MAY
This month is ideal for observing lemurs in Madagascar's deciduous forests
since most of the trees begin dropping their leaves, making the tiny mammals
easier to observe. Rainbow Tours' (020-7226 1004, www.rainbowtours.co.uk
) 12-day private Madagascar Made Easy tour costs from £2,495pp, including
flights, accommodation with some meals, transfers and guides.
JUNE
See polar bears from the safety of a boat deck in June. North of the Arctic
Circle in Svalbard, you'll also enjoy 24-hour daylight. The Ultimate Travel
Company (020-7386 4646, www.theultimatetravelcompany.co.uk
) has a ten-day Spitzbergen Explorer tour, which gets to within 600 miles
(1,000km) of the North Pole on board the Akademick Sergy Vavilov or the
Shokalsky. The price, from £3,050pp, includes flights via Oslo, transfers
and all meals.
JULY
Stay close to home for some ornithology along the Moray Firth in Scotland.
Puffin Cruises (07900 920445, www.puffincruises.com
) has a three-hour birdwatching trip to Troup Head, home to more than 4,000
gannets, the only colony on the mainland. There are also about 20,000
guillemots, 2,000 razorbills, 15,000 pairs of kittiwakes and 2,000 pairs of
fulmars along with some puffins and shags. The cost is £22pp and RSPB guides
accompany the trips on Tuesdays.
AUGUST
Wildebeest in East Africa follow the lushest grass and August is when they
tend to enter the Masai Mara, dodging crocs as they cross the Mara River.
Wildlife Worldwide (0845 1306982, www.wildlifeworldwide.com)
offers a ten-day trip to track the herds, from £2,795pp, which includes
flights, transfers, meals and guiding.
SEPTEMBER
Hikers in Yosemite National Park in California should still be in T-shirts in
September, and warm weather means black bears won't have started
hibernating. Footloose (0845 3306094, www.footloose.com
) has a 15-day Western Parks walk in Yellowstone and Yosemite, from £996pp,
including camping and guiding, but not flights or a £5-a-day food kitty.
OCTOBER
Hammerhead sharks gather in large numbers in the waters around Cocos Island in
the Pacific during October. It's a trek to get to, but the remoteness is
part of the attraction. Expect to see silky and silver-tip sharks, too. The
price for a ten-day live-aboard cruise with Dive Worldwide (0845 1306980, www.diveworldwide.com
) is from £3,118, including flights, meals and dives.
NOVEMBER
Every November millions of straw-coloured fruitbats assemble from all over
central Africa to roost near the confluence of the Musola and Kasanka rivers
in Zambia. It's a fantastic spectacle as the sky goes dark with the flying
mammals. Expert Africa (020-8232 9777, www.expertafrica.com
) can organise a 12-day trip from £3,209pp including flights, transfers and
full-board accommodation.
DECEMBER
On the Galapagos Islands, giant tortoise eggs start to hatch in December. The
captive breeding programme at the Charles Darwin Research Station means that
there is a good chance of seeing new arrivals. Trips Worldwide (0117-311
4400, www.tripsworldwide.co.uk)
can get you there for 11 days from £3,560pp, including flights,
accommodation, guides and most meals.
JANUARY
The first month of the year means long midsummer evenings and perfect weather
in New Zealand - ideal for spotting sperm whales and orcas at Kaikoura,
yellow-eyed penguins on the Otago Peninsula and dolphins in the Bay of
Islands. Turquiose Holidays (01494 678400, www.turquoiseholidays.co.uk)
offers a 12-night holiday from £2,785pp, including flights, accommodation,
car hire and trips to see the animals in the three locations.
FEBRUARY
So many monarch butterflies appear in parts of the Mexican province of
Michoacan that branches break off trees under their weight. Naturetrek
(01962 733051, www.naturetrek. co.uk)
has a nine-day trip from £1,995pp, including flights, full-board
accommodation and guide.
MARCH
As summer draws to a close in Antarctica, humpback whales begin their
migration north to warmer waters. The Drake Passage separating the continent
and South America is a huge expanse, so you're not guaranteed to see whales,
but on Hurtigruten's 16-day Antarctic Discovery (from £3,450pp, excluding
flights, 020-8846 2666, www.hurtigruten.co.uk)
you stand a decent chance.
APRIL
The heavy monsoon rains have yet to hit the Indian plains in April, making it
an ideal month to look for tigers in Ranthambore national park, despite the
increasing heat. Cox & King's (020-7873 5000, www.coxandkings.
co.uk) new 12-day Family Explorer tour spends two nights there, which
costs from £2,245 per adult and £2,095 per child, including flights,
transfers, accommodation, entrance fees and guides.
All prices are based on two sharing
A wild abundance of nature in Costa Rica all year round and no mention! A whole 5% of the planet's wildlife is represented in this tiny country where visitors can see leather back turtles laying their eggs, whales, dolphins, tapir's and an enormous variety of bird species. Go Costa Rica!
Nick Daines, San Jose , Costa Rica