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Our unique Festivals are innovative trips designed to celebrate all aspects of wildlife and are accompanied by one or more wildlife celebrities, and top experts in their field. Join us on the Festival of British Wildlife, Festival of Wildlife Tanzania, Festival of Bears or Festival of Wildlife Falklands & South Georgia for the ultimate wildlife experience. Find out more about our Festivals ...

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Why our Wildlife Festivals are so special

Maximum opportunity to watch and photograph wildlife with close encounters
A variety of activities and workshops including inspiring talks and lectures
Knowledgeable experts and guides to inform and entertain you
A group of like-minded people with a strong interest in the natural world

What to expect on a Wildlife Festival

The concept of Wildlife Festivals was conceived by Wildlife Worldwide founder Chris Breen, whose vision was to run a trip to “celebrate all aspects of an area’s flora and fauna”. Over the years this has evolved into special itineraries packed with a rich variety of activities.

Each day will bring new wildlife experiences, talks, workshops and master classes with a prestigious line-up of experts. Many participants appreciate the unique experience that a festival offers, and return regularly to enjoy the celebration. 

Travel with the Experts

The experts that are likely to accompany you on a Festival include naturalists, wildlife photographers, writers, television wildlife presenters, film/documentary makers, sculptors and artists. A team from Wildlife Worldwide also accompanies each Festival to manage this unique wildlife event. 

On our Festival of Wildlife in Spitsbergen, we will be joined by broadcaster and conservationist Mark Carwardine, Founder Chris Breen, team member Helen Bryon plus award-winning wildlife photographer Bret Charman.

Workshops & Presentations

Throughout the Festival there will be a comprehensive programme of activities or illustrated talks you can choose from. Depending on the festival and the location, these might include photography workshops, sculpture or sketching workshops, erudite lectures and/or illustrated talks. Each evening there will normally be an after-dinner presentation by one of the Festival experts. Meticulous long term planning ensures that nothing is left to chance. One thing is certain – you won’t be short of things to keep you busy!

Unique accommodation

On all our Festivals, we select wonderful, characterful accommodation, located in the best possible locations for wildlife viewing. Our group will have exclusive use of the lodge/camp, which allows for an even more intimate experience. Our venue for the Festival of Bears in Canada is the waterfront Spirit Bear Lodge, perfectly located for bear viewing in the Great Bear Rainforest. On Canada's Atlantic coast, our Festival of Whales saw us taking up residence in the summer home of former US President Franklin D Roosevelt on historic Campobello Island. On our Festival of Wildlife Tanzania & Festival of Wildlife Zambia the safari lodges we use are regularly frequented by wildlife, so even when you're not on a game drive you can still catch the action!

History

Such was the success of our first Festival in Kenya’s Masai Mara in 2004, that subsequent festivals took place in the Galapagos Islands in 2005, Ranthambhore National Park in India in 2006, the Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia in 2007, Madagascar in 2008, Tanzania’s legendary Serengeti in 2009, and the Pantanal, Brazil in 2010, with each festival focussing on the area’s wildlife in depth. The somewhat smaller Festival of Whales started in 2014, and the Festival of Bears in British Columbia, Canada, the same year. We are looking forward to returning to Zambia and Tanzania in the upcoming years.

The wildlife focus has featured lions, tigers, jaguars, lemurs, grey whales, grizzly bears, as well as those species which led Charles Darwin to formulate his ground-breaking theory of evolution. 

European Festival of Bears

Following the great success of our Festival of Bears to Canada's west coast, we are excited to bring a 6-day trip closer to home with a celebration of European brown bears. Travelling to Finland’s taiga forests in autumn we’ll watch the bears and their cubs as they prepare for hibernation as well as keeping an eye out for some of the other species amongst Finland’s famed wildlife including wolverine, wolf, red fox, great grey owl and many more.

