Holbrook Travel

02/12/2025

Today is the birth anniversary of Charles Darwin! aims to inspire people around the globe to reflect on intellectual bravery, perpetual curiosity, and a hunger for truth. Darwin is known for his book "The Origin of Species", which is considered the foundation of evolutionary biology and was inspired by his time studying and observing life in the remote Galápagos Islands.

It was on this expedition where Darwin found the magical archipelago where some birds no longer fly, tortoises weigh 500 pounds, penguins live on the equator, and Blue-footed Bo***es perform elaborate dances for their mates. 🐢🐧🔍

In 1971, Giovanna Holbrook took on the challenge of leading two University of Florida science professors and a group of naturalists to the Galápagos Islands. This life-changing experience became the impetus for the creation of Holbrook Travel. Listen to Mrs. Holbrook tell the story of that first expedition here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBmoIvJc7AM
watch?v=QBmoIvJc7AM

02/11/2025

If you’ve ever felt curious about the invaluable work of the Sarapiquí Conservation Learning Center toward the sustainable development of Sarapiquí, Costa Rica, enjoy this video for a glimpse into some of the experiences they help facilitate for community members and visitors alike, as well as the educational projects and initiatives they have crafted with a special focus on helping local women, children, and youth! 🌱

02/01/2025

One of the most enriching parts of what we do is getting to see just how transformative and educational the experiences we help curate for our travelers are. ✨

As part of our work as long-time providers for Road Scholar, we proudly service their 20789 program: Wonders of Chile and Argentina: Patagonia, Iguazu Falls and Splendid Cities. 🗻🌅🌃 This journey across the breathtaking landscapes of the Southern Cone not only takes visitors through volcanoes, waterfalls, glacier-carved peaks, and the metropolitan cities of Buenos Aires and Santiago, it also includes unforgettable and enlightening cultural exchanges.

Our very own Gonzalo Ríos recently joined a group on their adventure and shared some photos with us from their visits to the Mapuche home of Inal Lewfu and the town of Frutillar, showing the richness of Chilean history and culture, from their ancient Indigenous civilizations to their colonial past. 🌎📚

🍲 Between Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas, located on Mapuche ancestral land, the Inal Lewfu culinary and cultural experience allows visitors to gain valuable insights into Mapuche traditions from direct descendants of members of this Indigenous community. In addition to sharing about their history, different groups, traditional music, the significance of their land, spirituality, and their connection to nature, hosts welcome guests with a wine sour before preparing a traditional dinner known as Curanto en Olla. This preparation consists of a delicious mixture of meats, seafood, and more cooked in an earth oven in the authentic style of the region. 🍃

🏞 The town of Frutillar, located at the edge of Lake Llanquihue but north of Puerto Varas, is evidence of the strong influence of German settlers who arrived to Chile’s Lakes Region in the 19th Century. The local community’s support of the arts and vibrant musical history has led to Frutillar being designated as a UNESCO City of Music since 2017. The town’s impressive Teatro del Lago, a concert hall, is the southernmost international theater in the world and one of the most important cultural centers of South America. When weather allows, it also affords visitors incomparable views of Volcán Osorno. 🎼

📸 by Gonzalo Ríos

01/30/2025

Meet Jorge Monge, one of our Costa Rica guides! 🇨🇷 Jorge grew up in the Costa Rican countryside among beautiful landscapes of mountains, volcanoes, rivers and rainforest. 🌄⛰ He has been leading groups since 1999.

What inspired you to be a guide?
I went to university to study ecotourism and business administration, no relation whatsoever but I like both of them. Rapidly, I felt in love with animals and plants so I decided to become a group leader or tour guide to have the possibility to be an ambassador of my country.

What do you enjoy most about being a guide?
What I personally enjoy the most is having the opportunity to show my country to visitors, hopefully changing people’s perspective and teaching them new things.

What do you love most about your country?
I like Costa Rica because it is such a small country with a little bit of everything and for those of you thinking about coming to Costa Rica, all I can say is get ready to have an unforgettable experience with memories that will last for lifetime.

01/27/2025

It's monarch season! 🦋 In the next few weeks, we have several groups heading to Mexico to witness the migration of hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies. This annual migration southward from their breeding grounds in the United States and Canada to overwintering sites high in the mountains of southern Mexico is one of the most awe-inspiring phenomena in nature.

