coto donana natural reserve

We did the tour from Sanlucar de Barrameda and it cost 35 euros per person. The crossing to Donana is done via the Real Fernando boat which provides a short tour upstream and then embarcation at the recreated Prehistoric settlement where there were Spanish followed by English presentations.The rest of the tour is done by 4 by 4 minibuses over sand tracks within some beautiful scenery The bus makes quite a lot of noise but you will certainly see some of the protected wild life including deer and possibly wild boars, There are a couple of drawbacks - the ride can be quite uncomfortable and would not be suitable for elderly, disabled or guests with back problems. The commentary is completely in Spanish as the drivers speak no or very little English.All in all though not a bad way to spend three hours when in Sanlucar. In winter the tours run at 10.15. Best to book in advance as they are very popularfor the Spanish and also visitors from other countries.

The Parque de la Doñana is Spain's largest national park and its location right next to the Atlantic ocean makes it unique. That said, its certainly not Spain's most beautiful park and visiting the park is highly regulated with access only possible via organized tours. This park is not a must-see.

Went here primarily in the hope of seeing the Iberian Lynx. Spent 2 days riding around the sandy tracks. Saw lots of good birds and Red Deer as well as Wild Boar and then near the end of the 2nd day we saw 2 lynx (a male and a female). We watched them for 20 mins before something unseen by us alarmed them and they ran across the track in front of us and disappeared. If you want to see a lynx you will need a degree of luck and patience. Obviously the more time you can give it the better your chances. They are worth making the effort for if you are quite keen on wildlife but a causal day trip may be disappointing.

Very interesting and nice place to visit if you love nature. Best to visit after winter,when there are a lot of animals and water.

Very easy to book in the Helios opposite the pier. We booked the boat-jeep-boat tour lasting 2.5hrs. It was entirely in Spanish, which we had been advised of. The only wildlife we saw were boar, deer and seagulls. We did not see any flamingo, lynx, etc... In fact we mainly saw trees and the beach.

went on the boat trip visit. it was fascinating, although the time of year meant that wildlife wasn't as plentiful. But we did see some and the visits to the different parts of the reserve were informative. Pity about the rain shower!!

This park has it all, beach, dunes, trees, ... Go and visit it by jeep, it's a little shaky, but that's what I loved most about it :)

Spent 3 very enjoyable hours on this trip beautiful park and seeing the wild boar on the beach was a highlight.If you do the jeep bit be prepared for a bit of a bumpy ride but was good fun

Went in June which is not best time as its very hot and not a lot of wildlife around but we enjoyed the three hour trip, guides are very good and there is a basic bar on board, some walking involved at first stop. Cheap rate tickets for pensioners makes for a relaxing few hours, dont get wound up if dont see too many animals just sit back and enjoy the scenery.

It was hot in july, but we were still able to see some birds. Splendid view of flying flamingo's. Bring along your own food although it is not allowed: there is hardly any food on the boat

It was clear that a lot has been done to protect this enormous area of coastal plain. We had been looking forward to seeing the animals. There is a lot of hype about this national park. We were disappointed and bored. We found the 4 hours to be too long and we hardly saw any animals. The safari could have been easily done in less than 3 hours. I felt sorry for the driver/guide talking for close to 4 hrs. What can be done to improve the tour? Cut out the sand dunes and beach drive and go straight into animal viewing. There were no lights in the bathrooms. This can be easily improved upon.

Excellent three days bird and wildlife watching. Saw large numbers of raptors - including hen harriers and ospreys. V good for waders, flamingoes, herons etc. also saw chameleons near Odiel. Mammals were harder to find and we only saw red deer - no lynx, mongoose or boar.

We did not do a tour on a boat or over land because it is very dry right now and the birds are not migrating. We did do a walk to some bird hides near El Rocio and photographed a couple of egrets and spoonbills but nothing significant.

Visit, support, marvel at the achievement in protecting this enormous area of coastal spain. Then look at the development further east to realise why Spain needs to be applauded for doing so and encouraged not to stop.

We did a trip to the nature reserve and enjoyed our experience. We were lucky enough to see many varieties of birds, wild boar and fallow deer. Sadly the Lynx remained elusive! However, what I'd really love to do is wander around the reserve in a smaller group instead of being in such a large vehicle but it was an enjoyable way to spend a few hours.