Destinations

2025

2026

Extremadura

... where there are many holiday photos to enjoy.

The air holidays shown are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 3253. ATOL Protection extends primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom. Click on the ATOL logo if you want to know more.

About us

Our holidays

are all round natural history holidays, tailored to get the best out of the wildlife of each area
go at a relaxed pace
often stay at one place, with wildlife close by: we choose small-scale, locally owned/run bases, supporting local businesses, with hosts who become partners and friends
use the best of leaders, with extensive conservation knowledge, natural history skills, good experience of the local area and the right personal skills
are designed to benefit you, wildlife and the local people whose services we use
include a £40 contribution from each participant to wildlife conservation.

Holidays for natural history societies, RSPB local groups or other local groups can be arranged – see our groups page.

Honeyguide Wildlife Holidays is committed to help the environment. For more information, including how you can help, please click here.

The flight-inclusive holidays shown are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 3253. ATOL Protection extends primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom. Click on the ATOL logo if you want to know more, or see our ATOL page.

The amazing Honeyguide - our inspiration

Our logo is a greater honeyguide (scientific name Indicator indicator, more here on Wikipedia), an African bird which guides people to bees' nests. The honeycomb is then enjoyed by those guided as well as the bird.

Honeyguide wildlife holidays also have enthusiastic leaders to guide you to nature's best.

Communicating with honeyguides: The link between people and honeyguides is more extraordinary than we realised, according to field research. In Wild birds 'come when called' to help hunt honey (the link is to the BBC's science pages), the way human hunters for honey in sub-Saharan Africa call to the greater honeyguide bird is examined. BBC radio programme here.

The research, shown on this BBSRC YouTube video (three minutes), reveals that the distinctive sound that the honey-hunters make when looking for honey is directed at and recognised by the birds. The outcome is shared spoils at the bees' nest.

Could the same be true at home, and talking to your garden birds really works? July 2016

However the mutual, symbiotic relationship between people and honeyguides may not be univeral. This article describes how the relationship of the Hazda in northern Tanzania is 'manipulative', with no reward for the bird. October 2021

It is often said that a same link applies to honey badgers (ratels), but for a long time there was a lack of evidence for this, and suggestions that somewhere it was once noted, then copied by others from there. However in Sweet nothings, an article in BBC Wildlife, October 2023, the idea is back. Jessica van der Wal of the University of Cape Town is quoted as initially doubting the veracity of badger-honeyguide cooperation due to lack of published evidence, then tackling the question by interviewing 400 people across nine African countries. Her research found that "the vast majority of honey-hunters had never witnessed bird-badger interactions." However the exceptions to this were three communities in Tanzania, where sightings were common. The conclusion is that it does occur, but is very localised and difficult to observe. Jessica van der Wal is quoted as saying that "It was stupid that we didn't just ask the real experts in the first place." October 2023

Honeyguide Wildlife Holidays Ltd. Company registration no. 4604603
Registered office: Stevenson Smart, 10 Oak Street, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 9DY

Would you like to search this website? We don't yet have a search function, but if you type into your favourite search engine site:honeyguide.co.uk plus your search item - e.g. site:honeyguide.co.uk wallcreeper it searches www.honeyguide.co.uk

Chris Durdin

On the left we explain what Honeyguide is. But perhaps a better question is: Who is Honeyguide?

Honeyguide is run by Chris Durdin. To read more about Chris, there is a brief biography on our Crete page here.

A selection of written material by/about Chris is summarised here.

Honeyguide is also a team of leaders. Read more about them under each holiday. It's also Malcolm and Helen Crowder, who do most of the work behind the Honeyguide Wildlife Charitable Trust.

Honeyguide is also our local leaders and hosts on our holidays.

Perhaps most important, Honeyguide is also the many Honeyguiders, our travellers, many of whom are Honeyguide regulars or will be soon!

What we have in common, I think (writes Chris) is a shared set of values. We enjoy gentle natural history holidays with the blinkers off: a mixture of wildlife, birds, flowers, butterflies etc. We enjoy each others' company and good home-from-home comforts.

And perhaps above all, we all subscribe to the idea (as Honeyguide's strapline says below) that we enjoy wildlife but also that the holidays should help to protect wildlife.

Accountancy

Honeyguide's accountants are Stephenson Smart, in our case their office in Fakenham, Norfolk.

Honeyguide features as a case study on Stephenson's Smart website, the timing of which relates especially to the lockdown period.