Monarch populations have fluctuated over recent years due to the effects of pesticides and climate change on the plants these butterflies rely on, such as milkweed, where they lay their eggs, and oyamel fir trees, which provide overwintering shelter to hibernating colonies.

This inspiring interview with ecologist and forester Dr. Cuauhtémoc Sáenz-Romero details his work planting oyamel firs at higher elevations as the planet warms. This incredible work aims to ensure monarchs will have shelter on their migrations for years to come. Read more in the article below!

Safeguarding the future of monarch butterflies by planting a new climate change-adapted overwintering habitat at higher elevation!

01/24/2025

We're having a great time so far at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival! If you're planning to visit this weekend, be sure to stop by our booth and say hello.

🐦 The Expo Hall is open today from 12-6 pm and tomorrow from 10 am-6 pm.

🐦 There's still time to enter our drawing for a $75 gift card to the Merritt Island Wildlife Association gift shop. We'll be selecting our winner on Saturday afternoon, but you don't have to be present during the drawing to win.

🐦 The festival is hosting a Young Birders Event tomorrow from 10 am-2 pm, free for kids ages 8-17 and their guardians. Visit https://scbwa.net for more info.

Happy birding!

01/16/2025

We’re thrilled to congratulate Road Scholar on their 50th Anniversary! 🎉 As a proud Road Scholar provider for more than 35 years, we have had the pleasure of witnessing their remarkable journey firsthand, and we look forward to continue sharing even more inspiring educational adventures with them in the future! 🎊

01/11/2025

UPDATE: Thank you for your interest! Submissions closed on 1/27

Our 2025 calendar is here🎉 This edition features a variety of eye-catching photos taken by our travelers on excursions to Costa Rica, Bolivia, Rwanda, Madagascar, and more. To receive your own free copy, like our page and fill out the form below! One calendar is available per household and will be shipped on a first-come, first-served basis.

Fill out this form to claim yours: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf4VEC1uN3BUG4Mcg75uIFElnnOOYOtlLJt9GjgoUgCXeRHgg/viewform?usp=sharing

📸 by Todd Gustafson, Gustafson Photo Safari

12/31/2024

As a bookend to our 50th Anniversary, we invite you to count down the days to the new year with us as we celebrate some of our favorite highlights from 2024! 🎉

With only 1️⃣ day left of 2024, it is the perfect chance to wrap up what has been an unforgettable 50th anniversary year by sharing our special commemoration of five decades of shared adventures and a firm commitment to responsible travel. We have countless reasons and moments to celebrate from the last 50 years, but above all, we want to express our immense gratitude for the gracious and unrelenting support we have received from our clients, who continue to put their trust in us, our providers and partners in the field, who work hand-in-glove with us to make the magic happen, our staff and global team, which are in many ways like family, and our incredible group leaders and guides in the field, who share their passion and knowledge with our travelers.

As we look back in order to look forward, we stand strong in the foundation set for us by Giovanna Holbrook’s great vision, guidance, and legacy, and we can’t wait to see where the next 50 years take us. We hope you enjoy this journey through our past, and that you join us in 2025 and beyond for even more adventures! 🌟

Thank you to our travelers, staff, and guides for sharing their video footage. Edited by Christa Markley.

12/30/2024

As a bookend to our 50th anniversary, we invite you to count down the days to the new year with us as we celebrate the highlights from 2024 and acknowledge the people who helped us reach this exciting milestone! 🎉

With just 2️⃣ days left in the year, we take one last look back at our special anniversary trips to Cuba, Tanzania, the Brazilian Pantanal, and Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands. These destinations were selected because each one represents the history and spirit of Holbrook in its own unique way. Thank you to the travelers who joined us - we were thrilled to connect with you in the field and share some truly memorable experiences together!

Check back on Facebook and Instagram tomorrow for the FINAL day of our countdown to 2025 🌟

📸 by Sandy Doss, Jill Hays, Andrea Holbrook, Jackie Kramer, Joel Mariño, Nicole Sullivan, and Lindsay Taulbee

12/28/2024

As a bookend to our 50th Anniversary, we invite you to count down the days to the new year with us as we celebrate some of our favorite highlights from 2024! 🎉

With 4️⃣ days left in the year, we are thrilled to congratulate Selva Verde Costa Rica Rainforest Lodge on another year of superb service and standards of quality! Travelers from all over the world express their gratitude toward SVL year after year for making their visits to Sarapiquí unforgettable. Along with the Lodge’s tireless commitment to making visitors’ experiences seamless and remarkable, they also worked hard to once again be awarded elite status in the Certification for Sustainable Tourism from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute! Selva Verde continues to be one of less than 80 properties in Costa Rica with this certification, which offers reliable information and tangible proof of the Lodge’s sustainability practices.

