Bulgaria: Realm of the Brown Bear

This was my first ever trip with exodus and it was absolutely incredible. The scenery was beautiful, the walks were great, plenty of opportunity to look for bear activity, and one of the best experiences in my life. We saw a bear and cubs, and that was such an amazing sight! Julian and the staff at Yagodina were lovely, the group were very friendly, and it was just simply a lovely trip!

A brilliant trip in all respects! Scenery, group leader, wildlife, hotel, food all get top marks Great walking and was lucky to be with a lovely group of just 6 of us plus Julian our leader

The trip was absolutely wonderful. Julian Perry is so enthusiastic and so so knowledgeable about the wildlife and flowers of the Rodopi mountains it is impossible not to have a great great holiday. The hotel is comfy and the food is delicious and Mari and her team can’t do enough to make sure you enjoy your stay.

A brilliant and unusual combination of great walking and wildlife interest. On holidays these are usually separated but this worked so well, as you really came to appreciate the environment in which these animals,plants,reptiles etc flourished. Julian did a fantastic job in explaining everything and I think we learnt a lot in a week - he went over and above what was necessary in a leader. The hotel was lovely and everyone very friendly and helpful. The bears and wild boar were the highlight, also the short cut in the truck on the way home from the hide!!!

A wonderful week in the magnificent Rodopi Mountains. Excellent walks, lots of flora and fauna with very good photographic opportunities. Led by such a great guide who gave us insights into the local culture and taught us so much about the bears that roam this fascinating wild corner of Europe.

This was the best trip I've been on in years. It's so rare to have a trip which includes both walking and wildlife, but Julian created the perfect combination of the two with this trip. The scenery was spectacular, and it was just the right level of challenging for a townie who doesn't normally do that much walking! The locals in Yagodina are absolutely lovely, and the hotel staff couldn't do enough for us. The food was nearly all homemade and was so delicious. We certainly didn't go hungry! We were also so lucky to see as many bears and other wildlife as we did, and to have such a lovely group and guide who got on as well as we all did. We didn't stop laughing all week! I highly recommend this trip to anyone who likes walking, wildlife, stunning mountain and meadow views, delicious food and lovely people (what's not to like??)

Had a great time on the Bulgarian Brown Bear trip! Trip leader, Julian, was very enthusiastic and well-informed on the region and subject matter. Bulgaria is a beautiful country and the local people were wonderful. The owner of Hotel Yagodina, Maria, runs a great hotel and her and her staff serve fantastic food. Julian took us on some wonderful hikes and provided great information about bear behavior, habitat, biology, etc. Visiting the bear hide in the evening provided a fun opportunity to view the bears and other wild life. Julian made sure we had multiple opportunities to visit the bear hide in order to ensure we had an opportunity to see a bear. The hikes themselves were challenging, but not so difficult that we had any real problems completing them. Julian was willing to point out other wild life during our hikes, and was very engaging with people in the group. Julian is passionate about bears and excited to share the subject with others. He made sure we were taken care of and educated about the wonders of bears!

From sitting in a hide observing a glittering night time scene , to searching for Chamois from a hillside viewpoint , this trip encapsulates the world of the Brown Bear explained by the expert Julian Perry . He leads the group across an outstandingly scenic mountain terrain and presents the techniques to track and record the presence of Brown Bears in a non-intrusive way . We were very adequately accommodated in a centre-based family run hotel from where we walked or were driven to local forestry trails and areas used by Bears. With a tremendous knowledge of the ecology of the region , the leader identified and enabled us to observe and photograph flora and fauna including many wildflowers , birds , reptiles , mammals , amphibians and insects.

Beautiful scenery, fantastic guide. Observing bears was a real highlight.

This was my first walking holiday and must admit it was a title too much for me. But to put that into context I had a pacemaker fitted 5 weeks prior to the trip and didn't want to cancel. The holiday was mostly walking up and down mountains looking for signs of bears - including trees, paw prints, log movements, and the obvious thing all bears do in the woods! So if you like walking and hiking then you will enjoy this part of the holiday. The hotel was fabulous, food was lovely, staff were excellent, rooms great, and overall much better than expected. The expert guide Matthew was great, helpful, funny, knowledgable and looked a little like a cuddly bear (don't tell him that) The hide you get to go on an evening to have the chance to see the Bears feeding is perfect. We were very lucky seeing bears on both evenings I went. The other half of the group saw bears also and this can't be guaranteed but was great. One thing to note is the journey to the hide was fun but very bumpy and so not great for anyone who is injured or getting over surgery. Organisation of the trip was perfect, everything ran to plan and very well put together and organised. So overall really good holiday, but be warned you will need to enjoy walking lots!