I would like to sincerely thank all of the team at Motmot for making my holiday in Dominica truly wonderful!!!!
My sister, Paula, celebrated her 42nd birthday in Dominica and said it was the best birthday she ever had! On her birthday, the 15th of November, we were in Portsmouth at The Champs Hotel. The owner, Lise, informed one of her staff that it was Paula’s birthday, unbeknown to us. In the evening after dinner, Lise and the staff, one who baked Paula’s birthday cake, and another staff member sang happy birthday to her while presenting her with the cake!
Lise and her husband are such gracious and kind hosts. They are very welcoming, approachable and kind. Lise and her husband are a very conscientious couple who do a lot for the community and who are passionate about the environment and community.
In Fort Young, our Oceanfront room was spectacular!!! Considering that this is a hotel that was damaged by hurricane Maria last year, the rooms, food and services in general were fantastic. The staff were very approachable and lovely and so thoughtful ( they had welcomed us with a bottle of champagne for Paula’s birthday).
Our driver/guide, Jenner Robinson’s son, Oneal, is a lovely young man. He is very knowledgeable about the history of Dominica, the best local places to eat and advised appropriately about the excursions. He was approachable, patient, kind and very likeable.
The variety of excursions gave us a real insight into Dominica. We are half Dominican, owing to our mum, and have been to Dominica twice before, but we had never seen as much of Dominica as we did this time! Dominica is truly a beautiful island. On this holiday we were able to fully appreciate the flora and fauna.
The excursions gave us an opportunity to be active some days (e.g. the Syndicate Trail and Scotts Head) and also relax on others (e.g. the whale watching, champagne beach and sulphur springs). I think the range of activities and free time is important whilst on holiday. Whilst it is nice to explore, learn about the culture and interact with the community, it is also important to have time to treat, rejuvenate and reflect. I think the balance was just right.
The service I received from Motmot was very professional. I felt safe and knew I had booked via an agency that had high standards based on the communication I received, the holiday package and reassurance over the phone.
Once again, on behalf of my sister and I, I would like to thank all of the team at Motmot for the amazing holiday.

Laura Clarke – November 2018

An excellent holiday in Trinidad & Tobago with good range of wildlife and fantastic scenery; ideal for both birders and those who have a more general interest in wildlife and the environment.

The scenery and wildlife – humming birds, red ibis, flamingoes, raptors, caymen, boas, turtles, lizards, tarantulas and more. The local guides were excellent; their knowledge and skills were outstanding and they went out of their way to help find that elusive bird! The ASA Wright Centre was our first experience of a Tropical Rain Forest and truly memorable. The hatching of turtles at Mount Plaisir was incredible.

It was fantastic to hear a member of staff at one of the hotels we stayed at telling all the other staff about a local guide and the amazing birds she had seen, having persuaded her to join us on an early morning birding outing; she was amazed by the guide’s knowledge and the sheer number of different birds.

We’ll definitely be recommending you to family and friends and look forward to using your services in the future!

Margaret Playle – June 2018

Anse Chastenet is a lovely place with rooms set in the hillside going up a floor level a time, the beach is not soft white sand but coarser volcanic material, not a huge concern but not as great as say, Barbados. Beach relaxing though is classy, great shades and seating with snorkelling, swimming and bar/restuarant all there, albeit down many quite steep staircases. We got the ‘best’ room in the house too, a wonderful top of the slope room with infinity pool, the only one with that!!…at tree-top level the balcony swept 180 degrees from jungle to pitons to ocean and was glorious. Bedroom comfortable, though a little noisy with fans on all the time, as no A/C., my Sue also found the night time chorus of tree frogs and others, almost too much…me I loved it, and the many birds I could spot too all the time. Food and restuarants were wonderful,breakfast especially….BUT could not drink wine as so prohibitively expensive at lowest £36 a bottle of vin ordinaire, and mega bucks for say sparkling Prosecco…nearly 100 !!…we drank beer…and lots of water!!

We then come to excursions…bird watching with Adams Toussant was a joy, he really bent over backwards and gave us a tour of the island virtually, lovely man. He took us second day, his tour guide ‘Vision’ a rasta, was great too…but kept us waiting 2 hours as he had gone to the wrong hotel!!…he found us some good birds for us and my Sue liked him hugely, but we were too late really to find the early birds!…Adams knew this and that is why he gave us the royal treatment on his day.
Clive Boon – June 2018

I would like to thank MotMot Travel for providing the most wonderful holiday ever.  From the moment we left Gatwick on BA, our welcome in Tobago, our stay at Blue Waters Inn, Mt Plaisir in Grand Riviere, and especially our stay at the Asa Wright Centre, were all perfect. I really have no fault with anything.  The whole trip went like clockwork, we never had to worry about anything, and it really was a birders dream holiday.  We saw 176 species of beautiful birds in the two weeks and so much of this was down to the superb guides that we had.  Newton George on Tobago, Nicholas at Mt Plaisir and Mahese at Asa Wright.  They all did their upmost to get us all the birds they could and in such a kind and patient way. 

Asa Wright is just a very special place for birders and I loved every minute of our time there.  Made complete for me by the constant supply of tea and coffee on the balcony!! 

It was great to meet the locals who helped at the places we went to who were so cheerful and helpful.  The food everywhere was superb which a lovely choice of cuisines to select from.  

To give the holiday a score of 10/10 does not really show how good it was but 1000/1000 might just do it !! 

We will certainly be looking to book more holidays with MotMot Travel (and we saw MotMots on Tobago and Trinidad J). 

Thank you so much for the most wonderful holiday.

Lesley and Ed Frizell – May 2018

I very much enjoyed the holiday. The guides/staff at Asa Wright were delightful, very helpful and knowledgeable. As a novice, I learnt a lot and was assisted with identifying the many birds seen.

The highlight was the Scarlet Ibis at Caroni Swamp. It was spectacular! Just wish we could have got closer for some better photos.

The food at Asa Wright was really good, if not too much, but I couldn’t resist the cakes and then the Rum Punch. Accommodation was comfortable too.

In Tobago, I was pleased that I had a meal plan and the food was ok.

The hotel room was very comfortable and the view of the bay and Litttle Tobago was delightful.

Unfortunately, I got a nasty cold during the latter part of the holiday which affected my enjoyment, but it couldn’t be helped. A few niggles but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, have learnt a lot and met some lovely people.

Thank you for providing such a peaceful holiday and to enable me to feel at one with nature!

Caroline Baker – March 2018

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Costa Rica, the places, the accommodation, the food and of course the birds.  Our guide was passionate, enthusiastic and great fun and our driver transported us around very carefully.

Nigel & Margaret Turner – March 2018

Some feedback on our trip. Everything was very well organised. The guide in Mexico (David Bacab) was brilliant, very experienced and flexible to our needs. He had a great driver who acted as provider of exceptional picnic lunches.

The selected hotels in Mexico were fine. As most hotels did not offer dinner we were taken to restaurants and had some good meals.

In Belize the Lodges were all very good with a variety of high quality food provided.

The guide, Jonathan Urbina, in Belize was also a great birder.  In discussion with him we did not go to Caracol site as it involved several hours of travel on bumpy roads and we had already seen many Mayan sites in Mexico. Instead we spent more time in the Hidden Valley area.

Wendy & John – March 2018

Just returned from an excellent holiday in Colombia. We saw nearly 400 species of birds over the 2 weeks. The hummingbirds, in particular, were lovely to see, in all their array of metallic colours. Perhaps the most enthralling sight and sound were the oilbirds emerging from their cave at dusk at Rio Claro. We loved the butterflies, and other insects, too. The number of species seen and their amazing colours and patterns kept us busy with our binoculars and cameras. The trip was a bit more ‘full-on’ than we had expected, after experiencing several other ‘MotMot’ holidays. We would have preferred to have had a bit more time to ourselves to observe the insects and plants, as well as birds.

Our guide, Manuel, though relatively inexperienced, did a great job in looking after us. He was always busy making sure we were happy. He kept us well supplied with snacks and drinks throughout our tour, making sure we liked the things that he bought. He was good at spotting, or hearing, birds and could identify most of them.   He was honest if he didn’t know what something was and then did his best to ID it later. We did think he sometimes overused Playback to attract the birds, but we think he felt under pressure to show us as many species as possible. We would have been happy just to wait and see what appeared.

The accommodation was generally good, though we preferred the lodges and character properties, rather than the standard hotels. Our hotel near the Cerulean Warbler Reserve and our cabin at El Dorado were amazing and we would have liked to stay at both for longer. The travel times between hotels was often more that quoted in the itinerary, for example, on Day 9, the drive to Ocana took 6 hours, much longer than we had anticipated. The itinerary would be better to concentrate on travel times and stops, rather than on lists of birds which we might see, many of which, we were informed by Manuel, were impossible to see.

Overall an excellent trip with a good guide.

Kevin and Jacki Solman – March 2018

Comments on our holiday to Jamaica, 26 February- 9 March 2018 

This was our first trip to Jamaica and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The accommodation and meals at the three main centres (Limetree, Greencastle and Mockingbird) were excellent. On the days we had early starts the packed breakfasts were more than adequate. The chef at Mockingbird cooked some of the best vegetarian food I have ever had.

Staff at our accommodation were very helpful and personable at all times, including the birding guides who were knowledgeable and patient and made sure that we did not miss anything. Local people were always friendly. At Greencastle we were the only guests after the first night and we enjoyed being pampered. Richard took me out one evening to look for owls – we heard plenty and saw one, but the Northern Potoos were more obliging. At Limetree Rodger took us on a couple of short walks that gave a broader perspective of the landscape and coffee industry. At Mockingbird one of the gardeners quickly invited us to see the “special” bird – the Potoo – and he followed this by taking us to see the local roosting owl.

Transfers between hotels and to and from the airport was well co-ordinated. The condition of the roads is very poor in places – the last three miles to Limetree took half an hour – and this could be highlighted more. In your advice you mention the effect of heavy rain, but in most areas the damage has been longer-lasting and attempts to patch things up are piecemeal.

The birding experiences were excellent and we got off to a good start at Limetree as dawn rose and the hummingbirds buzzed around the bottlebrush plant outside our room. However, I would take issue with some of the information provided. Hardwar Gap was definitely the best place to be close to the birds though I would be careful with a phrase like “Osprey soar overhead”. They did not. Greencastle has more variety because of the lake, access to the coast and the variety of trails, but it would be wrong to say that 27 of the 28 endemics are seen regularly. You need much patience in the forest and you have to work hard for the birds.

After Ecclesdown we arrived at Reach Falls but it was closed on a Monday. The raft ride was excellent and added new species though you have a better chance of seeing Caribbean Coot at Greencastle than on the Rio Grande.

We did get to Hellshire, but not to Hermitage Dam, though we did stop en route at some lagoons and at Hector’s River for White-tailed Tropicbirds. The latter is worth wider publicity since the birds can come very close. In retrospect the extra time taken to reach Hellshire was perhaps indulgent considering the heat of the afternoon and reduced chance of seeing the Bahama Mockingbird. Hellshire is a fascinating, arid environment but better explored in the early morning. We did see one, luckily.

We had very enjoyable and informative tours of the Bob Marley Museum and Devon House but there was not time to reach Hope Gardens. However, the campus at Mona Lodge has Yellow-billed Parrots and proved to be the easiest place to see them. Incidentally, in wandering around the university we chanced upon a student refectory and the staff were very happy to feed us. I did venture up to Mona Dam on our last morning and the lady at the gate allowed me in despite my not having a permit.

As for the birds, I saw 105 species during our stay, including all the endemics. I have mentioned the tropicbirds already, but you might wish to highlight the lake at Greencastle with its ducks, waders, and grebes, the Cave Swallows near to the entrance there, and the frequency of encountering wintering, North American warblers, now acquiring their colourful summer plumage. Lastly, we did see Ospreys – one over Limetree and another at Greencastle.

All in all, a very enjoyable holiday with an excellent itinerary. I am sure we shall use MotMot again. Alan Payne

Thank you we had a fabulous trip to Sri Lanka! A huge thank you too for my blue birthday cake and the wine. A platter of fruit was also delivered to our room which I think must also have come from Motmot.

Prasantha was a brilliant guide, really thoughtful and helpful.  He made everything go so smoothly, was very knowledgeable and great fun too.

We were upgraded on the first night as Goldi Sands was full. I can’t remember the name of the hotel but it was gorgeous. All the accommodation was great -the Hill Club was hilarious, like stepping back in time.

The hotel manager at Sinharaja took us down the hillside through his tea plantation  to swim in a mountain river which was lovely. Talking of tea plantation the tour was a bit underwhelming. The factory wasn’t processesing any tea as none had been picked the previous day which was a Sunday.

The staff at the Eagles Nest Cabanas were excellent and made our stay there very special.

The train was great fun and thank you for switching us to the 2nd class carriage it was a wonderful experience.

Whale watching has been a long held wish of mine – we were so lucky and saw lots!  I was so glad we were on a boat which respected the whales and didn’t get too close.

The safari at Yala was quite an experience!  Dozens of jeeps tearing around in a cloud of diesel fumes.

Washing an elephant was brilliant and it wasnt at all crowded so thanks again for switching that too.

All in all it was a truly memorable holiday so thank you so much. Ginny Crocks -March 2018

I had a great time in Antigua and Dominica. The travel plans went without incident – even down to the departure tax being prepaid! The Tamarind Tree hotel was a lovely place to stay. Small, clean and personal, very helpful staff and great hosts in Stephan and Annette. The Voluntourism package was a great way to experience Dominica, meet the local people, and contribute to restoration after hurricane Maria. I am recommending the holiday package and also Motmot Travel to my friends who are looking for a different type of Caribbean holiday experience. Thank you for your help with organising the trip. Mike Haley – March 2018

It was a really great trip to Costa Rica! An excellent itinerary, giving a good variety of places to stay to see birds in different habitats, and plenty of well-chosen places to stop off and see more birds en route between them. The hotels and lodges had varying degrees of “luxury” but I enjoyed them all and had no problems with food or facilities anywhere. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and had a gift for making the whole trip a lot of fun even though he kept us very busy! The driver was excellent too; not all the roads were good, some being very rough indeed, but none of us had a single nervous moment in all the time he was driving. Overall a fantastic trip and if I could I’d happily go back to any of those places tomorrow! Jim Prior – Feb 2018

We had a wonderful time in Jamaica thank you. More specifically:

Lime Tree Farm we thought most enjoyable. We were made very welcome by Rodger who took us on a great expedition to the Cinchona gardens – really interesting but rough 2 hours each way, but a simply wonderful spot once we got there. On another day – Colin was also an excellent Birder. The girls looked after us very well.

Sussex Great House was very comfortable and once again we were made very welcome by David & Ellie. Our stay was a little spoilt by the dreadful weather we had there. Simply not possible to venture out onto the Estate due to the amount of rain. Wendy Lee however took us Birding on the road and the next day to Cockpit Country – where it was drier.

Mocking Bird Hill was a lovely hotel. The situation and the garden were very special. Again our visit was a little spoilt by the horrid weather. Warm but very grey and again lots of rain. We had a good Birding trip (between the showers) with Roger (not the same Roger as Lime Tree Roger!)

