Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

For me, it was the simple fact of being in a remote Bulgarian village, within a wonderful landscape, with great food and exercise.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Julian was a fantastic leader, and his incredible knowledge about bears and other flora & fiuana enthused the whole group. He made sure that the pace of the walks was relaxed to allow for opportunities to appreciate the flora and fauna.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Think about adding a couple of days in Sophia at the end. The group hotel for the last night, the Crystal Palace, is really in an excellent position, but there is no time to explore the capital city if you return on the group flight to Heathrow. We stayed on in the Crystal Palace Hotel, which is in the Embassy area of the city and within easy walking of all the main sights., for another couple of nights and were pleased we did. . Walking poles were useful on some of the steeper descents.

Suggestions

Just like to add that the Crystal Palace Hotel was an excellent choice - good qualtiy, lovely last night meal, central position.

Most Inspirational Moment

The whole experience.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Julian was an absolute font of knowledge on everything relating to the Rodopi mountains, always sharing his knowledge with enthusiasm. His knowledge was far greater than bears also a bit of an Orchid expert. The bears are elusive and don't perform on command. We didn't see any in the first couple of viewings but Julian managed to arrange an extra evening in the hide for us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The trip is far more than the bears. The mountains are stunningly beautiful, think Swiss alpine mountain and there is an abundance of other flora and fauna.

Suggestions

The hotel was comfortable with our needs met. The host was fantastic. The food was local traditional fare, locally sourced and produced and plentiful, you won't go hungry. Lunch was a make it yourself with food left out, if you have a big appetite take a big lunch box, there will be plenty to fill it.

Most Inspirational Moment

The stand out moments of the trip were having the opportunity to actually see Brown Bear, Chamois and wild boar in their natural environments and to learn so much about their behaviour and habitats.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Julian is an absolute authority on the Rodopi mountain area of Bulgaria and the ongoing conservation of the wildlife therein. He enthusiasm for this project was contagious and he was more than happy to share his knowledge with the group at all times.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Read the trip notes. This is much more than your average walking holiday!

Suggestions

The hotel accommodation was excellent. It was great to be able to experience a wide selection of authentic and delicious local cuisine.

Most Inspirational Moment

We were so lucky to see a bear from the hide but even if we didn’t the wildflowers and orchids in meadows in late spring were an unexpected delight

Thoughts on Group Leader

Julian was just fantastic . So enthusiastic and excited to share his incredible knowledge of bears in particular and the Rodopi in general. Simply an outstanding group leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bears are very elusive ( even if the signs they leave of their presence generally aren’t) so don’t judge the success of the trip on seeing one . The Rodopi mountains are simply such a very special environment , a visual delight to make you smile .

Suggestions

Julian speaks fluent Bulgarian so whenever we met any of the locals high in the mountains we knew we were in for an opportunity to learn so much from them .

Thoughts on Group Leader

Julian was a highlight in his own right! He patiently dealt with our curiosity on everything from the bears to the political situation in Bulgaria and everything in between. With his fluent Bulgarian he took care of everything, my only decision to take was the daily choice of lunch sandwich filler. He managed different abilities in the group and as "informed" amateurs, he kept us brimming with facts and figures. Blagodarya Julian!

Advice for Potential Travellers

The terrain is quite varied, sometimes stable and level forest path, other times quite broken large stone paths, get some rigid shoes and walking sticks! Some of the days we set off up hill quite rapidly, to reach meadowtops, be ready for that but there's always a good gentle patch to catch your breath. Go with an open mind and a love for what's around and you'll not be disappointed.

Most Inspirational Moment

The trip to the Hide at night , lit by moonlight lighting effects , and seeing what was identified by our Leader as a Wildcat at the end of that first evening . Seeing Brown Bear prints and learning of the age and gender . Seeing other signs of Brown Bear presence , like hair , scratch marks in trees . Seeing signs of other mammals such as wolf , pine martin and hedgehog. Identifying wildflowers and butterflies with the leader and other group members.

Thoughts on Group Leader

A leader who can speak fluently the language of the host country , and with an outstanding experience and knowledge of the wildlife , specifically the Brown Bear based on qualified research , who can present this to and lead a range of walkers and interested wildlife enthusiasts is fantastic . He is very informative and respectful of the history of the region and its people. He is always helpful and made the trip the most special week .

Advice for Potential Travellers

Read and look up information on Mountain animals and wildlife . Go on some wildlife survey work voluntarily with your local group beforehand if you can . It was the first time I had used binoculars but that was not a problem for me because I had some previous experience of wildlife surveys. Enjoy the leaders knowledge . Enjoy the groups knowledge . We were lucky to also have a Badger expert in our group .Enjoy the scenery , natural world and the food and company!

