Awards, Media & Press

If you’re looking for the ultimate adrenaline rush in 2025, Nat Hab’s Alaska Bear Camp is a remote, off-grid sustainable base camp in one of the wildest places on earth, according to the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer Court Whelan. ‘This intimate, awe-inspiring experience has tremendous positive benefits, adding tourism value to brown bears—currently under threat via Alaska’s Prop 75—and inspiring people to become advocates, storytellers, and defenders of these often-feared animals,’ Whelan tells Forbes.”

Located in a remote and beautiful corner of Lake Clark National Park, Nat Hab 's Alaska Bear Camp provides exclusive access to observe coastal brown bears in their natural habitat. Guests stay in comfortable safari-style tents equipped with modern amenities, enjoying guided bear-viewing excursions led by expert naturalists. The camp emphasizes sustainability and conservation, providing an unforgettable adventure for wildlife enthusiasts seeking an intimate encounter with Alaska’s most majestic residents.

Traveling to the elusive seventh continent has never been easier, thanks to the rapid growth of the expedition cruise industry. But why travel to Antarctica? Visiting the White Continent is far more than just checking a box. It's an opportunity to see a part of Earth that's radically different than anywhere else — and radically removed from everywhere else — reminding you just how extraordinary our planet is.

Natural Habitat Adventures offers over 100 conservation-focused itineraries around the globe. Don Martinson says that 94 cents of all the dollars pays to partners stays in local economies. The company was launched in 1985 after its founder, Ben Bressler, visited Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence to see baby harp seals. He was so moved that he convinced local hunters to change careers and become guides for photo safaris.

On foot and on horseback, guests will cross Mexico’s Central Highlands, where forested hills are cradled by snow-capped mountains, and they will stay at idyllic eco-lodges along the way. While witnessing the magical natural phenomenon of millions of butterflies blanketing trees and fluttering through blue skies in flame-colored clouds, visitors will learn how Natural Habitat Adventures works with the World Wildlife Fund to monitor the species and protect key habitat areas.

In Churchill, Canada, you can watch the lights dance over a family of polar bears from the comfort of your sleeper car. The Manitoba town, which experiences auroral activity more than 300 nights a year, is a top destination for seeing the majestic animals in the wild. Operated by Natural Habitat Adventures, a conservation-focused travel partner of the World Wildlife Fund, the Tundra Lodge offers accommodations inspired by train cars in prime bear-spotting territory.

Travel + Leisure readers have selected their top tour operators for 2024. Check out which companies made the cut in our annual “World’s Best Awards” survey.

Travelers interested in exploring the lesser-visited regions of Iceland’s Westfjords and tranquil East Coast while supporting the country’s sustainability efforts can do so on an expedition with Natural Habitat Adventures.

If you’ve ever wanted to see polar bears in the wild, wandering the ice toward the horizon, then join an expedition tour in Churchill, Canada with Natural Habitat Adventures. You’ll board a Polar Rover, an intrepid vehicle with massive tires and an outdoor viewing platform, which will keep you and the bears safe as you explore the tundra.

In the highland forests of Michoacán, Mexico, nature tours are helping local communities safeguard millions of monarch butterflies that arrive each winter—an important migratory phenomenon that’s remained unchanged since its discovery was published in National Geographic in the 1970s.

In 2007, Natural Habitat Adventures eliminated plastic water bottles from their trips and became the world’s first carbon-neutral travel company. It then took on another ever-growing environmental issue: waste.

Do some good while seeing the world when you book with these ethical and sustainable travel companies.

In a recent podcast episode, I spoke with Court Whelan, the Chief Sustainability Officer at Natural Habitat Adventures (Nat Hab), to discuss the transformative power of regenerative tourism and conservation. Court’s journey from his upbringing in Florida to his role at Nat Hab reflects a lifelong passion for nature and wildlife conservation.

One of the things that stood out to us on this trip was Nat Hab’s attention to detail. These trips are meticulously planned so that you have the time of your life viewing polar bears. Over the six-day trip, we spent four days in Churchill and within those four days, we spent 20 hours with the polar bears!