We think we are fated by weather in the West Indies – managed 3 holidays in all and torrential rain has spoilt each of  them. Every time we are told it is “extremely unusual for the time of year”!

Only other comment would be that we really liked the island of Jamaica and would have wished for some time in Kingston – with the benefit of hindsight – we would have liked to stop the first night in Kingston. Then visited Bob Marley’s house, the Hope Botanic gardens and Devon House for an “i-scream” and then travelled up to the Blue Mountains in the daylight – not in the dark after a 10 hour flight.

Thanks again for making all the arrangements – Susie Jerman – Feb 2018

I had a wonderful trip to Costa Rica, albeit exhausting, I need a holiday now to get over it!!
The guide and driver were excellent, so much so, that on recommending the holiday I would tell people to ensure to get Abelardo as the guide. The Hotel Bougainvillea was excellent, and the gardens a delight. Selva Verde was good, what I expected  although the weather was incredible (rain!) . The guide somehow managed to work around it and it didn’t spoil the trip at all. Sevegre was a lovely spot, I loved the fire in the rooms. It was looking a little tired (the enamel in my bath was flaking), but the spa was top notch (I had a massage). Macaw Lodge was the icing on the cake for me, I would have loved to stay at least another day. Wonderful place, the food was fabulous. Ensenada was a bit rustic for me, however the setting was out of this world. The food was very canteen style (as is Selva Verde, but they managed it with a bit more panache) and caused me concern. It just wasn’t my sort of place. I don’t think the others in the party felt the same. I think being a woman on my own didn’t help. Going back to Hotel Bougainvillea was wonderful, I felt I could sleep, relax and not worry about bugs!!

Reading this back it seems highly critical, but I had a wonderful holiday with a great group of people. Chris Chapman – Feb 2018

Excellent holiday in Tobago. No hitches at all. All accommodations very very good. The guides on our tours/pick ups were all courteous, knowledgable and helpful. A special mention for Susan Ramrattan, who as well as giving us the security of a readily available contact, was extremely helpful, and an absolute delight to meet and talk to. Ian Connell January 2018

We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and summarise a few points which may help others.

Anse Chastenet was excellent – enjoyed the beach and snorkelling in addition to birding sessions.

Asa Wright was very good – guides in particular excellent. We had concerns re food – in particular the rush at 7pm on the sound of the gong. We arrived from the airport at 7.15 – not much food left! Also one day out seeing ibis arrived back 7.15 – most of food gone and rest was cold! It seemed to happen every day with arrivals and late returns from trips – just needs looking at and can easily be improved. Please convey this as an objective comment to help them improve this aspect.

Tobago – very enjoyable – guides very good – Magdalena hotel fine as only 20 per cent occupied. Had seen better days in parts and golf course also needed better maintenance. If others considering hotel – swimming in sea not possible on Atlantic side of island. Free transfer to Pigeon Point for swimming – calm seas which we did one day. Saw Blue Waters with guide – looked very good. Roger Cottell Jan 2018

We had a marvellous trip and we will certainly travel with you again.  The rainforest certainly lived up to its name at times, but this brought out the frogs etc and the covered walkways at Selva Verde allowed us to see plenty of things even during the downpours.  We are now thinking in terms of a return to Costa Rica in February or early March next year to get some drier weather and to see birds and wildlife of all kinds. The Bougainvillea Hotel was really good, and we would anticipate starting our trip with a couple of nights there.  We thought the format of our trip was exactly right – with just a few organised outings and with plenty of time for us to choose for ourselves what to do.  We wouldn’t want to be in a party with pre-organised trips early and late every day.  We very much enjoyed the fact that the 4 hotels/lodges we stayed in were located in such extensive grounds that we could easily wander about by ourselves when we wished.   Philip & Sheila Burgess Jan 2018

Thank you for organising another memorable holiday. All went like clockwork. No complaints at all.  The driver, Prashanta had good knowledge of Sri Lankan wildlife. We spotted around 100 bird species without really trying too hard + 20 mammals.  He drove safely throughout, spoke good English, and was amiable & helpful. He was particularly helpful with suggesting & implementing changes to the itinerary.  This enabled us to do more of what we wanted to do, which really made a difference to the holiday. 

As a general comment, the estimated journey times between venues were under-estimates, at least at the time of day that the journey occurred. You can add at least an hour to most of them.  The distances are not great, but the ever present tuctucs, bikes, cows etc make the travel slow.  In my opinion,  doing a full circuit of the island in two weeks would be arduous.  It might be better to work up tour programmes based on just North or just South Sri Lanka or Highland Sri Lanka. 

The Wallawwa

Excellent colonial hotel, good food, wonderful beds, exceptional staff. No complaints. Ideal for a 1 or 2 day stay. 

Rascals 

Something of a marmite place. My son said it was his favourite hotel on the island because it was relaxed & laid back. Personally I felt the staff were laid-back to the point of indifference.  If you want to do kite-surfing it is a fantastic place.  If you don’t then there is a swimming pool & not much else. We enjoyed attempting to kite surf, but the recommended course is three day minimum….so it is a lot harder than wind-surfing or other water-sports. 

Wild Wadi 

Only just opened, with a touch of the building-site about it,  this is a very small hotel – only four rooms, and I think it will be some time before they can build more. I had the impression that they didn’t see Europeans very often, and were a bit unsure what to do with us! Curry for breakfast was a new experience for me, which is why we travel. There were troupes of langur & macaque monkeys frequently in the hotel that added to it’s interest & the adjoining farm had elephant watches out.  Wilpattu reserve is not far away from here, and I think the hotel will make a brilliant base for exploring Wilpattu, especially if they finish the planned lake / pond near the restaurant. 

Wilpattu 

Loved it. Changed agenda to spend longer here. Leopard, elephant, three deer & sloth bear sighted. Not as quiet as I expected – approx. 20 jeeps chasing one leopard at one point. 

Trincomalee Cinnamon Blu 

Big international hotel, everything you’d expect with fantastic pool, excellent buffet. 

Pigeon Island 

Loved it. My son saw his first shark. 

Whale watching 

Not possible. Whales had moved 40 miles off shore a week or two earlier. This was a disappointment, but they a free creatures & not obliged to fit our agenda. Did dolphin watching instead & saw dozens of spinner dolphins. 

Habarana Cinnamon Village 

My wife’s favourite hotel due to the lovely wooded grounds & rich birdlife. Paradise flycatcher outside bedroom, giant golden squirrels at breakfast, grey langurs on the roof etc. We thought the staff here were especially good & seemed very comfortable with tourists. Excellent international buffet again. 

TucTuc Tour 

This was fun, but could be shortened from 3 hours to two hours.  Found star tortoises. 

Minneriya National Park 

Loved it. Saw over 100 elephants 

Kaudulla National Park 

Another additional tour suggested by our driver. Lovely quiet park, only saw a handful of other jeeps. Nice for bird watching & loads of elephants. 

Galadari Hotel 

International hotel in Colombo. Very elegant restaurant on top.  We didn’t think a lot of Colombo old town, building work everywhere, hot & dusty. Our white (red) faces were something of a magnet for the local touts. I wouldn’t stay in town centre again, it’s not worth fighting through the traffic for. 

Overall View 

With all extras, the full two week holiday for four persons came to £13,000.  I think this is good value for money for the richness of the experience that we had & distances involved. A “private driver / guide” for two weeks is particularly impressive.  If I’m honest, I was a little disappointed with the islands natural beauty. 90% of what we drove through was subsistence farmland, which reminded me somewhat of Barbados, where there are too many people in one finite island. Possibly I might get a different impression if I headed into the highlands. I may also have been spoilt by my trip to Costa Rica with you last year which was such a wonderful country for natural beauty. 

In conclusion, we had a wonderful fascinating family holiday through MotMot, and we thank you for your efforts in organising this. 

Roland Huggett – July 2017

It was a fantastic trip and superbly well organised.  Our driver Prashantha was very friendly, helpful and extremely knowledgeable. He was (which was a surprise) one of the top birders in Sri Lanka.  If you do send further clients or a group to Sri Lanka for birding or wildlife, you should insist on him as the driver/local leader. 

The two Jetwing Hotels (Negombo and Yala) were marvellous and can be highly recommended as can Boulder Lodge.  Although Boulder is somewhat basic, it more than makes up for any lack of amenities because of its amazing setting.  The steps up to the eating area can be a bit of a challenge  for less abled persons! 

The only slight disappointment was Eden Hotel and Spa but we were only there for one night.  Perhaps we were somewhat spoilt by Jetwing Yala Hotel, with its spacious rooms and wonderful food.  The bedroom and bathroom at Eden were fairly small and the dining area was cramped and noisy. 

The birds were fantastic and Prashantha knew where to find them.  I would consider going again to find a few more endemics perhaps in different areas. 

Sri Lanka is lovely and all the people very friendly and are always smiling.

Lawrence Hurst – Oct 2017 

We all very much enjoyed the trip and would like to thank the MotMot staff who arranged such a varied experience for us and who gave us help and advice before the trip.

We hope that the following comments and observations will provide some useful feedback.

General

The holiday was well organised and enjoyable and everyone kept well. The food was excellent throughout and the staff in the various places we stayed looked after us well and ensured we drank only bottled or filtered water.

The standard of the accommodation was on the whole very good. The guides were very knowledgeable about local wildlife, especially birds and also very informative about the culture and most had good English. The drivers were excellent and both guides and drivers were extremely helpful and attentive to our needs. The wildlife guides were very good at spotting birds and at quickly focussing their telescopes on their findings. They all made sure wherever possible that everyone in the group saw the birds. The only slight criticism was the tendency of some guides to play phone recordings of bird calls too frequently and too loudly. The use of phones by some guides to record sightings of birds and send them to us was very useful. We liked the Guatemalan sense of humour, probably because it was similar to our own.

The flights all went well. Security when in transit through the USA was prolonged, but this was anticipated.

Accommodation

Hotel Meson de Maria in Antigua was comfortable and convenient with a nice ambiance. The local guide was excellent and gave us just the right amount of information.

Finca Los Tarrales was excellently situated and comfortable with good local guides and an abundance of birds and other wildlife.

Casa del Mundo in Lake Atitlan was adequate with nice views of the lake but walks around and from the hotel were restricted and the communal layout of the outside seating areas made it feel crowded. The boat ride across the lake to the hotel was very rough and bumpy owing to windy conditions, so was not ideal for anyone prone to back problems. The other boat trips from Casa del Mundo were less rough and we all sat on the spare life vests which cushioned the bumps. The rooms were reached only after a steep climb involving many steps up from the jetty and so would be unsuitable for people with mobility issues. The evening meal was served communally on one large table and so was very noisy. Although it was comfortable, we felt on balance that this was the least suitable accommodation of the six for us.

We found the visits to the market and seeing the textile production fascinating.

Nitun Eco-lodge. We travelled by car as the lake was too rough for a boat crossing and were the only residents there which was very nice. The lodge was beautifully designed in a superb location with excellent hosts and beautiful food. There were humming bird feeders around the open air restaurant which was an added attraction. One drawback was the large number of steps up from the jetty which were very slippery after rain. We were warned very carefully about them by the hosts, but these could cause problems for people with mobility issues. The showers themselves worked well, but the design made getting in and especially getting out quite hazardous. We mentioned this to the hosts who are already addressing the problem.

Black Rock Lodge. I think we enjoyed this one the most. The situation is spectacular and the accommodation and food were very good. The guides were excellent and there were plenty of great birds and other wildlife to see. The manager even came to find us so that we could see a rare raptor which a guide had spotted. .

Singing Sands. Again a very nice location, very different from the rest with good food, and great snorkelling on Laughing Bird Caye. In our opinion the design of the rooms could be improved as there was no self-contained bath room /toilet, the open plan toilet being located behind a low wall behind the bed which would not suit everyone.

We hope these comments are helpful. One final comment. At the Belize border, we saw a notice which stated that absolutely no alcohol or food was to be brought in. Perhaps people need to be warned of this. We had finished all our whisky by then and as the price of whisky in Belize was very high we went on to sample the Rum!

Again, many thanks for organising such an enjoyable, diverse and fascinating trip.

Leo and Angela Batten and Richard and Julia Porter – November 2017

It’s been a really good holiday and we were both very happy with the itinerary.  The group was good, the accommodation super, and the guiding excellent.  We saw over 300 species of birds, 18 mammals and lots of other wildlife.  This sort of info is probably not much good to you so I’d better find some constructive criticism.  This in no way implies that we were unhappy with the holiday but I’ll try to go through things in more detail.

Canopy Tower – the accommodation is basic and the rooms are not at all soundproof.  We knew this before we went so it was no surprise.  We learned to whisper in our rooms as you can hear everything people say next door.  The single best thing was our guide, Carlos.  He is quite simply the best guide we have ever had.  Immensely enthusiastic and excellent at finding tricky birds.  He had the telescope on them in a flash, made sure we had all seen the bird then grabbed our iPhones and took pictures down the scope.  I tried doing this and was useless at it.  He does it in not time at all.  He has excellent English, a great sense of humour, and is sensitive to the feelings of the group, knowing when we’ve had enough.  The holiday would not have been the same without him.  The other guides were pleasant and seemed very good but they were not Carlos!  The food was good and we loved the observation platform on the top.  Excursions to neighbouring sites were all very good.

Canopy Lodge – Carlos was with us here but missed the last afternoon as he had to go back to Panama.  The accommodation here of course is a lot posher and the room was huge.  Food again was good.  The photographers appreciated the bird tables which were regularly stocked with fruit and attracted lot of different species.  Joy swam in the pool which was rather nice but I don’t think anybody else did.  Trips to surrounding areas were good.

Tranquillo Bay – I think it could be made more obvious that this is not a “beach” resort and is totally fringed with mangroves, so swimming is just really off the jetty where the boats are moored.  Perhaps not quite the lazy end of holiday that we’d expected, but having said that, it’s a super place and snorkelling over the coral reef was nice and could be done in the rain.  Accommodation was lovely and there were lots of birds in the grounds.  The two guides, Ramon and Natalia are two of the nicest people you could meet and really made us welcome.  Good birding guides but not quite at Carlos’ level but there again we didn’t expect that.  The owners are nice people and Jim’s wife Renee was really helpful printing off our boarding passes etc.  I was rather pleased there was a moth light (and at Canopy Tower) as I trap moths at home.   Food was good and was served direct on the plate rather than the buffet system at the other resorts.  That was fine for us – we eat anything – but some of the others weren’t quite so happy.  The photographers (two keen ones in the party) seemed a little disappointed that there weren’t more bird feeders and they had to hunt for the birds a bit.  We felt the owners could have provided the guides with a telescope.  Canopy Tower and Lodge are positively bristling with scopes.  Two long day trips out were good, however it does rain a lot here and the boats have very limited shelter.  They are not up to the job.  On our trip to the Snyder Canal the first hour or so was great and we saw all sorts.  It then bucketed down for several hours and we got very very wet.  When we were ferried to the airport at Bocas on the last day it was raining and we ended up wearing our raincoats with the addition of black dustbin bags all over us.  Quite a sight!

Carlos was very happy with November and said it was good for migrants – which is of course correct.  There is the risk however that it might rain.  Luckily at the first two locations it rained at night and at lunchtime and rarely bothered us.

