Tea Trails, Temple Cities and Coasts

I had an amazing adventure in Madagascar, thanks to Pioneer Expeditions. My interest lay not only with the lemurs, but very specifically with the Aye-Aye. I met Laurenne at the Destinations Travel Show in London some years ago and expressed this interest, and she instantly knew where I should go to see them with some certainty. Thus our discussions began, and ultimately she put together an itinerary based mostly on the 12-day "Southwest Treasures" package with additional days at the start to detour just a little further north, to Palmarium, resulting in a 15-day trip. When I began my research, Pioneer Expeditions also offered a "photographic tour", also based on the 12-day "Southwest Treasures" package, and I advised Laurenne that photography was a particular interest for me. Unfortunately this specific tour is no longer available, but Laurenne liaised with her contacts in Madagascar and found that one of the guides in the company she uses also has a strong photography interest. Luckily, he remained available when my trip was finalized, and I found him to be an amazing guide as well as a great help with the photography. My adventure was tailormade for me, this was not a group trip. The highlight of the trip for me was definitely Palmarium, where I did indeed see the Aye-Aye. I am delighted that Laurenne could add this to my plans. I wasn't the only enthused person: there was a pair of retired American women who had endured a 32-hour flight to Madagascar specifically to do just the loop that included Palmarium. They agreed it was worth the effort! This "loop" includes the visit to Andasibe, which was my second-favorite park and encounter with lemurs and other wildlife. On the day of arrival, a nocturnal walk was planned - which started at about 6pm. This was fantastic, although we did encounter a bit of rain. We then returned for a morning visit, and this as my first encounter with the Indri in particular. It was amazing to be there when they began their unique call (which I managed to capture on video on my phone). And my third-favorite park was Zombitse, although Anja came close. The hotels were equally amazing. Most were not hotels in the way I think of them, as a single building, of multiple storeys, and in fact about half of them were termed "eco lodges" - but they were so well presented, they felt on the same class as a good hotel. In general, they comprised a reception/restaurant building, then a number of individual bungalows, a short walk from reception. My favorite was the Satrana Lodge, where we were based for the foray into Isalo National Park. The food at all the hotels we used was excellent. And for me, far too much, which was disappointing because I was worried about wasting food. Sometimes I was able to decline a course, and sometimes I was able to ask for a "half portion", with the help of my guide. It's worth noting that the hotels always asked for menu choices to be made earlier in the day (or upon arrival) and to choose the time to eat. My understanding is that they need this help for planning food and staff. Understandable, but I admit I found it tricky because of my general lack of appetite. A note about the driving: you will notice some long drives in the itineraries. You probably know Madagascar is the 4th largest island in the world, and is about double the size of Great Britain. Therefore, if you compare, say driving from London to Scotland, you can understand some of the timings. What I had not anticipated was the state of their roads. Unfortunately, they suffer every year from the cyclones in the rainy season, and the country simply cannot keep up with the amount of repair needed. Some are so bad, it's like being out on one of those 4x4 "experiences" - it is therefore a good thing that the transport is in a good 4x4 with an experienced driver! Once or twice I found the longer journeys in these conditions to be very tiring - I cannot imagine what it was like for our driver. Thankfully, not all roads are so bad, and some are in excellent condition. But it does mean that some journeys take an awful lot longer than you might imagine. Another thing I found helpful in advance was understanding tipping. Tipping is very much expected, and so I made sure to be fully prepared in advance. You will get porters at each hotel, and while on the first night I was thinking that I wasn't really going to need them (but I would accept them), once we started getting to the lodges I fully appreciated their assistance, given the distances and staircases involved (to reach the assigned bungalow). Additionally, at each park, the country rules are that local guides must be used - so my "tour guide" cannot conduct these tours. Although having been on them many times, he was knowledgeable! Thus, the local park guides should be tipped, too. What I hadn't expected was that the guides work hand-in-hand with an "animal spotter". Although then it made sense. The guide takes you along the appropriate paths and explains everything, while the spotters run ahead and check that the expected animals are where they are expected - specifically the families of lemurs, who will travel through the trees at will. They find the animals and run back to the guide, who then chooses the appropriate path, which may include retracing our steps for a bit. The spotters are also often in training to be the next generation of guides. I was advised that the spotters should also receive a tip, typically half what it was suggested that I give the local guide. To conclude, and reiterate, this was a fantastic holiday adventure, very well planned and organized by Pioneer Expeditions.

