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The Reptiles & Amphibians of Bulgaria
Tour Code: BGR08A 9-day holiday to southern and eastern Bulgaria, searching the coastal dunes of the Black Sea, beautiful remote forests and secluded valleys for species that are rare or absent in other parts of Europe, additionally crossing the border into northern Greece to search for the rare Ottoman Viper!
£2,495 (Inc flights)
£2,295
Highlights
Tour Itinerary and Reports
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Summary
Bulgaria offers wonderfully wild habitats to explore in search of reptiles and amphibians and, especially for those wanting to see all of Europe's herpetofauna, species on the limit of their ranges within Europe, occurring particularly in the sub-Mediterranean region in the south and along the Black Sea coast where this 9-day tour is focused. We extend the itinerary into northern Greece to provide opportunity to find the sought-after Ottoman Viper!
- Search for Blotched and Red Whip Snakes – species restricted to the eastern Balkan region within Europe
- Crossing into northern Greece provides opportunity to search for the rare Ottoman Viper!
- Amphibians include Anatolian Spadefoot Toad, Fire-bellied Toad, Levant Water Frog, Eastern Tree Frog, Schmidtler's Smooth Newt and Buresch’s Crested Newt
- Raptors could include Levant Sparrowhawk, Long-legged Buzzard, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Booted Eagle, Egyptian Vulture, and Griffon Vulture
- Red-backed, Woodchat, Masked and Lesser Grey Shrikes all possible
- Led by a local expert herpetologist
Grading
On a typical day on our herpetology tours we’ll begin searching in the field after breakfast, when the sun has warmed the substrates and landscapes, often getting into the vehicles at 9am and, after stopping for approximately one hour for lunch (which is often a continental-style picnic eaten in situ), we’ll continue into early-evening when we will stop for a rest and dinner. Most evenings it will be possible to do excursions in search of nocturnal species, which will on average be for three hours after dinner. With an equal percentage of the target reptile and amphibian species likely to be nocturnal, these night searches are an important part of the tour but are optional, with some participants preferring to rest on some of the days. On average, 5-8 miles are walked per day.
We’ll focus our time in the field on building an enviable list of reptile and amphibian species seen. Whilst searching, there is no doubt we’ll come across a huge variety of amazing fauna and flora, which we’ll also take time to enjoy, but reptiles and amphibians will strongly remain our focus. Sensitively checking under stones, logs and other refugia is an effective way of finding many species. Some of the target reptile or amphibian species may require longer field hours to locate and therefore this tour is suitable, and most enjoyable, for experienced herpetologists or naturalists who, aside from wishing to see the region’s rarely-seen reptiles and amphibians, relish being in the field searching for and identifying the vast array of birds, butterflies, invertebrates, orchids and other wildlife which can be found sharing the wonderful habitats that we’ll explore on the tour.
In summary, Naturetrek herpetology holidays are suitable, and offer tremendous value, for those who spend most of their holiday time in wildlife habitats and for whom seeing some of the world’s superb reptiles and amphibians is the focus of their time away.
Outline Itinerary
What's Included?
- Flights
- Accommodation:
Comfortable en suite accommodation throughout.
- Food:
All meals are included in the cost of this holiday, except for any meals required during travel, and starting with dinner on Day 1 and ending with breakfast on Day 9.
Dates & Prices
2025
Tour Leader: Vladimir Mladenov
Vladimir was born in the town of Svishtov, along the Danube River. Since childhood he was fascinated by wildlife and joined the Bulgarian Society for Protection of Birds. He currently lives in Burgas, one of Europe’s migration hotspots, where he works for BSPB in many different activities and projects such as the monitoring of the wetlands, geese count, and migration studies. He plays a significant part in the conservation of the Dalmatian Pelican in the whole region, often participating in field work in Greece and Albania. His communication and social skills help him to organise the annual youth nature conservation camp near Atanassovsko lake, one of the oldest and most influential conservation activities in Bulgaria. He has vast experience with birds, reptiles and amphibians and has led numerous successful trips.
2026
Tour Leader: Vladimir Mladenov
Vladimir was born in the town of Svishtov, along the Danube River. Since childhood he was fascinated by wildlife and joined the Bulgarian Society for Protection of Birds. He currently lives in Burgas, one of Europe’s migration hotspots, where he works for BSPB in many different activities and projects such as the monitoring of the wetlands, geese count, and migration studies. He plays a significant part in the conservation of the Dalmatian Pelican in the whole region, often participating in field work in Greece and Albania. His communication and social skills help him to organise the annual youth nature conservation camp near Atanassovsko lake, one of the oldest and most influential conservation activities in Bulgaria. He has vast experience with birds, reptiles and amphibians and has led numerous successful trips.
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With in-house herpetology expertise connecting with passionate, expert, field herpetologists – and drawing on knowledge built up from operating bird, mammal, botany, butterfly and other wildlife tours since 1986 – we have crafted a selection of the world’s finest reptile and amphibian holidays in our herping tour portfolio.
Destinations for our herpetology holidays include: Albania, Borneo, Britain, Colombia, Ecuador, Greece, Japan, Morocco, Namibia, Panama, South Africa, Sri Lanka.
Naturetrek Reptile and Amphibian Tours
- Naturetrek have been crafting expertly-guided group tours to all seven continents for more than 36 years.
- All of our herping tours are led by an expert herpetologist guide.
- Our herpetology tours provide fantastic opportunity to find, study and photograph reptiles and amphibians.
- As with all of our tours, our reptile and amphibian tours use well-located and well-appointed accommodation.
- In addition to arranging group flights, we are delighted to help with arrangements to join our holidays from any location worldwide.
If you are interested in taking a herping holiday to a destination which is not listed in our current portfolio, please do get in touch using the quick enquiry form and we'll be very pleased to discuss options with you.
Our specialist recommends...
“Our ‘Reptiles & Amphibians of Ecuador' 17-day holiday through the spectacularly diverse habitats of Ecuador, which features an exciting exploration of the Naturetrek Reserve! On this tour we'll search for such exquisite jewels as Pinocchio Lizard, Two-striped Forest-pitviper, Mata-mata Turtle, Diablito Poison Frog, Upper Amazon Glass Frog, Linda's Treefrog and many other simply wonderful species.”
Dan Lay – Operations Manager and tour leader[params] => stdClass Object ( [category_layout] => [image_az] => https://i.assetzen.net/i/grQy1nYcgjdh/w:2000/h:937/q:70.jpg [image_alt] => ) [metakey] => Reptiles & Amphibians Herpetology Tours Herping Tours [note] => 12 [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.
Enquire
Why 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!