We’ll certainly consider future Motmot tours – Charles Fletcher

We had a great holiday in Trinidad and Tobago and everything went like clockwork.
The Hacienda Jacana was lovely and we much enjoyed our stay there.  Our villa was beautifully situated overlooking the lake and grounds, and we were welcomed with a delicious dinner.  We were SO GLAD that we had not been able to book in at Asa Wright!  We did spend the day there but it poured with rain all day so we were confined to the verandah.  OK the birds were lovely, but we thought the rooms very inferior to the Hacienda and the lunch was pretty awful, very little choice of mains and ending in a disgusting coconut blancmange.  The trails were steep and very slippery in the rain.  We, on the other hand, were given splendid dinners at the Hacienda and all the ingredients for breakfast and lunch which we had at our leisure, and it was lovely walking around the Hacienda grounds.  We felt we had really lucked out in not being able to stay at Asa Wright!     

Our trip to Tobago also went very well.  Susan and Pancho (car hire) met us at the airport on arrival and Susan gave us a quick resume on driving in Tobago.  Blue Waters was lovely and the staff friendly and helpful.  Susan was a little concerned about our departure time as there had been a big musical event in Tobago and she was worried that the flight might be delayed, cancelled or that we might be bumped off, so she managed with difficulty to get us on an earlier flight.  She met us at the airport (on a Sunday!) and it was all down to her that we did get the earlier flight.  Pancho also arranged for a friend to drive our car to the airport so we did not have any of the hassle of handing over the car, which was brilliant.   Both Sue and Pancho could not have been more helpful and we are very grateful to them. 

All in all, it was a really good holiday and many thanks for all the arrangements. Heather Taggart Nov 2017

We would like to say that we had the most fantastic trip to Trinidad – from 11th to 17th November booked through Mot Mot travel. I found Mot Mot travel on the internet and I have to say that the service and attention that we got from your company was truly brilliant.  My husband and I usually book our holidays independently but for Trinidad we decided to use Mot Mot as we were unsure of what to expect in Trinidad.  Krista from Anise Hotel and Spa kept in touch with us regarding our reservation and informed us that Ronald their driver would meet us at Piarco airport.  Unfortunately our flight was delayed by 4 hours but Ronald was still there waiting for us with such a smile – this put us at ease straight away.  What an experience we had at Anise Hotel. The service and comfort was second to none and we couldn’t rate the staff highly enough.  They organised bird watching trips, walking trips and a wonderful day at Yerette hummingbird sanctuary.  There is so much to do in Trinidad that we must return again.  It was with a sad heart that we had to leave…

Thank you again for the most wonderful time. Ian & Anne Brown – Nov 2017

We had an absolutely wonderful holiday in Trinidad & Tobago.

– The rainforest tour with Jason was excellent. He is very knowledgeable and passionate about Tobago’s wildlife. He is a fantastic guide, and is also responsive to the needs and interests of clients.

– The bioluminescence kayaking night tour with Duane was also fantastic and unique. I recommend his snorkelling trip too (which we booked independently while we were there). The trip is 3 hours and he snorkels with clients so that you have a much better knowledge of the fish and coral which you are seeing.

– My son did his PADI license at Blue Water, and he loved it! Again excellent knowledge and a very safe environment.

– All the accommodation was great, but our big disappointment, was that Turtle Beach resort did not have water sports as advertised. There is now a dive centre on site (which also offers snorkelling) but this was only open once in the whole week we were there. It would be useful to warn your clients about this. We were expecting non-motorised and motorised water sports for our teenage sons! The gorgeous beach was enough though to keep us busy and happy!

– The sargassum did not worry us. The beach at Blue Water was cleaned every day and it was possible to swim. The sargassum only become much denser when there was a storm, but again it was still possible to swim. However many of the beaches on the Atlantic side were covered in it.

– All other tours and taxi drivers were great and very reliable…Lesley (who also took us shopping), Wayne, Leroy. Susan was very helpful as a rep in Tobago.

I also want to thank Karen and all the staff at MotMot. Your advice and recommendations were incredibly useful and we really appreciated the efficient and honest support we received. Both Andy and I also appreciate your responsible approach to tourism and supporting local people’s livelihoods. We were pleased that all the hotels, tours etc were locally owned and generate resources for the local economy.

Thanks again!

Alana Dave and family

Extremely happy with our guide/driver Abelardo. He looked after us ‘oldies’ very well, was very thoughtful, helpful and considerate at all times. His enthusiasm for wildlife and birds in particular was obvious from the start and he was anxious that we should enjoy it as well. He ensured that we had good views of the birds, not just a fleeting glance of a backside disappearing at speed, but was incredibly patient and made sure all of us had a good view through his scope or mine (whenever possible).  He is a credit to his country and I sincerely hope we will be able to meet up again with him at the Bird Fair in August  – he has a wonderful sense of humour and his command of the English Language is amazing – the perfect guide. 

Macaw Lodge, was our favourite – peaceful,  immaculately kept gardens, upstairs rooms that overlooked the lake, delicious food and a welcoming host, Jessica. The facilities were much appreciated – hot showers, comfy beds, cooling fans, just a shame we were only there for 2 nights.

Overall we both enjoyed our holiday, Costa Rica was an amazing experience, one that will linger long in the memory – a beautiful country which we hope will remain that way and not be over developed. 

Thank you for your help and advice in the lead up to our birding break. 

Sandy & Gerry Studd

We thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Costa Rica, I have made a few comments below:

1.  Hotel Bougainvillea – a wonderful place to start and finish the trip.  We liked the relaxed atmosphere of the hotel and it was lovely to have the beautiful gardens to walk around.
2. Selva Verde Lodge – a lovely lodge, although it was a shame we stayed somewhere on the side of the main road (not that we were affected by any noise). We did think that three nights here would have been enough and would have dropped the excursion to Cinco Ceibas Reserve, although the boardwalk was a different experience we felt we weren’t there at the right time of the day to see much wildlife.
3. La Ensenada Lodge – another lovely relaxing place to stay and we spent the right amount of time here.
4. Macaw Lodge – beautiful lodge which would have benefitted from an extra night
5. Savegre Hotel – another beautiful location, although there were lots of guests here this was only apparent at meal times (the meals were delicious), we loved the gardens and there were plenty of places to walk to.

We thought Aberlado was a fantastic guide, so enthusiastic and genuinely thrilled to be able to show us the wonderful birds and wildlife his country has to offer.  It was also nice to meet Serge at the beginning and end of the trip.  We thoroughly enjoyed Shona’s company too.

Anyway, many thanks to Motmot for putting together such an enjoyable trip!!

Caroline & Robin Simpson

Thank you for arranging such a wonderful tour to Costa Rica. Everything about it was superb! The hotels/lodges were great, the itinerary was well thought out, the group size was ideal, the locations chosen were fascinating and diverse and the range of birds and wildlife we were lucky enough to see was amazing.
Of course the whole trip can be ruined if the guide is not up to scratch! This was certainly not the case with Abelardo. He was great at spotting and identifying birds and his obvious joy when exciting new sightings appeared was boundless (“Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!” was the cry!) and this enthusiasm was infectious. Abelardo always worked hard, was available to help or answer questions at all times and he guided us at a leisurely pace so we never felt rushed at each destination. He has a permanent smile on his face and is a lovely human being!

I visited Costa Rica ten years ago but I really wanted to go back again on a small group tour to see more birds, mammals etc. and this trip was exactly what I had been waiting for, especially with the new direct flights to San Jose. THANK YOU! Beryl White – March 2017

A fuller review with a more detailed account of each venue appears on ‘Trip Reports’

Just to let you know that we both thoroughly enjoyed our recent trip to Costa Rica.  All the accommodation was excellent, with good food and facilities.  All transfers worked perfectly and our driver, Esteban, was a very good, safe driver and fun to be with.  He even spotted some interesting birds en route and was always happy to stop. Our guide Aberlardo was brilliant.  He was not only an excellent bird guide, but also informed us about many aspects of life in Costa Rica.  He made sure that everyone on the tour was happy and getting great views of all the wildlife.  He was very enthusiastic and always had a smile on his face. We would recommend this trip, without reservation, to other wildlife enthusiasts. Kevin and Jacki Solman – March 2017

I had a wonderful holiday. Loads of lovely birds, very nice hotels, transfers all worked well, and I met some interesting people. So thank you!

My highlights were probably Little Tobago and the tropic birds, the scarlet ibis fly in, and the Asa Wright centre. What a amazing place:  all those hummingbirds and honeycreepers.

Both Blue Waters and Mount Plaisir are lovely hotels with gorgeous locations. Pax didn’t have that. But the food was excellent at Pax I thought. They’re smart enough to simply provide one set starter for everyone, and then a buffet. So all freshly made, tasty food.

The only disappointing day was the Nariva swamp day. My guide was a young man who was nice, but I felt he was at a bit of a loss as to what to do with me. We drove up and down the road with the coconut palms and spotted a couple of hawks, then drove around a village off the road and that was it. I think he’d run out of ideas. His area of expertise  was Caroni swamp apparently, not Nariva. I asked about the red bellied macaws and he was very vague about what our chances might be or where we might see them. Luckily, we bumped into a group from Asa Wright who pointed us to an old US airfield and indeed we did see macaws fly in. But I felt the day could have been much more rewarding. I’d have happily paid for a permit to go into the reserve on the swamp, if I’d known about it. (And there was certainly no lunch on the beach!)

I should add that I very much enjoyed the birding with Newton George. He clearly prides himself on being the best!

I completely forgot to mention we saw leatherback turtles come to lay their eggs on the beach at Mount Plaisir. How could I have forgotten that? An absolute highlight! Wonderful. Jenny Craddock – March 2017

We have just returned from our trip to Trinidad and Tobago and would like to thank you for organising the most wonderful experience. Every thing lived up to our expectations and in many cases surpassed them.

The accommodation at Hacienda Jacana was lovely set in the most beautiful grounds over looking a lake. The owners Helen and Jessie and brother Simon could not do enough for us. It was a most magical way to start our holiday feeling secure and seeing so many birds on the first day. Our guide Dave Ramail was excellent and we were thrilled with the Caroni Swamp and the Nariva Swamp and of course the sight of the Scarlet Ibis and Red-bellied Macaws was spectacular. We did not want to leave Hacienda and stayed on the leaving day for as long as we could.

Asa Wright was our next stop. What an amazing place. It certainly gave our photographers hours of pleasure trying to capture the best humming bird shot ever taken! Also our trip to see the Oil birds was made even more exciting by nearly stepping on a deadly snake the Fer delance! Good guiding prevented any problem.

Our flight to Tobago was easy and we were welcomed by Susan at the airport and taken to a luxury taxi driven by the very entertaining Lesley. The lovely hotel at Blue Waters gave us more thrilling experiences. Our guide Newton George was amazing . What a privilege to be with such a man. The around Island bird tour was just so enjoyable that I find it hard to describe as was the boat trip to little Tobago.

I do not want to spoil this letter with any negative things but just a few might be helpful to you in the future when advising clients  and arranging trips.

It might be worth telling people that long sleeved shirts and trousers are useful at Asa Wright to prevent chiggers biting.

However I want this letter to be a thank you for organising a most wonderful experience and for giving us memories that we will never forget.

We will be recommending Mot Mot travel to all our friends and encouraging them to contact you in the future.
Marie and Robert Lovatt and David and Pauline Ellison – April 2017

Loved the trip to Guatemala and Belize! Generally excellent itinerary – fantastic range of different habitats.  There are some moments that will stay with me for a long time including Night Jars flying directly at us, King Vultures alongside a waterfall and an aerial display from Ospreys which I could happily have watched for ages.  Passionate guides, very knowledgeable, patient with my failure to identify repeat birds and expert with the scope!  I have returned with a keen desire to do more.

The following might be useful – they are observations not complaints.

Personally I could have done without the visit to the market – suffered rather than enjoyed, because of the crowds.  Was asked if I had a head torch for an evening walk in Tikal – would have taken one if I had been advised to do so. Had an ordinary torch – that bordered on essential in some of the lodges.  If / when I do a second trip I shall be more aware of the amount of standing required – it caught me out on a couple of days.

The journey back was disrupted – Delta explained the original delay leaving Belize but assured me that I would make the connection at Atlanta – I didn’t believe them and was correct. However, I arrived  home only three hours later than expected and my baggage arrived at 10.30 that night.  All part of the travelling experience – I’ve certainly had worse.  

Thanks so much for putting the itinerary together – Diana Hayden – Feb 2017

Our Costa Rica holiday was 23 Feb to 10 March. Overall, a super holiday with no problems. Guide Abelardo was very enthusiastic, and adapted to the required pace of birding.

Selva Verde Lodge: we loved the grounds and various walks we could do, and the fact that we stayed in one place for 4 nights. The only downside here was that the cabins were near the main road which is not so good for light sleepers like my husband!

Paraiso Quetzqal: we were not prepared for such cold temperatures at night. Cabin had spectacular view although quite a trek down hillside .. and back up again. Saw 4 Quetzals!!!

Macaw Lodge: Fabulous place – the buildings, the grounds, the food. Good to see fruit and veg being grown there. Could have stayed longer.

La Ensenada: Beautiful setting overlooking the Gulf and peninsular beyond. Saw some very good birds here.

Hotel Bougainvillea: first and last nights. Superb grounds, enjoyed room overlooking garden on first night.

Thanks to all at Motmot for a holiday that suited us perfectly – Caroline Quirk

Costa Rica was a fantastic experience. I thought the trip was very well planned as we visited a really interesting variety of habitats. Abelard was an excellent guide, knowledgeable, immensely enthusiastic, very good at looking out for people and with an extraordinary grasp of the English language. Selva Verde was very interesting, Paradise Quetzal, despite being really cold (you could perhaps warn people more about this) was a superb place. I think we all agreed we preferred it to the other option in this area. Macaw Lodge was just beautiful and Ensenada although quite basic was in a wonderful area and I think probably my personal favourite. Thank you so much. l would certainly recommend this trip to anyone. Helen Cooper – February 2017

Thank you for organising our trip to Cuba, which was very interesting and enjoyable. 

As comments we would say that logistics and transfers were prompt and efficient, and the drivers very good. Cuba Incentives arrangements were a little less efficient.

As we arrived we were met and after some discussion we were told we were not booked in to the Hotel Valencia, but Hotel Beltran. This in itself was fine, as the hotel was interesting and well located in Old Havana, and the staff very helpful. We were not provided with vouchers for onward arrangements, but in discussion with the agent, and after borrowing the drivers copies we were ok. 

The  hotel La Moka was pleasant but quite busy and Las Terrazas very touristy. In Vinales we were lodged in Villa Haydee Chiroles,  and found it very poor: it was extremely noisy, on a main road, and with building work immediately over our heads, including angle grinders, chain saws and hammering, and with surrounding cockerels. The owner was quite offhand and dismissive. We arranged a local bird guide who was very helpful. 

Cayo Levisa was very pleasant and relaxing, and the staff and service and rooms  were very satisfactory. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great and one snorkelling trip called off, and  another rather spoilt with murky water – but that couldn’t be helped. 

