Small Group Wildlife Holidays 2022

The Azores is one of the best places to see whales and dolphins in Europe and the island of Pico is world famous as one of the best locations to see Blue Whales; particularly in the months of April and May. However, Pico has a long whale watching season from April to October and the magnificent Sperm Whale is another species which visits the waters off this beautiful island, with the famous Pico Volcano providing a stunning backdrop to your activities. Over 20 species of whales and dolphins either inhabit or pass by these waters along their migratory routes, so that Pico is one of the very best spots in the world for Whale Watching.

Always dreamed of a ‘real’ Botswana camping experience but worried it would be too basic. Believe me, having taken this exact safari in July 2022, this is as good as it gets for a quality Botswana safari, with the stunning private campsites, superb camping staff and excellent quality ensuite tents ensuring all you have to worry about is charging your camera and taking enough memory cards.

We focus on extended stays in Savuti, Moremi and Khwai with the genuine chance to see lions, leopards and African wild dogs. We were lucky enough to also see African wild cat and Serval in Khwai and expect to be surrounded by Elephants on the Chobe River, as we take you on a private boat safari just before sunset. Interested in our small group Botswana camping safari? Then contact Allan at Africa(at)wildlifetrails.co.uk

It’s all about the Leopards on this small group Sri Lanka leopard safari as we double up our chances by spending 4 nights in both Wilpattu and Yala during this 10 day Sri Lanka wildlife holiday. We also include some night time drives for the chances of lesser wild cats, like Jungle and Fishing Cat. Rusty-Spotted cat is very difficult, but we will try for it, and enjoy all the other amazing wildlife we encounter.

There are several different types of major habitats accessed by using the Transpantaneira road and you will have quality time in two of them. In particular, the Cuiaba River (and its tributaries) where approximately 90% of the jaguar sightings take place during boat safaris. You cannot visit this area for just a couple of days and expect to see Jaguars and you can certainly not expect to see them if you do not go to the end of this famous road and spend some quality time on the water. Most other operators return to their lodges or houseboats for lunch, but we take packed lunches and stay out all day. Unlike other big cats around the world, Jaguars are sighted often in the middle of the day; either relaxing under the shade of the riverine forest, or sometimes hunting Capybara, Caimans or other prey species.

This is one of our most exciting 10 day bear viewing tours in Alaska, as it combines the world famous Brooks Falls for those most iconic of ‘bears catching salmon’ photos, with the much less visited Wolverine Creek on the west coast of the spectacular Kenai Peninsula. One is a fly-in option that lets you photograph brown bears fishing for salmon from dusk to dawn – so you can avoid the fly-in clients who arrive for the afternoon. The other is an independent self-drive of the peninmsula; combining a glacier and wildlife tour from Seward with a superbly organised and intimate grizzly bear safari out of Nikiski.

Join us on a Kenya wildlife holiday to remember in the beautiful Masai Mara during one of the peak months for river crossings and migration action. Wildlife Trails will be going BIG in Kenya this September, with back to back safaris running right through the month. First we start with a week at the beautiful Laikipia wilderness camp for the chance to photograph the legendary Black Panther, Giza. Allan will then fly to meet the group arriving into the Mara for 4 nights at the stunning Mara Legends Camp, which has a perfect location for our Big Cat safaris. Finally, he will head over to the Kicheche Mara North camp to finish off what will be an amazing combination of Kenya wildlife camps and wildlife experiences.

We have been designing polar bear tours in Churchill since our first visit in 2003, when we used a combination of the famous train from Winnipeg and flights to create an early season polar bear tour that will live long in the memory. Because we are an ethical operator we do not want to encourage ‘weekend’ polar bear safaris, which have a heavy climate cost compared to the number of days travellers stay in this frontier town. Our solution, which has taken years of planning and does require early booking, is to book all elements of the polar bear tour in Churchill separately and pre-book the accommodation which often sells out a year before hand. By designing a longer stay in the polar bear capital of the world, we are one of the few companies able to offer 3 Tundra Buggy tours for a budget polar bear safari in Churchill.

