Brilliant!

We went to Alaska, which Wildlife Trails sorted out for us. I chose Wildlife Trails because Allan was more knowledgeable than others I emailed, and more helpful. We went to Anchorage, Seward,... er, Nikiski, Kodiak and Katmai. At Nikiski we stayed at Daniels Lake Lodge B&B in a log cabin by the lake. It was an amazing place and was the wildest and most remote of our journey. We saw a black bear and 3 coyote on the road. Had a great day out with Alaska West Air near there. We had bears right beside our boat at Big River Lakes near Wolverine Creek, saw bald eagles and plenty of salmon in the river. They gave us a scenic flight on the way back flying right over double glacier and its ice field - so close we almost landed on it. Really breath-taking. We booked up Juneau Mendenhall Glacier Ice Adventure Tour ourselves through Alaska Shore Excursions - local tour operator was Liquid Alaska Tours. This was excellent. We did canoeing, went in an ice cave under the glacier and used crampons to climb on top of it. A fantastic day out. Would recommend these. Also had a great day out at Brooks Falls watching the bears catching the salmon that were jumping up the waterfall. Well worth the trip. Wouldn't recommend Jayleen's Alaska whale watching trip. We didn't see anything but a lighthouse for most of the morning. Cost us a fortune for 6 hours when we saw more on the 2 hour cruise with Alaska Tales for a fraction of the cost. These are a new company. We didn't have many on the boat so didn't have to fight the crowds to see the whales and they took us straight to them so didn't waste any of our time. To see black bears close up we went to AnAn Bear observatory. A mother and cub came very close to where we were standing on a platform. At the other places we saw brown bears. A great trip all in all. As I stated above Wildlife Trails are very knowledgeable and helpful. They always replied quickly to any emails I sent asking them a lot of questions (some I should have been able to work out myself). When we had problems they were always contactable to help us sort them out. The ferry they booked for us went on strike but Wildlife Trails had sorted us out a flight in its place before we even knew there was a problem, so the holiday ran very smoothly. I would recommend Wildlife Trails to anyone and I have already booked another trip with them next year. Read More

By Dawn and Steve

Fantastic Canadian adventure

We had a two week holiday on Vancouver Island.. we went on a whale watching tour and saw Orcas, Humpbacks, Dahl porpoises, white striped Dolphins, seals and Sea lions. We then did a Grizzly bear... r and saw lots of Grizzlies as well as loads of Black Bears. The highlight of the holiday was a three day kayaking trip which was fantastic. Kayaking with Orcas and Humpback whales was incredible Our holiday was completely organised by Wildlife Trails, and I can’t recommend them highly enough.. everything was planned to perfection and they made the entire holiday exactly what we asked for Read More

By Chris and John

Outstanding from planning, throughout the whole trip and home again

We had a 13 day tour to India, mostly wildlife as this was what we wanted and a little element of city & culture. Day in Delhi staying at the Imperial, apart from noisy traffic getting to the... el it was an iconic place to be, so much hitory and staff who had been there 30yrs and proud of what they did. then onto 5 days at Ranthambor - 2 incredible Tiger sightings with so many other species, onto Agra and the Taj Mahal and then the Saptura National Park. Great time was taken in the planning, we were given lots of options as to how to make the trip up including time of year and how to maximize wildlife sighting. Read More

By Sarah

A life changing experience

The main part of the trip was gorilla trekking in Uganda and Wildlife Trails had organised this very well and provided me with a comprehensive list of what to take which was great. The lodges were... ely and seeing the other animals in Queen Elizabeth National Park, brilliant. Wildlife Trails organised the trip, including my flight very well. They also booked a hotel for me in Entebbe for the first and last night before flying home. Read More

By Alison

Walking with Bears

A 7 night stay at Katmai Wilderness Lodge which was amazing both for accommodation, food, very friendly and helpful staff and of course seeing bears in their natural habitat. A 4 night stay in... eau which included a visit to Pack Creek where we had good sighting of bears and 2 Whale Watching tours where we saw Humpbacks and seals and Stellar Sealions. Wildlife Trails a small family concern run by Allan and Kirsty Blanchard. Very efficient and helpful. Listened to what we wanted and put together a good itinerary. Read More

By Janet and Audrey

Thoroughly bearable

Great itinerary Jeaunau, a good start to be introduced to the quirkiness of Alaska We self-added Barrow and glad we did as it was culturally exotic as well as seeing the ice of the Artic Ocean The... iak area had ups and downs due to weather; Alaska needs a weather disclaimer! Highlights were Frazer Lake and Katmai Wildnerness Lodge (when the weather was good) Homer was a great last stop as loved the hippie vibe and the trip to brooks from there was fantastic The overall theme was bears and each bear experience grew on the previous Brooks was the icing on the cake. A last morning in Anchorage sealed the oddidity of this amazing sate. (really feels like a seperate country) Excellent for planning and knowing the best spots as had done the trip himself. He had booked out the katmai wilderness lodge for his clients which was great as we fall a small party for 4 days. The wether disruption caused a lot of stress and Kodiak should katmai Wilderness shpul;d be marked with a high risk stamp We particularly hadn't realised with Katmai Wilderness the limited transpot links and lack of flexibilty to try and pre-empt detriorating weather Read More

By Jonathan and David

Africa changes you forever and you will always yearn to return to the bush

How do you describe being on safari in the African Bush ? That is hard because it is not just about seeing animals in their natural environment ; it is about experiences, feelings , smells and all... se things that fill the senses. We stayed in a tented camp and this is the only way to truly experience Africa, hearing the sounds of Hyena and Lion whilst you lay in your bed at night. Making sure you get excellent guides is key to getting the right experience and we were so lucky in this respect. They impart so much of their in - depth knowledge of the wildlife and ensure you get wonderful sightings of some amazing animals and birds but with care and consideration for their environment You just have to go there ! I have given Wildlife Trails repeat business since I first used them. They are a small company but with a wealth of experience and customer service. They are prepared to give a lot of time in helping to put together a holiday itinerary that will tick all the boxes. In addition their quoted costs are very fair and not over inflated like some operators. I recommended friends to use them , which they did, and they were not disappointed. Read More

By June

A truly stunning holiday, wildlife and photography experience

Three weeks in India with the fantastic wildlife photographer and teacher, Trai Anfield, concentrating on finding and photographing tiger and leopard, as well as experiencing all the cultural... ders of this extraordinary country. The trip exceeded all expectations. We stayed in a wonderful selection of safari lodges, tented camps, forts and palaces, experienced the food and customs of the regions, visited and spent time with the local people and were in Udaipur to celebrate the paint festival, Holi. Out of all the game drives we did over the three weeks, on only two did we return without having seen either tiger or leopard. A truly outstanding experience in every respect, made even more special by the dedication of Trai Anfield to make sure that her clients had the best possible tuition and opportunities to take the photograph of a lifetime. Excellent in every respect. Everything worked perfectly. The booking arrangements, information and assistance before the trip, local guides and local arrangements all worked extremely well and the trip content, compiled in collaboration with Trai Anfield, was outstandingly brilliant. Read More

By Andrew and Nichola

Fantastic Trip to India with Wildlife Trails

We have recently returned from a 16-night trip to India, organised by Wildlife Trails. It was a tailored trip, encompassing safari in Kaziranga and Corbett with city breaks in Mumbai, Kolkata and... hi to catch some IPL cricket. Essentially we were on a 16-night, 5 centre itinerary, no more than 3 nights in any one location, involving many and varied transfers by road, rail and air. The chaos which characterises India, and is certainly part of its charm, can cause frustration for travellers – unless they are travelling with Wildlife Trails, who have partnered with ground agents in India who have the knack of short-circuiting the chaos and arriving everywhere with comfortable punctuality, every time. A thoroughly professional service, enabling our party of 4 to fully enjoy the wonderful experiences India has to offer. We had dedicated wildlife drivers/guides during our stays at both Kaziranga and Corbett – in both cases they were very friendly, we were very well looked after by them, and they greatly enriched our experience of the wildlife. We were blessed with tiger sightings at both Kaziranga (2 different tigers on 2 different days!) and Corbett – where we close enough to the tiger to consider it an encounter rather than a sighting. And Rhino galore (including being amongst a sizeable herd on elephant safari), and wild elephant galore, and deer, and monkeys, and fabulous birds. Accommodation at both National Parks was very good, as were the meals. During our city breaks we had guided tours of each city. Our guides were all punctual, very knowledgeable and friendly – our experience of all 3 cities was certainly enriched by our guides. The agents and drivers who assisted with our transfers to and from airports and railways stations were unfailingly polite and helpful – we were delivered to our seats on the train in Kolkata and met at the carriage door when we arrived 19 hours later in Delhi. Kirsty from Wildlife Trails worked with us over several iterations of our itinerary – always offering positive suggestions and responding promptly and fully to our questions. Putting the trip together with Wildlife Trail was a pleasure in itself – and I’m very happy and impressed to be able to say that everything went according to plan. We would all four have no hesitation in recommending Wildlife Trails to anyone considering a wildlife adventure in India.   Read More

By Dave and Alison

Our 1st time to Kipling Camp, amazing holiday

WE had 2 nights in Delhi at Claridges, perfect as always, 3 nights at Kipling Camp,excellent staff, guide, rooms and best of all picnic by the river to bath the beautiful 'Tara' the... phant. Went on to Bandhavgargh 'Bandhav Villas' where we have stayed 5 times, treated like Royalty, the rooms have been upgraded, 6* service and most of all 22 Tiger sightings including mother and 3 cubs, wild dogs and other wild life. What else can one ask for? We have used 'Wildlife Trails' now for at least 7 times. They are very knowledgeable, flexible, good listeners as to what you want to do/see, have really become our 'travel friends'. They arranged tours to India, Sri Lanka and Tanzania for us. They have give an excellent service and have good 'local partners' to be there for you. Read More

By Sarah and Klaus

An excellent way to see iconic & endangered Indian wildlife.