Join us in celebrating Selva Verde’s notable achievements and let us know of your own special adventures with them in Sarapiquí!

See you again on our Instagram tomorrow for day 3️⃣ of our countdown to 2025 🌟

📸 by David Bruck, Stephanie Kowacz, Carlos Alcoser, the Sarapiquí Conservation Learning Center, and Lindsay Taulbee

12/26/2024

As a bookend to our 50th Anniversary, we invite you to countdown the days to the new year with us as we celebrate some of our favorite highlights from 2024! 🎉

With 6️⃣ days left in the year, we're looking forward to 2025 where we will be celebrating Road Scholar's 50th Anniversary! This year we also had the honor of joining Road Scholar in celebrating their chosen Campus of the Year for 2024: Costa Rica. As a proud Road Scholar provider for more than 35 years, we have firsthand knowledge of the wonders this nation has to offer and we are devoted to playing an active role in helping safeguard Costa Rica's natural resources and showcase the warmth and richness of its culture and people.

Join us in celebrating Road Scholar's 50th Anniversary milestone in 2025 and consider experiencing one of our Road Scholar programs for yourself! We help them provide trips to locations including Tanzania, Peru, Galapagos, Chile and Argentina.🌎

These photos are from one of our Road Scholar trips to Costa Rica as well as our office visit with them earlier this year. Find us on Instagram tomorrow for day 5️⃣ of our countdown to 2025 🌟

📸 by Justin DeVoe and Jill Hays

12/24/2024

As a bookend to our 50th Anniversary, we invite you to countdown the days to the new year with us as we celebrate some of our favorite highlights from 2024! 🎉

With 8️⃣ days left in the year, we're looking back on the memories we've made with our travelers, and looking forward to new ventures in 2025! Since January, we've embarked on trips to 21 countries in North, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Africa.

Thank you for trusting us to take you out of your comfort zone and into new unforgettable experiences. We are blessed to connect with a community of travelers who share a thirst for learning, a passion for adventure, and an appreciation for nature and wildlife. These photos represent a few of the many journeys we went on this year.

Did you join us on a trip this year? Let us know where you went and one of your favorite memories in the comments!

Find us on Instagram tomorrow for day 7️⃣ of our countdown to 2025 🌟

📸 by Debbie Jordan, Laurie McLaughlin, Jill Hays, Pelin Karaca, David Knight, Diane Schilling

12/22/2024

As a bookend in our 50th Anniversary, we invite you to countdown the days to the new year with us as we celebrate the highlights from 2024 and acknowledge the people who helped us reach this exciting milestone! 🎉

The countdown begins today! With 🔟 days left in the year, there's no better way to start than by extending a huge thank you to our dedicated in-country guides who make the nature, communities, and experiences come alive for travelers.

With intimate knowledge of the culture and ecosystems of their homes, in-country guides play an enormous role in the traveler experience and in the success of our programs, leaving a meaningful and lasting impression on travelers. In addition to guiding groups, they also participate in seasonal sessions to ensure that new and long-time guides alike are up-to-date on our current protocols and ready to take you on an unforgettable adventure. Thank you to our guides for your commitment and for sharing your passion for your country with our travelers!

Have you had a memorable experience with an in-country guide? Tell us about it in the comments! Check our Instagram tomorrow for day 9️⃣ of our countdown to 2025 🌟

12/21/2024

Birder and high school biology teacher Kendell Loyd went to Colombia with us earlier this year and wrote all about his experience! 🐦🦜🇨🇴 On a 9-day journey from cloud forests to the páramo ecosystem, Kendell and his group witnessed multiple rare and endemic bird sightings. Check out our blog for the full report:

As a high school biology teacher and birder, my favorite way to spend my spring break each year is traveling with friends to see new birds. Last March, I got just the chance on a 9-day birding trip to Colombia with Holbrook Travel, focusing on the Cauca Valley and the western slope of the Central An...