Explore Tour Reviews

This was actually two tours, Portugal and Spain with Felix and the Morocco with Boobker. Felix provided daily summaries of what we would be doing and when. Boobker provided limited and only verbal details. Tipping was an issue across the whole tour with some of the group using "optional" to mean they could contribute either nothing or very little. Boobker ...read more was left in the position where he had no tipping pool and one or two of us had to do all the tipping in Morocco.

We had great variety in fitness levels which slowed us down, especially in Lisbon and Porto - both very hilly! Felix was very knowledgeable and repeatedly went the extra mile to ensure we covered everything, even arranging an additional guide for the Cordoba Mosque/Cathedral. Because Morocco requires licensed guides in each city, Boobker had less opportunity to do this. All accommodation was at least 3 star and most were 4 star. All accommodation was either in the main tourist areas or just outside - very convenient.

I enjoyed learning the history of the three countries visited as well as the current politics and social environment. I liked the capital cities of Baku, Tbilisi and Yerevan, as well as the Black Sea resort town of Batumi in Georgia. and many historic churches and monasteries in between. It's a pity though that the time in Tbilisi was rather limited. ...read more It's a city that deserves more sightseeing time. On the other hand, I think there was too much time spent on wineries and wine tastings.

Very good tour. A full tour - 16 people including 10 singles, people from all around the world which was great to see. This was my 3rd tour with Explore. This is graded as a "moderate" tour and was certainly a lot slower paced than my previous trip to Georgia & Armenia. Tour leader and driver were both North Macedonian. Tour leader had a great personality ...read more and was very professional and caring especially when 1 person had a fall and broke a bone in their foot on day 12 of the tour. We had great weather, sunny and warm with an enjoyable 3 night stay in Lake Ohrid and visit to Thassos island in northern Greece. Hotels were well located, being walking distance to town centres. Lots of monasteries and churches, especially compared to the number of ancient sites in northern Greece we visited. Booking with Georgie is always seamless, she provides very prompt, professional and friendly service.

As an introduction to the lakes area, Walk the Lake District was amazing! We had the best sunny weather ever which was unheard of for the entire week. The views were spectacular and the group of people we were with were friendly and fun to be with. The accommodation was first class and the food fantastic. Our walks guide was excellent in both gauging ...read more the fitness level of the group and history of the area. Would I recommend this to anyone? Yes, but be fit because to get the views you have to go up! Hannah was great with keeping me on track with paperwork, made it all very easy.

For me this trip was about getting out in nature. Loved the time spent in Triglav National Park, going for beautiful walks, staying in Bohinj. Fab location. Also Lake Bled. I could easily have spent more time in the mountains and forgone the towns and cities on this itinerary. Clare was a fantastic guide, giving up her two client-free days to take us ...read more on stunning walks etc. I do think the company should retain private driver/bus for the entire day when needed, especially when some public transport e.g. buses are known to be unreliable. Clare was even told by a public bus driver she shouldn’t be putting her people on public buses. Overall, I lived the trip 💚

All in all, this was an excellent trip. The guide provided by Explore was exceptional- could not recommend him more highly. The trip was all it said it would be, and more. We saw places and met people that most tourists never would experience. The cycling was challenging. We hadn’t properly understood that half the tour group would be on e-bikes. This ...read more took a bit of negotiation to keep the group together and not break the morale of the non motorised bike riders.

It became apparent that the group members had received differing information in the lead up to the trip mainly regarding bike specific info about clip in pedals, helmets etc. This was concerning as it did potentially negatively impact the trip. My one little criticism would be that others on the tour had received a ‘last minute’ email, gee-ing them up for the trip. I didn’t receive this and so flew from Australia not feeling 100% sure that the tour would happen. This was further exacerbated when we were met at the airport by a driver who didn’t speak English and holding a mis-spelt hand written sign with no mention of cycling. He also drove very fast and dangerously and was abrupt with some of the group members.

