Naturetrek Traveller Reviews

We had a wonderful visit to Extremadura at Christmas. The accommodation was in a rural hotel. It was very comfortable in an impressive building with a great atmosphere. The family made us very welcome and looked after us well. During our stay we saw great flocks of birds such as cranes, great & little bustards, pin-tailed sand grouse and stone curlews. We also saw many birds that are difficult to see at home such as firecrest, crested tit, little bittern, bearded tit, and hawfinch.

We have travelled with naturetrek several times. On this trip our leaders were very expert and helpful. They were adept at adjusting to changing conditions. They had well organised picnics in well chosen places, and sensible coffee / loo stops during each day out. All the information provided was reliable and the arrangements all went according to plan. We would be happy to travel with them again.

A small group of Birdwatchers were conveyed by minibus to the best birdwatching areas of Extremadura, Spain. We stayed in a very comfortable country hotel where we enjoyed excellent breakfasts and evening meals with wine. Ample picnic lunches were provided by our hard working guides. The holiday was well organised, varied and our two guides were extremely knowledgeable and helpful. It was altogether a very enjoyable experience.

Naturetrek was very well organised. Documentation before departure was excellent. They were flexible about travel arrangements and diet. Their staff were helpful and friendly at all times.

A lovely birdwatching holiday over Christmas in Extremadura Spain. Loads of wonderful birds, some terrific, wild scenery and a great escape from the commercial business of Christmas in England.

Not the cheapest wildlife tour operator, I guess, but everything was handled so professionally, yet with that precious personal touch. I felt very well cared for and in expert hands from start to finish. Wonderful guides, who appeared totally committed to the task at hand, with genuine enthusiasm for birdwatching and making the most of each opportunity. They were also very pleasant people to be with! If this is typical of Naturetrek (which I gather it is), then I am looking forward to another trip with them, when I can afford it.

Algarve birdwatching holiday with Naturetrek 22-8/12/2015

tickets and travel arrangements worked efficiently

I have Multiple Sclerosis & can't walk far, so can't do groups. We met our guide at the local RSPB reserve & he took us round the reserves in his car, pointing out birds on the way and we walked short distances.The weather was sunny the whole 3 days. He showed us so many birds and pointed out descriptions,flight patterns & calls. He had excellent hearing & taught us how to wait & look,but also attracted birds closer. Dave carried a superb scope, through which we could see birds in detail. We saw a reed warbler and coal tits plus glimpsed a Cetti's warbler. We visited hides and saw stonechat and lots of water fowl. Plumage alters from male to female & summer/winter and he was good at pointing out the variations. At dusk on the first 2 days we headed for the reed beds to watch the half million starlings streaming across to roost, forming and re-forming before noisily settling down for the night. Fantastic sight! We spent the third day at Slimbridge with magnificent views from Holden Hide over fields and water, spotting peregrines, European cranes, golden plover, smew, wigeon etc. The highlight of our trip was a buzzard perched 3 feet from the road. (The above description is a drop in the ocean.)

Naturetrek tailored the trip to my needs with an accessible room and walk-in shower, evening meals included, as we were tired at the end of each day. The company also got the price down to a reasonable level for us and we were delighted to have the guide to ourselves for the three days. We had a detailed description for each day,good directions for travel to locations and satnav codes of the car parks. Naturetrek selected an excellent, experienced guide who was very well organised and planned for all eventualities : he adapted to my loss of concentration (due to the MS) after midday. He even came up with the telephone number for Slimbridge so that I could book a mobility scooter - something I had forgotten to do before travelling. He was good at teaching us how to describe birds and their location to others, so we got a lot out of our holiday and it was worth every penny.

We flew to Seville with a Naturetrek guide, then were met at the airport by 2 more with the minibuses. We were taken to a pleasant little hotel in El Rocio where we spent 2 days driving round, primarily looking for lynx but also for anything else, and saw plenty of birds, several of which were raptors. On the third morning, we were told we would have another "go" at looking for a lynx before we left after lunch for the mountains and the other viable lynx territory, near Anducar. This time we were lucky to see a young male lynx, who had just caught a rabbit. We drove round for about half an hour so he could eat his meal in peace, then we looked for him again. He was sitting at the edge of a wood, by some meadowland. We watched him washing his face for about 5 minutes, then he slowly rose and walked off left. It was magical; we had such good views. The guides were really dedicated to providing us with the best experiences. We then had a 3-4 hour drive to the mountains and settled into the next hotel. The food there was outstanding, although they had not managed to procure soya milk for me. The next days were spent looking for, and finding, ibex, mouflon an otter, Spanish Imperial eagle, plus lots of other birds. The weather was a real bonus as it was blue skies and pleasant temperatures all the time. When we returned to Seville at the end of the holiday, it was 24C!

Naturetrek is a very caring and efficient company. Whenever you have a question, you can phone them and it will be dealt with. The guides are well trained and have excellent skills, both in animal observation and people-management. They visit many destinations and I am looking forward to travelling with them again.

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.