Welcome to the Naturetrek website...
If you are new to Naturetrek, read on below (What is a Naturetrek Holiday?) to find out more about who we are and what we do. Our brochure pages are now available on this website as downloadable pdf. files which will allow you to view our full brochure online should you not want a paper copy of our brochure. However if you would like a copy, please fill in our enquiry form and we will send a copy to you.

| Latest News | What is a Naturetrek Holiday? | Who are Naturetrek? | Tour Leaders |

Latest News - updated May 2003

Tour dossiers (individual tour itineraries) for 2003 and 2004 are available and are being updated and added to all the time. As ever, if you have a question or query on any of our tours we are always just a phone call or email away.

You should have recently received our Winter Newsletter. A wealth of exciting new tours are highlighted, as well as other interesting news and articles.

Our e-newsletter has really taken off since our first mailing in November last year. If you would like a monthly update of tour highlights, interesting news and late availability, please fill in our enquiry form and we will be glad to add you to the list of recipients.

Thank you for those who returned the questionnaire, which was sent with the last newsletter. We are wading through the huge response and will announce the winner of the free holiday soon! Entries must be received by the end of May to be included in the draw......!

| Return to top |

What is a Naturetrek Holiday?

Our website and brochure contain Britain's largest selection of professionally organised natural history holidays. All are expertly guided by a leading ornithologist or botanist (and often both), generally with a good knowledge of the area to be visited. Inevitably, birds, plants and mammals are the main focus of attention on many of our trips; however, we do aim to incorporate all other aspects of the natural world in an attempt to be as broad-minded as possible.

Additionally, we often take an expert local guide, to further broaden the educational value of each holiday, for on each trip we like to extend our interest beyond that of just birds and plants, without necessarily compromising our main pursuit.

Unlike many other bird tour operators, we do not aim to race from place to place in minibuses, (with the exception of our Budget tour selection) with the sole purpose of accumulating long lists of birds and mammals, ultimately to be forgotten. Instead we try, as much as reasonably possible within a particular country, to spend as much time as we can searching for birds, mammals and plants on foot. In this way we generally cover less ground than other tour operators, but we do see far more in the areas that we visit. Our holidays are generally longer than other wildlife tours, and because they also move at a slower pace than others, we find that we have much more time for photography, detailed wildlife exploration, relaxation, and to take an interest in the region's people, culture, history and architecture. Above all we want your holiday to be fun as well as informative; and when we take you to a country, we hope that we can inspire you to such an extent that you will be only too keen to return.

Whilst Naturetrek started by, and still specialises in, organising birdwatching and botanical treks to remote and mountainous areas of the world, today we do far more - or less - than just trek. Indeed , our holidays now range from a variety of Himalayan treks (some demanding and some gentle in pace) to more traditional hotel-based minibus tours of birdwatching and botanical areas.

Thus, whatever your age, ability and aspirations, we hope that we can offer a holiday for you to enjoy. Throughout this web site, in our downloadable Tour dossiers and in our brochure you will find details on the grading of each holiday and whether it involves a trek, day walks or just a tour.

The air holidays and flights shown are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 2962. ATOL Protection Extends primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom. Click on the ATOL logo if you want to know more.

| Return to top |

Who are Naturetrek?


For those of you who don't know us, the Naturetrek office is situated in a rural part of the Hampshire countryside in the south of England. Our office is a beautiful converted mill and barn, and the stream runs right under our building. Although the water flow can be quite noisy at times, and has occasionally threatened to swamp us after heavy rains (it did succeed once!), the location is really ideal for the type of business we are in. We are spoilt with the fresh air and the glorious views of the meadows and are lucky to be surrounded by such varied wildlife.

The Naturetrek team are here to help with any queries you may have, and whilst some of us are often away leading tours, there are always staff members here too if you want to grill us about our travels or about a specific trip you are hoping to join us on! Our Operations Managers are Paul Dukes, Paul Stanbury, Andy Tucker, Debbie Ward, Julie Croucher, Maryanne Mills and Rajan Jolly. Other staff include Gini Whitlock, Jane Hodgson, Gez Browning, Janice Stratton, Joan Gilchrist and Kerry Greenwood.

Click here to read more about us!

If you want to visit us, do try and call to arrange an appointment first and get directions - we're not the easiest office to find!

Whilst we endeavour to keep our website up-to-date, do let us know if you have any comments or suggestions about the site, or for any reason, if you have difficulty downloading any of our trip itineraries, please email info@naturetrek.co.uk

| Return to top |

Tour Leaders

All our leaders are expert naturalists. They will be able to show you, and help you to identify, many of the birds, plants and mammals that occur in the region that you are visiting. Many of our leaders have quite exceptional backgrounds in the country to which they are taking you. Often they have lived there for several years; inevitably their knowledge and interests extend beyond just the area's natural history. Between us we speak French, German, Spanish, Hungarian, Nepali, Hindhi, Ladakhi, Chinese, Russian, Malay, Swahili, Gujerati, Kaatchi, Hausa, and Berber… not much use in summoning birds, but essential in coping with the inevitable hiccoughs that find their way into all third world travel arrangements! Please note however, that whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary.

| Return to top |