This was a wildlife trip to explore the lowland area of Austria & parts of Hungary. We were based in a comfortable hotel in Illmitz and visited different areas from there. The bird life was plentiful, it was a pleasure to see Imperial Eagles, Long-eared Owl and a plethora of water birds. We travelled mainly by minibus but one morning went out by horse and cart. Walking across a bridge into Hungary & seeing the remains of the Iron Curtain border was interesting. One evening we ate in a local restaurant and sampled local produce especially the Mangalitca pig meat. The trip was led by a knowledgeable, well organised naturalist. We have travelled with Naturetrek on numerous occasions since 2015. We have always found them to be very efficient. Queries are dealt with promptly. Appraisal forms regarding the holiday are sent on our return, including a suggestions for improvement section. In my experience, any comments made are taken on board. Staff are always professional, friendly, and polite. We travel with confidence knowing that Naturetrek are there if problems should arise.
T.J. South Glamorgan, May 24
Tour Itinerary and Reports
Can I help you?
Austria's Steppes & Wetlands
Tour Code: AUT01An exciting exploration of the rich natural and cultural diversity offered by a premier national park at the heart of Europe, Neusiedler See.
£1,450 (Inc flights)
£1,250
Highlights
Tour Itinerary and Reports
Can I help you?
Quick Enquiry
Summary
Neusiedler See National Park is one of Europe’s least known wildlife hot-spots. The park spans Austria and Hungary, protecting warm flat lowlands that are a haven for waterbirds such as herons, egrets and Spoonbills, a host of dragonflies and other insect-life, as well as swathes of wild flowers. We’ll make daily excursions into the park from our base in Illmitz, enjoying passage waders and terns, Middle Spotted Woodpeckers, Penduline Tits and Barred Warblers; there’s also a possibility of seeing raptors such as White-tailed and Imperial Eagles and Saker Falcon. On other days we’ll explore the birdlife of the Puszta plain on both sides of the Hungarian border, including displaying Great Bustards and hunting Montagu’s Harriers and Short-eared Owls.
- Great White Egrets, Bitterns, Pygmy Cormorants & White Storks
- Black-necked Grebes & Red-crested Pochards
- Breeding and migrating waders including Ruff and stints
- Learn the various warbler songs emanating from the reedbeds
- Travel by horse-drawn carriage to reedbeds
- Watch engaging European Sousliks at their burrows
- Look for displaying Great Bustards & hunting birds of prey
- Enjoy wonderful displays of orchids & other spring meadow flowers
- Led by an expert naturalist guide
Grading
Grade A. Short day walks on mostly flat ground.
In terms of diversity, Neusiedler See- Seewinkel National Park in Austria is one of Europe’s least known wildlife hotspots. Forget the alpine meadows and mountains of the Alps that you would normally associate with Austria! On this holiday we will be focusing exclusively on the country’s warm and flat lowland regions, more akin to the steppes to the east, and the reason we can expect to see such a range of birds, insects, mammals and plants is that we will be exploring a region that lies at a crossroads of landscapes, habitats and cultures. During our stay here we will enjoy all these highlights, but particularly the birds.
Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park, in fact, spans the Austro-Hungarian border and was the first bi-national park to be created in Europe, the majority of it lying within Austria but the southern part being in Hungary. To reach it we fly to Vienna then drive to our comfortable hotel in Illmitz, which is our base for the duration of the tour and situated amongst the sights and sounds of nature. The numerous Great Egrets are just one indicator of a rich diversity which also includes breeding Red-footed Falcons, Savi’s Warblers and Bee-eaters.
For our initial exploration of the region we will spend the morning of our first full day focusing on the largest of Seewinkel’s lakes, Lange Lacke, where the birds and plants are more representative of the coast. Amongst a wide range of species, we will be looking out for breeding Mediterranean Gulls and Avocets, whilst the swathes of wild flowers all around us include the purple-flowered Austrian Sage and contrasting yellow bedstraws that span the ‘hutweide’ or shepherded pasture. After lunch, we will head off to the extensive plain near the Hungarian border, where we will go in search of displaying Great Bustards which, for many, will be the undoubted avian highlight of our holiday; we also hope to see Short-eared Owl, Montagu’s Harrier and a variety of other raptors.
On our third day we will rise early and travel by horse-drawn carriage to enjoy some amazing views across the park’s reedbeds from the upper platform of an ex-Cold War watchtower. Here we will have breakfast whilst watching numerous herons and egrets setting out to feed, Pygmy Cormorants flying between areas of open water, and we may even catch a glimpse of one of the Bitterns that boom in the vast reedbeds. Later in the day we will look for migrant waders at one of Seewinkel’s soda lakes and explore the adjacent woodland and fringing reedbeds which are home to Golden Oriole, Hoopoe, Barred Warbler, Penduline Tit and numerous Nightingales.
The insect-life, too, is very rich and we will look for both the dragonflies and butterflies attracted to the region’s profusion of meadow flowers. The beautiful Southern Festoon butterfly may, perhaps, be amongst the highlights. Interesting beetles, praying mantis, flies and spiders will also turn up on our walks, particularly when we visit Zitzmannsdorfer Wiesen, another area of remnant steppe and a breeding site for Black-tailed Godwits, Curlews and many other species. We will have lunch at a nearby restaurant to taste the local specialities before driving to a hilltop nature reserve known for its profusion of butterflies and flowers.