Transfer to Havana again was efficient, and Hotel Valencia was very characterful and good, and the staff particularly helpful. The room well-appointed and location fine. We didn’t manage to sample the Paella, unfortunately. 

Overall we enjoyed and valued our stay, and the people we met were delightful. We would recommend the trip to photographers and bird watchers, but as warned it was not a 5* luxury holiday in terms of accommodation and local organisation (but we were not expecting that). 

Thank you once again for your help and for organising our trip. It was overall a very interesting experience and we found your service excellent. Michael Bamford – March 2017

We chose T&T on the recommendation of birding friends. We chose Motmot because we liked the look of their website, their prices, and the swift and helpful response we got from them (Shona contacted me literally within 5 minutes of my placing an enquiry via Responsible Travel).

I explained that although I am a birder my wife, Linda, isn’t (although she describes herself as “a birder by osmosis”) so we wanted a mixture of good birding and relaxation. Shona quickly put together a suggested package which we then tweaked and finally agreed. All the arrangements from that point to arrival back at Gatwick at the end of our holiday went without a hitch. All our transfers happened on time and all our guides turned up at the appointed hour.

Blue Waters Inn, Tobago

A good comfortable hotel with all rooms opening onto the beach, an excellent restaurant and bar with generally friendly staff, although the reception staff could probably have done a little more to connect us with our guides; I found I had to chase them for information (the exception here is Troy, our guide for little Tobago, who came and sought us out on the beach to make arrangements).

Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad

Wow! We knew it would be good but it exceeded all expectations. We loved the friendliness of the guides and dining room staff, although reception staff could be difficult to track down at times. We liked the whole atmosphere of the place with everyone eating together and of course the birds; even Linda couldn’t be prised off the verandah at times. Charon was our guide for trips out to Caroni Swamp and Nariva and he found some really good birds for us; his knowledge of bird calls helping us to wheedle out some of the more skulking individuals.

Anise Spa, Sans Souci

A little gem of an hotel owned and run by Krista and Shervin. We were welcomed by Krista and Donna with a fruit punch while Neville spirited our bags up to our room and our meals were prepared and served by Margaret and her staff. There was only one other couple at the hotel while we were there so we got very personal service and we began to feel like part of the family. We liked the village of Sans Souci mainly because it gave us a taste of the “real” Trinidad, warts and all; like any community it has its traders, its characters and the odd bit of graffiti, mostly political, but everyone we met was genuinely friendly. Be aware though that Sans Souci is a relatively isolated community so apart from the pool and the beach there is little else unless you choose, as we did, to book a tour from the hotel.

Overall a super holiday. Peter Sadler – March 2017

I had a wonderful time in Dominica – it is a very beautiful island – just my kind of destination – absolutely perfect – All the places you arranged for me to stay in worked well – Dr Birdy was definitely worth booking – I had a great time with him in Syndicate – didn’t see the Sisserou so I will have to go back !!

The Champs looked after me well – all the transfers worked well too –

Guava Cottage at Citrus Creek was ideal – they looked after my veggie needs in the restaurant & sold me some eggs & veg to prepare my own lunches – I did excursions with Asha the guide they use to Victoria Falls, Glassy Point, to Zion to meet Moses James, Sari Sari, Freshwater and Boeri Lakes, Trafalgar and Emerald Pools – he was great – very helpful –

I loved the setting at Crescent Moon too – Ron and Jean were very friendly & helpful – The food is very good – Ron is a good cook and caters well for vegetarians – if however you are a small eater like me you do end up with a fairly large food bill – you have to have the set 3 course dinner – I ended up paying US $254 incl 15%VAT for 5 dinners inc a glass of wine, one lunch, a packed lunch – and a few beers – I did tours for 2 days (Middleham Falls & Soufriere) with David their son-in-law who is very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna and very helpful – he spotted some of the birds I had missed at Syndicate –

There was a bit of a hiccup over the room booked at Cocoa Cottages – Iris did arrange a booking for a whale watching tour (didn’t see anything not even dolphins !! but it was a nice boat trip) and put me in contact with a driver to take me there and back and who I arranged tours with independently – he took me back up to Syndicate (still didn’t see the Sisserou) and the Kalinago territory –

When I didn’t have transport I walked – mainly from The Champs, Citrus Creek and Cocoa Cottages –

As you can see I covered a lot of the island and had a great time – it’s a very friendly island and I would recommend it to independent solo travellers –

Thank you all at MotMot for all the arranging – your side went very smoothly and efficiently – Janet Ludlow March 2017

We have just returned from an amazing 19 night tour of Guatemala and we are very grateful to Vivianne of MotMot Travel for arranging such a super experience.

On our arrival at Guatemala City Airport we were given a warm welcome from Melvin, our guide, and Edwin, our driver and while en route to Antigua, we were enthralled to see Volcan Fuego erupting spectacularly! We were assured life and property were not in danger from this volcanic eruption and so we could enjoy the show.

Our accommodation ranged from an historic hotel in Antigua, a mountain cottage, a lakeside cabin, a cloud forest cottage, a riverside cabin, a room in a private reserve, a picturesque island hotel to a modern international hotel in Guatemala City. Our accommodation had been carefully chosen for comfort, location and friendly staff. Our meals were taken either in the hotels or in picturesque restaurants with most having outstanding vistas! Our first breakfast was at Finca El Pillar after excellent birding. We ate on the terrace overlooking Antigua which lay in the valley floor below while Volcan Fuego smoked away and birds flew past!  What a way to start our birding holiday!!

While in Antigua we had time to absorb some of the rich culture of this Spanish colonial city as well as visit the surrounding area including having lunch at the Santiago Zamora Cooperative where we enjoyed a chicken Pepian and learnt the history of how and why the cooperative had been established.

Melvin is an excellent bird guide and we totalled 315 different species including many endemics and migrants. The Resplendent Quetzal gave us a fine show in the Reserve and then again in a tree right outside our cottage!  We were privileged to view the Black Cat Bird and Yucatan Woodpecker at Las Guacamayas, both rare and only occasionally seen.

The locations of Quetzaltenango and the hot springs at Fuentes Georginas are breath taking while the birdlife doesn’t fail to impress.

Las Guacamayas Biological Station, where we stayed in beautifully appointed cabins overlooking the river, gave us unparalleled views of a pair of Scarlet Macaws with one emerging from the nest in a hollowed-out tree. Meals were varied and very well prepared and presented.  Our final breakfast al fresco overlooking the river while humming birds flew past was truly memorable. A troop of Howler Monkeys bade us farewell as we travelled along the river to the village where our vehicle was waiting to return us to Flores.

Lake Atitlan was amazing.  Early one morning we stood on a look-out above the lake to see steam rising from the dormant volcanic crater that hosts the lake! Here a pair of Elegant Euphonia flew to a bush at our eye-level.

Los Tarrales Nature Reserve is a treat where we saw mammals such as the Kinkajou, White-tailed Deer and Central American Agouti and many diverse bird species including the Azure-rumped Tanager, Tody Motmot and White-bellied Chacalaca. The accommodation at Los Tarrales is very comfortable and the food and fruit juices are delicious.

Tikal National Park is awe-inspiring in the majesty and building prowess of the ancient Mayans.  Melvin is extremely knowledgeable about the Mayan culture and he certainly brought the monuments to life.  We stayed at Tikal Inn where in the evening flocks of Montezuma Oropendolas descend noisily on the trees by the rooms to roost and thankfully they sleep all through the night!! Squirrels and Coatis were frequently seen as were Spider Monkeys.

Our last birding day in Guatemala was at the Mayan site of Yaxha where on our way to the Red Hand Temple, Melvin crouched down and pointed into the thicket where we watched a Bright-rumped Attila struggling with a small vine snake.  The Attila had already killed the snake before we saw it, but the bird needed traction to tear the head off the snake.  We watched the Attila jumping about with the snake in its mouth and then suddenly it flew away.  The three of us crept into the thicket to where we had last seen the bird and there we found a decapitated snake with its tail tied in a knot around a thin branch of a bush!  The experience was really amazing and fortunately Jeff captured the action on video so we know our eyes had not been deceiving us!

Yaxha did not disappoint us either in its grandeur amidst beautiful scenery or with the animal and birdlife. A Grey Fox appeared from the ruins and walked past us quite nonchalantly.

At the entrance to Yaxha National Park where entrance fees are paid, do buy some locally made biscuits which are so yummy!

We had our last delicious lunch in a quaint thatched restaurant on the way to the airport for our flight to Guatemala City.  Even at the airport our bird watching continued as we saw several Gray-breasted Martins on a wire by the entrance door to the airport.

Melvin made sure we understood the peculiar security arrangements, where to pay our security tax and the way to the Departure Lounge.  It was sad to say farewell to Melvin and Edwin who had made our holiday so interesting, rewarding and enjoyable.  We would also like to thank our expert local guides who were Arun at El Pillar, Lester at Los Tarrales and Giovanni at Las Guacamayas. We first met Benedicto and Lily of Martsam Travel, who were our Guatemalan land agents at Rutland Bird Fair last year and it was lovely of Lily to phone us during our transfer from Guatemala City airport to welcome us to her country and we met Benedicto again in Las Tarrales where we enjoyed discussing with him the wildlife we had already seen.

Back in Guatemala City our transfer to the Radisson was waiting for us.  Our night’s stay here was comfortable and the transfer the next day to the airport was quick and efficient.

Again we would like to thank everyone involved in making our holiday so memorable and enjoyable and we look forward to a return visit to Guatemala in the near future.

(The bird list for this holiday appears in ‘Trip Reports’)

We returned yesterday from a wonderful holiday in Colombia. First of all I believe our itinerary and the planning of the night stays was excellent.  I am glad I mentioned I did not wish to travel for more than four hours in a car a day.  The travel time was often up to six hours waiting for lines to be painted in the middle of the road or cows crossing not to mention the traffic especially in Bogota.   What a city of 9 million not to have a metro of some kind! In Bogota itself we had a very good guide and the Museum of Gold will always be remembered. Our trip to Guatavita Lake was excellent – now there is a good path.  Personally the Salt Cathedral rather touristy!

Villa de Leyva is outstanding, the huge square and the hospitality at Hotel Casa Terra was perfect 11/10.  I am glad we only drove to Honda – Hotel Posadia Las Trampass another excellent small hotel.   Honda has much history, being the old port.   The Manager, Angela, took us to her boss’ huge farm, 7000 ha, for a walk along a river, crossing it four times on foot!  This is a great cattle ranch and we met the owner.  Great experience.  The Coffee triangle is well worth while, the great rolling hillsides, so very green.   The visit to Tinamu Natural Reserve we very much enjoyed.   Again, Salamina another lovely hotel and we enjoyed the visit to St. Felix.

Time rolled on.  Medellin was a very good experience.  We managed to work out the sky train and travelled one length of the city on the line to the other – a good way of seeing any town.   We even connected up with a cable car ride.   I am glad we had two nights in the city visiting the historical village of Guatape and Penal Rock – excellent.   Flight to Santa Marta went well and Villa Maria gave us a good taste of the National Park even if the park is closed currently due to too many visitors.

Finally Cartagena – what a wonderful completely walled town.  It reminded us of Dubrovnik.   Enjoyed the visit to the Rosario Islands but we will always remember our last day to visit the village of La Baquilla, and the school.   The children greeted us with some freshness and smiles. The punting trip on the shallow lake to the beach, through the mangroves was excellent, much wildlife.   The lunch on the beach cooked by a local was delicious.   This trip was definitely off the usual tourist route, neither our guide or driver had been there before.

All very well planned and much enjoyed. As I mentioned at the beginning a wonderful holiday and thank you for organising it for us. Atlanta in the US is only 5 hours flying time away and tourism will increase dramatically in the very near future. It was special to be in this country in the early days. We met no other UK visitors.

It was a fantastic holiday. The first three days birding with Vision were really good; saw nearly all the species on my list-to see. We were too early for the rufous nightjar which was a shame and the masked duck has disappeared from its more accessible places due to previous droughts, so the north east/west trip was another early start, but we saw all the species endemic to the island.  The Fox Grove was excellent, especially the swimming pool when we got back in the afternoon from three 6am starts to go birdwatching. It was really nice sitting on the terrace eating our dinner as sun went down (unfortunately hotel faces east!).

Anse Chastanet was like being on another planet but the beach was very relaxing and you could see loads of fish right by the beach so was good snorkelling for both us who are not very good swimmers. No whales or dolphins on the whale trip (we were disappointed not to see the latter especially as we thought they were almost certain) but we did see flying fish and jumping tuna. Everyone was very friendly and helpful and it was really relaxing. I can’t remember sitting on the beach so much just reading or looking out to sea. We had some showery mornings but it was generally hot to very hot. The food was excellent and we found we didn’t need lunch as breakfast was so plentiful. We ended up in a standard room despite the run of house but the place seemed to be full.

Nick & Diane

We would just like to say that from the remit we gave you, you selected 4 very different, but appropriate, hotels, all of which we thoroughly enjoyed.  The tours were excellent, as were the guides.

There were many highlights on this trip, but perhaps the most memorable was the hike to Boiling Lake, with our fantastic guide Jeffrey Charles. The hike took us around 7 hours, including a lunch stop at the Boiling Lake itself. It was tough, but well worth the effort, walking through rain forest, elfin forest, the Valley of Desolation and then the Boiling Lake. If you are planning to do any reasonable hikes, make sure you have the right footwear.   Heavy duty boots,such as you would wear in the UK, will protect your ankles and keep your feet dry, but do not have sufficient grip for these hikes. Far better to use lighter weight boots/shoes with sticky soles!

We feel that our holiday did benefit local people – Dominica relies heavily on tourism. All our hotels were small and locally owned, employing local people. We used local guides etc and bought items made by the Kalinago in the local area. In terms of reducing environmental impact, it is difficult to do this when you take a long haul flight to your destination, but we did take water bottles with us which we refilled and our hotels mostly provided food locally grown/obtained with minimal food miles. We hope that the site passes purchased to enter the National Parks went some way to supporting conservation in Dominica.

This was a fantastic holiday organised by Motmot travel. Dominica is an incredible place with extremely friendly, welcoming people. Despite nearly 2 weeks there, we feel we have barely scratched the surface of this beautiful island and would dearly like to return. Now we just need to save for our next trip!

Thank you for a great trip to St Martin and Anguilla. I did not think it was possible but our 5^th trip with MotMot was the best yet.

We continue to rely on MotMot for three reasons:

1. Your knowledge of what type of accommodation suits us   e.g. the Ferryboat Inn is simple, needs a little refurbishment but suits us 100%.
2. You know what type of tours we are interested in – the one day tour to Anguilla was excellent.
3. You have access to fantastic people like Iija Botha (St. Marteen), Jacqueline Cestro (Anguilla) and Hannah Maddan (St. Eustatius) who are genuine, caring, and knowledgeable.

Thank you for such a well organised trip to the Caribbean. We saw and photographed lots of birds which was the main purpose of the visit.

ANTIGUA –  The apartment was nice and we enjoyed the air conditioning.  We found the Coconut Cove restaurant to be quite expensive but the food was very good. Our birding guide Junior was very helpful and knowledgeable.

