Greece and Turkey Tours and Trips

Excellent tour leader, driver and local guides. Very good coverage of ancient archaeological sites and history. Interesting included free activities such as the bee farm and olive farm with typical Greek food and dancing. Welcome and farewell dinners were included. Hotels were very good.

We'd so enjoyed Walking the Corfu Trail - North previously that we returned to walk the south and we were not disappointed. The trail is great and takes you away from most of the main resorts into a more hidden Corfu. It offers a mix of coastline, hills and villages with wonderful views and we enjoyed the flora and fauna encountered along the way too. I cant say that some stretches were a bit demanding but the good natured guide and group helped us all along! Accommodation was fine, some offering more frills than others, but all entirely adequate for a trip like this. The guide, Spiros, was excellent, managing the group well, offering practical help and support as well as his insights into Corfu’s history and culture - he really made the trip a success!

We like Explore! because of the small group mode of all the tours we've done with Explore! (5, so far). The Greek Island Wanderer was 5 guests and a guide, and we had 3 in our party. So, it was the smallest group ever for us. But it was like friends taking a tour and one of them happened to be a local expert. Panajotis was a brilliant tour guide who is passionate about his adopted country. I can't say enough about the tour guide, Pan. The calm nature he presented while the gears were turning in his head to find us the best places for history, the views, the coffee shops and restaurants plus the people of the places we visited. He figured out how to accommodate me and my need for MORE and my wife who's a marathoner but a shopper too. Plus, our cousin Gary with a physical limitation and a lady fresh out of an April surgery who was a total Champ. Folks could dial into all they wanted or chill out with the options Pan offered for 2 weeks. Just brilliant. Overall, the tour was fantastic, so my inputs are really only the stand-out goods or bads. Starting in Athens, the Evripides Hotel was a great choice. The location and the facility offered everything we needed. Initially, it seemed to be in a bad part of town, but it turns out that Athens just looks like that all over and its just fine. The location is unbeatable. We loved the long walks through Athens despite the heat. My wife would have added a few more water or refreshment stops. We absolutely loved the ferries. That's something new for Americans. The schedule was nice between islands allowing just enough time to really see the top spots. We also loved taking the night ferry to Paros. The Mykonos option was fun because of the Super Express Ferry, and we skipped the ruins stop. I’d have been happier staying on Naxos for that day but, indeed, Mykonos is a must-see on most folks list, so I’d do it again. I’d call it marginal. The Francois Hotel on Syros was a low spot. Its very small and the shower stall was ridiculous. We were glad to move on. Each island had its own charm, and the accommodation was just right in all the other places. On Santorini, Pan took us into an art Gallery where he knows the proprietors. I'm a rather-be-hiking guy but my wife and our cousin thoroughly enjoyed that visit. They both suggested more museum and gallery stops. Again, Panajotis made the trip what it was. I’m glad we had him almost all to ourselves even though we usually consider that the other guests and their experiences and conversation to easily be 50% of the reason for traveling in the first place. We’ll be perusing the Explore! Website soon for our next adventure.

Loved the trip, it was everything I hoped for and more! The trip followed the itinerary and had lots of exciting things to do. I loved the hiking, the group/leader, and itinerary.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and found it both intellectually stimulating and a pleasure to experience. We were well cared for by our friendly and competent guide and stalwart driver in a comfortable van. The itinerary included ancient and modern sites, city and countryside, mountains and seaside vistas and enough physical challenges to keep us in good shape after all the fine meals. It was filled with unforgettable historical places such as Troy and Ephesus, plus many less well known Roman and earlier cities. The underground city of Kaymakli in Cappadocia plus the numerous caves in the Goreme open air museum gave us a sense of how our ancestors survived in a challenging world. Our day off in Kas gave us the opportunity to relax on board a tour boat (a highly recommended extra) in the Aegean with several stops for swimming in the clear water. The tour began and ended in Istanbul which is endlessly fascinating both as the ancient capital of several empires and a thoroughly modern major city in a dynamic country. In conclusion, we would recommend this tour for those who have a curiosity of how the modern world came about and those who just want to have a great time in good company in a beautiful place. PS - the hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia (also an extra) is a marvellous addition.

Yes, I have shared the experiences with friends.