It was a great itinerary that allowed us to see all the iconic and unique wildlife of India in the company of excellent guides, thoughtful drivers and accommodation hosts. In Gujarat we saw wild... , birdlife including migrating bar headed geese, asiatic lions - which are not as easy to see as you might think and need persistence, Black buck, Indian wolf & jungle cat with leopard, tiger and a very fast moving sloth bear in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The accomodation was excellent particularly Blackbuck Lodge @ Velavadar and Reni Pani @ Saptura and everywhere had top notch hospitality. Travel was by car, train and plane - travelling in India takes some acclimatisation but the drivers and meet & greet guides were very professional and made it as easy as they could! overall it was a well put together holiday which flowed and allowed us to experience India and Indian wildlife at its best. Very efficient and put together; a well thought through itinerary. Read More

By Julie

Superb Central India safari/tiger watching trip

10 days in Pench, Nagzira, and Tadoba NPs, looking for tigers, sloth bears, leopards and more. I can't praise enough the way the whole trip was arranged and run, and the parks are magnificent... doba is where you're most likely to see tigers, and we saw ten different ones, including two mothers with 2 and 4 cubs!, Nagzira is possibly the most beautiful, scenery-wise, but big cats are very hard to see - however, birding is phenomenal and wild dogs a real treat, Pench is in-between the two). Wildlife Trails is a very responsive, responsible and proactive operator, and our trip to India proved great value for our money. We're returning customers and, after an earlier, amazing trip in 2004, we chose Wildlife Trails again for this tiger watching trip with a couple of friends. Hope to have a chance to return to India again in a few years, obviously with Allan & Kirsty! Read More

By Antonello

Our trip came up to all our expectations

We focused on wildlife and quiet destinations. We tried not to do too much internal travel so we could relax in fewer places and get to understand the local areas. My husband did not want to go to... ia, he came back saying how wonderful it was and what a fabulous experience it had been. I cannot praise Wildlife trails enough for creating a trip that gave us such a good insight into the real India. Wildlife Trails were efficient, prompt and very friendly. Good at sending out information and links so that you can do further research into the holidays. Also sends out holiday hints which is very useful Read More

By Nancy and Geoff

Beloved India

In November 2017 we re-visited India - Pench & Kanha National Parks. We have been many times before though each drive in these parks provides a new experience. The terrain may be familiar but... ry visit is different as, when wildlife watching, every moment is different from the last. Evocative sounds promise surprises around every bend. This time there was the added bonus of seeing everything so green when we are mostly used to more parched summer scenery. This just adds to the thrill of seeing an almost unrecognisable view - almost different parks. We were lucky enough to see a tiger family in Pench & two beautiful tigresses in Kanha. Add to this wild dogs, leopard, all the prey animals and birds, much water in the lakes & rivers and we had a feast of wild life watching to add to our memories. Wildlife Trails have been our preferred tour operator since 2003. Allan & Kirsty Blanchard feel like friends as we have spoken so often to them that they understand what we want from our holidays. And they deliver every time. Their operation is small & personal yet with a wealth of experience. Each time we discuss a planned trip it is a partnership of ideas so we feel very involved in the process. Read More

By Avril and Brian

Amazing Experience

We travelled through the Pantanal in Brazil. Our guide was fantastic. He met us at our hotel and accompanied us throughout. Transportation (4x4) with a driver was very comfortable, particularly as... was mainly mud roads! The first few days we spent at Pousada Alegre, Bird sightings were great, but also fox, monkey and tapir to name but a few. Majority of our trip was spent looking for Jaguar o the river. And we definitely were lucky! We had some amazing sightings, including a number of mum and cubs. Allan's organisation of the trip was spot on. Everything worked like clockwork and the guide he chose spoke perfect English and went out of his way to ensure that we were always in the best places / positions to photograph the wildlife. We have used Allan on on several wildlife trips in the past and this one was up to his usual high standards. Allan takes the time to get to know you, your preferences and understand exactly what you wish to do / see and works with you to achieve the type of holiday you wish. Thanks again Allan - looking forward to Tanzania in February! Read More

By Isabell and Steve

Zambia Safari

We visited two camps in South Luangwa, Mwamba Bush camp & Kaingo camp.Both brilliant for the wildlife and the photographic hides. Guides first rate, accommodation top class, camp staff helpful... friendly. We then moved down to the Lower Zambezi to Baines River Camp. Excellent accommodation,again staff friendly, only draw back was the forty minute boat trip to reach the national park. Again good wildlife sightings. Allan at Wildlife Trails was very helpful, promptly answered any questions we had, everything went smoothly while in Zambia. The itinerary he suggested was perfect for our trip. Read More

By Lynn and David

Gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Uganda

By Zoltan

Wild Botswana Experience

This was a wonderful mobile camping trip visiting several areas of Botswana. It was my first time mobile camping and I absolutely loved it - even the 'long drop toilets'! To sit outside... er the stars with no light pollution was incredible. We had some brilliant sightings, especially the elephants who we watched playing in the water for ages. Trips in between camps could be long but it was more like an extended game drive and didn't bother me in the least. The trip started off at Thamalakane River Lodge where we had a beautiful sunset over the river. It finished at Chobe River Lodge where we went on a boat trip - once again with wonderful sightings - and watched the sun go down. I could honestly have gone immediately back and done it all again! Kirsty and Allan of Wildlife Trails arranged this brilliant photographic tour for us and I will hopefully return again in the not too distant future. I thought the quality of both lodges and the mobile camp was excellent. We would go for a game drive on the morning of our departure to another camp and by the time we got to our new site the old camp had been dismantled and was re-assembled, ready for us to use, as soon as we got there - with food and drink awaiting! The staff were absolutely amazing and our chef created excellent food with seemingly no effort. This was extremely well arranged by Wildlife Trails with nothing being too much trouble for Allan or Kirsty. Read More

By Chris

Fantastic tailored holiday to North America the itinerary and arrangements were first class

Our slightly unusual request was to cover certain National Parks in the US and then visit British Columbia with the focus on Whales and Bears all within a restricted time slot and to ensure both... ents an teenage girls could be entertained on the way. Our experiences will give us life long memories we will treasure, we enjoyed every aspect o the trip and saw amazing wildlife, the experiences surpassed our expectations. Wildlife Trails were fantastic in ensuring our arrangements and itinerary fitted perfectly with our requirements and the logistic went completely smoothly. Allan was flexible with us changing our mind on a few major thing before we finalised the tour and helpful in ensuring we had everything we needed both before and during our trip. THe service was first class. Read More

By Paul and Sally

An action packed wildlife tour of Alaska

We travelled in dependently using a car, flights and the Alaska Marine Highway. Everything went smoothly from start to finish. Car hire and all accommodation were excellent. The itinerary worked... l considering it was so packed - but we did have some independent down time. Some outstanding bear viewing at Brooks Falls, Pack Creek and AnAn. Loved it. Can't wait to go back Allan and Wildlife Trails offer a really personal service. Never ending patience as we nailed down all the details with numerous emails and calls He knew the area and offered good advice. The price was also competitive and allowed us to do so much. Read More