Romania is a fantastic wildlife watching destination in Europe where our partners has more than 20 years of experience. Based on our best knowledge we designed an autumn wildlife watching tour with special focus on mammals and birds. Autumn is migration time for birds and bats so we going to see a good selection of these species but this tour were created to see a good selection of mammal species as well. Some of the mammals are possible in daytime like European Souslik, Red Squirrel, Roe Deer, Carpathian Chamois, Red Fox, Brown Bear, bats in the day roost but no doubt the best time to find mammals is in the dark, at night.

Putting a South America wildlife holiday combining the chance to see Jaguars in Brazil and Pumas in Chile has been a long held dream for Wildlife Trails but we took our time to make sure that the timing was right. We have been visiting and sending our clients to the Cuiaba River for 15 years now and no doubt the most realiable sightings are here in the months of September and October. By visiting in late October we optimise our Jaguar experience and then travel on to Torres del Paine for Jaguars at the end of the month. This is also a fantastic time to see Pumas and other resident wildlife and it is less crowded than the peak months of February/March. So, why not join us on this truely special big cat safari in South America and see the two iconic cats of Brazil and Chile. Always small groups when you book with Wildlife Trails and with the best connected naturalists on the ground.

Spring birdwatching, gourmet food & wine tasting in the Narbonnaise regional park with two expert local guides accompaning a maximum group size of just 4 people. This tour is not for hardcore birders, but for people wanting to combine the pleasure of food, wine and birding in the beautiful warm and sunny region of Occitanie in May/June 2025.

Allan has had a house in the Languedoc (Occitanie) since 2010 and although mammal viewing options in France are still fairly limited in scope – although the Wolves are coming! – there are some spectacular and diverse landscapes for birding and the region has the highest bird count in France. The food and wine in this region are also spectacular, so for our very first ‘wildlife tour’ in France we are promoting this ‘Gourmet Food, Wine and Birding tour’. This tour is suitable for all fitness levels and is definitly not a hardcore birding trip. Instead it is a gentle immersion into the regions various delights, which include spectacular scenery, amazing regional food, stunning wines, historic Cathar castles and some excellent birding. The tour has a lovely bilingual leader, as well as a charming French female birding guide to look after our small group of 6. Anyone looking to extend their stay or take part in activities close to our hearts – Allan (walking and kayaking) and Kirsty (horse riding) are welcome to speak to us direct about the possibilities.

We have been visiting Bandhavgarh national park since 1999 and over the years have got to know many of the best Tiger Guides and Wildlife Lodge owners. We always prefer to work direct with the locals who really know the park, and how to make things happen for our clients. Although born in Bandhavgarh, your Indian guide has travelled widely through his beautiful country and visited many of the tiger reserves. He will meet you in Delhi and take you to his home, which also happened to be one of the best places to see tigers in India. Get your camera ready for action.

There is no doubt that the island of Madagascar is one of those stand out wildlife locations in the world, that captures the imagination of thousands of wildlife lovers and photographers around the world. Having been lucky enough to visit this wildlife jewelon a few occasions, I can say hand on heart that I enjoyed it all; the lemurs, the forests, the chameleons, the local villagers and even the long tiring car journeys inbetween the fragmented wildlife hotspots. However, if you ask me to design the best photography tour of Madagascar for Lemurs and make it more way more efficient with regards to less time on the road and more time with the Lemurs, then this is exactly the Madagascan safari I would put together for you. This is absolutely the best of the south west forests and eastern forests for the lemur photography and we are avoiding at least three full days of vehicle lockdown for a similar tour by road only.

Years of research and regular trips to Madagascar by Wildlife Trails have identified and confirmed the best places to see Lemurs. However, given the size of the country and in some of the areas, poor road conditions, we have to consider how you spend your time in the country and come up with itinerary ideas which suit our clients who prefer to avoid longer car journeys. For them, this is the perfect combination of the eastern rainforests in Madagascar combined with the warmer north and its rare lemurs and amazing marine wildlife.

Although we have of course visited Sri Lanka multiple times before, it will be our first visit to Jaffna and the famous port of Trincomalee which is a whale watching hotspot in the ‘summer’ season. In August the sea conditions will be at their best on the north east coast and we can take advantage of this with both whale watching, snorkelling and diving opportunities. Jaffna will be an intoxicating mix of culture, food and history and we will also try to gain an understanding of how the north is rebuilding itself after the long conflict which causes so much devastation and suffering for the local Tamil population.