The hairs on my neck stood on alert as the massive coastal grizzly ambled closer and closer. I’ve watched brown bears like these in nature documentaries for years, but...now the only things between us were a few yards of grass and air...I was on a Natural Habitat Adventures trip to Katmai National Park & Preserve. Several years later, I did a second bear-viewing trip with the company to Lake Clark National Park.

Natural Habitat Adventures invites travelers to go beyond the standard koala, wombat, and crocodile sightings on a new carbon-neutral, 21-day Australian safari. During a stop on Kangaroo Island, guests head into the field with Land for Wildlife, which works to rewild landscapes and save endangered species devastated by recent wildfires.

On Natural Habitat Adventures’ Southern Africa Riverboat Safari, guests participate in wildlife viewing from both land and water. The 11-day, small-group trip includes three days on a riverboat, motorboat excursions in the Chobe River, game drives in Hwange National Park, a visit to Victoria Falls, and meetings with local villagers.

Natural Habitat Adventures, a leader in responsible nature-based adventure travel, in partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) recently deployed one of the safari industry’s first off-the-grid solar-powered electric safari vehicles in Botswana.

"The mountain gorilla is the only one of the great apes experiencing an increase in population in recent years. “Tourism is the only reason mountain gorillas still exist,” says Jordahl, who has led several Natural Habitat Adventures trips to see this endangered species."

Un safari en Australia explora las vastas riquezas de un destino que parece tenerlo todo. Y la nueva travesía de Natural Habitat Adventures es prueba de ello.

Take a tour of wild Croatia and Slovenia. The former is not a hidden gem anymore, but the latter certainly continues to fly under the tourist radar. Either way, this tour will take you to places most foreigners have never even heard of.

Australia might just be one of the best wildlife destinations around. That's why tour company Nat Hab has developed the Ultimate Australia Safari, a 21-day journey that will make its debut next year.

Natural Habitat Adventures offers a six-day summertime 'total immersion' bear camp with safari-style tents on Cook Inlet. Each season there’s at least one 'women only' week.

Located on the shores of Hudson Bay, near the tiny town of Churchill in Canada’s Manitoba province, this area is a favorite polar bear hangout, particularly in late fall. About 850 bears—as many as there are people in Churchill—gather up here waiting for the bay to freeze.

I journeyed with fellow visitors to Natural Habitat Adventures’ Alaska Bear Camp, on Chinitna Bay on the southern end of the park ... Bear Camp is a “glamping” site with eight cozy, heated tent cabins on wooden platforms encircled by an electric fence. On one side of the camp is a beach and tidal mud flats—where a subset of bears digs for clams and other food—and behind it is a salt marsh meadow full of sedges.

To make the most of your time, utilize the expert help of Natural Habitat Adventures for their week-long nature-filled Yellowstone: Ultimate Wolf & Wildlife Safari.

Be wary of vague language and terms like “eco-tourism” or “green travel,” warns Court Whelan, chief sustainability officer at Natural Habitat Adventures, a tour company that works with local and international conservation organizations in the areas it visits.

The World Wildlife Fund (in conjunction with Natural Habitat Adventures) has dozens of U.S. and international trips. And if you do travel with them, besides gaining access to memorable locations, you’ll also help support worthwhile conservation groups with your trip: a win-win situation.

Join Natural Habitat Adventures and World Wildlife Fund naturalist guides for a 13-day Ultimate Alaska Wildlife Safari. The agenda includes traveling by train, boat, and plane from Fairbanks to Denali National Park, Kenai Fjords National Park, and Katmai National Park for bear viewing.

Annie Van Dinther, an Arctic guide at Natural Habitat Adventures, has more than 20 years of experience under her belt. When she is not braving the infamously volatile waters of Drake Passage or kayaking in Baja, she and her family are enjoying the Alaskan wilderness they call home.

Just last year Lindblad Expeditions announced it was going carbon neutral, joining industry big-names Natural Habitat Adventures and Intrepid Travel.

Sustainable-nature travel specialists Natural Habitat Adventures got us thinking differently. They wanted to show us that a zero-waste trip was absolutely possible.