By Elaine

A Pantanal Adventure

We re-visited the Pantanal having enjoyed a previous trip so much. This time, with Eduardo as our guide, it was truly an adventure. His enthusiasm and excitement about all of the wildlife is so... ectious. We had some fabulous sightings of jaguar, some totally exclusive to us. Eduardo is equally keen on all that the Pantanal has to offer & energetically pursues experiences for his guests to share. He & I had the most amazing encounter with a giant anteater with a baby on her back. His excitement for this was palpable & it greatly enhanced my experience. We also had some very special daytime tapir viewings and this is entirely due to his observations of their behaviour and the likely directions they may take. So for this and the giant anteater sighting, the viewing was extended by his ability to predict what might happen next. Even staying at his lodge (JER) was a continuation of wildlife experiences as he actively seeks to find all the creatures that he can. Plus I found his lodge delightfully quirky & fun. Eduardo took great & very personal care of us & he was a joy to be with & very knowledgeable. Allan & Kirsty Blanchard make Wildlife Trails perfect for our needs. They have got to know us over time and the experience of working in partnership with them to plan our trips means that our holidays come to life through the planning process. So by the time we set off we can feel confident that our trip will be exactly what we want. Thanks for doing such a grand job. Read More

By Avril and Brian

Fantastic Polar Bear trip

Allan Blanchard from Wildlife Trails organised a holiday for myself and a friend to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada to see Polars Bears. All the flights connections were spot on, arrived at Winnipeg... per itinerary, had a night in the hotel there, all good, got to the railway station in good time to get the 2day trip to Churchill. The train was very comfortable, food fairly good, enjoyed the experience very much. Got a taxi to the blue sky B&B, where we had 7 nights, had been there before 3yrs ago, everything was excellent, food and accomodation very high standard, and Jennifor and Gerald really looked after us very well. Had 2 great day trips on the Tundra Buggy, where we saw 45 bears, mum and cubs, bears play fighting, some up really close to the buggy. Had a good tour with North star, managed to see polar bears up very close to the bus, and we also had 2 and half days with Nature 1st, who took us all around the churchill area to try and spot bears which we were very successful with about 8 bears in total. People/drivers all excellent, very knowledgeable, and we had a great time with all the people involved in our holiday. Everything went very well, Wildlife trails did a fanastic holiday for us, and we were lucky to see a total of 62 bears, including a bear lift from the polar bear jail of a mum and 2yrs old cub. it was great. thank you to all concerned for giving me and my friend such a fanastic time Have been with Allan and Kirsty Blanchard for many years, as they do all my wildlife holidays of which there as been many. Every time it is always great, arrangements as they should be, people who should be meeting me are always there so although I travel alone quite a bit, I feel very safe with Allan and Wildlife Trails organising the trip as things are all in place and I have no need to worry about anything First Class Tour Operator. Read More

By Annie and Viv

A great wildlife trip where I saw everything I hoped for

On a safari trip I go with hopes and expectations, in this case they were exceeded which was a first. The vehicles used were modern and most importantly not crowded. The trip was a photographic... ari and our hosts turned out to be expert wildlife photographers and I learnt a lot from them. The other part was fulfilled by our two local guides who had exemplary, knowledge and had the happy knack of putting us in the right place at the right time. This was a wild camping trip and the facilities again exceeded my expectations. The itinerary worked very well and enabled us to make the most of our time in Botswana. Wildlife trails created the environment that made the trip so good, I learned a lot about photography and the wildlife I went to see. For me the highest praise is that I was a returning customer and have already booked my next trip and that they are good value for money. Read More

By David

Bear and whale watching in British Columbia

Fantastic bear and whale watching experience in the Great Best Rainforest and on Vancouver Island. Different locations, tour operators and accommodation types, all of them great in their own... ht, the most impressive being the "Great Bear Chalet" in the BellaCoola valley. We saw plenty of grizzly and black bears, orcas and humpback whales Very pleasant experience, Allan did everything possible to make this combination of different tour components fit our limited timeframe - and our bucket of extra wishes! Very much looking forward to planning the next trip with "Wildlife Trails" Read More

By Patrick

Uganda and Rwanda wildlife experience

A totally stunning holiday with an excellent driver/guide who had brilliant wildlife and local knowledge, excellent driving skills, great attention to detail and a good sense of humour. The... seness to and variety of wildlife seen was exceptional and well beyond any expectations and we have been on many many wildlife holidays. The local people were lovely and the food was worthy of michelin stars. A very well planned itinerary ensuring we had enough time at each destination. Everything I asked for was included and all the lodges were at exactly the level requested. The local operator was also excellent and we could not have wished for better service. Read More

By Sheila

An excellent wildlife holiday

We are so delighted that this interesting combination of the Pantanal, Chapada dos Guimarães and the southern Amazon worked out so well. It was a real pleasure organising this bespoke... zilian wildlife tour for you and we hope you have a treasure chest of memories. Wildlife Trails arrangements worked very well Read More

By Scott

Fantastic

Nothing was left to chance. All arrangements went like clockwork and with great people to deal with. Accommodation was great throughout and the safaris in central India were unbelievable with lots... great wild life sightings especially the majestic Tiger. I got 15 sightings due to great guides knowing their business. The arranging of the tour was done brilliantly and with so much patience as I thought I was being so fussy. Allan and Kirsty were great to deal with. All guides were professional and helpful. No language problems. Read More

By Greg

More stunning wildlife encounters

Recently returned from a trip to Sri Lanka & India. As always, our jointly planned adventures with Wildlife Trails produced another raft of good memories to enjoy. Whilst we have been to both... ntries several times, all wildlife trips are uniquely unpredictable & different. It was our first time visiting Wilpatu NP in NW Sri Lanka and would recommend it. It is beautiful forest with plenty of lakes, so very picturesque. Great sightings of leopard, sloth bear, many prey animals & fabulous birds. We were also able to enjoy the company of our regular driver (who has become a good friend), thanks to the efforts of Wildlife Trails. In India we revisited Kanha NP & were rewarded with fantastic tiger sightings; the stuff of dreams. We never tire of these two amazing countries. It is always a pleasure to plan & fulfil our travel arrangements with Wildlife Trails. Satisfaction guaranteed for us through our shared wildlife interests, understanding of our preferences, incredible attention to detail & feeling like we are discussing it with friends rather that a travel company, making hopes become reality. Read More

By Avril and Brian

Tiger Safari Ranthambore, India

My friend and I booked a 7 day holiday with Wildlife Trails and we cannot praise this company and their associates in India too much. Everything went according to plan. We were fetched from the... port, taken to a nice hotel nearby and the next day a taxi from the New Delhi associates were taken us to the train station to Madhapour/Rajastan where we were fetched by car and taken to an excellent hotel close to the tiger reserve and after that we were taken twice a day on safari and were looked after by a great guy who could really could not do enough for us. I have been 5 times to India before,each time I loved it and this was my 6th and the best. My friend who had never been also enjoyed every minute of this. I think my above comments are sufficient. Wildlife Trails could not have been any better. Read More

By Lianne

Incredible India - Brilliant from start to finish!

We travelled through Rajasthan and Madaya Pradesh over 16 days and using various transport -internal flights, train and private drivers and guides. The trip was wonderful; courteous and competent... vers, incredible guides and with amazing accommodation throughout. Highlights included Amber Fort in Jaipur, Ranthambore, Ramathra Fort and lake and exquisite Reni Pani and Satpura. Tigers (we saw a few), leopard, jackal, hyena, porcupine, deer, snake - so much wildlife and wonderful, welcoming people - we loved it all. A perfect and exciting mix of culture and natural history. We knew what we wanted and spent a lot of time looking for a company that we felt had the right vibe for us. We found that in Wildlife Trails and their contacts in country (India). Wildlife Trails listened to what we wanted, considered our budget (not huge) and quickly came up with a suggested itinerary. Wildlife Trails know India well and delivered. The whole experience in country was very organised and transfers were seamless. We highly recommend and will undoubtedly travel with them again. Read More

By Hilary and Steve

First experience - incredible India

We chose Wildlife Trails for our first visit to India because of the award from Travel Operators of Tigers (TOFT). We appreciated Kirsty and Allen insider knowledge and patience as we constructed... itinerary to suit our interests in wildlife and birds. The complex 30 day itinerary included 11 hotels, 4 train journeys, 3 internal flights, 13 transfers and lots of wonderful safaris in Satpura, Tadoba, Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary, Ranthambhore, Leopards Lair and Kaziranga. We are independent travellers. This was our first experience of an AITO company for over 10 years. It will not be our last holiday with Wildlife Trails. Thanks to Wildlife Trails and their local agents everything worked out perfectly. Kirsty and Allen provided practical tips and always answered email and telephone queries promptly. We valued the safety net, oversight and action from their Indian agents; for example when there were problems with transfers, everything still ran to plan. Read More