Our trip to Mexico was really great thanks! Everything went smoothly and all the guides, hotel people, boat captains and camp staff (and food) were fantastic. Nothing was too much trouble and Cesar our guide with us through the trip did an amazing job organising everything. He just kept going all day with something for us to do all the time! Highlights were basically everything, but in terms of something that left an impression on me, going to Camp Cecil de la Sierra was a really relaxed, beautiful and atmospheric experience. You were very helpful booking everything efficiently and sorting out our queries before we set off. Thank you.

We had a wonderful trip to Guatemala and Belize, thank you both for organising it for us. The hotels you selected were all very comfortable and we especially loved the traditional one in Antigua. The local guides were all excellent, so knowledgeable and friendly as were our drivers. We had a slight problem at Guatamala airport as our itinerary didn’t have information about either the carrier or time of the flight to Flores but a very helpful person at check in found our booking and all was well! The itinerary you planned was really interesting and exciting. We loved the visit to the Mayan ruins, kayaking on Atatlan lake, the volcano hike where we had pizza freshly cooked at the top of the mountain and the pontoon experience turned out to be amazing. We had an unexpected waterfall descent which was great fun and the highlight of the day was seeing a jaguar at close quarters swimming across the river in front of us . Even the guide who had spent the last 13 years in the area had never seen one before! John enjoyed the zip wire experience at the lake while I was able to enjoy the nature park it was set in with its walking trails; these included some exciting hanging bridges with incredible views. There was also a butterfly house and lovely gardens. We thought that the timing of this experience would have been better if it was on the day we arrived at the lake. We arrived by 1pm and had the whole afternoon free. It was really rushed to fit in the zip wire experience the morning we left because of catching our flight. It might also be worth mentioning that the volcano climb can be done on horseback. A lot of people were making use of these to take them up the trail so it could be an option for anyone unable to tackle the hike. I’m sending you some photos in a separate email. Again many thanks for all your planning which allowed two over 80 + year olds to have another adventure!!

What a wonderful kayaking trip in a beautiful group of PNG islands. The trip was expertly run by local guide Javith, his wife and excellent cook, Lisa and skilled boatman/fisherman, Levi. I experienced a perfect blend of kayaking, snorkeling and cultural experiences in these islands inhabited by the friendliest people you could imagine. This is a pristine kayaking destination with healthy coral reefs, providing a stunning snorkeling experience. I highly recommend this trip!

I had the most amazing time on my 10 day tour of Nicaragua. Pioneer created a perfect itinerary for me as a solo traveller, which allowed me to see all the highlights of the country and immerse myself in the culture. I visted the main cities of Leon and Granada, which involved lots of sightseeing, but I aso had the oportunity to make a piece of traditional Nicaraguan art with a local artist in Leon. I also did a home stay on Ometepe Island with a lovely Nicaraguan family, which allowed me to practise my Spanish and learn more about the local community/culture. I also stayed on the Corn Islands off the Caribean Coast of Nicaragua, which were pure paradise! Rafe and Teresa were both super helpful when orgnaising my trip and quick to respond to email queries and calls. I was disappointed at first that I wasn't on a group tour (as I was travelling alone)when I arrived in Granada, but my guides were all brilliant I didn't mind too much in the end. I found the gifts left for me in my first hotel room on the tour a nice personal touch, especially the Nicarguan rum, which went down a treat! Before I started this tour I'd been with another group on a yoga retreat in the jungle in the South Nicaraguan. I got ill there at the end of the week with a bad stomach. My tour guide when I arrived in Granada to start my trip was very helpful and went out of his way to take me to a Doctor. After the medication he prescribed I was right as rain again. Big thanks to all the team at Pioneer Expeditions for such a memorable trip!

Having met Laurenne a few years ago and then planned this holiday with Rafe a year ahead for a group of six of us, we had time to look forward to it in the knowledge that we were going to enjoy our wildlife adventures, but what an under-estimation that proved to be! The sheer number and variety of bird species we found, the diversity of forests and coastal environments, the incredible scenery, and the friendliness of everyone we met – it all came together to give us an absolutely wonderful holiday. Our guide, Martin, really enhanced our travels, not only with his knowledge of the birds and his ability to find them, but also his enthusiasm for his country and other fauna and flora. He was a careful driver and very attentive of our needs, plus spot on with his ideas for extra activities, and very good company too! A huge thank you to Pioneer Expeditions and their local agents