I'm a recent convert to Wild Frontiers, having defected from a company that used to run really Explore-atory trips to exotic locales and has lately turned into a sort of Saga-with-worse-hotels kind of outfit. I was initially put off by the prices, I'll be honest, but my first trip with WF really showed where that money was going - incredible destinations, absolutely first-rate local guides, hotels that are in the centre of things (rather than way out in the sticks, because those are cheaper), and transportation that puts you at eye-level with the landscape (as opposed to a honking great tour bus where you're an observer but not a participant). Local guides who really know the country and the people, who find out about stuff that's off the beaten track and who delight and surprise the travelers with unexpected side attractions. I've only been on two trips with WF so far, but they have been easily the equal of the best of the 14 trips that I took with The Other Company. I have no reservations about recommending Wild Frontiers - a big shout out to Sureya (Our Man In Kashmir), Daniel (for whom the whole world is home), and Wally (legend has it that there is not a single specimen of avian life in the Guiana Shield that he can't recognise in silhouette from 800 metres or whose call he can't imitate).