By Irene and Dave

Tremenous Pantanal and Iguacu experience with Wildlife Trails

Spent 2 weeks in October in the Southern and Northern Pantanal, and amongst numerous other encounters with a range of animals, got to spend time with Giant anteaters, Tapirs, Jaguars, Capuchin and... ler monkeys, and of course the King of the Pantanal, the magnificent capybara! To spend time close to a wild animal, who knows you are there, but continues to act entirely naturally, remains one of the best experiences you can have. Magical. Thanks to Allan and Kirsty at Wildlife Trails for their patience while customising our trip, all connections and transfers were perfect, and our guides Stefan and Tito were great. The 4 days we enjoyed at Iguacu falls were the perfect end to the trip. We have been working with Wildlife Trails for nearly 12 years, since we first went to India and have never been disappointed. Everything is individually customised from the itinerary to choice of lodges/hotels, and all at very reasonable cost. Highly recommended. Read More

By Del and Sheila

NORTHERN INDIA WILDLIFE TRIP

A FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE OF TRAVELLING. ORGANISATION WAS EXCELLENT AND SOME LOVELY LOCATIONS WERE VISITED.THERE WAS LOADS OF FANTASTIC WILDLIFE TO SEE SUCH AS LEOPARD, STRIPED HYENA, RHINO,... NBILLS, RAPTORS AND A VERY GOOD VARIETY OF OF OTHER BIRD SPECIES. THE SERVICE WAS VERY PROFESSIONAL AND VERY WELL ORGANISED. THE OPERATOR PUT IN 100% AT ALL TIMES TO ENSURE THAT THE TRIP WAS RUNNING WELL AND THE CLIENT WAS HAPPY AT ALL TIMES. Read More

By Matthew

Enjoyable, a good insight into local life

We booked a 5 night trip to Ranthambhore National Park with Wildlife Trails as a follow on to a cycling trip as we wanted to see tigers. Our trip was well organised and the hotel was good. Our... al contact, Mr Vipul Jain was excellent. We saw tigers on 3 of our 7 safaris with the last afternoon being the best! We also saw a lot of other wildlife and met local villagers. We would strongly recommend Wildlife Trails to other travellers Everything was well organised by Wildlife Trails, we would travel with them again Read More

By Jane and Neville

An amazing experience

Great holiday at Kanha and Pench national parks in India. Well organised. Great tiger sittings and plenty of other wildlife. Excellent lodges very close to the parks. Memorable experience and good... ue. Very willing to listen to and understand our requirements. Presented several options and tailor made an itenary to include everything we wanted. The the whole holiday was really well organised. Provided us with a lot of information about the parks and lots of hints and tips. Excellent service before the holiday and during the holiday. The local agents kept in touch with us all throughout the holiday to ensure that everything was ok. The holidays were well researched and It was obvious that Allan and Kirsty were very knowledgeable about the destinations and the accommodation. Will definitely use Wildlife trails again and highly recommend them to anyone who wants to go on a wildlife experience. Read More

By Ranji and friends

Everything I could have hoped for

I specifically wanted to see Polar bears with plenty of photo opportunities. I had a 4 night stay in the Frontiers North Tundra Buggy Lodge, with 5 eight hour Tundra Buggy trips. I also stayed in... nipeg for a couple of nights before and after. The Tundra Buggy people were first class, with driver and guide being very knowledgeable, food was good, both in the Lodge and on board the Buggy. I was a little apprehensive about the long bunk room with 20 people but the inner and outer curtains provided good privacy and also sound deadening. Highly recommended. You have much more time in the area where the bears congregate that if you have a day trip for Churchill (which takes 2 hours each way to get to the area). In Winnipeg I stayed at Inn at the Forks - a good hotel in a lovely area. Also highly recommended. Everything was arrange with detailed consultation and consideration of what I wanted. I had used Wildlife Trails twice before and have always found them excellent. Read More

By Meryl

Brazil. Pantanal plus City visits.

Three of us had a three week holiday with included visits to Salvador, Rio, Iguasu Falls and Ilhe Grande, fitted in around 13 days in the Pantanal and Cristalino Lodge. We flew, via Lisbon, into... vador for a three night stay after the trans-Atlantic flight. Three internal flights took us to Alta Floresta for Cristalino River Lodge. The "wildlife" section of the holiday really exceeded our expectations, the Cristalino river was a great place, not only for mammals, but especially for birds. From the lodge you had a selection of river trips, treks and a trip up a 50 metre tower above the forest cover. A flight back to Cuieba allowed us to be collected by our guide who took us all around our Pantanal visit. The Pantanal was shown to us from three different lodges, all of which have different animals and birds, the highlight of these visits were several sightings of Jaguar, plus giant and neotropical otters. We then had flights to get to Iguasu Falls for a two day visit, prior to flying to Rio and Ilha Grande for a few days before flying back to UK, once again via Lisbon. This is the fourth time we have used Wildlife Trails to arrange a holiday for us. Once again Allan has come up trumps - the preliminary discussions started almost twelve months in advance to get the best dates to visit the Pantanal for Jaguar sightings, once these had been agreed, provisional bookings were made for the lodges of choice, plus our excellent guide, Tito, was engaged. We then discussed the add-on visits we were considering, which Allan then arranged, including adjusting hotels to suit. Internal and international flights were arranged for our convenience - flying directly into Salvador from Manchester!! Everything was always available to check, and there was always someone to discuss or answer any questions or queries we had. On the actual holiday there were no problems in transfers, or any of the minor nitty gritty parts of the holiday. Read More

By Roger, Debbie and Liz

Two weeks whale and bear watching in spectacular surroundings on Vancouver Island

A family (of four) self-drive holiday to Vancouver and Vancouver Island in late August and early September 2015. The holiday lived up to all our expectations. All the arrangements worked like... ckwork. The accommodation was well chosen: just the right standard, in convenient and spectacular waterfront locations. The itinerary could not have been better: we enjoyed each location even more than the previous one with the right length of time at each place. The wildlife and scenery were spectacular: we saw 19 species of mammal, including 3 species of whale, wolf, both grizzly and black bears and c.110 bird species. We travelled with Wildlife Trails, a small, family-owned company specialising in tailor-made wildlife holidays. This was our third holiday with Wildlife Trails in four years. The company offers imaginative and exciting itineraries that are excellent value for money. The personal service and ability to understand and fulfil the requirements of their clients sets them apart from other companies we have travelled with. Read More

By Graham and family

A feast of Pantanal wildlife & hospitality

We have just spent 2 weeks in the South & North Pantanals in Brazil, experiencing all the wonderful wildlife this area has to offer. Our first stop in the south was Pousada Aguape, 3 hours... ve from Campo Grande. Here it was possible to see wildlife on foot, on horseback, by jeep & by boat. The lodge was superb with lovely food & accommodation. Our experience was much enhanced by the services of our excellent guide, Rodrigo. His knowledge & humour were exceptional. In the north we arrived in Cuiaba to visit Pouso Alegre, Porto Jofre & Pousada Araras. Our time in Porto Jofre on the Cuiaba River gave us the unbelievable privilege of many jaguar sightings & time with river otters. Our lovely guide, Bianca, helped us to enjoy & identify numerous, beautiful birds plus the many different mammals & reptiles that all add up to a feast for our eyes & senses. All our accommodation was excellent with good food and comfortable rooms. Our itinerary provided us with such a wide variety of ways to enjoy the world about us in the company of very knowledgeable guides who were a joy to spend time with. Wildlife Trails has become our Tour Operator of choice for the past 13 years. Small is good for us as it has allowed us to develop a relationship with Allan & Kirsty Blanchard that enables us to choose destinations & experiences with confidence. Their personal experiences, excellent research & attention to detail ensures that each trip is carefully & jointly planned between us. The resulting holidays are always good & sometimes spectacular. They are always open to suggestions & ideas and willing to advise when we are uncertain or wanting to try something new to us all. Their standards are high so we can be assured that, wherever we go, we will get the best chance of a memorable & well planned holiday, tailor made for us. Read More

By Avril and Brian

Great Experience

I had a wonderful trip to the Bella Coola Valley in BC. Location and accommodation were excellent, the food a real treat especially in the Tweedmuire Park Lodge. Wildlife viewing on the river and... Nature Walks with experience guides made it a very special experience. The Guides and other staff were a pleasure to be with.. The optional Helicopter Hike topped it all. Excellent and a very personal service. I felt being looked after and supported. No hesitation in recommending Wildlife Trails. Read More

By Barbel

Wonderful time in Alaska and Canada

Had a great time on our Wildlife Trails-organised trip to Alaska and W Canada. It was our first trip to that part of the world and our itinerary was great. Saw whales breaching and bears fishing... well as fabulous scenery and some great little towns. Wildlife Trails put together a customised itinerary to meet our objectives. It was excellent. They deliver a very helpful and personalised service, which we really appreciated. Read More

By Chris and Tricia

Gorilla trekking and safari in Uganda and Rwanda

We had the most AMAZING 15 days in Uganda with a few days in Rwanda on safari, including the usual jeep rides but also hiking, biking, horse back riding, boating and trekking. Uganda is the... ot;sleeper" country for an African visit- not only is it incredibly lush and beautiful with welcoming smiles from those along our path but is free of tourist congestion. Such a pleasure to be on the plains with the animals, completely absorbed by the natural beauty without the distractions of other safari vehicles. The collection of wildlife is diverse, fascinating and beautiful. The gorilla trekking was the highlight personally but not far behind was the rest of Uganda! Allan arranges a truly memorable trip for us. He was a pleasure to deal with and was quite patient with the many questions and changes to our personalized itinerary. The guide/naturalist he selected, Martin Okot, was PERFECT for us; not only thorough in knowledge over a wide range of subjects from plants, birds, butterflies to primates but also on history and politics. This made for wonderful conversation throughout our time together. Martin managed a few typical travel hiccups, like a delayed bag, slight modifications in the itinerary, flat tires with furor and speed. I really felt that he was fighting for us, providing the most favorable time in Uganda- a great ambassador for Uganda. Read More

By Jeanne and Sandra

Uganda and Rwanda wildlife holiday including gorilla trekking

A truly fabulous trip, enhanced by our lovely driver/guide Hassan and many friendly people on our travels whether at our accommodation or any of our daily activities. 

Happy with... booked by Wildlife Trails, lovely accommodation and all activities organised.   Read More

By Ruth and Mark

Bandhavgarh Wildlife and Jungle Experience

My husband & I spent 15 days in Bandhavgarh at the hottest and driest time of year. Daily temperatures frequently reached 47 Celsius but the heat is much drier than in the UK so can be... erated if you are sensible. If you want to see wildlife and especially tigers the hottest driest part of the year is the best in our opinion. We've been travelling to India in late May/early June for 9 years now and we've always seen tigers. This year sloth bear, leopard, civet cat, chinkara, nilgai, changeable hawk eagle, barking deer and vulture sightings were also excellent. We visited 4 zones of Bandhavgarh National Park including the newly opened Kithauli-Panpatha buffer zone which is stunningly beautiful and for the first time in 2015 will remain open during the monsoon rainy season. The other zones visited were Tala (good sightings of tigers, leopards, sloth bears, varied birdlife including the rare emerald doves, Indian Pitta, Paradise Flycatcher, serpent eagles, long necked vultures, Egyptian vultures and King vultures; we also saw civet cat, ruddy mongoose, sambar deer, barking deer, chital and plenty of wild boar); Magdhi (some good tiger sightings, chital, sambar deer, wild boar,and many birds); Kithauli (no tigers seen on this visit but birdlife was good and is one of the better zones in which to see the shy Nilgai (also known as the blue bull) and the black backed jackal). Wildlife trails is especially good at delivering the personal touches which make the traveller feel like a welcome guest and not just another name in a large group. I have a food allergy, it was flagged with wildlife trails when we booked & communicated right down the line to every person involved in meal preparation throughout our stay (even the packed meals for the travel days were spot on). They also arranged for a mobile phone/Indian SIM card for us to use during our trip which is a big help especially when you have two lengthy overnight trips. The safaris were booked exactly as we had discussed and when you speak to Allan or Kirsty about your trip during the planning stage it feels like you are dealing with friends. We have travelled with Wildlife Trails many times over the last nine years to a variety of destinations including India for Tigers, Brazil for Jaguars and Canada for Polar Bears, whenever we plan to watch wildlife they will always be our first port of call. Read More

By Corinne and David

India wildlife extravaganza

The animal I most wanted to see were dholes. This was my second trip to India and they alluded me. I know there are no guarantees with nature, but within 2 hours on our first game drive I saw a... k of three right behind the jeep. All in all I saw three packs on five occasions and saw them with puppies and saw them mating. The forest was beautiful with colorful birds especially the Paradise Flycatcher. I saw tigers, sloth bears, several species of deer, tree shrew and a monitor lizard. This trip was more than I could of hoped for. The lodge was very nice and the food was great. I especially enjoyed the movie on Indian wildlife provided nightly. I give it an A++ Wildlife Trails rep was so helpful. He met me at the airport when I arrived and he helped me on my flight home through the airport. It can be scary for a foreigner in a strange place. He put me at ease. All the necessary documents were provided for me when I arrived at my hotel in Delhi and he explained what each document was for. The book on tigers was a nice touch. Read More

By Annie

Good trip

All the hotels were very high quality and the staff could not be faulted and were very attentive. The food menus did not totally cater to the European Pallett. The tiger safari was excellent and... would highly recommend this aspect of the holiday. Khem Villas was an amazing place to stay to compliment the safaris. The guides were enthusiastic and eager to show us all the local sights in the areas we visited. The Taj Mahal was amazing. The only down side was the excessive heat which was not in anyone's control. Excellent company. We received a phone call every day to ask us if there were any problems and to make sure all plans were kept on schedule. Our only problem related to the internal flights where the baggage allowance was not enough and this was not brought to our attention when the flights were booked. It therefore cost extra time and money waiting to arrange payment for the extra baggage. This could have been paid for in advance. Read More

By Phil

Well organised, enjoyable bespoke holiday

Wildlife Trails organised a great holiday covering 23 days. We saw many animals,over 70 birds, enjoyed visits to tea plantations and spice gardens , temples, forts, museums and beaches. All... omplished in a ver comfortable car, excellently driven by Mr Ali and with very knowegible guides provided where the occasion demanded. All at very reasonable cost staying in good quality hotels. This was our second trip with them and again we were not disappointed. Excellent. Friendly, flexible organisation who go that extra mile to ensure you get the holiday you want and respond to any requests even after you have left UK. The organisations they use in India checked with us daily to ensure all was well and the guides and journeys had been satisfactory. Read More

By Helen

Superb wildlife adventure

We visited 3 nature reserves in India - Ranthambore, Tadoba and Gir. The variety of Wildlife we saw was amazing, we had great sightings of Tigers, Lions, Leopards, Sloth Bears, Wild Dogs, Monkeys,... d Boar, deers, birds, snakes, crocs - it was a nature lovers paradise. The weather was good and we met some lovely people, local and tourists. We had some great local food and the staff couldn't do any more for you. We also had a great stay at the end of the holiday in Mumbai on Juhu beach - it was great to stay in a nice place and relax, a great end to a fantastic trip. We have travelled with Wildlife Trails 5 times and would have used them a lot more if they were covering the destinations we wanted to go to. I'm glad to see they have expanded their list of destinations as they can tailor make some fantastic trips. They listen to what you want and then tailor it to exactly what you have asked for with some good advice if you need it. They can offer good advice as they have travelled to the places they promote and are themselves wildlife enthusiasts. I have found that over the years they have got to know the kind of accommodation and trips we like as they have worked with us to produce the ultimate wildlife adventure and this adds a personal touch to their services. I have to say that their prices are very competitive too. We will definitely travel with Wildlife Trails again! Read More

By Sarah

Fantastic Tigers In Corbett National Park

Where to start? Landing in Delhi we were met by Wildlife Trails rep, who gave us both a book about tigers and an itenarary for our tiger tour. The rep came with us in the transfer taxi to... lain everything to us. We were then transported, stopping as we wanted, 6 hours to Tiger Camp, which was very comfortable. The highlight here was being able to go down and sit at the river and watch life go on - washing clothes, scrubbing pots and 3 domestic elephants with their handlers came down and the elephants also had a good soak and a scrub. The scenery is stunning. We had 2 safaris in Birjani region of Corbett. Our driver for the whole time both in Birjani and Dhikala was Alam and we couldn't have asked for better. There was loads of evidence of tigers but we had to wait until the second outing when a tigress and her 2 Cubs came out of the long grass walked a good way up the dry riverbed and disappeared into the grass again. Truly amazing! We then moved to Dikala for a 3 night stay. This was a bit more primitive but adequate accommodation and the food was good. We had safaris both morning and afternoon, in the morning we would come in for breakfast then go back out. The first safari we saw a tiger in the long grass, but not a good view. We had an elephant safari which made us feel a bit like explorers as our elephant seemed to chose her own path. The wild elephants and all the other wildlife would have been an amazing holiday. Alam knew we were there to see tigers and arranged for us to have a stay in one of the towers while the park was closed in the middle of the afternoon. We did see a tiger come silently out of the jungle, cool itself in a waterhole, look directly at us and disappear silently back into the jungle. We did come across another tiger lying in the shade on a road and then imoving into a waterhole for a soak.. When it got up and left the waterhole we watched its, again from a tower, walk into the long grass, lie down and disappear from view except for the swishing of its tail. As you can probably guess from this we had a fantastic holiday and couldn't possibly choose one highlight, there were so many and only a few mentioned here! We emailed Wildlife Trails, told them what we wanted and they organised everything exactly. We didn't want to spend anytime in Delhi, because we had been there before, and we wanted to optimise our chances of seeing tigers, which we knew wasn't going to be easy, so we had an extra safari. We didn't want to travel to Corbett by train so a road transfer, stopping as we wanted was arranged. We know there was a certain amount of luck in having had so many tiger sightings but the scenery and the elephants would have made the trip. We gave Wildlife Trails the names of 2 or 3 parks and we were given information on each park for us to make the final decision on where we travelled. Kirsty and Allan Blanchard along with the other companies mentioned all went the extra mile to give us a fantastic holiday for a fraction of the price of some of the other big tour operators. Read More

