Spain and Turkey Tours and Trips

Our tour of the Mediterranean Coastal Journey, far exceeded our expectations. The tour manager was absolutely amazing! Having been thrown some curveballs, especially when the rain and windy weather caused Cinque Terre to be closed! Barbara pulled together a tour of the Imperiale Palace for the next day, with a demo on making Pesto sauce, then each of us made pesto as well. I was so looking forward to Cinque Terre, but in the long run we had a great experience in Genoa. Also, the hotel there was lovely being located on the marina, and all the shops and restaurants were just across the street. I was not looking forward to our stay in Genoa but came away pleasantly surprised. Our group of 22 turned out to be incredibly friendly right from the beginning. All the restaurants were very good, she even surprised us with a 1* Michelin dinner experience in substitution for that evening dining experience having been cancelled, so we got to eat at the number 1 restaurant in Marseilles! I have to say that Barbara was responsible for getting the group off to a great start being together, with her great sense of humor, friendliness, being firm about the start time to be on the bus :-) She went above and beyond making the last night of our tour so very special for my daughter, being it was her actual birthday. It was all just perfect! Thank you, Barbara, what tour will you be leading next season? I would consider going on it knowing how you can handle even those last-minute curveballs!

This was a wonderful series of moderate to longish walks along the Lycian Way. Our tour leader Nabil was brilliant, always cheerful and engaging and a continual source of local knowledge. Not only does one spectacular view after another open up but there was also a wealth of flora even in November - the cyclamens and crocus were especially lovely. There are also fabulous archaeological sites along the way, with plenty of time allowed to explore. The going is stony, and steep at times - up and down. As a person with heart issues I was concerned that I'd hold the party up, but this didn't seem to be an issue. In fact the pace set suited me perfectly. The accommodation is fairly mixed with one night in very basic village rooms. I enjoyed this as it meant a walk out of the village the following day with the best hiking of the holiday, though I know others found the rooms a touch the wrong side of basic, especially as it involved sharing. Most of the walks featured a minibus journey at one or both ends. Evening meals were usually pretty good too with lunch boxes provided most days. Our group of ten or so was a delight, mostly people travelling on their own which made for lively conversation. Money-wise, this is a good value trip, although Turkey itself is certainly no longer the cheap destination it once was.

Great trip ! Fabulous walks and views, expertly led by our fantastic guide , Mike , who was full of local, historical and botanical info as well as being lovely company .

We covered a large area but had time to see the things on the itinerary except Istanbul, where I booked an extra day before to see all the sights there. Good company, 16 of us: 8 from UK, 4 from USA, 4 from Australia. The tour leader, Mehmet, was very knowledgeable and friendly. Things in Turkey have come a long way since I was last there with Explore in 1989, the variety of food has really improved. The weather was pleasant, being that time of year, but the day before the end there were thunderstorms in the evening then a 5.6 magnitude earthquake at Canakkale to liven things up!

Was a great way to experience historic sites and local experiences. In a small group. We had .Mercedes as our tour leader and she was great. Gave us all the local history and in formation for each town we visited. Mercedes could not do enough for each of us and would thoroughly recommend her as a tour leader.

This tour was made outstanding by the excellent tour leader, Ana and driver, Carlos. They gave generously of their knowledge and personality to make this tour an interesting and enjoyable experience.