BARBUDA – We were taken on a tour of Barbuda which was quite interesting and then went by boat to see the Frigate birds which was amazing. The barbecue on the beach was very good but again we found it was too hot so kept in the shade. The trip wasn’t specifically for bird watching most of the people weren’t really interested in birds so we didn’t get a chance to see any other birds there.

MONTSERRAT- We enjoyed the flight to Montserrat and were welcomed by Scriber.  We were taken to Portsmouth with a police escort to see the devastation caused by the volcano. They have lost half the land on the island.  Scriber then took us on a birding trip and we saw and photographed lots of birds. We found Scriber to be very knowledgeable and a pleasure to be with.

DOMINICA  –  We were welcomed most warmly by Ken to Calibishie Cove. He couldn‘t have been more helpful and couldn’t do enough for us.  It’s a beautiful place and the food was excellent. The only downside was no air con, tv or bar so there was nothing to do once it got dark. In fact we went to bed at 8.30 pm on the first night!!! There were lots of beautiful humming birds right below our balcony so I took lots of photos.  Dr Birdie took us out for the day up the mountain to see the parrots and blue headed humming bird which we did see. We had a trip up the Indian River in a rowing boat but it poured with rain and we got a bit wet!!

ST LUCIA –  We loved the Fox Grove Inn and Esther was so friendly and helpful.  The food was excellent and the pool was lovely to cool off in after a days birding. Willow our guide was excellent and we really enjoyed our days with him and he managed to find us lots of birds.  It would have been nice to have had air con again but the fan was quite good.

Overall we were very pleased with the organisation and we were very well looked after everywhere we went.  Thank you for arranging everything for us.

All arrangements in St Lucia worked really well thank you.

Fox Grove  – a lovely place to stay. Made extremely welcome by Esther. Had a lovely room with corner balcony and great views

Birding with Willow was great. Always on time and so diligent in trying to find those elusive birds.  Charming company. Only suggestion I have, is that a birding list of species available in St Lucia would be very helpful. The bird books tend to cover many islands, and if not careful you can think you have seen something that doesn’t visit St Lucia.

East Winds Inn – was simply amazing. We don’t normally choose all inclusive, but their idea of all inclusive was great. Simply whatever you want, whenever you want it. If we ever need simply an R&R break, it is the place we would choose. Glad we opted for their “basic” room, it was much more than we expected and can’t see the need to upgrade. Really appreciated your help re the return transfer. I had made 2 approaches to them to confirm, but they just couldn’t understand (despite your voucher)that although they had not provided the inward transfer they were providing the outward.

We had lots of rain, as in fact they had had throughout November. Not a great problem, as short and sharp, but would probably go after Xmas on a future visit.

Thanks again for all your help. Liked the relaxed attitude to birding – ie – not all day, every day.

We definitely enjoyed our trip to Jamaica! We had a lovely time. I’m happy to reflect on some of our experiences with you.
First of all, we loved Sussex Great House. These are the places that we love very much. The environment, and the area were very nice. Also the people of the house were very lovely. Very nice, flexible and the food was very good. We enjoyed our stay there very much.
Also Wendy Lee as a birding guide, so nice. This lady is a very friendly, animal loving women. She is good for birders like us. We are birders, but definitely no twitchers. She understood our needs, and is also very knowlegdeable about all nature. Nice days we spend with her.

Than, the Mockingbird Hotel was also very nice. The people are very flexible and give good advise. They are much more adjusted to tourist than the Sussex house, which is more a Bed and Breakfast. The downside of the Mockingbird I found the price of the drinks. It was quite expensive (i.e.U$6.50 for a fresh juice).
It was good that you refunded the Rio Grande, we didn’t do it. The river was very high (we saw it was rough), and the water was brown instead of clear. We did’nt dare to go on the raft with our expensive equipment. The birding sites were very nice. Nature is beautiful, and the guides very knowledgeable. Unfortunately there was a lot of wind which birds don’t like. But birding is always unpredictable.

So, over all: we had a lovely time! The weather was good, not a lot of sun and quite some wind. But there had been a lot of rain the last weeks, so we were lucky to have had almost all dry days.
Thanks again for arranging evrything. All was arranged very well. We enjoyed it very much. And we definitely keep you in mind whenever we want to go to the Carribean again. You offer really nice holidays that fits our needs completely.

Dominica
All three hoteliers/Guest house proprietors in Dominica were very friendly and helpful in many ways, including with transport.

More specifically:
The location at Calibishie Cove was very pleasant with some walking from the house. Ken went out of his way to be helpful. Whilst the food was relatively simple it was very enjoyable and excellently cooked.
The tour with Jenner was interesting and absorbing, so much so we possible did not leave enough time to see the falls that were listed.
The birdwatching with “Dr Birdy” went well considering that we were in the middle part of the day when the birds are less active and it rained quite a bit. We still were able to see several species previously unknown to us.

Cocoa Cottages This was a novel house and very individual. Iris was kind and helpful and despite being a vegetarian herself provided us with an interesting range of foods that were enjoyable. She also transported us to various interesting places, such as the nearby Trafalgar falls and the Botanical Gardens at Roseau with its magnificent trees and a live cricket match, as well as on to our next stay. The whale watching was a good way to see the coast from the sea and whilst we saw no whales we were entertained by the many Dolphins that played around the bows of the boat.

Beau Rive was in many ways the top of the list for all round quality. Mark Steele was a kind impressive person and nothing was too much trouble for him (except that he could not bring himself to stop apologising for anything, even if it was not his responsibility).  Some of the food was of particular merit, especially the pastry. He took us to the airport and when our departure flight with LIAT was delayed he transported us to a good restaurant and arranged for them to get us transported back to the airport in time for the new flight time (which in turn was cancelled!!!).

Antigua
After the relatively quiet rural ambience of Dominica (disturbed mainly by the sound of the sea braking on the rocks) English Harbour was more purposeful but a beautiful historic location. The Admiral’s Inn was like a more agreeable American hotel in its operating style, especially the over polite responses of the staff such as “Thank you – You’re welcome” repeated every time, and the high prices. It was a good place from which to explore on foot, which we did despite losing a day from our stay due to LIAT!

General
The overall impression of the holiday was good. We thought that the bird watching everywhere was a little disappointing compared with T&T or Costa Rica. Also, houses with cats tended to have fewer birds in the gardens.

Firstly, thank you for all your help, time and patience in organising the holiday. It was largely meeting you at the bird fair which made us book the holiday as you were so friendly and informative. 

Hope the following feedback is useful: 

TRINIDAD
Asa Wright – an amazing place, surpassed all expectations. Loved the environment and the beautiful view from the balcony looking down the Arima valley. Paul loved it – birds incredible, but also as a non birder, I too just loved the whole atmosphere. The guides were friendly and informative. Food great and enjoyed the social aspect of all the guests sitting together to eat. Rum punches whilst sitting on the balcony – a must! All the excursions were great and the guides/drivers looked after us well.
See Paul’s birding trip report for greater detail. 

Anise – one word – AWESOME!
Staff really friendly – Donna, Margaret and Neville so warm and welcoming  – they treat you more like friends than guests. It is a gem of a hotel and you can tell that the staff love it and are proud of it, in turn they really care for the guests and want them to have the best experience ever (which we did). Food was like fine dining. Thank you so much for recommending this hotel!
Only one point to make was that Paul didn’t prebook a trip from Anise to see Piping Guan so asked Anise to organise (without checking price beforehand!). He went with local guide Nicholas and thought it was a bit pricey at 975 TT dollars for a morning birding. He wished he had pre booked through you.

TOBAGO
The flights, transfer etc all worked well.
Susan and Lesley-Ann were waiting to greet us and were very friendly and welcoming. Lesley-Ann did transfer to Blue Waters for both us and Julia and Paul. We all found her to be just lovely – an asset indeed!

Blue Waters
Location was wonderful, often had beach to ourselves. Food very good. Loved the rooms being close to the beach and going to sleep hearing the sea. We would say the only downside is the attitude of some staff – they seemed to need coaxing into being friendly, felt at times that they resented being there! Also disappointingly the pool turned green and was out of bounds for 3 out of 5 days which was a shame. These negatives didn’t detract from our stay but wanted to offer you our honest feedback.
Trip to Little Tobago very enjoyable with guide Randy – he was a real comedian! Newton George was very good and Paul appreciated his expert local knowledge.
One thought Julia had was for us non birders/wives, Lesley Ann would be a great person to do an island tour without the birds! Perhaps include a tour round Scarborough etc. Lesley-Ann had kindly stopped at a wonderful chocolate shop on the way to the airport on our request wanting to take Tobago chocolate back home! Her knowledge of the whole island and friendly nature would make her an ideal person to do such a tour! We wished we had thought of it while we were there! 

Hope this feedback is useful, we really did enjoy our holiday and saw some amazing birds, wildlife and scenery.
Thanks to you all at MotMot.

Cuba is indeed an absolutely fascinating country and we had a most enjoyable time.

Each day brought new, interesting, absorbing experiences but I will highlight a few:

1)The warm and very personable service and hospitality at the Casa Neuva Vida in Playa Larga.

We were very pleased that this on our itinerary. The playa itself was wonderful.

2) The excellent Casa Casona in Trinidad. It was a unique place and so conveniently located for the town.

3) The amazing Che monument and museum in Santa Clara

4) Havana itself and the brilliant music that welcomed you on the streets at most of the restaurants.

I could go on but I will conclude with our sincere thanks to you for putting together this absolutely amazing trip for us.

The holiday went very well, We had an excellent time and had no problems.

The stay at Asa Wright centre in Trinidad was as good as ever. We had some very good bird watching with good guides and found and took photo’s of most of the species. The centre was quiet and there were only 2 other people staying.

We received excellent service from Wilderness Explorers in Guyana. We were given a very good briefing at the start of the tour and the planning they had done in advance ran very smoothly and was faultless.

A lovely touch was that they had arranged for Pauline to celebrate her birthday at the top of Kaieteur Falls and had provided a chocolate cake with candles.

The lodges and guides were excellent we were the only visitors staying at each one. The weather in Guyana was very dry and this reduced the numbers of birds we found but we still enjoyed it. Overall we could have done with an extra day at Rock view and extra days at Karanambu Lodge. The highlight for all of us was the stay at Karanambu lodge this is a special place. The most disappointing was the lack of birds at the Atta Canopy Walkway none found on the 2 hour morning visit (probably due to the dry weather).

Thank you once again for organising the trip.

We had a wonderful time in Dominica & Grenada. On balance I think we preferred Dominica for the countryside but the gardens we visited in Grenada were a highlight of the trip too. Everyone we met was cheerful, polite & helpful.

Ken & his staff at Calibishie Cove couldn’t have been more welcoming. The guest house is comfortable, quiet & in a lovely location. We ate there & the food was simple but very good. It was most entertaining watching Ken’s builders put up the new gazebo in the garden! I’m sure that it will enhance an already lovely place. Ken himself took us to the village, the Red Rocks, Pointe Baptiste etc. That was really kind of him.

We didn’t see any whales or dolphins on our whale watching trip! Apparently that was unusual though I know that other clients have had the same experience. I think that should perhaps be mentioned? I know that wildlife won’t perform on request but it’s quite an expensive trip if there’s a reasonable chance of not seeing anything.

Beau Rive & Mark were delightful. Again, we were made very welcome. I loved our room with the double doors opening on to the veranda & the view across the gardens & to the sea. It really felt like staying in someone’s home. Good food again.

Our bird watching trip with Dr Birdy was terrific. So interesting & I’d recommend it – even to clients who wouldn’t consider themselves “expert birdwatchers”.

I’d recommend the book “Black & White Sands” by Elma Napier. Set in the 1930s when the family moved to Pointe Baptiste, it’s so interesting & gives another perspective on the island, independence etc.

The transfer between Dominica & Grenada was a pain. I have sent a complaint to Liat but to date have heard nothing. Basically due to them deciding to make an unscheduled detour to St Kitts we missed our connecting flight from Barbados to Grenada & had to spend 7 hours in the airport waiting for the next flight. Effectively we lost half a day’s holiday (plus of course the half day we spent in the hotel in Antigua). Anecdotally, Liat are notorious for fight changes, delays, losing luggage etc, hardly selling points. However I think it would be fair to clients to suggest they go with an open mind about when they may arrive (or not) at their destination!

La Sagesse was lovely. We stayed in the main house & our room was large & comfortable. It was great being right by the beach. Again, good food.

The garden visits were terrific. It was so nice to be shown around by the owners & to talk about the plants & so on. We were made so welcome.

We joined another 2 visitors on a birdwatching trip with Jerry  (Anthony Jeremiah). Caroline had booked him separately from the UK & invited us to join them. Again, thoroughly enjoyable.

Petite Anse was great too. Bigger than the other guest houses but still very quiet. I loved our chalet & the view.

I’d say that unless you want to walk a lot, then you need to be willing to pay for taxis to get around. We were told that driving is ok & the roads are relatively quiet but tend to be narrow, unlit, twisty & not in great condition. We used taxis/tours during the day as necessary & chose to eat in the hotels.

We were very happy with our holiday and had a really great time, seeing all of the endemics and most of the other birds that we wanted to see.  The ground arrangements were generally delivered  to a high standard. We would certainly recommend Motmot Travel.

We did have a lovely time. All the trnsfers worked very well and everyone was very nice to us. La Sagesse was a particularly nice place to stay and the food was excellent and we enjoyed our days out. We got Caribbean Horizons to book us onto a trip to see Leatherback Turtle nesting, which was the highlight.

I was interested that on St.Vincent there are actually a couple of companies specialising in taking people hiking to see wildlife (and certainly the guide who took us was very knowledgeable) but on Grenada the only person who seems to know their stuff is Jerry and he only guides at weekends. So I felt that was a gap in the market in Grenada as it would have been good to walk in the rainforest with someone who knew some Natural History.

The Sugar Apple Inn on Bequia was a very pleasant hotel and the staff were absolutely delightful but perhaps it might have been slightly better to be on Lower Beach or by the town – we hadn’t expected to find it too hot to walk or bus much! That’s just a comment, not a regret – we enjoyed it all very much. We were well and truely Liated on the way back – they managed to make us miss the BA flight. But we had a night on Barbados (in an average hotel) and then a night on St.Lucia in a really lovely place so apart from being a bit stressed and a lot of hanging about in airports in some ways it was a bit of a bonus!

Thank you all at Motmot for organising our recent trip to St Lucia and Grenada. All the travel arrangements worked perfectly with everything smooth and on time. We particularly enjoyed the transfer by LIAT from St Lucia via Barbados to Grenada. We were pleased with our three hotels and their locations. There are just a few comments we would like to make:

St. Lucia

Esther at Fox Grove Hotel  was very welcoming and most helpful. We were extremely comfortable and felt at home there and appreciated our corner room with wonderful views. The meals were excellent. ‘Wildlife Ambassadors’ guided tours were interesting and informative and our guide, Vision occasionally strayed off course according to our interests. A little more wildlife walking would have been beneficial. Our transfers in St Lucia were always on time but maybe a hire car at Fox Grove would be useful if you wanted to brave the driving! We did use the local bus into Castries which was an experience and perhaps could be promoted more. Esther seemed a little surprised that we were even attempting it. We were very sad to leave St. Lucia.

