Travel Planner

Rob Milverton

Travel Planner

rob@realholidays.co.uk

I’ve worked for Real Holidays for almost 20 years, and what I love most about my job is the huge variation in my work. One week I’m planning an anniversary weekend for 20 in Berlin, the next I’m working out a detailed itinerary for a 6-week sabbatical in India. It’s a great feeling to be foraying out into almost unknown territory when booking off-the-beaten-track places like Colombia or Iran.

As the father of 2 children, I love getting away with my family to various parts of the world and thankfully they seem to love wildlife as much as I do. Our trip to Costa Rica was a real eye-opener and a great combination holiday, spotting reptiles and birdlife in the jungle then surfing on the Pacific Coast. I also have a soft spot for Kenya where I first visited in a work capacity and liked it so much that I returned on my honeymoon.

Rob's favourite places for wildlife

If there's wildlife involved, I'm more than likely to be happy. I've also become increasingly interested in conservation - we have a responsibility to educate ourselves and our families about this important issue.

Kenya

Anywhere visited on a honeymoon is going to be hard to top, and Kenya is no exception. A greater range of wildlife is difficult to find anywhere, and in combination with excellent safari guides, it’s a winner for me. One of my favourite moments of the day on safari is sundowner o’clock.

The light picks up the ridges on the mountains, icy gin and tonics appear and you feel suffused with the warmth of a day in the African bush. Then you drive back to the lodge as the first stars come out, and headlights pick out jackal, hyena, even lion.
Costa Rica

As someone who loves to see wildlife in its natural habitat, Costa Rica is blessed with a huge number of things to see. Much of the country is criss-crossed by National Park areas and reserves, meaning a wealth of bird life. As well as being a model for eco-tourism, it’s a fantastic family destination too

We visited Tortuguero national park, edged by the Caribbean coast, and saw the amazing sight of a huge turtle lay her eggs in the moonlight, plus we spotted beautiful birdlife such as the swallow tail kite.
Iceland

A unique destination, with a landscape you won’t find anywhere else on earth, along with a lovely relaxed capital city to wander round including the iconic cathedral. Reykjavik has some top-class seafood restaurants and micro breweries.

I loved the natural phenomena that bubbles away over the lunar-like landscapes. Seeing the geyser shooting up into the air was very spectacular, and the glaciers and volcanoes make incredible vistas.

Rob's most memorable animal experiences

Of course, on any honeymoon, you hope to have memorable moments that will stay with you forever, but on our safari honeymoon in Kenya, we tracked a cheetah to where she lay in the shade of a tree, eyes closed. The next we knew, she was on the move, and leapt up onto our jeep. Suddenly her tail dangled through the sunroof – its black tip flicking idly between my wife and I. It was a shared moment that we will never forget. More recently, in Costa Rica, we watched a Green Turtle – much larger than I’d imagined – lay her eggs on the beach in the moonlight, before sliding back down the beach under the waves and away.