The Holbrook Explorer
Where we travel
Holbrook's 2024 Calendar
Each year, we ask our travelers to submit their favorite photos from their journeys with us for a chance to be featured in our annual calendar. This year, as always, we had many great submissions, and it was a challenge to narrow it down. We're excited to share the finished result! Thank you to...
Photo of the Month: December 2023
To celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, we joined Holbrook and the Tropical Audubon Society on their August 2022 Costa Rica Birding Trip. It was full of wonder and beauty. Our trip’s success owes a lot to the excellence of our guide, Gilberth “Chito” Molina. He brought a great deal of local...
Destination Spotlight: An Inside Look at Mountain Gorilla Trekking
"All I remember was being breathless. It was so magical,” recalls Pelin Karaca, Holbrook’s Vice President of Product Development, about her first encounter with the mountain gorillas. “I was together with a group of eight of us. All of a sudden, I hear this rustle from the trees and bushes around...
Photo of the Month: November 2023
Cordova, Alaska was full of adventure for three generations exploring Alaska for the first time. We hiked under massive Douglas fir and heard Bald Eagles, Pacific Wrens and Varied Thrush calling through the misty forest. The views show the picture-perfect mountains in the Chugach Wilderness, and...
Photo of the Month: October 2023
I traveled to Madagascar in May of 2022 with Holbrook, and our group was led by the great photographer and filmmaker Todd Gustafson. Early in our trip, we traveled to Morondava on the West Coast of Madagascar and then traveled by four-wheel-drive vehicle to the famous Avenue of the Baobabs. These...
Photo of the Month: September 2023
Rare, unique and extraordinary are words that you will use repeatedly during a visit to the Galápagos Islands. With every hike, panga ride or swim, you will observe amazing wildlife in spectacular habitats. Upon first encountering the tortoises on San Cristóbal Island, Charles Darwin referred to...
Photo of the Month: August 2023
The beach photo is from Water Cay. We took a 40-minute boat ride from Utila to this small cay and spent the day snorkeling, fishing and hanging out. No one lives on the island so we had the entire island to ourselves. During the snorkel tour around the entire cay we saw yellow-spotted rays,...
Photo of the Month: July 2023
Night hikes on the grounds of the Selva Verde Lodge reveal a variety of interesting insects seen and photographed with bright headlamps. This harvestmen (above) is an arachnid and a close relative of spiders. These species of Opiliones are very diverse and abundant in the tropics. They are harmless...
Photo of the Month: June 2023
Our small group left the hotel in the dark and arrived at Sossusvlei in the pre-dawn light; the landscape washed in muted shades of gray. In hushed excited tones, we began our ascent across the soft fluid sand, stopping along the way to catch our breath. At the crest of the final dune, we caught...
Photo of the Month: May 2023
The imposing Galápagos Hawk (above) is always ready to attack its prey without any fear; he only focuses on his goal. I was inspired to take this picture because of the deep and imposing gaze of the hawk on Chinese Hat Island. The Road Scholar participants (below) are receiving the energies of...
Photo of the Month: April 2023
The photo above is a female baboon holding her infant. We were at a clearing in Lake Nakuru having lunch when we spotted her sitting at the edge of a wooded area holding her baby. The photo below is a female leopard in Samburu. When we first came upon her, she was relaxing on a dead, fallen tree....
Photo of the Month: March 2023
Our trip to Iceland was phenomenal, especially since it was our first international trip since the pandemic. We fell in love with the island nation—its beauty, its people, its food. The trip offered a taste of everything Iceland has to offer, from volcanoes and geysers, to fjords and lava fields,...