Grenada

Compared with St Lucia, Grenada is not particularly set up for birdwatching. Sadly, we did not become aware of a good birdwatching site in the north of the island at Levera Pond until our last day, likewise the site to see the rare Grenada dove. None of our guides or hoteliers knew anything about the birds on the island and whilst we enjoyed our tours we were a little disappointed that we seemed to have missed so much birdlife.  The visits to the gardens on Grenada were most interesting with two excellent hosts who were so keen to show us their gardens but again, we were a little disappointed to visit only two. (three if you count a visit to a commercial spice garden but by this time, we were ‘spiced out’!) We would have appreciated a second day of garden visits. The guides provided by Caribbean Horizons were good and friendly, especially Kenny, but perhaps not as welcoming as those on St Lucia.

Blue Horizons provided excellent accommodation and beautiful, well kept grounds but the eating areas lacked atmosphere. At first, we thought food at Blue Horizons was expensive but later realised it was average. Again, we used the local bus into St George’s, another taste of local life.

We were pleased to have stayed at La Sagesse, especially in an upgraded room as maintenance work was being carried out to the rear of the hotel. The location was perfect and the owners were hospitable and helpful. Again, they knew nothing about the birds. They were aware that many guests seemed to come for the nature in the area and let us borrow helpful notes made by a previous guest. Meals were good and the whole hotel was spotlessly clean.

These comments are not meant to be criticisms in any way. They are merely observations. We had a wonderful trip which will stay in our memory for a long time. Many thanks for your organisation.

We had a lovely holiday in Grenada and were very pleased with our choice of the Calabash and the Garbutt family who run it.  The trips you organised for us were excellent and we greatly enjoyed all of them.  We felt you’d chosen particularly good local partners for the trips and the drivers we met were knowledgeable, approachable and friendly.

Overall a very enjoyable holiday – wish Grenada was 5 hours flying time nearer the UK!!!!

We’d certainly approach you as a Company again and are considering a repeat performance.

Having just returned from Trinidad, Tobago and Guyana we would like to say that we had a really marvellous holiday. The itinerary was well balanced with plenty of trips and relaxation.

I will make a few comments on our experiences but would like to say that these are not complaints- rather comments on how we found everything.

Asa Wright – wonderful viewing balcony, excellent guides, interesting night walks and the stunning roosting of the scarlet ibis and trip to the oilbirds. We thought the food was adequate- if you didn’t arrive in time it was cold- and everybody rushed their meals down rather fast due to the staff wanting to hurry. Some restaurant staff were cheerful and others not.

Georgetown Guyana – We found the hotel charming and the food excellent. The guide who took us round Georgetown was brilliant- delightful man with so much knowledge we could have listened to him all day.

We loved Guyana- the small aircraft ride to the Kaieteur falls and onto Baganara island was just fantastic- we enjoyed every moment.

Baganara – it was hard to find out who to ask for  housekeeping, trips out, sporting activities. Very laid back and charming but sometimes hard to sort things out. After a few days we got the hang of it. On the last night the staff put on a special dinner for the three of us on the beach with candles and flowers- very touching.

We found the boat rides to Bartica and Marshall falls excellent. We returned to Georgetown by air rather than overland as per itinerary. We didn’t mind this as we had spent a lot of time in boats already.

Castara Retreat – Well, what can we say- probably the best view in the world and wonderful accommodation. The food in the restaurant was more pricey than town but absolutely excellent. Porridge arranged a trip into Scarborough so we could enjoy the carnival.

Blue Waters – A bit of a disappointment after Castara. Beautiful location but not much ambience. When the tide was high there was virtually no beach.

We were extremely taken by the rather lovely Jason who was a very knowledgeable guide!!!!

We had a lot of drivers- all of whom were good apart from the taxi that took us to Castara, Blue Waters and the airport. He was an extremely erratic driver, called Ferris, or else there was a problem with the suspension. Either way we found these journeys very uncomfortable.

So- there we have it! We fully appreciated that we were in the Caribbean and enjoyed the quirky nature of it all! Thank you for arranging a great holiday- we have already recommended you to others.

Thank you for setting up a week that had everything we asked for:  a small quiet hotel in a beautiful setting, Esther and her staff were so gracious, the accommodations and cuisine impeccable, we wanted for nothing.  Our two guides on the birding excursions–Vision and Willow–gave us three days of high quality, knowledgeable service.  But it really all happened so perfectly because you listened to who we are and what we did and didn’t want and delivered a terrific package.

I’m sure we’ll be back to you for more adventures.

We had an absolutely wonderful time in St Lucia. Both hotels were very nice and we enjoyed the bird trips very much. Our guide for the trips you organised (Vision) was excellent. He was helpful and courteous, and had huge knowledge about the history of the island as well as other plants and wildlife. We also saw – with his help – 46 different birds -including the St Lucian parrot. So we were thrilled.

We have visited the Caribbean before – so we are always prepared for things not always going to plan. You may recall we asked for a quiet room at La Haut resort – and I think we ended up with the noisiest room on the whole site. But we asked to move the following morning, and we were able to get a much better room after that. I did feel that few of the staff at La Haut actually ever spoke to each other – although of course they were all individually lovely. We had another slight issue when we rashly booked a trip on the rum tour through the hotel – and they got the day wrong for the main tour. We still managed a reasonable day out (and had a lovely driver that day also) – but it was another example of slight breakdowns in communication.

We did find the costs of tours at the hotels exorbitant, and we certainly didn’t do more than one through them. It was so easy to find and book taxis in Soufriere – often half the price of the La Haut prices. I would advise all your guests to avoid the hotel tours – particularly when they can’t get the arrangements correct in any case. With hindsight, I wished we had booked Vision for a fourth trip in our second week – he was so good.

Of course the position of La Haut could not be beaten – it must have the best view on the whole island – and a very nice and reasonably priced restaurant. We did go for lunch and snorkelling at Anse Chastanet – and that was so expensive (the beers are three times the normal price), that we were very pleased we weren’t staying there. Dinners at Anse Chastanet might just have broken our budget, and once you were there you were pretty much stuck. La Haut is in a much better position. We also enjoyed lunch and a walk around Fond Doux on one day. I also would very much recommend people use the local buses – all good fun.

We very much enjoyed the Fox Grove Inn, and walked quite a bit on our own in the hills around the hotel. Esther and Louis were delightful. Esther was always quietly attentive – and the food there is terrific. We particularly enjoyed the New Year’s dinner!

So overall – a very good time was had. One day maybe we’ll return and write a walking guide to St Lucia. I can’t help but think they are heading down a road of relying entirely on the big cruise ships, and hotels and tours which cater to them, but which `bypass` local people and their businesses. It’s such a lovely island to walk around and people are so friendly – but it’s not easy to do it on you own, without always having a guide or a driver tagging along. We did just about manage this ourselves – but I feel we could have done more, if only everything wasn’t so focused on tours etc. etc.

Firstly, thanks for organising everything, it all worked very smoothly. We both loved the island- wonderful scenery, flora and fauna, people, and staying in three hotels and with two of visions tours we felt we saw a good deal of it without feeling worn out travelling.

We liked all three hotels. Ti kaye was a fabulous place to start with it’s amazing views. We enjoyed the beach, a very good snorkelling tour, the exercise room and chilling out in the lovely room and on the balcony. The food was very good indeed and the staff very helpful and friendly. It seemed to make an effort to be sustainable also, which we like. If I was being critical, I guess I would agree with those who say the restaurant is very expensive , and you don’t really have much other choice. But the food is really lovely and for the start of a special trip we couldn’t have landed anywhere nicer.

Foxgrove was heavenly. Lovely atmosphere of calm and pace and quiet. It is very straightforward with everything you need and no silly frills. It was great having guidebooks, and magazines available. Esther and franz so friendly and helpful. Great food, wonderful fish and lots of choice even though we were on the meal plan. The pool is lovely, the view stupendous  and we enjoyed a couple of walks and table tennis as well as going out with vision. We did get a bit bitten there, and other guests said the same, they thought sandflies????anyway, Helen tends to react badly to bites, needs loads of piriton etc, so that was bad luck.

Fond doux cottages are as fabulous as ti kaye. Obviously your view is not of the sea, but of the rainforest, but it is truly spectacular and their gardens and plantation are gorgeous. It was so quiet that it seemed the perfect place to end up, I loved their plantation tour, and also the tet Paul nature trail- both spectacular, but really interesting. Indeed, I really liked the way everywhere you went people were proud of and knowledgeable about the island, its plants and wildlife. We learned a great deal. All the staff were very nice. My only criticism of fond doux is the food which is only OK in my view, and quite expensive. ( and like everywhere, their taxis are extortionate). We went one evening into souffriere and enjoyed wandering about, the sunset and a meal on the seafront.

You will have heard lots about Vision from others more qualified than us. He was really nice, very knowledgeable, good fun and an ideal bird guide. He was also a great driver- very safe and not sick making! one  day he brought a young colleague called Willow, who is learning the job. We liked him and would recommend him in the future also. I would, ideally, have liked to have done more walking with Vision, but that’s not really in the nature of birding.

This was a celebratory holiday for us. It lived up to our expectations.

We had a wonderful time and really appreciate all the arrangements made on our behalf. Everybody we met in Jamaica was extremely kind and helpful and we feel lucky to have been able to be with three such knowledgeable guides. We saw at least the 40 species and I think nearly all the endemics, but we certainly wouldn’t have been anywhere near had we not had the guides! The hotels were all very good as was the food, not to mention the wonderful Blue Mountain Coffee. The trip was perfect for us as although the focus was obviously the bird watching, we really did enjoy the other ‘tourist’ trips especially the river rafting on the Rio Grande and a dip at Reach Falls.

Thank you again for making all the arrangements. We feel very lucky to have had such a wonderful holiday and would certainly come back to you if we would like to visit another Caribbean country.

We would like to start by saying what a wonderful time we both had in St Lucia and everything went to plan. We both came back relaxed.

Fond Doux

Wonderful setting and very helpful staff. The food was excellent and there was always plenty of choice for dinner with the menu changing a few times during our 5 night stay. We stayed in the hilltop rooms (Coconut and Orange) and both were well presented and maintained. Our fitness improved during our stay walking up to the rooms!!

Fox Grove

Fairly simple accommodation but more than adequate. Esther and her staff made us feel very welcome and Esther in particular was very helpful in sorting out taxis and trips for us. Staying here gave us a chance to see the East Coast which we found to be a totally different experience to the West coast. Probably not quite so much to see on this side of the island but gave us plenty of time to relax and to explore ourselves on foot along the local tracks.

Vision

We had 3 trips with Vision. We would like to say what a wonderful guide he is and his knowledge of the birds and other fauna added to our enjoyment.

Motmot

Thanks for you efficient handling of the booking and advice despite the lateness of the booking.

General

While at Fond Doux we took the free taxi to Jalousie beach. The beach as a whole is a wonderful setting although the ‘public’ part of the beach to which there was free access was a bit small and felt a bit ‘pushed’ out of the way. It’s worth noting this small part of the beach is also used by passengers from cruise ships which we didn’t realise until they all started landing!! We did try getting loungers on the main part of the beach but at $US50 each we didn’t feel it was worth it. We had a much better experience at Anse de Sables (recommended by Esther) as there were fewer people and it was much easier to enjoy the surroundings and relax.

We had a great holiday, all the arrangements worked perfectly.

The hotel was excellent, but had a lot of steps!

The ‘bird guide’ Adams Toussaint was great, the first trip we shared him with another tour party. We also did a couple of hotel arranged trips that were good.

I think the whole trip worked well, saw birds, saw sights, relaxed on the beach.

We have wonderful memories of our trip to Jamaica.

We were most impressed with the friendliness and service at all the hotels but Greencastle Estate was an amazing experience and we had to leave feeling there was so much more we would like to see and do. (The weather was a bit unkind so we were not able to get about as much as we would have liked during our stay). Then on to Mockingbird which was first class. We wanted for nothing and Shireen and her staff made sure of that.

The bird guiding was of a very good standard and we achieved 26/28 Jamaican endemics plus a good many more of the other birds on the Island. The Rafting on the Rio Grande was most enjoyable as was a boat trip from Winnifred Beach to Dragon Island and the Blue Lagoon suggested by Shireen.

The transport links at Mockingbird and indeed throughout the entire holiday worked splendidly.

Thank you once again for yet another successful birding experience in the Caribbean.

Our Caribbean holiday was a huge success. The arrangements that MotMot made for us worked out very well. Below I give a few details.

Grenada

Transport –  good.

Blue Horizons Garden Hotel – good, facilities – good, room – good, staff-excellent

Tours. Carriacou was excellent and the Rain Forest hike was good. Anthony Jeremiah turned up on the wrong day. He gave us an alternative that did not suit us. Joanne of Caribbean Horizons saved the day by giving another tour that suited us better.

Trinidad

This was the high spot of our 3 island vacation. We visited Yerette and Caroni Swamp and various other places off the tourist route and met with old friends and relatives and to cut a long story short, we had a good time. Banwari Experience provided comfortable transport on time. However the driver needed to be more courteous to other road users and avoid scaring his passengers.

Tobago

The high point here was meeting with Vivienne one morning at breakfast time!

Transport – good, especially the return trip to the airport.

Blue Waters Inn at Speyside. Room adequate, but not very comfortable. Facilities – OK, Staff – friendly. Restaurant could only serve as fish option endless Mahi Mahi and once Sea Bass from Asia. This was the choice when freshly caught King Fish, Red Snapper and Tuna were easily available in Charlotteville.  The sea bathing was good until the ‘sea ants’.showed up and spoiled the fun.

Tours. Birdwatching tour to Bird of Paradise Island was good.The guide was good and the duration suited us. Newton George was not our sort of guide.  Interested only in spotting, logging and moving on, he gave us no information about the birds and was not particularly open to questions.  That said, this suited the dedicated twitchers who were with us.  However, we did enjoy going into the beautiful forest reserve and touring the island.

Flights – good.

Thanks again for arranging our holiday

We had a fantastic time in Jamaica.  The itinerary was extremely good and the quality of the accommodation was superb.   We were made welcome wherever we went and are certainly doing our bit to dispel the myth that a trip to Jamaica is only a beach destination to be enjoyed within the confines of a resort that you do not leave!

Mocking Bird Hill was the second place we stayed at on our travels through Jamaica. Sherri, the owner of this lovely place, exudes love and comfort and a welcoming space as do the rest of her team. She gave this place a feeling of being home and though again there are a lot of places you can go to and bird watch (the indigenous Jamaican owl is said to be findable in this area), which we did not- there are a lot of other things you can do. Mocking Bird Hill will organise a massage for you as well if you like and if this is something you like- then you should do it! One hour of complete bliss! This is done in an outdoor covered area but there is still a small area where you can look out of and really soak in the beauty of this place. Port Antonio is the closest town and there is a marina there where you can find Devon I-Scream house:-) The food is exquisite with each night having a 6 course option! But it’s all so moreish that you cannot help yourself but eat all of it! It is again home cooked fresh meals served by charming team who really you really couldn’t help but fall in love with:-) We got a day pass to Frenchmans Cove- a beautiful cove with the trademark clear waters of the Caribbean and white sands where there are men who catch fish freshly (with a harpoon) and sell for you to eat. the nearby restaurant will cook this for you if you ask:-) There are also the Reach River Falls close by (go with the person Sherri organises for you as you get to go the path most tourists do not) and this is an experience you will never forget! The guide was a lovely lady with amazing knowledge of the plants and animals and herbs in the area. I highly recommend this place to anyone who loves food, luxury, being pampered, beaches and adventure. There is also a swimming pool and the other guests are very friendly. We stayed here three nights and we could have easily stayed much much longer!

