Crete in Spring

Great holiday looking for spring flowers, migrating birds and visiting historic sites. Excellent guides and the luck of perfect weather made visiting multiple sites on the south and north shores of central Crete an informative and interesting trip. I was very impressed with the organisation and delivery of this trip by Naturetrek. Very responsive to email queries before and after booking.

I enjoyed the sheer delight the leaders had in showing us the beautiful locations and what they had to offer, from the tiniest plant to the largest eagle. I came on this tour with an interest in botany but left with a new interest in birding. Hearing a nightingale, seeing bee eaters and a huge flock of purple herons were all highlights for me, but there were plenty of other wonderful occasions, too numerous to mention. The group shared their vast amount of knowledge, and the leaders were encouraging and patient with all of us. We visited a wide range of locations with varied habitats, all very well researched in advance. The food and accommodation were top class and our every need was met.

Naturetrek’s Spring trip to Crete this April was very enjoyable. This was my first time in Greece and I had a great time. The expertise of the two leaders, Jenny and John, for birds and botany was thoroughly engaging. Their experience in knowing the best places to go made our visit interesting and relaxing. Some Cretan history and culture added to the variety. Great hotels and good food too. A good all-round holiday with the emphasis on natural history. I would go again!

The tour leaders catered for a range of interests. Personally, I am interested in a wide range of natural history, landscape, history and culture. This trip had them all. This was my first visit to Crete, and I really enjoyed all aspects of it. It left me wanting more, and I hope to return.

Both David Tattersfield and Peter Dunn were excellent at their particular specialities. David, especially, led the trip very well indeed, was an excellent communicator with information about Crete generally, consideration for everything, and deserves high praise.

The birdwatching and botanising was excellent - truly remarkable finds, thanks to Tim Melling's leadership and acute observation and David's expertise and tenacity, exciting novices & proficient members of the group alike!

Tim Melling is brilliant, indefatigable and fun. Tom Brereton was also persistent at tracking down small plants for determined amateurs! And always helpful and kind to this oldie who is inclined to forget names! I enjoyed the company and the format of the holiday very much.

I must mention the contribution of the leaders, Tim and Tom. They were both excellent - relaxed but professional, and endlessly good-humoured, patient, and enthusiastic. And knowledgeable of course! - its always fascinating to be out in the field with experienced naturalists.

The tour was excellent and Jenny and John were knowledgeable, helpful friendly and very hardworking. We saw birds and plants we had never seen before.

David is a superb leader and very attentive to the requirements of the group. Always approachable and willing to go the extra distance to fulfil the wishes of the group paying particular attention to members as they require it. My knowledge of plant species was not great at the start but his enthusiasm was very infectious, and not just for plants, but those people interested in birds were also catered for in some depth. I thoroughly enjoyed my first Naturetrek holiday and will travel with you again sometime next year.

It was both a pleasure and a privilege to have the company of David Tattersfield as tour leader. Nothing was too much trouble for him. Whilst we both love and appreciate birds and wildflowers we are far from expert and he was endlessly patient with our sometimes naive questions! We are greatly indebted to him for organising an anniversary cake at the end of one of many memorable meals in well chosen restaurants. It was a really nice touch.

The itinerary worked well, as it's been honed over many years. Good variety of wildlife over a good range of sites. Archaeological interest too, and some historical sites. The tour leaders were excellent and really made the trip. The Alianthos Beach Hotel in Plakias was particularly good, with excellent buffet for breakfast and evening meal.

It was quite overwhelming and such a joy. The days were filled with excursions to remote locations, where our knowledgeable and friendly leaders took us to out-of-the-way places, where we could see remarkable and lovely plants and birds. The temperature difference between the mountains and the coast was surprising, and so we went from the chill of the uplands to the warm coast, where we enjoyed excellent meals in the evening.

Eight days were spent exploring the wilder areas of the island, divided between Plakias in the south and Chania in the north and staying in two very comfortable hotels. We were rewarded by wall to wall sunshine which made our expeditions and picnic lunches that much more enjoyable. One particularly memorable event was traversing the Imbros Gorge. With such a rich history it was only right that our leaders included visits to some of the most interesting archaeological sites, also to get a flavour of the Greek culture our evening meals took in a wide variety of local dishes.

Lovely, small group of people with varying degrees of expertise in plant and bird recognition (me being at the lower end of the scale) and two enthusiastic and committed leaders who made the whole experience superb. Two centres, so plenty of variety and different opportunities to see what western Crete has to offer. I'd do it again tomorrow.