Europe National parks Trips

The trip was excellent. I’ve not travelled with such a large group before so found that tricky at times but our leader Margareta managed the different elements in our Group expertly. Always ensuring everyone was included and informed of what we were doing.

The itinerary allowed for a comprehensive look at a variety of sites across the three countries, not just the capital cities. In the cities, the balance between time spent with the group (city walking tour with local guide) and free time to pursue your own interests was just right. The forward arranging of group meals for the evenings in the bigger places by the tour leader was appreciated as a way of sampling local cuisine - you could opt out if you wanted. The hotels were all of a good or excellent quality, often totally refurbished within an older building, and centrally located. The coaches used were very comfortable for a group of 15, though the tinted glass on the Riga-Vilnius coach made for so-so photography of the outside and made the interior a bit dark. For early morning flights from Vilnius on the last day (taxi to airport at 3:20am) it was 'no breakfast!', even though stated on itinerary, not even a mini box thing (as provided on a previous Explore trip. with similar early departure.. on "Silk Road" in Tashkent). The tour leader Margarita was excellent - knowledgeable, enthusiastic, personable - 10/10!

An excellent short trip visiting some of the highlights of amazing Slovenia. A busy week starting with cosmopolitan Ljubljana with its castle, dragons, graffiti and green spaces, then off to 3 nights in Bohunj via beautiful Lake Bled. Alpine lakes, mountain mist, countless steps to a waterfall through beech forest, walking in the rain up a gorge, and cable car to the top of Mt Vogel...lots of steps and kms. Then something totally different, with a visit to coastal Izola and a day trip to the Adriatic gem called Piran...finished off with a visit to a castle in a cave and the huge Skocjan cave system, both unique places. Throughout the tour we were incredibly well looked after by the tireless Claire who made sure that we took away great memories of the European treasure which is sLOVEnia! I'll be back...

Beautiful country. The tour has a good balance of time in cities, the mountains and a long the coast. There is plenty of time to select your own activities during the day after some group activities and orientation.

Enjoyed the tour very much. Had plenty of time to explore on our own and sample the local cuisine. The only drawback was while traveling we noticed several tour companies that specialized in taking small groups up to the glaciers and actually driving around on them. This would have been something that we would have been interested in doing. Listening to others in our group it would seem that many of them were interested in that as well.

This is a full on tour which covers a lot of ground, and seven countries, in a packed two weeks. It is a great opportunity to get an overview of the Balkans and cover a lot of ground. Recommended!