10,000 Birds is running a series of articles by and about tour guides, tour companies, eco-lodges, and other birding travel organizations. We want to help the birding tourism industry come back strong from the COVID pandemic. Please consider using the services described in this post or any of the other posts we are sharing this February.
Wildlife Explorers is a newly established travel company, founded in September 2019, which deals exclusively with the service of wildlife photographers.
The company is based in Athens, but organizes in detail nature photography trips around the world, mainly gravitating towards a specialization in birds. Its founder, Chris Vlachos, has extensive experience and background in wildlife photography, starting his career more than 20 years ago. He holds the first place in the Greek Birdwatching Club 300, he organizes seminars and workshops both in the field and in venues and has been professionally engaging with field guiding since 1998.
The company works with the best guides of Greece, who are also excellent experts in their subject and its photography. Their subjects involve mainly birds, mammals, and butterflies, but also reptiles, amphibians, orchids, and underwater creatures.
The company’s trips are divided to destinations within Greece, with its very rich biodiversity, and some of the planet’s best-known and popular destinations, always with the central theme of wildlife and its creatures.
Wildlife Explorers, amongst the numerous trips organized every year, has incorporated some that are designed for both the photographers and their families. A second guide, exclusively dedicated to family members of the photographer, accompanies them to other, separate points of interest. The whole family meets again in the evening for a daily dinner. As it can be seen, one of the company’s values is that it advocates for diversity in wildlife photography tourism. As a part of this mentality, there are also trips organized especially for women, to several parts of the world.
All company trips are designed based on the needs of a nature photographer. Picking the right time and place, encompassing both local and company guides, who are fluent English speakers, but also creating the proper atmosphere and accommodating any special diet needs, are pillars or the trip itinerary. Some of the trips go beyond the ordinary and break the mold. Each one of them is truly special in a variety of unique destinations, and aims to the photographers left feeling fulfilled and accomplished, with their memory cards full of beautiful photos of creatures, landscapes, and even people who wanted to meet and photograph.
From summer of 2021, the company will own at least two permanent, modern hides, in parts of the country abounding with very interesting topics. It also currently works with two other bird and mammal hides in Europe. Furthermore, the company has two boat-hides, at the most popular lakes of Greece.
The company website (www.wildlifexplorers.com), which is now being redesigned, due to the circumstances, will include all the detailed information about the full team of the company, the destinations, the hides, as well as the costs and exact dates, as soon as restrictions are lifted. The website’s overhaul was a matter of necessity due to COVID-19. At all times and events, the company takes all the necessary measures to protect everyone.
The company also has a long-standing relationship with Canon Greece, as a major and established sponsor. As part of this sponsorship, Canon often provides new products for those photographers who follow its trips and even use its hides. Finally, the company supports local conservation projects in collaboration of the Hellenic Ornithological Society/BirdLife Greece.
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