Suggestions

I saw a lot of natural life I had not seen before and would like to go on this trip again. If I did I would like to try to go on a Land Only reservation and travel over ground by train , boat and train to Sophia to meet the group . This way it would be even more environmentally sound, and less damaging as no flight would be involved.

Most Inspirational Moment

I'd chosen the trip hoping to see a bear, but there was so much more to it than that. The number and variety of reptiles and butterflies amazed me. The variety of mammal scats and tracks along the forest paths was remarkable, and Julian was able to identify them for us and tell us about the different species. I loved the evening trips to the bear hide and although we didn't see a bear, we did watch wild boar which I'd never seen before.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Julian has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the local fauna and flora. He was well organised, spoke clearly and, being fluent in Bulgarian, communicated easily with the local people too, ensuring that the trip ran smoothly. During breaks on our walks, he gave short talks covering aspects of bear biology and his research work, as well as the traditional farming practices which have maintained diversity in the meadows and forests.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The walks are at a sensible pace, but the terrain is steep in places, so a reasonable level of fitness will make the trip more enjoyable. At the end of April temperatures varied widely during the day, so be prepared with layers of clothing to add or remove as required.

Suggestions

The hotel was of a high standard, being warm and comfortable, with good sized rooms and modern plumbing. The food was delicious, most of it locally produced, and the staff were friendly and helpful. I enjoyed learning about the leader's research work as he checked camera traps and recorded tracks, scats and other signs of bear activity during our walks. We were observers on this trip and there was no pretence that we were 'volunteering'. Having been on unsatisfactory 'voluntourism' trips before, I found this refreshingly honest.

Most Inspirational Moment

The whole trip was inspirational, though the most inspirational part is learning about the bears and other wildlife that live in these mountains, then slowly starting to understand how it all fits together. In addition, the Rodopi mountains are beautiful, particularly in Autumn - there are some great hikes in this trip, with fabulous views. The hotel and food were also great, with local milk, cheese and honey straight from the village. It was also good to be based in a single hotel for the week, with lots of walks starting and finishing right on our doorstep.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Julian was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about all aspects of biology, particularly bears. He is clearly well-known and connected in the local area, and did a great job of making everything run smoothly. One of the highlights of the trip were daily 'lectures' from Julian, usually during our scenic picnic lunches, about the various aspects of bear ecology.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you have a reasonable level of fitness and have some hiking experience, you should be fine on this trip. A typical day would comprises leaving the hotel with a packed lunch at 08:30 and returning at around 16:00, hiking slowly in the mountains in-between. We totaled 75 km and 3500 m height gain over our 6 days of walking, with hikes ranging from 8 - 14 km. So, the pace is pretty slow, as we were constantly stopping to look for wildlife / change camera traps etc. Julian will adjust the pace and route depending on the groups fitness level and interests anyway. That said, the terrain is fairly steep and rocky, though the trails are good. So, if you have new gear or are relatively inexperienced at hiking, it would be a good idea to put in a bit of practice beforehand so that you get the most out of your trip.

Suggestions

Don't come expecting to see a bear. This is not a 'bear-watching' trip, but a chance to explore and learn about the Eurasian Brown Bear and the habitat in which is resides, plus contribute to a long-term research program. We didn't see a bear during our week, though there was plenty of evidence throughout all of our walks. We did, however, see a group of 11 wild boar during one of the evenings at the hide, who seemed to be acting very defensively and on high alert, occasionally charging off into the undergrowth to chase something away. Sure enough, there is a photo of a bear on one of the nearby camera traps at the exact time we were there in the hide, so there is little doubt a bear was within a few yards of us.

Most Inspirational Moment

See the adult female bear was very good but equally as good was the scenery. I didn’t think this area of the world would be as pretty as it was. Also it was good to see a lot of other wildlife especially birds and butterflies.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Julian was great. His enthusiasm was contagious and he was so knowledgeable. What he doesn’t know about bears and Bulgaria isn’t worth knowing. He was also very knowledgeable on other flora and fauna.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We booked an extra night in Sofia at the end which I was glad of as it is an interesting city and there are a few decent bars!

Most Inspirational Moment

I didn't have any one particular moment that was the most inspirational, but taking in the vistas at the top of mountains we climbed after a long hike were serene moments. It was relaxing and inspiring to look out at all the pristine nature.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Julian was an enthusiastic and well informed group leader. He is very passionate about bears and Bulgaria, and was happy to share his knowledge with the group. He was also well informed about many other aspects of Bulgarian wild life and Bulgarian culture. He made sure we were healthy, happy, and well taken care of.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Wear good hiking shoes and be prepared to fill up on delicious Bulgarian food for the hikes! Also make sure to carry some of the local currency with you, there is the possibility to purchase locally-made traditional crafts from the village. I purchased some beautiful hand-made items in the village.