Estonia in Spring

A very enjoyable holiday greatly enhanced by the imaginative inclusion of wonderful meals in a variety of locations from farms to manor houses to historic buildings. An excellent example of the value of combining Naturetrek expertise with local knowledge.

D. & J.R. Kent

I must have done some ten to twelve natural history holidays in Britain or abroad and have to say that this was the best. We were extremely lucky with the weather, which obviously makes it more pleasant to walk around and I love Estonia with its wildness - lakes, woods, marshes and bogs and its long coastline. In the week we had good experience of them all, seeing lots of species as we went along. We were exceptionally lucky with both our tour leader and our local guide. Gerald is obviously a very experienced leader who creates a relaxed atmosphere at the same time as being very serious when it comes to the actual excursions. This combination meant that we could have a really good time, but see and learn a lot. He has a tremendous knowledge of birds, but also of mammals and butterflies and moths. His general all-round knowledge makes it much more interesting. He also deals effectively with people. You feel that he is completely in control and would deal with any situation. To get the balance of good fun, seriousness and competence is not easy. Yet Gerald managed to combine all three exceptionally well. Mati gave us a feel for his country. He explained some of its history and took us to a good selection of sights, so I came away with a feeling that I wanted to know more about it. I enjoyed his sense of humour and learnt a lot from him. I loved eating with local people as it meant we got a taste of real Estonian food, not just the hotel variety - which was also very good. Obviously, I go on your holidays because I enjoy birdwatching, but I am interested in all aspects of natural history and when I go to a new country I like to learn as much as possible about the country - its history, culture and politics. This holiday has fulfilled all aspects. I certainly want to return to Estonia and if the trip is run by Gerald and Mati, so much the better. I want to congratulate you on choosing two such intelligent, knowledgeable and competent guides who, at the same time, are extremely nice people.

C.P. Spain

We were very lucky to have a complete week of unbelievably good weather which gave us the opportunity of getting stunning views of virtually everything we saw. I must make a special comment about the food on this trip. The meals in the farmhouses and manor houses would make this trip worthwhile even if we had not seen any birds. It was a real pleasure to eat good honest local food whilst meeting local people in their own homes.

D.G. Staffordshire

The trip overall was good, well planned and enjoyable. Most of what we were told we could see, we did and the birds were reasonably cooperative. Both our trip leaders were very competent, pleasant and tried hard to make sure everybody had a chance to see what we were looking for.

J.M. Hampshire

I thoroughly enjoyed the trip – it was busy, busy. The leader provided a full itinerary to be sure we saw EVERYTHING. Mati Kose shared all his expertise and local knowledge. David Morris is an exceptional leader. His enthusiasm to share his love of the natural world is very rewarding. He dealt with everything in a professional, but easy manner – always respectful. There were many highlights – the boat trip to see the Beavers, the lekking Capercaillie, the many Woodpeckers. It was good to visit various restaurants, local ‘eateries’ – not always in the hotels. Accommodation was good – especially the first hotel. Thank you.

S.H. Cheshire

The tour was well organised, based for 7 nights in three centres. Each day we set off from our centre, sometimes early with packed breakfast, and visited well researched sites where we were rewarded with the birds we had come to see. Sometimes we had evening expeditions in search of dusk and night birds. The Easyjet flights were on time, the transport by mini-bus was appropriate, the hotels were comfortable, the meals out were good. The guides and fellow tourists were friendly and helpful. On the final day we had a quick visit to Tallin old town.

M.T. Surrey

Tour leaders excellent and very good at re-arranging itinerary as required. Lovely birding sites. First guest house was fantastic.

R.P. Dorset

Tour leaders very friendly and knowledgeable. Flexibility of itinerary was excellent. Birding sites well researched and beautiful. Good accommodation and food.

A.P. Dorset

Good mix of wildlife sites with relaxed travel between them. Some Estonian cultural background too. Both leaders were excellent and worked well to ensure that everyone saw everything.

J.M. Essex

The Altmõisa Guesthouse was extremely pleasant. Really enjoyed the lunch and evening meals, especially the hot lunches and the evening out in Tartu.

A.B. Surrey

My wife and I liked the variety of locations, hotels and dining experiences. The boat trip into the marshes with food was excellent, but the weather was fantastic for it. From our point of view the holiday was brilliant.

Mr & Mrs C. Cheshire

Excellent organisation and everything ran smoothly throughout. Mati and Tim ensured we saw plenty of birds. Tim was a superb all round naturalist with a great wealth of knowledge about the birds, plants and insects. I learnt a lot. The different habitats we visited were wonderful and generally unspoilt. I particularly liked the two bogs we visited. Very interesting.

M.W. Worcestershire

I thought this holiday to Estonia was one of the very best. I liked the country, its under population, the forests, fields with wild flowers, excellent accommodation and superb food! Loved the rabbit and puddings to die for! Our leaders Mati knew his country and took us to the best places, Tim I am in awe of; his knowledge of birds and plants was always available to us without any fuss. We were blessed with superb weather and the group melded together very well. Yes a perfect holiday!

D.S. Worcestershire

Location/type of meal stops - both lunch and dinner - were really well planned to meet times of day/places to visit. I would travel with Tim every time if I could - a man after my own heart with a seemingly endless supply of natural history trivia at his fingertips.

C.N. Surrey

All the food and accommodation was excellent.

Both leaders were extremely helpful, knowledgeable and pleasant company. They worked hard. We had plenty of variety of accommodation, meals and types of birds. It seemed to satisfy both the very keen birders and us who are more general. Good variety of birds and habitats and saw lots of birds new to me. Yet it was not too exhausting. Super.

M.G. Clackmannanshire