Whilst the primary objective of the holiday was to see brown bears in the wild, the tour offered so much more. In addition to bears, we saw over 100 species of birds, plus butterflies, damselflies, and a great number of plants. I have travelled with Naturetrek on a number of occasions and received consistently good service from the company and its tour leaders. Groups are small, and the leaders are highly knowledgeable in their chosen field. The great thing is that clients are all welcome regardless of whether they are beginners or dedicated naturalists. They choice of destinations is immense, meaning there really is something for everyone.
J.H. West Sussex, Aug 24
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- Tour report - August 2024
- Tour report - May 2024
- Tour report - August 2023
- Tour report - June 2023
- Tour report - May 2023
- Tour report - August 2022
- Tour report - June 2022
- Tour report - May 2022
- Tour report - September 2020
- Tour report - June 2019
- Tour report - May 2019
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Slovenia - Bears, Birds & Caves
Tour Code: SVN03An exciting 6-day holiday to Slovenia, focusing on its Brown Bears, birdlife and other natural history highlights and including a visit to the fascinating Križna Jama cave system.
£2,195 (Inc flights)
£1,995
Highlights
Tour Itinerary and Reports
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Summary
Slovenia, squeezed between Italy and Croatia, is not a destination that many have visited, and this holiday offers naturalists and lovers of the outdoors some exciting and unusual highlights. For example, who would expect that you can cosy up in small hides in the forests here for spellbinding close encounters with Brown Bears? And who knew that one of the largest lakes, Lake Cerknica, sometimes disappears completely in the summer? In the south-west of the country, an extensive karst cave system abounds with underground rivers and amazing fossils of fearsome predators. And then there are the birds, abounding in the forests and meadows. Our comfortable lodge, nestled in a quiet and remote area, gives us superb opportunities to enjoy these at their best.
- Get up close and personal with Brown Bears in small forest hides
- Comfortable lodge in remote Notranjska area in south of the country
- Impressive supporting cast of other mammals, potentially including Stone Marten, Badger and Golden Jackal
- Birds in the area include most of the European woodpeckers
- Other special birds are Corncrake, Black Stork and Ural Owl
- Visit to “intermittent” Lake Cerknica, which in the summer occasionally dries out completely
- See a second species of Bear – fossils of the extinct Cave Bear in the Križna Jama karst cave system
- Limited to only eight participants
Grading
Grade A. Easy walks only.
Outline Itinerary
What's Included?
- Flights
- Accommodation:
A small, comfortable lodge with private facilities.
- Food:
All included in the price.
Reviews
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A varied and interesting trip exploring the varied wildlife of Slovenia with an expert guide and staying in a beautiful location amidst stunning scenery. A well planned trip that covered a great deal in a short space of time. We went underground into one of the amazing karst caves, spent time watching bears from wildlife hides, enjoyed the birds and other flora and fauna of this lovely location. Naturetrek have always shown a high level of professionalism, they communicate well with their clients and we always feel well looked after and valued. They are able to answer any questions put to them and I can not recommend them highly enough as a wildlife travel company. During Covid Naturetrek continued to offer zoom travel evenings, bird watching with guides from around the world, as well as day trips when things opened up. They kept up hope in hopeless times.
R.S Hampshire, May 22 -
It was very well organised with an excellent, informative and enthusiastic guide who had a wide range of knowledge about plants, mammals, reptiles, birds and butterflies. Our small group got on well and there was good adherence to Covid19 safety measures by all at our accommodation. The food was also excellent and as a vegetarian I was well catered for. I was impressed by the way [Naturetrek] kept in touch and updated me constantly in what was a very fluid situation. Despite having to rearrange travel and other trip details the tour went ahead which in the circumstances was a great achievement.
L.R. London, Sept 20 -
Our trip to see the Slovenian bears was wonderful, and having a flexible itinerary was wonderful, because it meant that every minute was used in the best way possible, and this made it enjoyable for us. Having three bear-watching trips was great, because it maximised the chances of seeing bears. I understand that watching wildlife takes patience, time and also luck. I think my daughter and I would have been delighted to have seen just one bear. In the event, we saw lots of bears on each of our three bear-watching trips, including a mother with her very small and wobbly cubs, whom we watched for a good few hours altogether, and they were absolutely adorable and engaging. We were able to see the differences between all the bears, because each one is physically very different to look at, so we learned a lot about bears. So each of our three bear watching trips was a great success. The valleys with meadows and flowers and butterflies and the Karst landscape was wonderfully peaceful and enjoyable and it was fantastic to be able to spend a lot of time wandering in the meadows, taking it slowly and really looking and enjoying the flora and fauna, and to be able to ask our very knowledgeable guide, Luca about everything... We were fascinated by the disappearing lake and disappearing river and cave system - they were incredible and very interesting - my daughter is about to start her geography degree, and she loved this as well, and our Cave Guide was very informative. There is a waiting list of several months to enter the cave, because it is protected, so we really appreciated the fact that Naturetrek had organised this for us.
