European wildlife holidays

Our wildlife holidays and tours in Europe traverse the continent alongside expert local guides, tracking down everything from whales to wolves, bears, dolphins and birds of prey. Europe’s wildlife faces many threats, from habitat loss to poaching and pollution. But conservation projects, many of which our holidays visit and financially support, are spearheading the fightback. Most of these trips are escorted small group holidays, designed to make good use of your time and to take in the most likely locations for sightings. And if it’s a particular animal you’re hoping to see, we’ll advise you on the best countries to visit and when to travel.

There’s an enormous variety of wildlife in Europe. In mountainous areas, wolves and bears are making a comeback, and tourism encourages rural communities to tolerate the presence of predators that play a valuable role in ecosystems. Our wildlife holidays in Europe also take you offshore. Marine creatures like whales, dolphins and porpoises can be spied in Scotland, the Azores and Greece. And in countries including Romania, Armenia and Hungary, you can enjoy fantastic bird watching, with many species either resident or overwintering in Europe’s wetlands and forests. Our holidays bring you into these animals’ habitats, on foot or by boat, enabling stunning photography as well as opportunities to learn about their behaviour.

The Azores are among the most popular destinations for our wildlife tours in Europe. Many whale species feed in the archipelago’s deep, cold waters, including resident sperm whales and even blue whales. Scotland also offers fantastic whale sighting opportunities and, like the Azores, it is home to a great variety of marine life including dolphins. Travellers on our small ship cruises heading far north into Arctic regions are often rewarded with spectacular whale encounters. On all our holidays you’ll be accompanied by marine wildlife guides and researchers, who illuminate the lives of whales for you, while also recording data that can be passed on to conservation organisations.

Our wildlife holidays in Europe take a cautious approach to bear watching. Brown bears are shy but curious and endangered throughout the continent. Trips make use of comfortable hides in remote regions such as the Carpathian Mountains of Romania and the chilly taiga forest of Finland, where bears are known to prowl. You can also spot bears in Italy’s Apennine Mountains, where our holidays will sometimes visit working conservation projects where you can learn about efforts to remove traps and create suitable habitat for bears. And in the Arctic our small ship cruises explore vast unspoilt canvases against which polar bears can often be seen scavenging along coastlines, or sunning themselves on floating icebergs. Magical.