Fabulous tour. 13 people on this tour, including 5 solo travellers. I was the only Aussie. This was my 2nd tour with Explore. Fellow travellers are well travelled and most have travelled with Explore numerous times. Great tour leaders, we had different tour leaders and bus drivers for each country. Both tour leaders were more than willing to answer ...read more all our questions and talk about their lives in this part of the world. The included lunches in Armenia were lovely, lots of fresh salads, herbs, cheese and fruit.

This is graded as a "full on tour" and that is certainly the case. We saw and did a lot, every day was filled with new experiences. I didn't really have any time for shopping! Early September was very hot: 35C every day which made the uphill walking even harder!
I would not recommend this tour to anyone who has knee problems (we did a lot of walking, especially uphill on uneven ground) or back problems (lots of potholes on roads in both countries, very windy roads up to mountain areas) . Booking with Georgie is always seamless as she provides very prompt, professional and friendly service.

Great hotels in the centre of town making it so easy in our free time to see any attractions that weren't actually included - but there weren't that many as the tour was very comprehensive.

The itinerary for hiking Madeira island made this trip very enjoyable. From north to south, east to west I left feeling I had a wonderful sense of what makes Madeira so unique. Phillipe our guide was very committed to creating an enjoyable, informative and interesting trip - wonderful knowledge which he generously shares. I respect his organization ...read more of a diverse group of strangers - a great skill - done so nicely. I now have my sights set on the Azores with Explore!

It was with apprehension that I booked my sweetheart & I on a small group tour as we our preference is solo/freelance or private tours. However, the Turkey Explored tour exceeded our expectations for several reasons. The local tour operator is Sobek Travel, based in Istanbul. The 1st reason was the exceptional tour guide, Alkan Sisli, due to his passion, ...read more organisational skills and attentiveness. A big call here, but we rate Alkan as one of the very best guides over 20 plus years of travelling. Furthermore, Atilla, who was our driver for most of the trip, was professional at all times and never driving in a way that felt that we were at risk while at the same time getting us to each destination within excitations.

The 2nd reason was the itinerary which ensured the best places were covered including places that most tourist don't visit. The 3rd reason was the group; 2 wonderful couples (1 from Britain and 1 from Canada) made the trip extra special. Accommodation exceeded our expectations. Too many highlights to list! The only area to note would be the last night farewell dinner, which was very expensive relative to the small portions served; suggest let the group know the day before and ask the group for their yea/nay beforehand. To close off, now that we have experienced Western Turkey, please investigate a tour which covers Eastern TurkeyY - if this does become available, we are highly like to book.

First time I have travelled with Explore and if my experience was any indication I will be going with them again. Firstly let me say our Guide and driver Einar Thorsteinsson was very friendly and professional in his work. Everything from the organisation of everything and explaining what we were seeing was great. A wonderful trip.

This tour was a dream from beginning to end. Our guide, Chantelle, was truely inspirational. Chantelle has a comprehensive knowledge of the history of Malta and Gozo. She shared her knowledge clearly and in a way that held our interest. We were so fortunate to be able to hear about the country through the eyes of a local. Thank you so much Chantelle! ...read more You really made this tour for me.

The program was comprehensive and well paced and it allowed time for us to enjoy the delights of the local foods, and to relax and socialise with the rest of the group. The megalithic temples of Gozo and Malta were astounding and so well preserved. And the tour finished on what was a highlight for me - the old city of Mdina!

The accommodation was comfortable and we had the beach and restaurants close by. Excellent locations. Thanks for a delightful experience.

Great itinerary, stunning scenery and spectacular sites. The planning of the tour was excellent, with a good mix of guided touring and independent time. I loved every moment. The timing of visits to ancient archaeological sites allowed us to visit without hordes of people. Our tour leader was very friendly and helpful, and our driver skilful. Hotels ...read more were comfortable and well located.

