Europe Wildlife Trips

We thoroughly enjoyed our cycling holiday in Romania. The tour was fully in line with the sales pitch on the Explore website. We really got to discover the country: sleepy rural villages, to historic fortified town, sweeping landscapes, rugged mountains. Our guide, Raz, was full of knowledge about history, culture, religion and nature, and throughout the trip helped us to pull together a rich insight into the country of Romania. The cycling was good fun. The accomodation was comfortable (the odd dog barking at night, but given that we were in the countryside to be expected).

Wonderful scenery & an excellent tour leader who was friendly & approachable, with a variety of ideas on options to take on the rest day. Good variety of food options too.

Thoroughly enjoyed the trip, the itinerary and the company of all the other group members. Our tour leader was pleasant and informative, but I did feel that she gave us less information than the leaders I've had on previous trips ( this was my 5th trip with Explore) and at times it felt as if her heart wasn't entirely in it. On the other trips I've done it felt as if we were getting quite specialist information, whereas much of what she told us I already knew from the guide books I had read. Still a great experience overall though.

Outstanding Guide and great walking routes with things to see. La Calela tapas bar near the hotel in Soldeu has excellent food for a very good price and is the only eating venue we ate at that I would recommend. The hotel is quite basic with almost no hanging space in the rooms, and nothing suitable for drying wet clothes - a shortcoming for walkers and skiers alike. Don’t request a double bed room - they are all tiny! The twin beds can be put together in larger rooms however. Very good shower pressure and room make up service. If you are expecting interesting bread, fruits and locally made yogurt for breakfast in the hotel restaurant (typical of other mountain venues) you will be disappointed. But at least you can order eggs. I was disappointed that the owner showed off baskets of porcini mushrooms he had picked locally, but failed to add them to the hotel menu: He said he would eat them himself! Some foreign members of hotel staff were smiling and charming, but the locals less so. There is a convenient supermarket across the road (where you can even buy hangers!). We joined a very good group which made it fun. Excellent local swimming pool in Canillo.

This was my first ever trip of this kind and I am so glad I did it! Being a solo female traveller, my prime concern was being safe when abroad. Explore went above and beyond this expectation. The trip to Romania covered a lot of ground and was full on, but my goodness do you see some amazing sights! Although not guaranteed, seeing bears in the wild was definitely a highlight of the tour and was remarkable. But for me, it was staying in a cute romanian guest house in the mountains that was the most enjoyable part. It was a truly authentic experience and we were made to feel very welcome. If I was to change anything about the trip, I think a bit longer for lunch / coffee breaks would be nice, however I am also aware that this is not the purpose behind it.

Very interesting and varied tour, scenery and towns visited were fabulous. Both Raz and Geo, the guides, were extremely personable, knowledgeable and helpful. Maybe an extra day or two of cycling would have been nice as you just wanted it to keep going :)