By Alison

Another wonderful trip to India

We have just spent 2 weeks in Madhya Pradesh visiting Pench & Kanha National Parks. This is the 3rd time to Pench & we keep returning to Kanha as we love it there. As wildlife enthusiasts,... se places can be revisited without ever being the same experience. Surroundings might be familiar but each drive is different. We were a week in Pench staying at Jamtara Wilderness Camp, close to Jamtara gate and village. This is a new camp and the only one at Jamtara. It is a tented camp that feels as if you are in the jungle as it adjoins the buffer zone and the wildlife can be heard & sometimes seen from your tent. The accommodation is spacious and comfortable, hospitality warm & welcoming with delicious food and attentive staff. Sadly the tiger sightings were poor while we were there as we had unseasonal stormy & wet weather. However, the park is beautiful and we saw plenty of other mammals & birds. We spent a week at Kanha Jungle Lodge with our dear friends Tarun & Dimple Bhati. It always feels like coming home when we visit. Kanha Jungle Lodge also feels to be in the jungle as the setting is so natural. Here, the food, the lovely staff and the accommodation are superb. Nothing is too much trouble. Tiger sightings were really good for us here and there is always so much else to see. Scenery & wildlife are just beautiful. The forest guides on the Mukki side of the park are very special, friendly & skilful. Overall it was another memorable trip. Wildlife Trails have been our tour operator of choice for 13 years. They have looked after us well and we have travelled to many different countries with them. We trust them to provide us with exactly the holiday we've planned in partnership together with them. They pay great attention to detail and ensure that we never have to worry about any aspect of our trip as it has all been very carefully arranged to be trouble free. Leaving us free to just enjoy. Read More

By Avril and Brian

Everything Went Well

Overall the trip was excellent with only a couple of very minor problems. Everything was as expected and the whole experience was very enjoyable.

First class company. This is the second... ve used Wildlife Trails and we are already planning another trip with them. Read More

By Michael

Tiger safari in India

We were fortunate to see 4 different tigers and 2 leopards (a surprise bonus) when visiting Bandhavgarh & Khana National Parks in India. The local guides were both knowledgeable and helpful... accommodation was great. We also visited the Taj Mahal (which was suggested as an option by Wildlife Trails), and really loved). Kirsty from Wildlife Trails was extremely helpful in helping us to pull together the itinerary at short notice. She took on board our budget and preferences and was willing to suggest options that maximised our chances of seeing tigers. We would highly recommend this company.   Read More

By Joan

Everything was so well planned that all we had to do was enjoy ourselves

We went to India and Nepal to look for Tigers. We saw them in two different game parks in India. Our accommodation was mostly excellent and never less than good. Our food was excellent with one... eption and that was a hotel we had chosen. Our Guides knew their job and were very good at it. It was an unforgettable holiday and well worth the time and money spent on it. The transport by road and train was amazing, the hotels were small and very interesting. The Tour Operator set up our holiday with the ideas we gave them. We looked through what they suggested and made one or two changes to suit ourselves. They arranged for a mobile phone, at our request, which had coverage in both India and Nepal in case of emergencies. They provided help on the ground in both countries so that we knew on the whole what was happening. India very organised, Nepal much more laid back, but everything worked smoothly. We wanted to do something extra and were unable to do it on our own as money was required in advance. We emailed the Tour Operator and they arranged for it to happen without any problems. Read More

By Richard and Alison

Up close and personal with Brazilian wildlife

Our trip was a tailor made one for my wife and I with the specific aim of seeing certain mammals in Brazil, specifically Giant Anteater in Minas Gerais and Jaguars in the North Pantanal. Wildlife... ils prepared an excellent and full itinerary with this in mind and as a result we saw everything we came to see and much more. Sightings were also of a very high standard with excellent photographic opportunities. The guides allocated to us during the trip made it all the more enjoyable due to their knowledge and enthusiasm, and of course their excellent English. all travel arrangements were seamless and went without a single hitch. We enjoyed a 3 day stay in Rio de Janeiro at the end of the trip which was an ideal way to unwind after all the wildlife activity; accommodation here was excellent and right on Copacabana Beach with a full city tour organised for us. We will have great memories of this tour borne out by the literally thousands of photographs which we can now sort through to make up a memorable album Wildlife Trails is a very personable operator and one feels free to discuss at length your specific interests and requirements with the term before booking. One major advantage is that most of the locations concerned have been personally visited by the team themselves so first hand knowledge is available from the outset. We have travelled with Wildlife Trails twice now (Brazil, India) and have already recommended them to others. The booking process is easy with an early response provided and adequate information along the way. We fully intend to travel with wildlife Trails again if possible. Read More

By Dave

Amazing experience

Everything went like clockwork . Superb organisation, transfers, border crossings, our guide and driver were excellent making sure we got everywhere on time and with little fuss, but lots of... husiasm. They were very knowledgeable, friendly, good cooks and always happy to help. Our accommodation was excellent ranging from luxury to basic camping. Elephant Eye was luxury on stilts with fantastic views over the watering hole, watching the elephants, etc, especially when you were having a shower! The Bedouin camp will remain close to my heart. Camping in the bush giving you that real sense of being at one with nature! The countries we visited, the wonderful friendly people and cultures we experienced was just amazing. This holiday was a little gem, although Vic Falls is highly commercialised,( but still dramatically beautiful) The rest of the trip is off the tourist trail! Would recommend this trip to anyone wanting to spend there time watching wildlife. Great company, always happy to help, listen to what your needs are and deliver an itinerary that is perfect. Would highly recommend Wildlife Trails to anyone wanting a holiday full of wildlife and adventure! Read More

By Lesley

The perfect trip

Our trip to the Pantanal was organised so well that it flowed without a hitch from start to finish. Our guide Tito was the perfect companion who was knowledgeable, friendly and hard working, with... impressive knowledge of all bird and animal life.Transport, accommodation and food were all very good.This trip surpassed our expectations. Wildlife Trails were efficient, professional and extremely helpful in designing the perfect trip for us.We recommend them and will be using them again. Read More

By Andy

Expectations fulfilled with extras

Our brief to the tour operator was " as much wildlife as possible " and this was certainly fulfilled. an individually tour to suit us, using planes, trains, coaches, hire cars, bikes,... at planes to add to the exciting experience, and all giving access to humpback whales, orcas, dolphins, porpoises, sea lions, sea otters, bald eagles, moose, caribou, porcupines, brown bears catching salmon, along with local guides with superb knowledge of the area and wildlife. A small family concern with excellent knowledge of Alaska and what it had to offer. we asked for various alterations to the itinerary along the way, and these were all met good attention to detail. Read More

By Ian

An amazing trip of a lifetime!

We had the most fantastic 2 week trip to Uganda and Rwanda which didn't disappoint on any level. Our guide Stephen was super, really knowledgeable and looked after us so well. We stayed in... e stunning locations with great accommodation as well as stunning locations with interesting accommodation! We were very lucky with all our treks finding Gorillas, Chimps and Golden Monkeys as well as finding Lions, Elephants, Hippos, Crocs, Water Buffalo, Warthogs, Antelopes of varying kinds, Zebra, lots of other monkeys and the most wonderful array of birds. Uganda and Rwanda are beautiful countries so the drives in between places was always interesting and our 2 "chill out "days at Lake Bunyonyi were fab too. Wildlife Trails were fantastic, everything was so well organised and they give such a personal service. We also felt that while it was obviously an expensive trip it was very good value for money compared with other tour operators we had looked at before booking with Wildlife Trails. Read More

By Mark

Superb all-round African wildlife experience

We spent 2.5 weeks travelling through Uganda and Rwanda in April. We spent time in a number of Uganda's wildlife reserves, went chimp trecking and visited the mountain gorillas in both Uganda... Rwanda. Uganda has a stunning variety of wildlife, though sadly it is not being properly managed and animal populations are challenged as a result. We stayed in a range of accomodation from super-luxury to basic which helped make the costs more manageable, supported local business and provided an interesting mix of experiences. This was a holiday we had dreamed of doing for some time and it will be one of the most cherished of our lives From start to finish the tour was excellently coordinated and managed and we were well looked after. Wildlife tours worked with us to give us a holiday that was tailored to our specific needs at a price that was very competitive, whilst adhering to sustainable and responsible tourism ideals. Read More

By Gayle

Wildlife India

Excellent wildlife viewing. Guides good and lodges hospitable.Saw tigers, sloth bear, wild dog and leopard.

