FOREST & WOODLAND

We’re going on a bear hunt

Finland

Track bears, wolves, wolverines and elk – among many other species – in the taiga forests of Eastern Finland. During an overnight bear-watching excursion you will have the opportunity first to track these charismatic animals (by identifying their droppings and marks left on trees), then photograph themfrom a specially designed hide. You will also visit the Petola Nature Centre with its exhibition about Finland’s carnivores including the rare lynx.

Regent Holidays (0117 453 3001; regent-travel.co.uk) offers the eight-day Finnish Wildlife & Wilderness Adventure from £1,950pp including accommodation, most meals, flights, train tickets and transfers.

Breathe it all in

Costa Rica

Discover the biodiverse wildlife of Costa Rica on a self-drive loop of the country’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts, as well as the mountainous rainforests of the interior. Among the volcanoes, cloud forests, wetlands, coastlines and beaches are monkeys, sloths, sea turtles, caiman, iguanas and tropical birds ranging from scarlet macaws to the rare, multi-coloured quetzal. Dolphins and whales are often seen off the Osa Peninsula in the west.

Pura Aventura (01273 676712; puraaventura.com) offers the 14-day self-drive Caribbean Escape & Osa from £3,645pp including accommodation, most meals, 4x4 vehicle hire, a selection of guided activities and transfers. Excludes flights.

Paradise found

Papua New Guinea Explore the forests of Papua New Guinea with naturalist Mike Dilger. Search for the birds of paradise (BOPs) described by Alfred Wallace, the first European naturalist to observe them, as “the most beautiful and most wonderful of living things”. Species include the king of saxony, the twelve-wired BOP, the ribbon-tailed astrapia and the flame bowerbird. There will also be an opportunity to experience the island’s famous tribal cultures in a highland setting.

Wildlife Worldwide (01962 302 086; wildlifeworldwide.com) offers a 15-day trip from £11,495pp including accommodation, most meals, guided excursions and transfers, but excluding international flights.

j Well spotted: an ocelot, with its beautiful markings, on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica

j Distant relatives: tourists give right of way to chimpanzees in Uganda