Oh that sounds wonderful! Even I’m excited as a 5 year old! Lol! I’ll probably bring some medication for the bus for him. He gets car sick sometimes but he usually is ok if he sleeps. I did ask about the tandem and the agent said she thinks they will be able to accommodate but wasn’t entirely sure. She did give me the minimum weight and I barely make that lol! I’ll have to ask again. Thanks for the binocular tip! I’ll have to wait for Black Friday or cyber Monday or Boxing Day to find one! thanks so much for your tips!! really really appreciate it!In my opinion a 5 year old would be interested in most activities so long as he has an attention span. Say the chocolate stop the presenters are quite entertaining so it was really fun. The rain forest animal sighting is cool traveling through the rivers trying to spot wild animals. Take a set of binoculars they really come in handy. Of course the animal rescue will be awesome. The hot pools have no life guards so he can not be left alone. Take water shoes for the beach on the west coast as well as the river float. The zip line I don't know about the weight issue and you need to be able to control when you come to slow down and stop. I did not see a tandem rider so I would call on that. There are a couple of curvy bus rides where some people got queasy so maybe an I pad to keep him occupied not focused on the winding roads. On our trip we went down the river with crocs staring at us from the sides so he may think that's "cool" or frightening depending on your child. All in all I don't see why he cannot participate in all or most of the activities. He may even turn into the trip mascot. lol.
I read Tauck’s pamphlet from 2019 and it did say Sky Trek for zip lining. yay! The only changes from 2019 to 2020 is a hotel change and the activity on the last day.carpenta, did TB use Sky Trek for the zip lining? That is the company ABD used, and we had some smaller kids who went tandem with parents or guides.
Thanks!! I will definitely bring a lot of bug spray! And water shoes! Great tip on the peppermint oil, I’ll make sure to get some as well as bring some Gravol. That’s great about tipping! Thanks again! Really looking forward to this trip!Definitely bring bug spray. Both my kids got zika virus while there. Luckily it just appeared as an itchy rash and nothing else. Also bring water shoes for the river float/water fight. The bus ride to Arenal caused both my son and me to get rather queasy. I found that peppermint essential oil helped us a ton. I just put a few drops on my hands and rubbed together. The smell stifled the queasiness as well as looking up at the ceiling of the bus most of the way. Tips are completely taken care of for the whole trip for everyone. In Costa Rica you won't have on your own time either to worry about tipping.
I enjoy reading all your suggestions and comparing different companies. Today I came across one I haven't heard of before: Friendly Planet Travel. Does anyone have experience with them.
What didn't you like about Nat Geo?Never heard of them. We're trying Wildland Adventures next year after some rather disappointing experiences with Nat Geo.
What didn't you like about Nat Geo?
Yes, that would be enough to turn me off of them as well.We've had issues with them on 2 separate trips. On the first of these 2 trips it was during the planning phase with constantly getting inaccurate and incorrect information. We ended up doing most of the research ourselves and then they used it for future trips.
On the second trip we just did, our trip manager changed three times from the time of booking to the time the trip rolled around without any warning from Nat Geo. Also, on this most recent trip, our itinerary stated a tour that was to take place at 1:00pm on arrival day, our Nat Geo rep confirmed this tour and time twice between the time they met us at the airport and the time they dropped us off but when the tour time came, no one showed up. The tour was never booked. These were 2 separate trips, both bucket list trips and both private. One was a custom designed trip while the other was a set trip that had been modified due to unforeseen circumstances with one of the hotels we were originally booked into.
Wow, it really does sound amazing and love the review. I was going to ask via email but I figured others might be interested .... what were the camps like on terms of luxury/stars and how much customization of ibtinerary did you do? Did you like your fellow travelers? Were all three together? Kids? How does it differ from ABDs trip in terms of activities? I.e. did you mostly/only do safaris? I guess I’m wondering whether this would be good for a first timer or whether ABD would be a better intro and this better for second?We are recently back from our Secluded Botswana Safari with Natural Habitat Adventures, and it was fantastic! I have nothing but positive feedback regarding Nat Hab and would (will!) definitely travel with them again. Their itineraries are geared toward nature and wildlife, so you won't find trips to big cities with city tours, museums, etc., but for their niche, they will be my go to for future trips. There are a number of Nat Hab itineraries I am eyeing for future trips, including South Africa/Botswana, Tanzania, Gorilla trekking, Iceland, Alaska, Costa Rica and the Brazilian Pantanal. Here is what I really liked about traveling with Nat Hab:
--We had only 7 in our group, and this is the maximum Nat Hab will take for the Secluded Botswana itinerary. This ensures that everyone in the group can ride in a single safari vehicle and that everyone gets a *window* seat. (Nat Hab uses open air safari vehicles, and in Botswana, there was not even a roof canopy, so our views were not impeded in any way.) Using only one safari vehicle also eliminates any possibility for FOMO on what other vehicles might be seeing (maybe only a concern in my mind, but it is real, lol) and also meant that we didn't have more than one vehicle from our tour trying to view the same wildlife at the same time.
