My wife and I are unvaccinated, and we are going to plan a trip to Iceland with another family member as the country has lifted all COVID restrictions for travelers. After providing Holbrook Travel with years of business, my family member contacted the company to assist with planning our trip. Here is the pertinent portion of the email response we received from the company' Vice President: Holbrook's Corporate Policy allows us to only send travelers who are fully vaccinated. When you advised that the others were not vaccinated I did not mention it because I wanted to be sure we were not considering a change to the policies - especially for countries that have dropped all restrictions. There is no plan to update our policy at this time so, regretfully; Holbrook will not be able to assist you in planning this trip. So, even though Iceland is welcoming us and other unvaccinated persons with "open arms," Holbrook Travel has made its own internal decision that we are not worthy of being their customers. That is certainly their prerogative, just as it my wife's and my prerogative to decide that we will never do business with this company again. For those who would be inclined to feel the same way, we wanted you to be aware of the company's position. Thank you. Ken H. read more

Worst Trip EVER.. I will NEVER travel with Holbrook again! I am an avid birder, so I was really looking forward to this week's (June 18-29, 2016) trip to Ecuador. I studied the birds in my books for weeks beforehand, as well as the maps. That is why I am so sad, angry, disappointed that I had to leave the trip and fly home after only a few days, on June 22. I knew this would be a rough trip, but no one told me before I left I needed to prepare myself for a marathon physically, and a camping-style trip. For a cost of $4000!! For that amount I could have stayed in luxury lodges and hired a private guide. No one told me that I needed to be EXTREMELY physically fit to go on this so-called "vacation." I am 65, and not unfit, but this was extreme. I walk, hike or swim every day. But the others in the group were runners and bikers and play tennis. If I'd known the trip was going to be so physically demanding I would not have gone. It was like a macho birdathon. For example, breakfast would be at 0530, and we needed to be packed up and on the bus at 6. Then, we would be out birding all morning until noon, with no restroom facilities, and we would be given a box lunch. Peeing is one thing; pooping in the field was horrible. Especially with the runs. That was certainly not in the brochure! You need to add toilet paper, bar soap and shampoo to your list of what to pack. This was typical of every day. 6 morning hours hiking in the field, in the heat and humidity, standing or hiking. Then, after lunch off birding again until 6 PM. Ten to 12 hours!! Sometimes standing and waiting for 30 minutes to find a single bird. The only alternative was to stay by myself at the lodge or stay in the hot bus. I spent a lot of time hiking back to the lodge or bus. The public facilities we did use were at gas stations, filthy and some without toilet paper or even WATER! At night my legs cramped horribly. The last night, I tried everything to relieve the pain, and again got very little sleep. I am not used to crying and falling apart on my trips. Birding should be a joy, but instead it was a painful, horrible experience. I asked to go back home. The water in the our sink and shower was brown. The towel I had was torn. The bed and pillow smelled strongly of mildew. The food was just OK, and breakfast had to be gulped down so fast I could not enjoy it. Our guide, Andres, was a good bird guide, but terrible at telling us what to expect or asking anything about our comfort. At least he helped me get to the airport and leave, so I was grateful for that. And the birds, especially the hummers, were wonderful to see. I just wish I could have seen more. It's hard to have fun when one feels so miserable. I have traveled extensively, and gone on birding and eco-trips with International Expeditions, Naturalist Journeys, and many others. I have also gone with a friend and hired a private birding guide. It was never like this. We were out 2 or 3 hours at most. We often had lunch at nice restaurants with clean, good restrooms. We even stopped for coffee or afternoon refreshment. This was nothing like that. It was by far the worst, most uncomfortable trip of my life. I will NEVER recommend Holbrook. PS - 2 days later, and I am still sick in the stomach..probably the food, because I avoided the water. read more

I went on a trip to Madagascar organized by Holbrook. Madagascar is not an easy place to travel, but I felt Holbrook could still have done a much better job. The schedule for our tour was unrealistic; Holbrook did not account for the poor conditions of the roads, so we got to some of our intended destinations too late in the day to see them. Holbrook did not explain in advance the amount of hiking involved in this trip; as a result, some members of the group could not keep up and were quite unhappy. Ditto for the ten hour bus rides - they really should have warned us. Holbrook also did not give us adequate packing advice; flashlights, since electricity in hotels is often turned off at night, and insect repellant treated clothes to keep off the leeches, are a must. I will stick to OAT organized tours in the future. read more

I used Holbrook Travel for a trip to the Galapagos - Fran Whitlock was a delight to work with - knowledgeable, responsive - she worked with our requirements and structured a delightful trip that went great. Will definitely use Fran and Holbrook Travel again. read more