When we arrived at High Hope Estate, we were greeted by Ritchie- our lovely waiter for the night and next morning. Dennis then showed us around his lovely home and gave us freedom to do as we chose with his record collection or any other part of his home that we chose to rest in till we were ready for bed. There was a meditation area outside as well as a large backyard complete with swimming pool. A lot of famous people have stayed in those rooms and I am sure many more will. It is the kind of place that makes you want to go back and visit Jamaica and stay again. The food is amazing cooked by their in house cook (whose name I forget) who has worked there just over 15 years. We met Ludo- Dennis’ wife- later on as well as his 2 lovely dogs and the beautiful cat. It was a relaxing place and with the hosts/owners/staff being so welcoming it was impossible not to feel calm, peaceful and at home.

Thank you very much! We had a fantastic time in Jamaica.  The itinerary was extremely good and the quality of the accommodation was superb.  We will definitely look to return to the island again and will certainly wish to visit Sherrie at Mockingbird Hill and Dennis at High Hope.

We have been on birdwatching holidays in Cuba, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica was certainly better than them all!
Our first hotel, Forres Park had such amazing views of the Blue Mountains, and we saw many birds in the hotel grounds and trails through the coffee bushes. We were very glad to have a bird guide with us at Cinchona Gardens as we saw several more endemic birds on the track approaching the gardens and in the gardens themselves. The trip to the Old Mine Trail was also very productive.
We arrived at Green Castle and could hardly believe it was the right place, it was so luxurious! Our room had views over the gardens, pool, forest then the blue sea of Annotto Bay. We were once again the only guests so were really well looked after. The area had been badly affected by Hurricane Sandy in November 2012 but almost all the excellent trails had been cleared. It was amazing to see the new growth on the trees, all the leaves had been stripped off by the wind.
Hotel Mockingbird Hill was different again, with the gardens, gourmet food and eco-friendly approach to tourism. As well as visiting Eccleston Road and rafting down the Rio Grande we made a couple of visits to Frenchman’s Cove, using the complimentary shuttle and beach passes. We enjoyed the beach, but the grounds also made it worth a visit as we saw many birds here.
Jamaica does get a bad press with reports of high crime rates. However in the Eastern part of the island, which we visited, we never felt threatened. In fact all the staff and people we met were really friendly and helpful, nothing was too much trouble. The three places at which we stayed were so different but all excellent. The local foods were well prepared and very tasty, and varied. All the transfer arrangements were efficient, on time and with comfortable vehicles – an essential for the narrow twisting roads in the mountains, with the enormous pot holes! We had four Bird Guides, at different sites. Linden, Dwayne, Ricardo and Roger were able to find us all but two of Jamaica’s 28 endemic birds. Our outstanding memory of Jamaica is of the many people who were so welcoming and hospitable.
We would certainly recommend a visit to Jamaica to anyone wanting to move on from the other Caribbean Islands and add more endemic birds to their personal list on a comfortable, relaxing and scenic tour.

We had a wonderful time, and would highly recommend the places we visited. Karanambu was outstanding, and Hacienda Jacana was a very nice and relaxing way to start the vacation. Guyana was certainly more challenging, perhaps more than we expected from your information, but this wasn’t a difficulty for us. For your information, it is important for people to know just how basic Atta Lodge is – especially in wet weather conditions, a step above camping, and fairly ordinary food. We thought Rock View could have made more of their wonderful location and offered more extensive activities. None of this detracts from what was a very memorable holiday, with many highlights.

We would certainly would like to say some nice things about our travels with you in Trinidad and Tobago.  It’s a long time since myself and my husband have been on a package holiday. We chose this one because we wanted a naturalist-style holiday and Motmot had been recommended by a friend.

We were not sure what to expect and were quite surprised to find that we were not part of a group, not even a small one, and were getting very personal attention. Although we were moving about, staying at four different locations in Trinidad and Tobago, all our moves and tours were carefully planned and went without a hitch  (apart from slight hitch on arrival, when we had to call our tour operator for collection).  We very much enjoyed the site seeing programme that had been arranged for us.  The specialist guides at the naturalist sites were exceptionally knowlegible and all our guides were friendly and helpful.  And what interesting places Trinidad and Tobago are.  We got a real sense that people have a great pride in their country; and why not?  It’s a beautiful country with a wonderful climate and a thriving culture.  We had the impression that money was being spent on good things…free university education; welfare services for children, employment projects for young people etc. (Lucky to have that oil revenue!)

It’s just a pity T&T are so far away; we would love to go often.  Thank you so much for arranging such a well organised and well thought out package for us.

We had a wonderful time in Dominica & Grenada. On balance I think we preferred Dominica for the countryside but the gardens we visited in Grenada were a highlight of the trip too. Everyone we met was cheerful, polite & helpful.

Ken & his staff at Calibishie Cove couldn’t have been more welcoming. The guest house is comfortable, quiet & in a lovely location. We ate there & the food was simple but very good. It was most entertaining watching Ken’s builders put up the new gazebo in the garden! I’m sure that it will enhance an already lovely place. Ken himself took us to the village, the Red Rocks, Pointe Baptiste etc. That was really kind of him.

We didn’t see any whales or dolphins on our whale watching trip! Apparently that was unusual though I know that other clients have had the same experience. I think that should perhaps be mentioned? I know that wildlife won’t perform on request but it’s quite an expensive trip if there’s a reasonable chance of not seeing anything.

Beau Rive & Mark were delightful. Again, we were made very welcome. I loved our room with the double doors opening on to the veranda & the view across the gardens & to the sea. It really felt like staying in someone’s home. Good food again.

Our bird watching trip with Dr Birdy was terrific. So interesting & I’d recommend it – even to clients who wouldn’t consider themselves “expert birdwatchers”.

I’d recommend the book “Black & White Sands” by Elma Napier. Set in the 1930s when the family moved to Pointe Baptiste, it’s so interesting & gives another perspective on the island, independence etc.

The transfer between Dominica & Grenada was a pain. I have sent a complaint to Liat but to date have heard nothing. Basically due to them deciding to make an unscheduled detour to St Kitts we missed our connecting flight from Barbados to Grenada & had to spend 7 hours in the airport waiting for the next flight. Effectively we lost half a day’s holiday (plus of course the half day we spent in the hotel in Antigua). Anecdotally, Liat are notorious for fight changes, delays, losing luggage etc, hardly selling points. However I think it would be fair to clients to suggest they go with an open mind about when they may arrive (or not) at their destination!

La Sagesse was lovely. We stayed in the main house & our room was large & comfortable. It was great being right by the beach. Again, good food.

The garden visits were terrific. It was so nice to be shown around by the owners & to talk about the plants & so on. We were made so welcome.

We joined another 2 visitors on a birdwatching trip with Jerry  (Anthony Jeremiah). Caroline had booked him separately from the UK & invited us to join them. Again, thoroughly enjoyable.

Petite Anse was great too. Bigger than the other guest houses but still very quiet. I loved our chalet & the view.

I’d say that unless you want to walk a lot, then you need to be willing to pay for taxis to get around. We were told that driving is ok & the roads are relatively quiet but tend to be narrow, unlit, twisty & not in great condition. We used taxis/tours during the day as necessary & chose to eat in the hotels.

Thank you – we did enjoy our holiday very much.  It was fascinating to visit such very different islands and be based away from the main centres of tourist accommodation.  It was perfect starting our holiday with the Catamaran Hotel in Antigua, with English Harbour close by to explore.  We enjoyed all the islands but our stay on Dominica at the Beau Rive was particularly special – accommodation, food and welcome were all first class.

It would be impossible for everything to be 100% perfect so in order to help future travellers it might be helpful to mention a couple of minor things, although they didn’t spoil a brilliant holiday:

Day trip to Montserrat:  We had the same taxi driver, Colin, throughout our stay, who was brilliant and picked us up promptly from the Catamaran Hotel to take us to St John’s.  When we arrived at the pier at St John’s there wasn’t anybody to meet us and Colin, who rang the office, didn’t have any further information.  We are used to being independent and sorted out our emigration/immigration paperwork whilst we were waiting, but it was unsettling.  We may have just been unlucky but I thought I should mention it.  We were met off the boat at Montserrat and enjoyed our tour of the island, which was fascinating.

Fox Grove Inn: We enjoyed our stay – the hotel is in a beautiful position with a fantastic swimming pool and we were made very welcome.

Thanks to everybody at Motmot Travel for organising our holiday as everything worked very smoothly with the international travel, internal travel, transfers and hotels.

We had a really wonderful holiday and want to thank you all for doing such a fabulous job of organising it for us!

We absolutely LOVED Dominica! Alicia & Rick at Pagua Bay could not have done more for us and the cabanas, food and tours were excellent.

Cocoa cottages were totally unique and dreamlike. The kids slept under the stars on the swinging beds and we adored the friendly mealtimes and delicious food. The boiling lake tour and canyoning were epic and all run by lovely laid-back knowledegable guides.

The only thing we wouldn’t recommend is the ferry to St Lucia as we were all horribly seasick (as were  many of the passengers) almost all the way! It was such a shame as it is a beautiful journey via Martinique and we did see the most unbelievable humpback whale close up which made the misery a bit more worthwhile!! I guess I’d just suggest warning future travellers about this.

Anse Chastanet was a stunning spot to unwind and make the most of the beach and sea. The staff were mostly wonderful although some of the waitresses could be a little surly until we chatted to them a bit. The beach, housekeeping and reception staff were warm and thoughtful and highly attentive. The food was excellent although very expensive.

We were blown away on the last two nights when they very kindly upgraded us to Jade Mountain resort where we had two pool spa rooms. We thought we had died and gone to heaven and are still pinching ourselves!!

Needless to say returning home has not been easy but we have wonderful memories and I’m sure would like to book again with you next year after two special trips.

We were very pleased with our trip to Dominica and that all the arrangements worked out really well.

We stayed at Picard Beach, Cocoa Cottage and Beau Rive.

Our cottage at Picard Beach was perfectly situated by the sea with wonderful views. The staff were really kind, helpful and friendly. There was one noisy afternoon when American students from the university next door were celebrating the end of exams. But the staff warned us of this and helped by telling students to keep the noise down. The food at the restaurant was fine but there wasn’t much choice for vegetarians.

Cocoa Cottage was also very nice. However, I should say that this is not ideal accommodation for anyone with mobility problems. To reach our bathroom, we had to go down 4 steps which had no guard rail and the bottom step was uneven. This was a worry when getting up during the night. Fortunately, we had no accidents. All meals there are shared sitting round a big table with other guests. This could be fun or a bit of a strain depending who the other guests are! The food was excellent.

Beau Rive was the best place of the three and absolutely wonderful in every way.

We had some very good excursions. The whale-watching was outstanding with close views of a family of sperm whales that gathered round the boat and showed off to the passengers for two hours! The Indian River trip was also very good as was our day with Dr Birdy. We thought we would get a guided walk round Syndicate Forest but there was no guide there and the taxi driver was a quiet type who wasn’t able to tell us much. Luckily, Dr Birdy was able to show us the parrots the following day.

The trips from Cocoa Cottage were shorter and less exciting though we did enjoy Papillote and the sulphur springs and made an additional trip down to Scott’s Head.

We had an excellent visit to the Kalinago territory and a wonderful walk over Horseback Ridge thanks to Mark’s recommendation (Mark the owner of Beau Rive).

Overall, we were very happy with the trip and would certainly recommend it to our friends. Thank you for all your help and advice in setting it up.

Yes overall we did enjoy Costa Rica. It is a beautiful country and their philosophy on the preservation of wild life is very much to be admired.

We saw most of the wild life ie birds and animals that we went for- so that was very much a plus.

We found all the hotels excellent, and although the food and wine were all of excellent standard, in all cases were  extremely expensive.

The organised tours that were built into our package were all very good especially the Cano Negro tour and the bird-watching and Coffee – tour at Rosa Finca.

We understand that from April BA will be flying directly to San Jose – this will be very much an improvement as Iberia by reputation and experience are  a complete pain.

We did achieve most of what we wanted to see and thought the country and its people lovely.

We had a memorable visit to this fascinating and endearing country .

Havana Tours were excellent and we were very lucky to have had a very competent and pleasant driver coupled with a charming and intelligent guide who clucked around us like a mother hen and looked after our every need, the ornithologist and the bird watching were a great success in some really beautiful areas.

We really thank the whole team for organising our holiday so perfectly.

The state run hotels were, as I really thought they would be, and had accepted, a little “iffy”. The first night we couldn’t stay at the Santa Isabel , they were full ,so we were taken to Ambos Mundos, where honestly the room, bed and really dirty pillows were a slight shock after our long days travel, I think probably a little different from Hemingway’s day…. but, how pleasantly surprised we were to have our breakfast on their wonderful roof terrace, all is soon forgotten…… Apart from that “The Rancho ” was delightful and  “L’Ermita” also.

We had a little more trouble with Soroa in that the chalets seem to be full of tiny devouring insects!! They really,really could do with a bit of TLC, but please believe me,I do understand the basic situation.

We shall certainly hope to use your  “savoir faire” again in the future.

Thank you again for organising our wonderful trip to Cuba, it was a great experience, not least because of our fantastic Cuban guide, Carlos.  We’ve all promised him we’d write to Habanatours to let them know how much we appreciated everything he did for us and I know he’ll be pleased if you do the same.  His full name is Carlos Raul Gonzalez Rodriguez.

Our driver, Rogelio Rodriguez (no relation) was also absolutely brilliant and always there just when we needed him.  We nicknamed him The Master of the Steering Wheel for his skill at avoiding unexpected obstacles!

Carlos really made the trip for us – nothing was too much trouble; he showed us lots of things which weren’t on the schedule along the way, such as the crocodile breeding station in the Zapata swamp, the train which chugs through the Valley of the Sugar Mills and the organic small holding outside Vinales which I mentioned.

It’s called Casa de Confianza and is perched on a hill looking across the valley.  They’ve terraced 5 hectares of what was badly eroded hillside to create the most wonderful organic farm growing 38 varieties of fruit and vegetables, including strawberries and lemongrass!  We arrived early so we could have cocktails on the verandah as the sun went down and a tour of the farm.  It’s a lovely place, Rachel and her family were a delight and the food was delicious.  Carlos had promised us a feast and he was absolutely right.  Everything they serve is grown on the farm and there was a huge variety of small dishes of different vegetables and salads together with some delicious spicy goat and melt in the mouth pork.  Very different to most of the food we had on the trip and all served with a big smile and the cry of “!Ecologico!” The house cocktail was a brilliant variation on a pina colada with lemongrass and herbs from the garden – delicious and healthy at the same time!!  I’d highly recommend that anyone visiting Vinales goes there for dinner as it was one of the best meals we had on the trip as well as being a really inspiring pioneering eco project.

