Seeing a bird in the wild, or some exotic animal in its native habitat, can be the kind of experience a person never forgets. Its certainly a world away from the all inclusive sun beach and towel fight type vacation that seems to have been sold to most people in the last few years. Bird watching and wildlife holidays are the absolute antidote to those usual trips one can take where nothing really happens and the whole family goes home hot, irritated and broke. Taking a wildlife tour offers the kind of excitement and reward that nothing else can.

One can go on wild life trips all over the world indeed, the more exotic one is prepared to go, the more spectacular the wild life and birding opportunities will be. From Asia to Australia; from Africa to the America the world is full of gorgeous creatures and stunning birds, just a glimpse of which can leave a lasting impression. Bird watching and wildlife holidays, if theyre properly done, reveal these animals to the enthralled holiday maker, camera at the ready, who for the first time ever is building a set of snaps that really do warrant the inevitable slide show evening on their return.

Its important to do these trips right, if one wishes to get the best out of them and, of course to ensure that there is no negative impact on the environment into which one is travelling. Theres nothing worse than a shoddily arranged wildlife tour the guests dont see anything and the disturbance involved in the ecosystems being visited is too much, over time, for them to bear. When booking, make sure that the carrier in question has the proper licences and reputation to run bird watching and wildlife holidays. Spend some time looking at their web site and researching customer reactions to previous tours. No-one, after all, wants to go away on a nature holiday and come home feeling guilty. Make sure your tour operator respects the environment, the birds and the creatures and everyone will go home happy.

Make sure, too, that the tour operator runs with proper guides. The guide is the heart of every successful bird watching and wild life trip he or she will ideally either be a native of the area in question, or will have spent so much time there that he or she might as well be. If in doubt, use a firm like Limosa Holidays as a bench mark. Limosa Holidays operates bird watching and wildlife holidays all over the world, all of which are so well thought of that some very famous names in the natural history and ornithological worlds have allowed themselves to be attached to the badge. Every one of those holidays is guided either by properly paid locals or by expats who have lived with the birds and animals of the area for years. Guiding is the only way one is guaranteed to see the things one has come for dont let the trip be ruined by a poor choice.

So done well, bird watching and wildlife holidays offer a unique alternative to lying around getting sun burned and irritable. Go on, live a little.