Very reliable and helpful with great knowledge of the subject. Have used many... never been let down. Read More

By David

Indian Wildlife and cultural holiday

By Lizzie

Great Wildlife holiday in a beautiful country

We did a wildlife and cultural tour of Sri Lanka. We visited Uda Walawe, Yala, Mirissa, buduruwagala, dickwella, Rekawa Turtle Sanctuary, Galle, Kottawa Rainforest and Negombo. The wildlife... htings were awesome, we saw everything we were looking for (leopards, whales, elephants, turtles) and one big plus - a Sloth Bear! The Buddhist sites were also really interesting as was the Fort at Galle. The weather was great, the people were really friendly and the accomodation was very nice. We had a really good holiday and we were sorry to have to leave Sri Lanka! I have used Wildlife Trails many times, every holiday has been great and we have always been priveleged to find the Wildlife we have been looking for. I will continue to use Wildlife Trails as they work hard to make the itinerary the customer wants happen, at a good price and in the time you have available for the holiday. Read More

By Tony

Tigers in India

I wanted to see tigers in the wild and contacted Wildlife Trails (WT) through the net. Andrew and Kirsty suggested an itinary, which I amended slightly, whilst Kirsty advised of dates that might... better. I travelled to Delhi 26/02/14 and transferred to Kanha National Park. During 5 days there I was priviledged to see one tiger, he (male)followed the jeep for approx 30 mtrs at a distance of approx 10 mtrs. Later transferred to Bandhavgarh National Park, where over 5 days saw two tigers. All three sightings were absolutely fabulous. The organisation of the trip once in India was brilliant, collection, transfer, return to Delhi, accommodation etc. Kirsty provided me with plenty of information for my journeys, details of accommodation, some Hindi phrases, aspects of the philosophy behind wildlife holidays. Wildlife Trails worked in conjunction with a Delhi company to provide a superb experience. There were absolutely no hitches, glitches whatsoever. As much information as I wanted was provided, with some additional detail. Questions I raise were answered, even if it meant WT contacting local sources. Read More

By Brian

A fantastic trip with amazing experience!

The trip was fantastic. I visited Sultanpur bird sanctuary in Delhi, Kanha National Park and Satpura National Park. I enjoyed some spectacular sightings of star mammal species such as bengal... er, sloth bear, asian palm civet, rusty spotted cat, jungle cat and asian palm civet. I saw some spectacular birds to such as Malabar Pied Hornbill, Painted Stork, Grey Headed fish eagle and up to 6 species of owl. I would highly recommend visiting all three national parks as all where very picturesque , well maintained and contained a wealth of wildlife. I would also like to thank wildlife trails for putting together this trip for me and would highly recommend using them for tailor - made itineraries. I will definitely be using them again for future travel. Overall, a very memorable and enjoyable experience. Many thanks! Wildlife Trails was outstanding. He regularly stayed in contact with me throughout the trip to ensure that everything was going ok. His knowledge and expertise was outstanding! Read More

By Matthew

"Incredible India" lived up to that title!

My girlfriend and I booked a "Tigers and Temples" style trip in India through Wildlife Trails which was fantastic. India is a hectic place for first time goers but Wildlife Trails... ured it all ran spot on with some easy train connections, great hotels and helpful people on hand to get us around. We visited Bandhavgarh National Park which was our favourite of the two parks we visited, it was a lot colder than Ranthambore, which we visited later in the trip, but it was a lot quieter and the lush jungle was amazing. We encountered six tigers over our six drives there and we were very lucky to track a leopard too on a mountain ridge!! I am not exactly a 'twitcher' but I can see why people love birdwatching and Bandhavgarh was teeming with birdlife as well. We reluctantly left Bandhavgarh by road and visited some great sights in Khajuraho, Agra (Taj Mahal) and Jaipur, also going to Ranthambore National Park. It was a lot different to Bandhavgarh and admittedly were spoiled there, we did not like the busyness of the park at first but the longer we spent in Ranthambore, the more we loved it. Capped off by seeing two rare animals on our last game drive; the striped hyena and sloth bear. India is a wacky and wonderful country and I do not think I have visited anywhere so different to western culture prior. It is a shame that in India personal space is a rarity, you get forever pestered to buy things by locals, which did tarnish our trip a little bit, however, you learn to deal with that and all the other things make it a special place. Thanks again to Wildlife Trails for a memorable trip. Fantastic organisation and help from Wildlife Trails from start to finish. Read More

By Jack

Inspiring gorilla trekking

My first trip to Rwanda for gorilla trekking, my driver guide was very friendly and answered any questions I had. He give me a history of the genocide before I went to the museum so I knew what to... ect, his knowledge of gorillas was in depth and I learnt so much from him. My hotel was wonderful, the staff were so helpful and friendly and they looked after me so well. The gorilla and golden monkey trekking are something I will never forget and I learnt so much more about the gorillas. Allan from Wildlife Trials was marvellous. He knew it was my first time to Rwanda and he gave so much information and was so helpful. He helped me every step of the way and reassured me when I thought some things may be a problem. Would recommend them highly. When I was starting one of my gorilla treks,one of the staff of the operators they use in Kigali happened to be there and told me that Allan had asked her to ask me if everything was ok and hoped my hotel was good. I thought this was so professional. Read More

By Jude

Lived up to our most optimistic expectations

First time in Brazil on a trip tailor-made to rise to the challenges of adventure and wildlife encounter (for Mr) tempered with a slower pace and touches of luxury (for Mrs). Starting from Rio, 2... s in a nearby rainforest lodge hence to the Pantanal for a week with a specialist wildlife guide and stays in three different locations, then on to the Iguazu Falls before returning to Rio to tour the local tourist sights. Blessed with favorable weather, helpful guides and drivers and excellent wildlife viewing, notably Jaguars, there is little, if anything, i would want to change were I to plan the trip again. This is the third major holiday we have entrusted to Wildlife Trails, following memorable adventures in Sri Lanka and in British Colombia. Their desire and ability to satisfy the expectations of a passionate wildlife lover who has had the good fortune to safari in many countries has been outstanding. In our case, such specialist itineraries include seamless service from reliable local agencies, quality accomodation and the best of wildlife guiding and therefore are, by definition, "not cheap". This said, we definitely feel that we have enjoyed good value for our money. Read More

By Rachel and Peter

Tiger Safari

Trip from Delhi to Ranthambore, 3 days safari to see tigers, staying at the Nahargarh Fort hotel. Side trips to see the ruined fort and visit the village. on the last day atrip back to Delhi via... pur, visiting the Amber Palace and other sights. No tigers seen (but heard), but a great time. Lovely introduction to India. Strongly recommend the train transit from Delhi, and the flight back from Jaipur - road travel in India is slow and exhausting! Wildlife Trails were excellent - everything arranged and felt looked after throughout the tour. Read More

By Hugh

The Pantanal, Iguassu falls, and Rio - simply fantastic!