Today we will travel to the River Danube and beyond. To the north of Seewinkel we hope to find a range of exciting raptors, such as Eastern Imperial Eagle, Saker and Red-footed Falcon, before enjoying a picnic lunch overlooking the Danube. We will also look for Baskettail, Clubtail and Emerald dragonflies. After lunch, we will travel to the Marchegg Nature Reserve, which protects ancient wet woodland and quiet meadows alongside the River March. Here we can watch the comings and goings of a tree-nesting colony of White Storks and walk the trails in search of woodpeckers (most of Europe's species occur here) and Collared Flycatchers. Beaver are common too, though seeing one of these nocturnal creatures would be a highly unlikely treat! We will end the day at a traditional restaurant in Illmitz, giving us another opportunity to savour locally sourced food and wine.
We will spend our penultimate day, a long but exciting one, in Hungary. Rising early, we travel to the Hansag, the remains of a wild marshland and wetland forest which the Hungarians are currently restoring. This is a very atmospheric place, offering a great feeling of isolation. In addition to an interesting variety of birds, the grassy plains are home to colonies of Souslik, an endearing little ground squirrel and favoured prey of the Hansag’s raptors!
Our final day in Austria will focus once again on the lakes around Illmitz but we will keep the itinerary flexible depending on which hold water and what we have yet to see. As well as an interesting variety of migrants, we hope to find Long-eared Owl, before retracing our steps back to Vienna to catch an afternoon flight to London.
Outline Itinerary
What's Included?
- Flights
- Accommodation:
We stay in a comfortable hotel, where all rooms have private facilities.
- Food:
All food is included in the price.
Reviews
-
-
Our guide, Martin, was excellent and many of the other group members had fantastic knowledge of birds and birdsong, and flowers. We saw so many things that we would possibly not have noticed and certainly couldn't have identified. I loved the horse and carriage ride to Sandek and the nesting birds we saw there. In fact, that was where we walked to when we went out on our own. We watched the red footed falcons for ages.
B.R. Hampshire, May 23 -
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Austria with Dave - he was everything you could wish for in a tour leader - considerate, kind, knowledgeable and with a great sense of humour - always cheerful. We look forward to our weekend with him in his home patch in South Devon. Thanks to everyone for a great holiday - both at Naturetrek and our excellent hotel in Illmitz - Hotel Johannes Zeche.
M.C. Cambridgeshire
Dates & Prices
2025
Tour Leader: Martin Pitt
Martin has had an interest in wildlife since an early age and, although he worked in development and consultancy across the globe, he has always kept this interest going. He has been leading tours for Naturetrek, both in the UK and overseas, since 2017.
Primarily interested in birds and mammals, his time living in the Middle East (a year in the UAE and 2 years in Israel) gave him a deep love of desert ecosystems. More recently, he has spent an increasing amount of time focused on butterflies and dragonflies. He is the author of the ‘Crossbill Nature Guide to Southern Morocco’ and as of 2023 he is also the Bird Recorder for Hampshire.
Martin has led a number of tours, including day trips and weekends in Hampshire and the adjacent areas, as well as tours overseas including Austria, Ethiopia, France, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Spain and Uzbekistan.
2026
Array ( [180] => stdClass Object ( [id] => 180 [parent_id] => 165 [level] => 2 [path] => tour-focus/birds [title] => Birdwatching [alias] => birds [description] =>Birding Tours Led by Expert Naturalists
The majority of our wildlife tours focus primarily on birds, allowing us to offer a huge choice of bird holidays. On most of our birdwatching tours we aim to see a wide variety of species, while taking time to enjoy other wildlife as well as cultural highlights and architecture.
Naturetrek Birdwatching Tours
We have one of the largest selections of professionally organised, small group birdwatching holidays around the world and all of our birdwatching tours are accompanied by at least one professional ornithologist leader with detailed knowledge of the area.
The majority of our bird tours have a relaxed, flexible approach which allows more time for photography, detailed wildlife exploration, leisure time and the region’s people, culture, history and architecture, while allowing the group to see a wide range of bird species.
Here is a small selection of our many bird holidays:
- Southern Morocco – an exploration of the birdlife in Morocco’s southern deserts, oases and mountains
- The Camargue in Spring – a short break to enjoy the spring birds of the Rhône Delta and Camargue wetland
- Wallcreepers & Cranes in Northern Spain – a 2-centre holiday focusing on Lammergeier, Wallcreepers, raptors, Cranes, bustards, sandgrouse and more!
- Madeira & Desertas Islands – A Seabird Extravaganza! – a short break focusing on special breeding seabirds, including a night on the remote Destertas Islands
- Peru – Macaws & Machu Picchu – searches for boobies, macaws and Inca Terns
- Spain & Morocco: Birding on Two Continents! – watch the spectacular spring bird migration from both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar
Our Bargain Birdwatching Selection
Our Bargain Bird Tours are intensive birdwatching holidays suitable for the serious birder. They are led by expert English-speaking local guides (and not accompanied from the UK by a tour leader). You can expect a higher-paced tour and to spend long hours in the field.
Our specialist recommends...
Byron Palacios - Tour Leader
[params] => stdClass Object ( [category_layout] => [image_az] => https://i.assetzen.net/i/RlWlvE3qiKAS/w:500/h:500/q:70.jpg [image_alt] => Bird Watching ) [metakey] => Birds [note] => 02 [parent] => stdClass Object ( [id] => 165 [parent_id] => 1 [level] => 1 [path] => tour-focus [title] => Tour Focus [alias] => tour-focus [description] => [params] => stdClass Object ( [category_layout] => [image_az] => [image_alt] => ) [metakey] => [note] => ) ) )
Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?
For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.
EnquireWhy Naturetrek?
At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:
- The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
- Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
- Outstanding value and exceptional customer service
Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!