The trip lasted 7 days. For the first 4 days which included 3 days on Gozo and the 1st day in Malta was an absolute shambles. We were not met from the ferry in Gozo, the guide was too busy talking in the bus with the driver and didn’t notice this very big ferry had docked. One of our group decided to do a car park search after waiting for 3/4 an hour ...read more and found them ! The guide was not interested and did it because she had to. A very unpleasant experience. Arriving Malta and checked in to our hotel. A guide took us out to dinner but never saw her again. The next day was a public holiday which saw the group waiting in the lobby with no idea who, what or when we were being met. Phone call made to the local office to enquire what were the plans and that person was spoken to in such a condescending manner and the attitude was unbelievable which prompted another of the group to phone and email the head office in UK and made a complaint.

A guide was produced at 10 am who also did not want to be there, our entire ‘tour’ of Valletta took 2 hours only and then we were told to take the local bus home as the tour bus was leaving at 1pm!! After the complaint was made to the UK office, the next 3 days we had marvellous guides and the best driver ever who virtually saved the trip from total disaster. The accommodation was 3 star at best, however, was clean and breakfast provided. The group was made up of people from USA, UK and AUS. We all rubbed along quite well. From this experience, I have also emailed the UK head office with a more detailed description of the total lack of communication and attitude from the local Maltese office. Would I go on another Explore trip…. I would really have to think about it but at the moment, no.

An excellent tour. Witt our tour guide was absolutely fabulous. He was very knowledgeable, extremely informed on history, architecture, religion, culture and customs. Nothing was too much trouble. He kept us well informed of activities and time schedules on a daily basis. The transport was spacious and comfortable with an esky full of cold water and ...read more refreshments towels. The accommodation was as stated in the itinerary and actually surpassed my expectations. Truly a very memorable holiday. I can recommend Witt as the best tour guide I have ever had. Thank you Witt for an unforgettable experience.

Houn (Tour Guide) and his team were very professional, friendly and attentive to all our needs. All went to plan. Would swap the boat trip experience for an additional 2 days cycling. Most of the group stated that would also be their preference.

This was a busy tour from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. We had many different experiences. My favorite was the Ben Tre home stay in the Mekong Delta, a long day to get there: 5.30am departure from Hoi An hotel, bus to Danang airport, flight to HCMC, bus to Ben Tre then finally a boat to the home stay with a great seafood lunch onboard. Our overnight train ...read more from Hanoi to Hue was impacted by floodwaters and we ended up travelling the last 3 hours by bus - we arrived safely.

Weather wasn't great, we had a lot of rain and barely saw the sun but it didn't impact on the planned itinerary. Most hotels were equipped with large golf umbrellas which was very handy. Accommodation was very nice. The tour was full: 16 people, all British except 2 of us from Australia and 1 American. 5 couples, 3 solo females and 3 solo men. I enjoyed the tour and I'm looking at travelling with Explore again. Some fellow travellers had done numerous tours with Explore. Booking with Georgie at Global Journeys is always straightforward.

The trip was exactly what was presented in the marketing. The guide was excellent, 25 yrs living in Turkey and therefore knowledge of culture and landscape was a lived, full of real experience. The accommodation was good as was the backup van service. Would recommend.

Unfortunately this trip was a bit of a let down. I couldn’t believe for the price that only breakfast was included not even a welcoming or farewell dinner. After just completing a tour of longer duration for not much more we had breakfast and a main meal, plus drinks included every day, sometimes three meals. The accommodation was very ordinary at times ...read more especially when we were so far out of town that we were dropped in to find somewhere to eat and told to find our own way back by Uber or taxi. Most of us had no phone connection or Uber account. This led to the guide having to use hers. Very disappointing. The walking activities were lovely but a lot of the other outdoor activities were set for the afternoon in free time but we were often too late back to do them. Danielle the guide was very kind and went out of her way to be warm, helpful and informative. The driver Stephan was very competent as well, they did their best on a very poorly put together trip.

This was an extremely informative and interesting tour. Our Tour Leader Ona was exceptional in her assistance and knowledge. I would definitely recommend this tour.