Nat Hab is the first tour company to specifically launch a zero-waste trip, but it’s certainly not the first to tackle the waste problem in its operations and tour offerings.

On Natural Habitat Adventures' Ultimate Wolf and Wildlife Safari, travelers can observe wolves living wild and free, restored to their prehistoric habitat.

A week-long zero-waste trip led by Natural Habitat Adventures through Yellowstone National Park diverted 50.9 pounds of waste—99% of all the on-trip waste.

If travel is what opens peoples’ eyes to what’s at stake in our world through transformative experiences that catalyze greater action for conservation, then it’s worth getting people to these places.

"Historically, measuring and managing a company’s carbon footprint has been a very time-intensive and expensive endeavor, making it only accessible to companies with significant resources or steadfast environmental commitments,” said Ted Martens, VP for marketing and sustainability at Natural Habitat Adventures. “The bulk carbon offset program aim is to change that and make carbon management more accessible for companies of all sizes within adventure travel, and hopefully soon within the broader tourism industry.”

On a trip designed to minimize 99% of trash, the creators of the World’s First Zero Waste Adventure found food excess to be their biggest challenge.

Natural Habitat Adventures offers a 17-day private yacht expedition aboard a vessel that takes no more than seven passengers...the itinerary includes a number of shore landings and three overnights on the peninsula.

The world's first carbon-neutral tour company, Natural Habitat Adventures also led the world's first zero-waste adventure (to Yellowstone) earlier this year.

"'Bears can be cute, scary, funny, fearsome—all the things that fascinate us," says our Natural Habitat Adventures guide, Brad Josephs, who has been leading bear tours around the world for nearly two decades.

I signed up to be part of Natural Habitat Adventures' ambitious zero-waste safari through Yellowstone National Park...no other tour operator has ever pulled off a truly waste-free trip before.

Natural Habitat Adventures offers land-based tours and has been operating as carbon neutral since 2007, according to the company. Starting this year, the company reported that it will also be offsetting all of its customers’ round-trip flights to and from its land journeys.

Natural Habitat Adventures is launching its first zero-waste trip next month, as part of its Yellowstone Country tour...the goal of fitting all the waste produced from 14 travelers on this seven-day trip into a single small container is a lofty one.

On the eight-day 'Great Tanzania Migration Safari' with Natural Habitat Adventures (WWF's official travel partner), naturalist expedition leaders lead small groups through the UNESCO-listed plains during peak migration season.

Each year, over 100 million pounds of waste is generated in national parks. Natural Habitat Adventures aims to reduce that number with a new zero-waste safari in Yellowstone National Park.

Natural Habitat Adventures is set to raise the bar by operating the world's first zero-waste tour, with all waste generated on the Yellowstone country trip designed to fit in a single jar.

The bear encounter is a heady introduction to Natural Habitat Adventures' weeklong expedition along Katmai National Park & Preserve, a wilderness reserve a little larger than Connecticut at the head of the Alaska Peninsula.

Since its establishment in 1985, Natural Habitat Adventures has been a leader in responsible adventure travel. Charting the way with innovative sustainability initiatives while accumulating several awards and accolades in the process, Nat Hab’s employees have also done an excellent job with involving clients in their eco-friendly efforts.

This day (Feb. 27 each year) was created to draw attention to the challenges polar bears face in our warming world. Here are some ways to celebrate... Outfitters like Natural Habitat Adventures take you out the tundra to get an up-close view of these Arctic wanderers.

Need a last-minute getaway and don't mind the cold? Natural Habitat Adventures is offering an immersive eight-day wolf and wildlife expedition in Yellowstone National Park.

Camp near the edge of the Greenland ice sheet, explore remote fjords, and get an up-close look at the effects of climate change on Discover Greenland: The Natural Habitat Experience.

Natural Habitat Adventures will launch the world's first zero waste travel adventure in 2019 during a weeklong trip through Yellowstone Country.

