Reviews

What a fabulous time we had! Our trip delivered more than I thought possible. We had multiple tiger sightings, some extremely close so the wow factor was very much present. The trip arrangements worked seamlessly. We were always met on time and the local reps were very helpful. Our accommodation was great and the staff were solicitous and very keen that we have a great time. The guides at the parks were very knowledgeable and their eyesight is incredible!

We absolutely loved our time in India. Thank you for all the work you and your team did to organise our trip and for patiently answering all my questions.

We have seen all the wildlife we have hoped for and perhaps even a bit more 😊 High quality, close by, active and multiple sightings of numerous asiatic lions (12), tigers (17), leopards (11), sloth bears (6), indian one horned rhinos, asiatic elephants, water buffalos, striped hyenas, indian wolves, jungle cats, cousinga, blackbuck, desert fox, gaur, various deer, river dolphins, greater and lesser flamingos, sarus cranes, demoiselle cranes, common cranes, pelicans, various birds of prey and many many other interesting beautiful birds and other smaller animals…

Despite flight delays we were warmly welcomed and had efficient transitions in India. In the UK, you couldn’t have been more helpful – “above and beyond” at all points of contact. Thankyou!

[Our experience of the Snow leopard group tour] Is hard to put into words! No genuine expectation of seeing snow leopards – just hopeful, but to see two shortly after arriving at Uley was outstanding. They were so beautiful. Also saw wolves, Tibetan fox, eagles, ibex and lots of urials.

Close encounters with orcas, bears and humpback whales. Lots of grizzly bears catching salmon. We also saw black bear, elk, eagles, seals, sea lions, skunk and black squirrels.

– 18 jaguar encounters (17 sightings + 1 moving bush)
(including predation of 3 caiman)
– Grey and pink river dolphins
– Howler, saki, capuchin monkeys, black-tailed marmoset, tamarin sp.
– Vine snake swimming across river
– Giant river otters – very active and great behaviour
– Tamandua
– Many birds
– Sloth + pygmy nightjars on night boat-ride
– Saw all four maned wolves – (3 at once)
– Flooded Amazon forest very beautiful

*Wildlife list from Brazil trip 2024.

Two jaguars in a day! Giant otter baby. Six species of primate and over 75 species of bird.

We had amazing sightings of wildlife at Manu Wildlife Centre and in Manu National Park from the boat.
We had an amazing time and loved all aspects of the tour, the local people, food and wildlife. We wish we had longer and would recommend doing Lima first to get over the travel (jet lag and altitude, but we appreciate that had to happen with tour length. We were really surprised at the lack of tourists – we were the only people at Romero and Manu Wildlife Centre and it is concerning to hear how quiet these places are since covid. We would recommend Peru to anyone wanting to see wildlife and culture!

Two weeks before [the winter solstice in June] they celebrate in Cuzco every day, with parades, music and dancing. We loved seeing all these celebrations and would definitely recommend this time of year to visit.

We have just received the feedback form from you for our recent trip to South Africa which I will fill out shortly but I also wanted to thank you personally for organising us such a fantastic trip. The sheer variety of scenery and activities was amazing and the accommodation was uniformly excellent. We enjoyed good weather for our first few days in Cape Town allowing us get the best from Table Mountain as well as travel down to the Cape of Good Hope. A storm front did give a couple of wet days but this had little impact on our wine tasting in Franschhoek. In Hermanus we were fortunate to spot an early southern right whale as well as a humpback. We absolutely loved Montusi mountain lodge – what a view! We were also glad we visited the battlefields and the drive to Fugitive’s Drift lodge was quite enjoyable although I will never complain about potholes in the UK again. The suites at Tanda Tula were amazing and well beyond anything we have previously experienced on safari. The wildlife viewing for mammals was excellent with great sightings of lions and rhino in particular. Once again, many thanks and it’s now time for us to start our diet as we ate and drank rather too well.

Our first day of puma tracking was definitely the highlight. The weather was good and we saw distant pumas in the morning and a group of six around a guanaco kill in the afternoon. Spending 2.5 hours watching the interactions between the different individuals was fascinating.

…Thank you for putting together yet another amazing trip…(our guide) looked after us very well, so please thank them on our behalf, they were a delight. We are glad that the original guide of choice decided that he didn’t want to guide us as (our guide) is an exceptional naturalist. He has great knowledge, not only of the Lynx and birds but also plants, trees, bushes, insects and Geology. He made our trip very special by amending our programme several times to take in different sites and bird watching at different and better times. He was also most attentive, organising an excellent lunch on the day we transferred to Tres Cantos and brought breakfasts for us when the second hotel let us down, and lunchtime pizzas when we stayed out all day to watch the Bee-eaters at their busy time. We would strongly recommend that they becomes your first choice guide … Hotel La Caminera was excellent. The views from the hotel were wonderful. The rooms and service were excellent with amazing bathrooms, as was the food and general ambiance of the place. We would certainly recommend its use to others … We were very lucky with our wildlife sightings and the local guides at all venues were most helpful. At Penalajo Estate we couldn’t have got off to a better start. On the first morning around 9am, a female Lynx ran across the track in front of us followed by ……. 3 cubs (around 2 months old). They settled down just behind some bushes but with the female facing out into the open. The cubs made brief appearances out into the open. After a while the female disappeared, coming back into view carrying a rabbit and they headed off up the track but returning a little later. The local guides were amazed. One – they had not been seen by anyone before us and had not been picked up on the camera traps! Two – they were early in the season. Certainly they were not seen by anyone else for a couple of days at least. We had a bonus view of a Lynx sitting in the window of the derelict farm on our way back at lunchtime.

This was our 11th consecutive wildlife trip with Reef and Rainforest, that in itself speaks volumes. As our interest in the natural world has steadily increased so have our demands, particularly with regard to itinerary planning. Reef and Rainforest have never let us down, delivering some truly magical experiences and wildlife sightings over the years. This trip was one of the best, we observed well 4 out of 5 cat species, 9 out of 10 primates and 6 out of 8 Hornbills. In all 44 species of mammals were recorded and numerous birds and reptiles. Be prepared to go nocturnal to get the best out of your visit, Borneo is a truly magical island to visit with some wonderful and rare wildlife. The accommodation throughout the trip was good, the guiding was exceptional and the food was of a very high standard. Thank you, Jonathan, and all at Reef and Rainforest, we look forward to hopefully travelling with you again in 2025.