What an amazing holiday! This trip far exceeded our expectations. Our itinerary was brilliant and suited us perfectly. Our guides were excellent - all were enthusiastic and knowledgeable and... med to thoroughly enjoy their jobs. Junior our guide in the Pantanal was exceptional, with amazing knowledge of the birds and wildlife. Our accommodation was perfect with a mixture of family run lodges with traditional home cooked food, through to a colonial style hotel with an amazing view of Iguassu falls. Wildlife sightings were simply fantastic- 6 jaguar sightings in our 3 days at Jaguar Ecological Reserve! How many people can say they have eaten their lunch watching a big male jaguar sunbathing on a river bank?! Kirsty and Allan at Wildlife Trails really made this a special trip for us - they simply oozed enthusiasm and made what initially seemed like the impossible, possible. Our itinerary showed careful and thoughtful attention to detail. Nothing was too much trouble during the stages of planning and during our trip absolutely nothing was forgotten. Our accommodation was great, transfers perfect and guides exceptional throughout.We hope to be booking another holiday with them again soon. Read More

By Louise and John

Tiger safari in Ranthambore incorporating a trip to Chambal river

Visit to Ranthambore national park saw tigers birds crocodiles antelope and all the other amazing site smells of India followed by a river safari to Chambal River then to cap of of an amazing trip... ited the Taj Mahal breath taking and all put together with the help of Wildlife Trails with as least hassle as possible and thoroughly worked out. Amazing people understood what I wanted and facilitated all my questions in a very timely manor and left nothing out of the whole experience I can't recomend them highly enough for a bespoke holiday of your dreams. Read More

By Sanjay

Bella Coola Bear Watching

Bear viewing holiday in British Columbia. We had 5 days at Tweedsmuir Park lodge, one on a guided walk, 1.5 on a river drift and the rest free time or we could have done some additional tours. All... ommodation and food was very good. All the guides we came across were very knowledgeable. Excellent organisation by Wildlife Trails, they have visited the lodge personally in previous years. Lots of questions from us all answered before we went. We would book with them for more wildlife holidays Read More

By Kevin

Alaskan Bear Photography

The primary objective was to photograph the bears fishing for salmon. Katmai lodge was a dream. The location, guides and facilities were excellent. Perry the manager/guide instilled confidence and... always looking to get the best positions and experiences. We were all able to capture some stunning images of the bears, as well as otters, seals, puffins .... We also visited Denali (fantastic scenery) and spent some time in and aroound Anchorage all of which really worked well. Overall a great experience. This is the second trip we have done with Wildlife Trails. Alan and co have listened to our requirements and created an itinerary that fits. Our group are all keen photographers and he has always had good advice and our best interests in mind. Efficient, helpful and friendly, and infinitely patient as we 'tweaked' the itinerary. We would certainly use them again. Read More

By Ralph

Uganda -- Birds and Gorillas

An eleven day trip starting and finishing in Entebbe. Three friends travelling together in very comfortable 4x4 with excellent driver/guide. Detailed itinerary planned after discussion of exactly... t we wanted with Wildlife Trails. Accommodation a blend of very comfortable lodges and more basic community owned facilities -- all excellent value and matching what we wanted from trip. Spending time in close contact with Chimpanzees and Mountain Gorillas was truly memorable and a highlight of all my wildlife trips. Superb organisation. Main points that made trip such a success: 1 Itinerary developed by Wildlife Trails to cover exactly what we wanted -- all on fairly short timescale 2. Driver was extremely knowledgeable -- not just knowing sights for big game, but detailed locations for birds which was a prime purpose of our trip. Guide was excellent on bird identification, but also arranged a specialist guide in area where he was not so familiar with restricted range birds. Expertise was way beyond what I expected (and have experienced on trips elsewhere in the world) 3 All organisation showed that Wildlife Trails really knew the area from personal knowledge rather than relying totally on local agents. I can think of nothing that would have improved the trip -- and it is very rare to be able to say that about any holiday. Read More

By Paul

Komodo and Sabah adventure 2013

My wife and I travelled on a private safari to see Komodo dragons in Indonesia, and on to Sabah. Komodo and Rinca Island were well worth the effort ,the dragons are well worth seeing, and the time... the boat was tremendous, with stunning scenery and great snorkelling. The captain’s culinary skills were a surprise bonus. All of the lodges within Sabah were excellent, but with their own, different personalities The Rainforest lodge offers real comfort and the opportunity for good wildlife viewings, we even had a brief sighting of two Pygmy elephants en route to the lodge. Macaques greeted us as we arrived, and Dean, our guide at the lodge was excellent. Tabin is a birder’s paradise, and we saw 6 species of hornbill during our stay. Israel was our guide and was an expert birder. Gibbons were to be seen on some mornings, and the sound of their calling across the forest was memorable. The trails between the Primary, secondary rainforest and palm plantations gave opportunities for good sightings during dusk, and night drives, including Civet, flying squirrels and a number of leopard cats. Forest walking yielded our first Orang Utan sighting, a young male, a bit miffed at being stung by some bees. Myne lodge stands out for us as we love boats and we had a number of OU sightings including one great one, spending over an hour watching an older male feeding from a Ficus tree. More macaques than you can shake a stick at, and good Proboscis monkey watching too. No elephants around for us though. Special mention to Maik, our main guide and companion for our time in Sabah. Excellent guide, knowledgeable, resourceful, and with a great sense of humour. Lankayan Island is truly a paradise. A great way to relax after an arduous trip, more excellent snorkelling,and we were lucky enough to witness newly hatched Hawksbill turtles being released to make their way to the sea. We have travelled many times now with Wildlife Trails, and have had some memorable experiences within Asia, Africa, Canada, the Arctic circle and South America. Allan and his team have always come up with an itinerary, customised to our needs. The fact that we have come back so many times says it all. Read More

By Del and Sheila

Touring Alaska the ultimate Bear experience

This is the best holiday we have ever been on. We love bears and all wildlife. We can honestly say the 24 days were just adrenalin filled. Every moment was an experience never to be forgotten.... ting up close and personal with bears fishing, swimming, snorkelling, playing, mothers with their cubs and so much more. Humpback whales coming up close to our boat, so close you could smell their blow! Riding the bow with dall porpoise. Sea otters with their babies, and calving glaciers cashing in the sea! Amazing! I also need to mention the guides at Katmai Wilderness Lodge who were just amazing. Perry was an outstanding guide keeping us safe but making sure we had the ultimate experience! Wildlife Trails were really helpful. Listened very carefully to what I wanted, helping me put together the best package for our ultimate trip of a life time Read More

By Lesley

A wildlife photographer's dream

For the serious wildlife photographer Alaska is a paradise with stunning scenery, bears, whales and amazing birdlife . It is impossible to do it justice in a few weeks. I decided to spend 3 weeks... centrating on the puffins on St Paul Island, the whales in Auke Bay and the bears in Katmai National Park. Some of these places are very remote and Wildlife Trails sorted out the logistics of my trip and made helpful recommendations. They were able to put a bespoke trip together for me at substantially less than packages I had found on the web. I was lucky enough to see a huge amount of wildlife including grizzlies fighting over a dead moose, Orcas making a kill, humpbacks breaching, countless cute Arctic fox cubs, tufted and horned puffins and sea otters. Wildlife trails were able to put together a complicated itinerary which required a lot of planning over several months. They worked very hard to find and book suitable international flights for me so I would not have to transit in the USA. entry to the States in Anchorage was very quick (15 minutes) and courteous. They worked very hard in looking at suitable places for me to do a week's whale watching. They booked a package for me to visit St Paul Island which was a great place to see puffins and foxes. They cam up with a very good recommendation for a place for me to stay in Katmai National Park, the Katmai wilderness lodge, which was first class in every respect. Read More

By Richard

A stunning wildlife tour of Brazil's Pantanal and Atlantic Rainforest

Following a hectic but enjoyable 24 hours in New York we (a family of four with two teenage boys) flew to Cuiaba in Brazil where we were met by Eduardo our highly-rated naturalist driver, boatman... personal guide for a week of wildlife watching in The Pantanal, Brazil’s great wetland wilderness. We were expecting South America’s greatest wildlife experience and we were not disappointed. Eduardo ensured that we had very close views of all the Pantanal ‘Big Five’ (jaguar, giant otter, giant anteater, yellow anaconda and hyacinth macaw) and also two ocelot. The sheer abundance of wetland wildlife was astonishing from the towering jabiru storks to the hordes of caimans in and around the drying pools. We then flew to Rio from where we were driven to Serra dos Tucanos, a small lodge for birders in the Tres Picos State Park in the heart of the Atlantic rain forest, approximately 100 km north-east of Rio. This provided very comfortable accommodation (four nights) and a pool in stunning surroundings, making it an ideal place to relax after the heat of the Pantanal. The birding was exceptional even within 50 acre lodge grounds and the many bird feeding stations, with their hordes of colourful tanagers and hummingbirds, must rival the best in the world. The holiday ended with a day’s city tour of Rio which made fitting finale to a wonderful and diverse holiday. Our holiday was arranged by Allan Blanchard, the owner and founder of Wildlife Trails, a specialist wildlife tour operator. This was our second holiday with them. As previously, the itinerary was well thought through, the accommodation well-chosen and the arrangements all worked perfectly. However, what sets Wildlife Trails apart, in our experience, is the attention to detail at the planning stage: the iterative process of tailoring the itinerary to match exactly the requirements of the client, which Allan makes part of the total holiday experience. The end product is a truly ‘bespoke’ trip. The three lodges we stayed at in The Pantanal were all excellent in their different ways and together provided a diverse range of experiences from boat trips, night drives to look for nocturnal animals, horse riding and swimming pools which combined to keep all the family happy. It was also pretty cool to start our trip with a city tour of New York and finish with a tour of Rio; how many families do that?! Read More

By Graham