After filling up on culture, history, marine life and some coastal R&R, we focus on elephants, first with ‘the gathering’ at Minneriya where depending on recent activity we may in fact find the biggest herds at Kaudulla, Minneriya or Hurulu National Parks.  Then onward to Gal Oya with a wonderful diverse choice of activities, we will take a night time drive in the buffer forest, a morning guided walk and a boat safari hoping to catch sight of elephants as they ‘snorkel’ their way across the huge lake.  The route to our campsite at Yala for more elephants and of course the leopards, takes us via the hill country, with a train ride through tea country, treks to view the tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka, and to Ravana Falls, Little Adam’s Peak and/ or Ella Rock.

Snow Leopard tours and expeditions have captured the imagination of wildlife enthusiasts looking for the best places to see snow leopards around the world. Until recently India has dominated the scene. However, snow leopard sightings in Mongolia tend to happen at lower altitudes – especially in winter – and the incredible opportunity to see the iconic Pallas Cat has become a genuine possibility. So join us on our small group Snow Leopard and Pallas cat tour in August 2023 and give yourself a chance to see these two beautiful cats in the wild.

The jewel in the crown of this trip is a 5 night stay at a beautiful wilderness lodge in Lake Clark national park. The magic starts at Lake Hood as you board your bushplane to take the scenic journey from Anchorage to your Alaska wilderness lodge. Incredible views of the mountains and inlets and then be amazed that as you land on the beach there may well be Grizzly Bears close by. Amazing photography opportunities with a variety of habitats to photograph the bears with the highlight being a chance to ‘walk with the bears’ in the meadows, or along the beaches, and photograph from foot at eye level.

Join us on a 7-day photography adventure focused solely on Chilean Puma sightings. Other animal extensions are available upon request.

When you combine Dermakot, Kinabatangan and Tabin wildlife reserve within the same Borneo safari, you are without doubt looking at the most diverse and mammal rich tour itinerary possible in Sabah.

HERE ARE JUST SOME OF WILD ANIMALS OF BORNEO YOU MAY ENCOUNTER

Orangutan – Pygmy Elephant – Clouded Leopard (very rare!) – Tarsier – Slow Loris – Leopard Cat – Rhinoceros Hornbill (and the other 7 species) – Proboscis Monkey – Bornean Gibbon – Civet Cats – Flying Squirrels – Estuarine Crocodiles – Maroon Langur – Grey Langur and a variety of spectacular birds and reptiles.

This really is the ultimate Jaguar safari in Brazil, as we take you to two famous Brazilian rivers, each with a high density of wild jaguars. Less people visit the Paraguay river and the Taiamã Ecological Reserve where you will be taking your boat safaris. In the last few years there have been more Jaguar sightings closer to our riverside lodge on the banks of the Paraguay and we can use the latest sightings reports to plan our daily activities. We have a large spacious boat designed for 12 but only carrying 4 Wildlife Trails clients; who will enjoy a huge amount of space for their comfort and all important camera equipment. After 4 nights on the Paraguay river we drive back to Cuiaba and start our journey down the Transpantaneira road. We focus on two different habitats along this road, the drier north where you are more likely to see Tapir, Giant Anteaters and Ocelot and then the end of the road for our Jaguar boat safaris; where we are also likely to see Giant river otters, Howler monkeys, Caiman and Capybara. To have the best possible chance to see Jaguars we again have a large boat with just a few clients in and we go out as early as possible and take packed lunches. Which means that we are still viewing and photographing Jaguars, while the other groups are back at the lodge or on their houseboats having siestas.

Wildlife Trails have been fortunate to visit Nagerhole wildlife sanctuary many times in the last decade, but it was not until our success in 2018 finding and photographing the Black Panther, Saya, in this beautiful park that we realised it was also an incredible location for Indian wild dogs, or Dhole as they are known locally. A few national parks in India, including Nagerhole, stay open during the Monsoon and so this immediately planted in our minds the possibility of putting together a small group tour to Nagerhole in July/August with the focus on Wild Dogs and maybe the chance to see their cubs as well. We have incredible connections in South India and our guides are very much the best in the business and regularly work with professional photographers and film makers.