S.A. Hampshire, June 19
Dates & Prices
2025
Tour Leader: Luca Boscain
Luca is an Italian naturalist from Treviso. He started birding during his childhood and gradually became more and more interested in all aspects of nature, especially butterflies, reptiles and orchids. He spends much of his year exploring the varied habitats of the Adriatic basin, including the wetlands, mountains, islands, forests ... and much more! After graduating with an honours degree in Natural Sciences, Luca later became a nature guide. He has been guiding natural history groups since 2012, including Naturetrek groups in the Dolomites, Sicily and further afield since 2015.
Array ( [179] => stdClass Object ( [id] => 179 [parent_id] => 165 [level] => 2 [path] => tour-focus/bears [title] => Bear Watching [alias] => bears [description] =>Bear Watching Holidays – See Bears in their Wild Habitat
Bears are many people’s favourite mammal. They are immensely strong and have unpredictable temperaments, yet inspire great affection in most of us.
The Naturetrek programme includes a number of specially designed bear-watching holidays which employ local expertise to provide clients with wonderful opportunities to see their favourite mammals.
Naturetrek Bear-watching tours
Most species of bear are retiring in habit and rarely seen during the day. However, a prodigious appetite leads many species to gather seasonally in big numbers, which makes them far easier to watch!
Our bear tour groups are limited in size and accompanied by Naturetrek naturalist leaders, and also usually assisted by resident experts. Although focused on bear-watching, all Naturetrek bear tours offer many opportunities to observe the other wildlife of the area.
We also see bears on other Naturetrek tours such as Sloth Bears on Indian and Sri Lankan tours, and Brown Bears on many European tours.
Where can I see bears?
- Slovenia - Bears, Birds & Caves – a 6-day holiday to Slovenia, focusing on its Brown Bears, birdlife and other natural history highlights
- Canada: The West – stay on a floating wilderness lodge and explore Vancouver Island in search of Grizzly Bears
- Spitsbergen – Realm of the Polar Bear – a voyage into the high Arctic in search of Polar Bears and other wildlife (exclusive charter cruise)
- Brown Bears in Finland – photograph bears from a hide on the Russian border
- Romania – The Wildlife of Transylvania – go in search of foraging bears in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains
Is it possible to see bears on other Naturetrek tours?
Yes. While not specifically searching for bears, we regularly have sightings of Sloth Bears on Indian and Sri Lankan tours, and Brown Bears on our Kamchatka cruise and many European tours.
Our specialist recommends...
Paul Stanbury - Operations Manager
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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
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Mammal Watching Holidays
Many of the world’s mammals are instantly recognisable to us. Animals such as Lions, Tigers, elephants and bears capture our imaginations from an early age. At Naturetrek, we take great pleasure and pride in helping people to fulfil their lifelong dreams of seeing these iconic species in the wild. We also enjoy introducing our clients to some of the world’s more unusual mammals, many of which are just as fascinating.
Naturetrek Mammal Watching Tours
Many of our tours have a primary focus on mammals and we offer the widest choices of mammal-watching holidays across the globe, from the poles to the tropics. Our holidays are guided by at least one professional naturalist tour leader and usually benefit from additional guiding by expert local naturalist guides. We have holidays to see an incredible range of the world’s most sought-after mammals, such as orangutans, lemurs, bats, polar mammals, big cats, and mammals of the African savannah. A significant number of tours also targets some of the planet’s more unusual and elusive species, from pottos and pangolins to slender lorises and obscure cetaceans.
Here’s a selection of our mammal tours:
- India’s Kanha and Pench Tiger Reserves
- A cruise to Spitsbergen in search of Polar Bears
- A chance to see the ‘Big Five’ and much more in South Africa’s Kruger National Park
- Search for Blue, Fin and Sperm Whales in the Azores
- Close-up views of Brown Bear and Wolverine in Finland
- Enjoy the mammals of Kenya’s Masai Mara, while staying in luxury camps
- Search for elusive nocturnal mammals, such as Aardvark, Black-footed Cat and Aardwolf, in the Kalahari Desert
Bargain mammal selection
We offer a range of action-packed bargain holidays for the dedicated mammal enthusiast, which are exceptional value for money, from Belize to Zambia.
Our specialist recommends...
Paul Stanbury - Operations Manager
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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.
EnquireTour Reports
- Tour report - August 2024
- Tour report - May 2024
- Tour report - August 2023
- Tour report - June 2023
- Tour report - May 2023
- Tour report - August 2022
- Tour report - June 2022
- Tour report - May 2022
- Tour report - September 2020
- Tour report - June 2019
- Tour report - May 2019
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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!