France and Portugal Tours and Trips

This was our first trip with Explore! My wife and I found it to be a very enjoyable and rewarding experience. The itinerary gave us a chance to see a lot of Madeira and the hikes we went on were interesting and allowed us to experience different terrains and conditions! (Rain in the north and lush forest, sunshine in the south and dry paths). We also got to sample many of the regional dishes and beverages (poncha!) as well as visit some iconic sites on Madeira e.g. the western lighthouse, rumours factory. Our guide, Felipe, was excellent and very knowledgeable and helpful. Easy to talk to and we appreciated how well he took care of the group. Felipe also had some great suggestions for restaurants and things to do on our free time. One of which led to us going whale watching and having a whale go right under our boat! Such a great experience! Overall this walking tour was a terrific experience. It did challenge me to get out of my comfort zone (the 'Stairway to Heaven' walk !) but I'm glad I did it! I'd recommend this tour to anyone who likes hiking and has a good level of fitness (the terrain can be a challenge). You even get to meet many lovely people with similar interests. Walking Madeira with Explore! will live long in the memory.

Fantastic way to experience Portugal and see the diverse terrain. From cosmopolitan to country, hilly cobblestoned streets to winding mountainous pavement, hustle and bustle of larger cities to the quaint quiet villages and vineyards, all offering fantastic scenery, food, friendly people and of course wine! Additionally, the coach was extremely comfortable with plenty of legroom (40 of us on board). Absolutely loved every minute. And if that wasn't enough, we were blessed with the world's greatest tour guide and coach driver - Helder and Alfredo!

The entire trip was wonderful and well planned out . The hotel was bad as it was being renovated so no hot water for showers and banging all day

I loved the trip! It was a great Experience and I would use Explore again! Magdalena was the best! Everything went very smoothly! Magdalena was very knowledgeable. Her recommendations enhanced our experience! I would only eliminate the Protos tasting. The smaller more intimate tastings were a lot of fun and I feel gave us a more real experience!

Alejandro was on his first cycling trip as leader. He was confronted with difficulties on day one including flat tires and delays. He also dealt with a difficult situation when one of thevtravelers had a fall. Alejandro handled all of this with patience and grace. He made our trip special.

Cycling this pristine coastline was an absolute privilege in many ways .The geography was stunning ,more importantly the Exodus leadership , Joao and Victor , our support were superb and facilitated a great group dynamic .The accommodation was very comfortable at the end of a hard days cycling and meals arranged were more than adequate