In his 100 years on the planet, Sir David Attenborough has seen it all: from bellowing bull elephant seals and the mass migration of over 100 million land crabs to grizzly bears fishing for salmon and chimpanzees using tools to crack nuts. We have seen it all too, thanks to the broadcaster’s astonishing body of work, from Life on Earth to Kingdom.
But even ultra-high-definition cameras, 3D Imax screens and the presenter’s uniquely engaging manner cannot capture the magic of seeing such wildlife spectacles for yourself, in locations made famous by the documentaries. Here are eight holidays to book now, matched to sequences from Attenborough’s best-known series.
Life on Earth (1979)
Rwanda
With the series attracting around 15 million viewers upon its initial release, Life on Earth brought us the most memorable Attenborough scene of all time: the presenter crawling through the undergrowth of Volcanoes National Park to within feet of an adult gorilla. Ditching his script, he whispers the ad-lib line: “There is more meaning and mutual understanding in exchanging a glance with a gorilla than any other animal I know.” The next day, he lolls in the foliage with an entire family of gorillas.
© Getty ImagesHow to do it: Track gorillas in the same terrain on an 11-day Ultimate Primate Experience: Gorillas, Chimps & Monkeys with Audley Travel (audleytravel.com), from £8,050pp.
Life in the Freezer (1993)
South Georgia
Three thousand pairs of wandering albatrosses feed their young on South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic Ocean – and who can forget Attenborough in his blue anorak, lying in the grass inches from a giant chick heavier than its parent? Next, he is squatting among 50,000 juvenile king penguins. Add fighting fur seals, menacing orcas and humpback whales gulping krill, and this is a wildlife classic.
© Getty ImagesHow to do it: Explore South Georgia during the October mating season on a 23-day Life Returns: Springtime Expedition to Antarctica with HX Expeditions (travelhx.com), from £13,020pp all-inclusive, excluding flights. Landings are weather-dependent.
The Life of Birds (1998)
Australia
Attenborough says he is no ornithologist, but in this 10-part series he encounters kiwis and native parrots called kakapos in New Zealand, aggressive capercaillies in Scotland and bowerbirds collecting objects to impress potential mates in New Guinea. In episode six, he encourages a lyrebird to sing in a rainforest in southeastern Australia, and hears it perfectly mimicking a camera shutter, a chainsaw and even a car alarm.
© CREDIT LINE:BBC NHU/Alex BoardHow to do it: Look for lyrebirds, bowerbirds and other species in Lamington National Park on a 16-day Queensland’s Rainforests & Great Barrier Reef holiday with Naturetrek (naturetrek.co.uk), from £8,695pp. Some 2026 availability, booking for 2027 open.
The Blue Planet (2001)
Costa Rica
Ironically, one of the most dramatic scenes in this series was filmed on dry land – “la arribada”, or “the arrival”. On a dark beach, with the moon in its last quarter, tens of thousands of female ridley turtles emerged eerily from the Pacific surf at high tide. Over the next six days, 400,000 turtles lay 40 million eggs in the sand to hatch six weeks later.
© Getty ImagesHow to do it: Monitor nests and hatchlings on a seven-day Family Turtle Conservation Holiday with Responsible Travel (responsibletravel.com), from £625pp, excluding flights. Turtle season is July-January; suitable for ages nine and upwards.
The Life of Mammals (2002)
Azores
In episode seven, Attenborough climbs inside a virtual blue whale skeleton. “Its heart is as big as a small family car,” he says, driving “ten tonnes of blood through a million miles of blood vessels”. Next, he’s in a Zodiac following a 100-foot-long leviathan. “I can see its tail just under my boat here, and it’s coming up, it’s coming up… there!”
© Getty ImagesHow to do it: Join an eight-day Blue Whale Watching in the Azores trip with Azores Choice (azoreschoice.com), from £2,500pp. Blue whale season is 1 April to 30 May, so go now or book for 2027.
Planet Earth II (2016)
Galápagos Islands
In episode one of this gripping sequel to Planet Earth (2006), a newly hatched marine iguana scampers across volcanic terrain on Fernandina Island, hunted by dozens of Galápagos racer snakes lying in ambush or chasing it. Viewers’ hearts are in their mouths. The plucky hatchling gets caught, wriggles free and makes it to higher ground, then the sea. We can all breathe again.
© Getty ImagesHow to do it: Fernandina is a stop-off, and the marine iguana colony a highlight, on an eight-day Galápagos – West & Central Islands aboard the Eden cruise with G Adventures (gadventures.com), from £3,419pp.
Wild Isles (2023)
Scotland
One indelible sequence features orcas, or killer whales, off Muckle Flugga in the Shetland Islands. Chillingly, they have learnt to hunt common seals by following them into the kelp channels where they sleep. Sweet dreams. Rachael and Dan Brown, who worked on the series and run Wild Discovery, take visitors to see orcas hunting seals from land. Dolphins, minke whales, otters, puffins and various seabirds are among the other common sightings on both boat trips and on foot.
© Getty ImagesHow to do it: Join the Browns on an eight-day Spectacular Shetland Wildlife holiday with Wild Discovery (wild-discovery.com), from £2,895pp. Departures in June 2027.
Kingdom (2025)
Zambia
In a novel approach to wildlife filmmaking, the series captures the power dynamics of four rival families – lions, leopards, wild dogs and hyenas – with a cast of characters including the leopard Olimba and the wild dogs Storm, Tait and Flint. Executive producer Mike Gunton compared the series to Game of Thrones or Succession, as the animals vie for supremacy in South Luangwa National Park.
© Getty ImagesHow to do it: Stay at the crew’s original filming base – rebuilt as Olimba Camp, opening in June – on an eight-night trip, The Kingdom Safari, with Expert Africa (expertafrica.com), from £6,030pp. The guides who accompany you supported the production.
