommodation excellent.

Ethiopia was an amazing country. We saw a wealth of wildlife, habitats and people. Every day was so jam packed that it felt like a much longer trip. Our guides worked tirelessly to ensure we saw as much as possible and still managed to get us from one place to another on time. There were dozens of highlights but for me sitting near the edge of a cliff in the fading light surrounded by hundreds of Geladas will take some beating.

I have been on a number of trips with Naturetrek and I like the way they make the most of your time. Downtime is kept to a minimum and the guides have always been brilliant. They are as eager to show you the wildlife as you are to see it.

I spent a month in Madagascar, booking through Naturetrek, in October/November 2015. It was, quite simply, the most amazing experience I've ever had while abroad. The country is a complete assault on the senses from a Westerner's point of view. On arriving in Antananarivo (Tana) everywhere you looked you were bombarded with the chaos of the sights, sounds and smells of the capital. I found it incredibly humbling to see how the people there lived with comparatively so little. From people washing their clothes in local rivers to an old lady tending tentatively to her crop on a roadside verge, I was overwhelmed by how much I take for granted in the UK. Not only that, but all the people we saw in Madagascar appeared very happy. Community spirit seems to be huge and was refreshing and welcoming to see. We started our tour travelling south east from Tana to Ranomafana stopping in Antsirabe on the way. Civilisation started to peter out the further we travelled away from the capital, and was replaced by miles upon miles of rice paddies and other crops. It looked like back breaking work. Before we arrived in Ranomafana we made a stop at a small reserve known as Yalatsara. Not knowing what to expect this became a main highlight of our time in the eastern rainforest of Madagascar. We came across a beautifully coloured male Parson's Chameleon of vibrant yellow and green, and the most confiding Red Bellied Lemurs we saw including a mother with a very young baby still clinging to her belly. Ranomafana was a beautiful area of rainforest, full of wildlife at every turn. The village and learning about their way of life was fascinating. I could go on but the main highlights here were trekking through Vohipara and watching Milne Edward's Sifakas eating with content and bounding through the rainforest, seeing the 'jewels' of Madagascar; the amazingly coloured day geckos, as well as Giraffe Necked Weevils and Painted Mantella Frogs up close. From here we travelled south west to Isalo; a staggering landscape of sandstone formations and canyons. From the Hoopoes that were in constant search for insects around the hotel to the idyllic oases sheltering Ring Tailed Lemurs and Red Fronted Brown Lemurs, Isalo fast became one of my favourite destinations during our trip Further south west we travelled to the spiny desert of Ifaty. Here we needed to explore the area early in the morning to escape the heat and were rewarded with beautiful sunrises through Baobabs and Pachypodiums, as well as Madagascar Kestrel, Dumeril’s Boa and Standing’s Day Geckos. A splash in the pool during the midday heat was definitely a welcome retreat! A trip to Nosy Ve to see Red Billed Tropicbirds, their only nesting site in Madagascar, emphasises the importance of this country’s biodiversity and the amazing variety of experiences you can have there. Time seemed to fly and soon we were back on a plane flying from Toliara to Tana to continue our next leg of the trip; to Andasibe. This was an area of eastern rainforest I was most excited to visit. Andasibe is made famous by the largest lemur alive today, the Indri. We were lucky enough to see them up close and hear their haunting, whale like, call. It is a beautiful sound which I’ll never forget. Andasibe has an awful lot more to offer than just the Indri though, and my main highlight was actually being within touching distance of the Diademed Sifaka. After frantically traipsing through the rainforest to keep up with a troop of these beautiful lemurs they suddenly stopped, came down to the ground and proceeded to play fight and groom each other right in front of us. I have never observed wild animals so relaxed around people before and I came away feeling incredibly privileged to have been there. Our final stop was a week spent in Anjajavy. It is a ray of hope for the country. Travelling around the island it is clear to see that deforestation has decimated the landscape and in turn it's wildlife. Who can blame the people of Madagascar when they're living in the 5th poorest country in the world. Most live without running water or electricity, so the main thought is how to provide for themselves and their family. The wildlife and the landscape of the country is victim to devastating slash and burn agriculture by people who are just trying to scratch out a living. The manager of the hotel, Cedric, and the staff are dedicated to preserving the biodiversity of the area, having just tripled the size of their hotel's nature reserve to a vast area. It is to be run and managed by the local people, including grazing their zebu (cattle) there. The people are therefore happy as their traditions are being respected, and they have additional sources of fish to farm due a large area of mangrove forest. The fact that the hotel is working with the local villages surrounding the area, providing medicine and education has built up an invaluable trust between the cultures. The stars of Anjajavy are the Coquerel's Sifakas. Predominantly arboreal, when they have to cross the ground they maintain a distinctly vertical posture and leap over ground quite like a kangaroo. The wealth of indigenous plants attracts all form of wildlife from insects to mammals. It is an area where the Fat Tailed Dwarf Lemur can be found. Dwarf lemurs are the only primates to hibernate. This extraordinary characteristic has made them the subject of study by NASA. The research is looking at how these lemurs can slow down their vital organs in the hope it can be beneficial in space travel as well as emergency wards. Regrettably we had to say bye to Madagascar after spending four of the most amazing weeks of my life exploring the country. It won’t be the only and last time I visit.

No holiday of this nature goes as smoothly as our experience without the enthusiasm, support and knowledge of the tour operator and the local ground agents. Naturetrek, and specifically Kerrie, were fantastic. Kerrie patiently listened to my every idea and suggestion for the itinerary and we spoke for several months planning it to get it right. Kerrie’s insight into the country meant we were able to see and do things which I wouldn’t have otherwise known about, like the close encounters with Brown Mouse Lemurs in Ranomafana. Everything on the trip went smoothly, even where circumstances were out of our control. For instance, Kerrie had recommended staying in Tana for one night after flying back from Toliara as Air Madagascar are infamous for changing and cancelling flights. By staying one night in Tana it meant we wouldn’t miss out on any time spent at our next destination; Andasibe. I can’t give enough personal thanks to Kerrie and Naturetrek for their careful and intimate planning of this trip. Also worth mentioning was our driver for the trip; Kiki and all the guides we met along the way. Kiki is a man of amazing ability to make everything feel effortless, safe and ultimately enjoyable. He had an infectious laugh which went through all of us. The guides were amazing too. How they managed to spot wildlife in each area was incredible. Of particular note was our guide in Andasibe; Barry. Not only was his wealth of knowledge of the wildlife and plant life staggering, he also showed an unfaltering enthusiasm for the area. It is not often that I visit a country and don’t have constructive feedback to give, but on this occasion Naturetrek and their local ground agents had it covered. I can’t thank them enough.

We started our holiday to South Africa with a tailor made trip to Cape town , the cape peninsula and lastly Hermanus .We then joined the group tour , and spent four nights at two separate rest camps in the Kruger national park and four nights in two separate camps in Sabi Sands . We had a wonderful trip. The intimate wildlife viewing in Sabi sands was out of this world.

Naturetrek had put together a superb tour ,culminating in exceptional wildlife viewing in Sabi Sands.Private caterers were brought in during our stay in the Kruger national park .This was a very nice touch.