Simple stays with essential amenities. Typically guesthouses, hostels or hotels rated below 3 stars — clean, no-frills, and great for value-conscious travelers.
Comfortable and reliable 3-star stays. Expect private rooms, en-suite bathrooms, and solid amenities — a great balance between comfort and cost.
Upscale 4-5 star hotels and lodges. Enjoy high-end service, refined comfort, and premium locations — ideal for travelers seeking extra indulgence.
An excellent 3 weeks with 2 excellent guides. Sri Lanka section was well organised by our guide Nala. he tweaked the itinerary so that we got the very best out of our time and imparted so much information about every aspect of Sri Lanka. He kept us on time fitting extra stops in if we were passing something to see like a banana market and fishermen hauling nets in on the beach. Accommodation was exactly as described and the usual Explore authentic assortment of comfortable and more rustic.
There were lots of English style plug sockets in the hotels, but i would take an adaptor as well just in case.
Highlights were climbing Adams Peak starting at 2am, and passing some very elderly people making the pilgrimage to the temple at the top. A unique experience. Also the train journey over 9 arch bridge. Great fun.
Maldives- again we had a superb guide- Moosa. Extremely knowledgeable about the ocean and also gave us a lot of fascinating history and politics background of the Maldives. Island visits provided an insight into the real country.
The boat was spacious clean and comfortable. Didn't expect the hotel like room services - bed making and towel changing! Food on the boat was amazing. Plentiful and a variety of dishes inc freshly caught fish. Had 2 snorkels a day building up the length and difficulty of them. So many colourful fish, it was like swimming in a tropical fish tank. Also saw turtles, moray eels, sharks and rays including a manta. The tender was always out with us keeping an eye on us whilst snorkelling.
Overall a fabulous itinerary and guides on land and sea
Active and outdoorWildlife
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
We had an absolutely wonderful week with Explore in Sri Lanka. Our tour was packed with amazing locations and fascinating experiences, but our tour guide, Sudesh, still managed to fit in a few extras requested by the group.
Our only regret at the end of the trip was that the wild elephants had evaded us, but that was just bad luck!
For us, this trip was the perfect way to experience a very different country and culture with the insight and knowledge that comes from an excellent local guide.
Active and outdoorWildlife
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Resort
Age Range
16-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Colombo, Negombo, Wilpattu Natio
Colombo, Negombo, Wilpattu National Park, Mihintale, Kandy, Koggala
A very enjoyable tour with an excellent and informative tour leader who always went the extra mile to ensure things ran smoothly. Perhaps the only criticism is that it needs to be stressed in the trip notes that although crossing the Gulf of Fonseca by boat is an adventure it’s going to be rather wet.
Active and outdoorExplorer
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Eco Lodge, Lodge, Villa
Age Range
16-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Panama City, Antigua, Rincon de
Panama City, Antigua, Rincon de la Vieja Volcano National Park, Isla De Ometepe, Granada, Leon, San Salvador, Suchitoto, Panama Canal, Copán Ruinas, Boquete, Bocas Del Toro, Sarapiqui, Arenal, Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve
A really great experience visiting Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Our guide Mads was excellent! He was very knowledgeable, giving detailed info for every location we visited, as well as being attentive and kind. The Fjords are amazing, as well as the Flam Railway but then everything we did was enjoyable!
We had such a great bunch of people in our small group of 11.
Would highly recommend this trip, absolutely no negatives!
AdventureExplorer
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
This was an excellent tour. We a nice sampling of Argentina and Brazil in just two weeks. The countries are huge, so many weeks could be spent traveling to much of their sites and cities.
Diego, our tour guide, was terrific!! Hats off to Diego!!
Active and outdoorExplorer
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Excellent trip overall. Itinerary was full on, varied and interesting. Some days were perhaps too full and one visit could have been better the day after ( say). Mohamed or guide was excellent. His explanations were VERY detailed and perhaps more of an overview would suffice for those of us who were not keen Egyptologists! He looked after us very well though. The Old Cataract Hotel is a must but we organised that ourselves.
Active and outdoorExplorer
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Thoroughly enjoy the trip. The itinerary was well thought out. Plenty of time to allow for acclimatisation before the final highlight - the Inca Trail. Special shout out to Darwin our tour leader who goes extra mile to ensure we enjoy our trip. He is very keen to share his knowledge and love about Peru.
Active and outdoorRafting
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
This was a great way to see a lot of SE Asia in two weeks: as well as three major cities and a spectacular World Heritage site, cycling the back streets and rural roads allowed us to get fully immersed in all three countries. Hoan was an excellent tour leader, making a logistically complex tour feel seamless, and the trip was supported by excellent local bike crews, guides and drivers.
Active and outdoor
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers