19 Apr 2024
We booked our bear watching trip at short notice and Neotour/Outdoor Holidays made the arrangements efficiently and without fuss.
We were very lucky as the usual bear hide was unavailable so we had to travel further to a back-up hide down an unpaved forest road but while it is virtually guaranteed to see bears at either hide, there is far less chance of seeing bear cubs at the regular hide. We were fortunate enough to see two mothers each with two cubs - they were very playful (though the ranger said an adult male had killed a third cub) We spent a bit more than two hours in the hide as we were also treated to the sight of adult males (the mothers and cubs moved off when they heard them arrive) who took to their hind legs at various points and to a male and female together, apparently ‘courting’ just ahead of mating season.
Our guide Andra (also a mountain guide/climber) spoke flawless self-taught English, was very knowledgeable and intelligent, and very friendly. The 90 min journeys in her car to and from the forest flew by.
It was a very memorable experience and I would highly recommend the tour and the guide.