Natural Habitat Adventures runs small, ship-based photography workshops that take you to remote parts of Alaska’s biodiverse backcountry such as Kodiak Island. Led by naturalists and wildlife photographers, you’ll spend eight days navigating the shorelines of Katmai National Park, photographing Alaskan brown bears, sea lions, puffins, bald eagles, and occasionally even whales and wolves along the way.

Projects like Nat Hab’s zero-waste safari aim to make people think about their own impact on the environment and take their lessons home with them.

One of the early leaders in the travel industry's move toward reducing its carbon footprint is setting its sights on another ambitious sustainability goal: pulling off what it says will be the world's first zero-waste adventure.

Hatched by Natural Habitat Adventures in 2015, the camp is a game changer for exploration, opening a world of adventure to distant expanses previously only accessible by lengthy boat rides, pricey helicopter flights, or wintertime sled dog pursuits.

Natural Habitat Adventures' Family Galapagos Adventure tour, which is available for a maximum of 20 guests, is accompanied by both an expedition leader and a special children's guide.

Enjoy eye-level encounters with Pacific gray whales on a six-day excursion offered by Natural Habitat Adventures. Highlights include six separate skiff journeys on the protected waters of the San Ignacio Lagoon on the Baja Peninsula, the whales’ traditional breeding ground, and a visit to the Vizcaino Desert, a United Nations Biosphere Reserve.

Travelers stay in a deluxe expedition camp near the Greenland ice sheet and explore fjords and islands through boat excursions and guided walks.

On Natural Habitat Adventures' six-day tour to this beloved island near Cancun, visitors can swim with the whale sharks that migrate here.

Natural Habitat Adventures runs the only luxury base camp in East Greenland, and its expedition leaders are among the most experienced in the business.

Far-flung destinations in Bhutan and Nepal can be toured with Natural Habitat Adventures, a travel company uniquely focused on conservation and sustainability.

Cruise ships and luxe lodges are familiar sights in western Greenland, but more recently, the untamed tundra of the east has begun opening up. Natural Habitat Adventures is leading the push.

Natural Habitat Adventures offers the highest guide-to-guest ratio in the Galapagos during its specially crafted sailings designed for up-close, private encounters in this isolated sanctuary of biodiversity.

With this unique trip, the search heads deep into the Minshan Mountains of Sichuan province and the Tibetan Plateau, the last wild habitat of the giant panda. A grid of secluded nature reserves supported by the WWF, these little-visited wilderness shelters are also home to moon bears, goat-like shaggy takin, blue sheep and golden monkeys.

Often hailed as one of the wonders of the natural world, Africa's great wildebeest migration is an incredible event to witness. Natural Habitat Adventures is best known for its focus on conservation and as the first carbon-neutral travel company. It is also a partner of the World Wildlife Fund, the world's leading conservation organization. Safari itineraries focus on small groups and lodges in less-traveled settings.

Shopping for a wildlife safari is like taking a multiple-choice exam. You know the right answer is there on the page somewhere but they all seem so appealing ... Working with smaller groups is more rewarding for everyone because they can sit down together and analyze their work, said Ona Basimane, a photojournalist who also serves as a Nat Hab Expedition Leader in his native Botswana.

Schultz suggests joining a group trip to experience the mysterious northern lights in this scruffy subarctic settlement on the edge of Hudson Bay. While best known for the fall polar bear migration, [Churchill, Manitoba, is] also a superb place to see the aurora borealis. She traveled with Natural Habitat Adventures, which uses climate-controlled pods with theater-style seats for comfortable viewing.

"Though they're sharks, they're docile, so it's possible to swim among them. That's the highlight of a 6-day, 5-night trip offered by Natural Habitat Adventures."

"It’s travel motivated and defined by a shift in perspective, self-reflection and development, and a deeper communion with nature and culture."

"75-foot Australis offers seven passengers an intimate, deeply immersive sail to Antarctica, complete with French chef, humpback whales, and penguins."

"We arrived at Natural Habitat Adventure’s impressive camp at the foot of domed granite peaks, with icebergs floating in the bay."

"With Lindblad Expeditions, you can go even more remote and tack on a nine-day stay at Nat Hab’s Base Camp Greenland."

"Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is teeming with wildlife that will quicken the pulse of any wildlife lover."

"East Greenland is one of the most starkly beautiful places on our planet—and has been almost impossible to access, until now."

"If you’re a wildlife lover, then the Tundra Lodge is the place for you! The hotel is literally on wheels, allowing it to move around for optimal wildlife viewing."

"In a backlash against digital dependency, a number of tour operators, cruise lines and resorts are championing unplugged vacations."

"Natural Habitat Adventures trips focus on nature scenes around the globe. Travelers get to see some of the world's most intriguing animals."

"From the beaches of Samoa to the palaces of India, these excursions include all the arrangements and offer as much hand-holding as you want."

"In partnership with Natural Habitat Adventures, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) offers safari trips to Namibia and throughout Africa."

"What am I leaving behind for next generations? This short film reminds us about what is worth protecting for humankind's future enjoyment."

"You’ll want to see the polar bears in Churchill... Nat Hab’s roller sleep train Tundra Lodge ensures the ability to observe the animals in their natural habitat."

"Ready for your next national park adventure? Look no further than these top ten outfitters and experiences."

"We’ve put together a guide to traveling while keeping your footprint light."

"Natural Habitat Adventures plans to offer a new trip, Wild Peru, this summer. Focusing on conservation and scientific research, the 12-day tour is a sampler of climates."

"Ernest Hemingway is just one of the many travelers who have fallen for the epic landscapes and vast wildlife gatherings of East Africa. You may too, on an 'Ultimate Kenya & Tanzania Safari' with Natural Habitat Adventures and the World Wildlife Fund."

"International criminal syndicates have been engineering industrial-scale killings of elephants, tigers, turtles and other fish and animal species."

"Now you can find the same comfort as on a luxury safari, as Natural Habitat Adventures has expanded facilities at its deluxe Base Camp Greenland, just below the Arctic Circle on the island’s remote east coast."

"While these animals may not star alongside Leonardo DiCaprio anytime soon, nor likely to be chosen as supporting cast for the next Disney blockbuster, they're still in need of attention."

"There are only 20,000 polar bears left on the planet, and the best place to see them is a 29-room off-road rolling lodge that heads to the bears' summering grounds along Canada's Hudson Bay."

"Get out of your comfort zone with these trips to less-visited parts of the world, from driving down Jordan’s desert highway to tackling high peaks in Mongolia."

"Get out of your comfort zone with these trips to less-visited parts of the world, from driving down Jordan’s desert highway to tackling high peaks in Mongolia."

"My name is Max Goldberg, and you may have seen multiple stories and photos of my adventures in Alaska last summer.'"

"Natural Habitat Adventures has two choices in its new Wild Side of China trips, one aimed specifically at photographers."

"Most of us have limits on what we spend for Christmas. But in a world with no limits, what would you spring for?"

"This is the safari of a lifetime: Seven travelers first take to a privately chartered riverboat navigating the backwaters of the Chobe River through the heart of the southern African wild."

"The new 10-day itinerary, offered by Natural Habitat Adventures, begins in Livingstone, Zambia, with a tour of nearby Victoria Falls National Park."

"To help you escape to somewhere greener/warmer, we present five jungle retreats suited for the modern day Tarzan."

"In the tiny town of Churchill, Manitoba (nicknamed the Polar Bear Capital of the World) temperatures are dropping and snow is beginning to fall."

"The trick to a meaningful U.S. national park visit? See the main attractions, but spend most of your time beneath the well-trodden surface.

"Gazing up at the northern lights often appears on travelers’ bucket lists, but after next year, they’re going to be much more difficult to see."

"If you love Yellowstone and can happily do without the crowds, do it in winter. It's glorious and uncrowded, and you can appreciate the solitude and silence. It's a whole other experience."

"International luxury travel network Virtuoso has announced Natural Habitat Adventures as the 2015 winner of its prestigious Sustainable Tourism Leadership award! The award recognizes Nat Hab's leadership and commitment to sustainable tourism principles and practices."