Festival of Whales

Our Festival of Whales has historically taken place at San Ignacio lagoon in Baja California, the desert peninsula that extends down Mexico’s Pacific coastline, where the focus was grey whales. This Festival has now moved to the stunning Bay of Fundy on Canada's Atlantic Coast, where we charter our own boat to spend maximum time with a variety of whale species, in particular the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Festival of British Wildlife

The location of any festival is carefully selected for its potential for unmatchable sightings of the region’s most iconic wildlife – the focus may be a single species that inhabits or is endemic to the area, or the broad range of inhabitants of a particular habitat. 

Introducing our first ever Festival of British Wildlife; this week-long holiday to the Scottish Highlands is packed with a rich variety of activities, presentations and workshops and led by some of the UK’s leading naturalists and wildlife photographers. With exclusive access to the 600-acre Aigas Estate and nearby specialist hides we can expect to see pine marten, red deer, European crested tit, Scottish crossbill and more. This is a true celebration of our island’s wildlife.

Festival of Wildlife Tanzania

The wildlife-filled plains of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is the perfect location for our next edition of a Festival of Wildlife in Tanzania. Located on the edge of the Southern Serengeti National Park, the trip visits in April when over two million migratory animals can be found in the park including wildebeest, zebra, eland and Thomson’s gazelle. This is also one of the best places in Africa to see lion and cheetah, and we will be hoping to see rarer species including serval, caracal, striped hyena, bat-eared fox and jackal. Our base for the trip is Ndutu Safari Lodge which we have exclusive use of. There are also some exciting pre and post tour extensions including walking safaris and the chimps and gorillas of Uganda.

Festival of Wildlife Falklands & South Georgia

King penguins in South Georgia
This Festival embarks on an incredible wildlife voyage to one of the greatest, and most remote, locations on earth – South Georgia. With millions of penguins, hundreds of thousands of seals, the world’s great seabirds and cetaceans, the wildlife sightings are second to none, and this is certainly a trip of a lifetime. Before we sail to South Georgia we explore the remote Falkland Islands for more penguin watching highlights, all in the company of our expert team of photographers, artists and sculptors.

Festival of Wildlife Madagascar

For our 2026 Festival of Wildlife, we are off to a destination without equal – Madagascar, visiting two of the country’s finest wildlife destinations. We start in the rainforests of Andasibe before continuing to the dry, deciduous forests of Anjajavy, with exclusive lodge use at each. We are joined by a team of naturalists, artists, and photographers as we enjoy guided excursions, presentations, workshops, and masterclasses. At this time of year, we can experience incredible wildlife with species of reptiles, endemic birds, and tenrecs, as well as species of lemur such as diademed sifaka, bamboo lemur and maybe the rare red-bellied lemur, all vying for our attention.

Festival of Bears

Our popular Festival of Bears stays at a location in British Columbia that is renowned for sightings of brown (grizzly) bears. The lodges we select all offer comfortable accommodation, but more importantly, heart-stoppingly close encounters with the bears, as these magnificent forest-dwellers forage and fish at the height of summer. The resident experts on these trips are naturalist, writer and broadcaster Mark Carwardine and Wildlife Worldwide founder Chris Breen - both 'bear men' through and through - in 2023, and in 2024 Chris is joined by Wildlife Sales Consultant Helen Bryon.

Festival of Wildlife Zambia

Lioness in South Luangwa, Zambia
For our 30th anniversary we are taking our Festival of Wildlife to Zambia in South Luangwa National Park. With exclusive use of Mfuwe Lodge we are joined by a team of naturalists, artists and photographers as we enjoy wildlife safaris, presentations, workshops and masterclasses. Morning, afternoon and night drives take us into the heart of the park, where we will be looking out for the park’s resident leopard, lion, wild dog, hyena and more. South Luangwa is also a birder’s paradise with southern carmine bee-eaters, martial eagle, bateleur, Pel’s fishing owl and kingfishers all likely to be seen.

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