Carlos quickly worked out what would appeal to us (particularly where food was concerned!) and was always happy to accompany us even when it was his day off which resulted in some very long hours for him – nothing was too much trouble and he’s also hugely knowledgable about Cuban history.  I can’t recommend him highly enough for any of your clients who want to really experience Cuba in all it’s diverse, fascinating, crumbling glory.

All the advise and recommendations you gave us when we were booking was spot on – particularly as far as the car with driver and guide is concerned as our experience would have been entirely different if we hadn’t had Carlos and Rogelio with us.

Thank you – we did enjoy our holiday very much.  It was fascinating to visit such very different islands and be based away from the main centres of tourist accommodation.  It was perfect starting our holiday with the Catamaran Hotel in Antigua, with English Harbour close by to explore.  We enjoyed all the islands but our stay on Dominica at the Beau Rive was particularly special – accommodation, food and welcome were all first class.

It would be impossible for everything to be 100% perfect so in order to help future travellers it might be helpful to mention a couple of minor things, although they didn’t spoil a brilliant holiday:

Day trip to Montserrat:  We had the same taxi driver, Colin, throughout our stay, who was brilliant and picked us up promptly from the Catamaran Hotel to take us to St John’s.  When we arrived at the pier at St John’s there wasn’t anybody to meet us and Colin, who rang the office, didn’t have any further information.  We are used to being independent and sorted out our emigration/immigration paperwork whilst we were waiting, but it was unsettling.  We may have just been unlucky but I thought I should mention it.  We were met off the boat at Montserrat and enjoyed our tour of the island, which was fascinating.

Fox Grove Inn: We enjoyed our stay – the hotel is in a beautiful position with a fantastic swimming pool and we were made very welcome.

Thanks to everybody at Motmot Travel for organising our holiday as everything worked very smoothly with the international travel, internal travel, transfers and hotels.

We were delighted with our recent trip to Antigua and Dominica and wish we were still there. Thanks for putting it together for us. Everything you organised worked like a treat.

On Antigua we stayed at the Catamaran Hotel. It was in a delightful spot, on a beach close to a historic harbour. The room was comfortable, though the equipment in it could benefit from some upgrading (especially the bathroom).

Dominica is an astonishingly beautiful country and you arranged for us to see much of it. Calibishie Cove gave us well equipped, stylish accommodation in a stunning spot. The food was particularly notable – Caribbean cuisine of the highest order. The trips went as planned and gave us an insight into the rivers, the flora and the history of that part of the island. No-one can control the weather. The morning of our trip to Chaudiere Pool had been more than usually wet and this meant that we could not reach the walkway by vehicle so we had a long walk along a precipitous and muddy path. Fortunately Spanish visitors with a 4X4 rescued us!

The grounds of Papilotte were a pure delight and we were introduced to them by an enthusiastic naturalist – Marcel Flore. We enjoyed bathing in the hot pools and being massaged by  fast-flowing streams. Our visits to sulphur springs and boiling mud pools were as expected – a peek into the frighteningly active heart of the earth. The meals were good and the rooms were well kept.

We could not fault Beau Rive. It gave us some days of gracious living with a host who could not do enough to entertain us and to share witty tales about life on the island. It gave us an opportunity to discover more of the culture of some of the early inhabitants of the island.

Many thanks for giving us a memorable holiday. If we return to the Caribbean, which we are likely to do, we would certainly use MotMot again.

We have just returned from our holiday in St. Lucia & Antigua & wanted to thank you for arranging everything.
We had a wonderful time at Foxgrove-Esther was so eager to please especially with regard to the menu for dinner each evening. The food was very good, especially the soups! She was wonderful & couldn´t do enough for us even to the point of collecting us from the local Botanic gardens in her car, as my husband would have had difficulty climbing back up the hill. With regard to your description of the Foxgrove, I thought it might be prudent if you mentioned that it´s on a steep hill & may not be suitable for elderly or infirm people- especially as there are lots of steps throughout the property. Luckily it wasn´t a problem for Jack. We had a lovely room with superb view & balcony, the only downside being the shower which was rather antiquated and difficult to adjust to the right temperature. We didn´t have the heart to tell Esther as she was such a good hostess!
The Coconut Beach was a really good choice of yours! It was in a fabulous position right on the beach. We had a lovely big room HUGE bed & a little veranda on the ground floor overlooking  the beautiful Caribbean. Lots of green lizards visited us, and a few birds. We took a couple of trips- a taxi took us to Nelson´s Dockyard & Betty´s Hope(an old sugar plantation), and we also took a catamaran cruise around the island which was very enjoyable- especially the snorkelling.
Altogether we had a brilliant time & the weather was beautiful- heavy showers in the night in St. Lucia but sunshine everyday. Just the thing in January!!
Hoping we´ll go to the Caribbean again soon

We had a wonderful time in Colombia. Many, many thanks for arranging such a wonderful holiday.  Jeff and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, not only with Luis in Bogota but also on tour with Hernan and Angel.  We were able to keep up with our Simon Bolivar odyssey right up to our very last day in Colombia! All our accommodation was comfortable and perfectly located for birding.  The food was delicious and the fruit juices out of this world.

Hernan has such a lovely personality and it was a privilege to be with such an excellent and experienced bird guide.  Our name for him of Wizard of Aves suits him perfectly!! Angel was a delight to be with.  He is an excellent driver and great fun.  I will not forget the Spanish sayings he taught me!

Antony and I would like to write to tell you what a fantastic time had in Trinidad and Tobago. Thank you to everyone at Mot Mot for helping us to plan and organise our trip, we felt that all aspects of it were very well executed – in terms of flights, meeting at airports, transfers and pick ups to get to other places.

We are grateful for your excellent co-ordinating and planning of our flight requirements, and think that it all went very smoothly.

Special mention needs to be made of Lesley-Anne the lovely lady that collected us from Tobago airport and took us to Blue waters (and back again). She was very well presented, friendly, her vehicle was spotless and very well looked after, and her driving was safe too. What a very lovely lady, and a credit to the company she drives for.

Our Trips with Newton George were excellent and we found him to be both very knowledgeable and diligent (in his search and determination to ensure we all saw fabulous birds) and very friendly too

I personally loved Mt Plasier at Grande Riviere, although not very Mozzi proof I fell in love with it’s very rustic charm, and the peace and serenity of the location and guest house was perfect for me, I found it very relaxing there. Added to which we were honoured with close up views of visiting nesting turtles and spectacular views of piping Guan with Nicholas too. Piero also introduced me to my first doubles on our drive back to the airport for our flight to Tobago – they were totally yummy!

Blue Waters was a lovely hotel in a stunning location, great standards of accommodation, and we really enjoyed our trip to little Tobago too. I enjoyed hand feeding cheeky Turnstones and fending off cheekier Chacalacas!

Asa Wright was superb, far more than expected too. The verandah is like a magnet – it’s extremely hard to pull yourself away from it! We loved the trails too, and the further excursions we took whilst at Asa were all excellent, the guides we had were knowledgeable and friendly, we particularly enjoyed our trips out Rhadoul (apologies for the likely mis-spelling!) I am frankly in awe of these guys – their hearing and eyes are impossibly keen, the bird watching is pretty challenging at times with skulky shy birds in extra thick forest, but every guide we had did a fabulous job of finding many challenging birds. The accommodation at Asa was far better than I was expecting, and relatively bug free – which was  a lovely surprise for me, as being a little bug phobic I was concerned I’d have a bit of trouble with lodges in the middle of a rain forest! I imagine it’s the sheer numbers of birds and bats that specialise in eating bugs that I have to thank for that.  We especially enjoyed the night birding trip, and were most grateful to the Asa team for re-planning our schedule and arranging for us to meet up after our day excursion on the road with the others taking this trip, to enable us to participate.

Antony and I both felt that some of the criticism we have found on websites (Trip adviser in particular) before we visited with regards to the food and accommodations at Asa is unfair and unfounded. We found the food fresh, well cooked and very tasty – not restaurant standards, but more than good home cooking, and the packed meals we had were brilliant. The best meal of our entire trip was the Chicken Roti we had on the night birding trip, eaten off the flatbed of a pick up truck, with our hands and roti bread scoops – delicious. As for the chalets, ours was clean, mostly mozzi free, comfortable, spacious, and the shower was fantastic – piping hot and powerful, the best we encountered in all the places we stayed.

My only regret is that because we had so many trips out and about whilst at Asa, we didn’t have enough time in my view to actually explore the trails at Asa more. All the team at Asa were great, friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Antony had particularly good banter with Barry with regards to Scaled pigeons, and they spent a great deal of time discussing the intricacies of photography together.

The only slight disappointment in the entire trip was the accommodation at Pax guest house. Whilst Gerard was lovely and welcoming, and the location was stunning, the room we had for the night was sub-standard. No hot water and a trickle of a shower – I accept that we arrived late and the hot water may have run out, so fair enough. However, in the morning we awoke opened the curtains and were greeted by super close up views of our first ever hummingbirds on feeders, which kind of made up for the poor bed.

All in all, we had an amazing experience, stunning scenery, lovely people, fabulous wildlife, great accommodations, and utter confidence in Mot Mot and their expert planning. Which allowed us to go and immerse ourselves in plenty of what T&T has to offer.

I am really happy that I booked with Mot Mot travel, and would highly recommend you to everyone, and should we choose to visit again we wouldn’t hesitate in booking our arrangements through you.

We had a wonderful time ( especially myself as I’d wanted to visit ever since I’d seen Birdwatching with Bill Oddie in 1998 !)

Firstly, the arrangements all worked out very smoothly eg flights, transfers etc. The accommodation at Asa Wright was how I imagined it and was spacious, clean with a very good working shower (an absolute must as we needed showers several times a day !) We had no complaints about the food which we enjoyed very much ; was filling, varied and of course we enjoyed the omelettes ‘with everything’. The fresh pineapple and pigeon peas were wonderful ! The guides and staff were all very welcoming and helpful. Drinking rum punch on the verandah and watching hummingbirds and honeycreepers at the same time was fantastic. A ‘dream come true’. On reflection, a reminder to change some money at the airport when we first arrived might have been useful (on a 3rd trip we did stop to sample ‘doubles’ –delicious and messy-but another couple had to pay for mine as I’d not brought any TT dollars !)

The trip was full-on birding which allowed us to experience the key birding spectacles : Manakins/Bearded Bellbirds/Hummingbirds and Honeycreepers at Asa Wright; Scarlet Ibises at Caroni Swamp ; waders/shorebirds at the Waterloo Mudflats  and Oilbirds at the Dunstan Caves. The latter were extraordinary as I had seen images of them from photos and videos, however nothing had prepared me for their remarkable screeching, blood curdling calls ! ( On reflection, it would have been helpful if Charron , our guide for the day, had led the identification of the various waders and seabirds at Waterloo Flats. However, this man went out of his way to take Jane into town to have her rings, which had swelled up, cut loose, for which we are both grateful.)

The flight to Tobago and transfer to The Blue Waters Inn was excellent. The hotel was, again as we had hoped, situated directly next to the beach with the weather hot and tropical and the sea warm and bluey-green. We now understand the attraction of the Caribbean. Again, the birding was fast and furious, the highlights being the trip to Little Tobago where we encountered Magnificent Frigatebirds chasing the Laughing Gulls close into the boat which delivered us onto the island and later delighted in seeing Red-Billed Tropicbirds swirling around the rocky cliffs where they were nesting. Newton George escorted us around the island on a 6am to 5pm trip and the highlight for me was seeing the plethora of herons and Caymen at the Tobago Plantation.

The Blue Waters Inn was excellent. Hotel staff were very welcoming. The room was very clean and met all our requirements. I could expound further and ,needless to say , my only regret was not staying for longer and not having more time to birdwatch at a more leisurely pace.

Birding disappointments ? Not seeing Channel-Billed Toucan well ( ie sitting atop tree branches from the Asa Wright verrandah ) and not seeing any live snakes eg Tree Boas at the Caroni Swamp. Other visitors we met had seen Piping Guans and Turtles and on reflection I wish I had considered building into our itinerary the possibility of seeing these-but I am mindful that you can’t see everything!

Once again, thank you very much for organising this fantastic birding holiday.

We had a good stay at Pax, fortunately we were placed in a room close to the dining area on the main floor.  Our room was clean and well presented although the bathroom had some rotten planks which should really be replaced at some point as they could become a health and safety issue.  However, that did not bother us in the slightest.

The food we found at Pax was excellent as were the nightly rum punches.  There was a mix up with the tours in that they put us on the full day tour with Kenny Wright the day after we arrived, but we would have preferred to go on Caroni that day to give us the morning to acclimatise and rest from the journey.  However, all the same, we enjoyed the day with Kenny, he was very knowledgeable and the only thing we would mention is that we were unsure if lunch was provided or not, but he soon introduced us to the delights of roti.  When he arrived we thought he was just the cab guy ready to take us elsewhere but first appearances can be deceptive and he was great and everyone we met after that day also sung his praises, which made us satisfied that we had been provided with the right guide for our needs.

The Caroni Swamp tour the following day was due to leave at 16:00pm but when it reached 16:35pm and some of the other participants had not turned up, we set off and then promptly turned back after 10 minutes when they did eventually arrive. So, effectively we lost 45 minutes of that tour which meant the remainder of the tour was rushed and we missed out on a lot.  The guide was very good but we were disappointed generally on that day, especially with missing out on some key birds that we could not get elsewhere.

The following day was with Jason Radix in Tobago and he was a fantastic guide, really knowledgeable and friendly and talkative.  We opted not to have a restaurant lunch but a roti on the go instead which gave us time for Jason to take us into the rain forest for an impromptu extra excursion.  We were very tight on time (as was expected) which meant that the normal Little Tobago trip which is 3 hours had to be squeezed into about 1 hour but despite this we saw pretty much everything that we wanted to see and Jason managed to get us back to the airport in good time.  Both us and Jason agreed that if we would have got an earlier flight (in the morning) then things would have not been so rushed but all the same we had a wonderful time and cannot praise Jason enough for his company and enthusiasm.  We would definitely use him again.

The remaining 4 days at Asa Wright were nice and relaxing.  Our room was lovely and the food, although not as good as Pax was good enough for us.

We found the whole process of booking the holiday with you very easy and would like to thank you very much for all your help and assistance.  We would definitely use Motmot again and recommend them to others.

All the arrangements went perfectly, thank you.

The setting for the Coco Reef Hotel was lovely but I have to say the décor was very outdated and desperately in need of a revamp, especially the bathrooms. The lagoon is perfect for swimming as it is so calm even when we had stormy weather. No complaints about the food, the service was VERY laid back, I gather that is to be expected in T & T. Leslianne & Jason Radix who did our trips were both excellent, nothing was too much trouble for them.

We arranged a boat trip to Nylon Pool & Buccoo Reef with Duane on a jet boat called Zoe. He was excellent, very knowledgeable and helped us with the snorkeling. He also took us on a ride along the coast pointing out all the places of interest.

Asa Wright was perfect in every way as I’m sure you know.