--Our expedition leader, Francis, was amazing. He is from Botswana and knew so much about the country's history, economy, etc. and, of course, the flora and fauna of the area. He was an incredible wildlife tracker. He was also very patient with requests for bathroom breaks while out on our safari drives (looking at 14yo DS on that one, but also myself a few times) and always found us a suitable termite mound for privacy, lol. He made a huge effort to ensure we saw a leopard on our last full day in Botswana, and that was real highlight of the trip (but among way too many highlights to even count). We could always tell when Francis had spotted an animal that was a *find* by his "Oh" exclamation and his flooring of the safari vehicle, lol. He definitely took us on a few wild rides!
--We also had a trip coordinator, Tilley, who handled logistics behind the scenes and was also in charge of planning *events* which usually took the form of surprising us with a bush lunch or dinner following one of our game drives or showing up in the middle of the bush for our sundowner drinks. And as soon as she found out I was a cider drinker, she ensured that cider was included in every sundowner cooler!
--This could be unique to Africa as opposed to a feature of all Nat Hab trips, but all of our food and beverages were included in this trip. And we were usually fed 6 times a day, lol (breakfast before an early morning game drive, a mid-morning tea break during the morning game drive, lunch, afternoon tea before heading out on our afternoon game drive, appetizers with our sundowner drinks while on our afternoon game drive, and dinner). Beverages included soda, juices, beer, wine and liquor, and were unlimited. Each of the safari camps had a fridge and liquor cabinet that we had free access to at any time. This included beer, wine, sodas, mixers and hard alcohol. The food was absolutely fantastic, showcasing local game and so many fresh fruits and vegetables (and always with a vegetarian main course option). I am missing our safari camp cuisine in a big way!
--We never handled our larger bags while we were on safari. Upon arriving at a new safari camp, our bags would be waiting in our tents for us, and upon leaving a camp, we simply left our packed bags in our rooms, and they were collected for us.
--In 2 of our 4 safari camps, we were the only group there. And we were treated so well by all of the camp staff. In the other camp in Botswana, we had one side of the camp exclusively for our group, and there were only 2 gentlemen occupying the other side during our stay. We only saw them in passing. Our camp in Zambia was a bit larger and had other guests, but we were only there for 2 nights before heading into Botswana for 9 nights. In every camp, we received handwritten notes from the camp staff and from Nat Hab. We definitely felt very valued. In Toka Leya Camp in Zambia, my DD and I each received a gift of a traditional cloth used by Zambian women. We all received a pin on our final night. Pre-departure, we had each received Nat Hab water bottles and were each able to select a gift like a hat or t-shirt. We also received 2 travel wallets with our pre-departure packages.
Those are the highlights I can think of. And I really can't come up with a single negative about Nat Hab or the trip, It was that incredible. Happy to answer questions....
Wow, it really does sound amazing and love the review. I was going to ask via email but I figured others might be interested .... what were the camps like on terms of luxury/stars and how much customization of ibtinerary did you do? Did you like your fellow travelers? Were all three together? Kids? How does it differ from ABDs trip in terms of activities? I.e. did you mostly/only do safaris? I guess I’m wondering whether this would be good for a first timer or whether ABD would be a better intro and this better for second?
Calfan- I'm so glad to hear you mention the need for silence during safaris. I'm extremely reluctant to do one for that reason. I can not talk but I fear a sudden coughing fit or sneeze attack (I have allergies that I can only do so much to control). You are reinforcing my decision.
Well, I don’t want to confuse the issue, but I do think you would be fine with an occasional sneeze or cough. Absolute silence isn’t required every second in the safari vehicle. We had conversations, etc., including low-voiced or whispered ones even around lions. It’s just important to be able to keep quiet when circumstances require and not scream or shriek in excitement or have loud outbursts like little kids are prone to do.
Oh, good. I'm a loud sneezer/cougher though. Lol... I keep picturing something like Scooby Doo and Shaggy hiding from a ghost, and Scooby sneezes and the ghost attacks them. But with lions and tigers.
Oh, good. I'm a loud sneezer/cougher though. Lol... I keep picturing something like Scooby Doo and Shaggy hiding from a ghost, and Scooby sneezes and the ghost attacks them. But with lions and tigers.
Low conversation is definitely fine. As is coughing and sneezing. I actually had a cold when we were in Africa last year and I get really bad chest coughs when I get sick. I would go on coughing fits periodically and it didn't alter the experience at all. What they don't want is kids yelling and screaming. The last night we were out at our first bushcamp, there was another truck out from our lodge (we had a private driver/vehicle) and there were kids in the truck playing on ipads, screeching and such and the guide was constantly telling the parents to keep the kids quiet, which they never did. We were trying to find a lioness at the time.