Granada Tours in Fall

I thoroughly enjoyed the ExploreWorldWide cycling trip from Nicaragua to Panama. The itinerary length and route were excellent, and our group dynamic was exceptionally positive—welcoming, diverse, and without cliques. Our group leader, Mike, set the tone from the start with a smooth airport pickup and consistently strong leadership. He was knowledgeable, communicative, and great at preparing us for the varied conditions across the three countries. The support team was outstanding: skilled drivers who navigated challenging traffic with confidence, and a hands-on bike mechanic who kept everything running smoothly. Accommodations ranged from good to excellent, with consistently friendly staff. I also appreciated the food options and the straightforward system of everyone settling their own bills. Most excursions were engaging and well organized; the only exception was the afternoon nature walk, which could be improved. Overall, I would highly recommend this trip to friends and family.

An excellent way to explore Central America on two wheels—what a ride! I loved every segment of the tour. Just a heads-up: you’ll need more than basic cycling skills… and a truckload of grit. Some of the dirt roads, especially the downhills, are the kind that make you suddenly remember every loved one you’ve ever had. Definitely not for the faint-hearted. About the hotels: a few of the one-night stays were… let’s say “character-building.” The stop in Turrialba in particular did not meet even basic standards. Explore, you can do better—please save future cyclists from that experience. Now, about our tour leader, Mike. After ~15 tours across ~20 countries, I’ve finally had a tour led by a real pro athlete. And wow—what a difference. Mike’s professionalism, enthusiasm, ocean-level patience, and that trademark toothy smile made even the toughest (undualating😄）climbs feel manageable. He set the bar so high that my future tours may need oxygen just to reach it. Absolutely recommended. And if you’re lucky enough to get Mike, prepare to have your expectations ruined—in the best possible way.

If you are in two minds about booking this trip, book!The cycling was not easy at times due to a combination of hills, non paved roads, distance and heat. However, this added to the challenge, adventure and achievement and our expectations were well managed by our fantastic Costa Rican guide/leader, Jackie.The journey through three countries provided some amazing rides. Personal highlights were those ending with swims in the Pacific and Caribbean oceans where we would literally cycle on to the beach and jump in for a swim! There were also rides through cloud forests to rain forests, to and from volcanoes, through local villages and through banana plantations spotting monkeys, toucans, sloths and other wildlife along the way!Along the trip we also enjoyed a couple of optional non cycling days and exciting pit stops. I loved our tour round a chocolate farm, canopy walk through a rain forest, zip lining, red frog island trip and walk through a butterfly nature reserve. The non cycling activities allowed us to experience more of the three amazing countries we visited.Nature and wildlife feature highly on the trip but the start and end in Granada and Panama City provided a great contrast and are beautiful places to spend a few days. The amazing feat of the Panama Canal was also fitting end to the trip.The trip was exceptionally organised from start to finish. There were no issues and I cannot think of any areas of improvement. Travel is with a group leader, mechanic and driver who were all fantastic and fundamental to the success of the trip.Our Costa Rican guide Jackie is a real gem! She provided interesting and informative information about the history, culture and environment of the places we visited and an infectious sense of fun and positivity. She provided excellent briefings about the cycling before each ride, she had a genuine love of Central America and she was a joy to be around. She was also a very good cyclist.The hotels and restaurants selected by the tour operator were well chosen and some were so good they were highlights of the trip.I will remember this trip and the lifelong friendships I have formed for years to come. Thank you Jackie and the operator's team and book if you are considering this trip! I will be coming back for more!

The trip was magnificent enhanced greatly by a fantastic tour leader. He was superb!!! The only negative was Explore’s lack of knowledge re Panamanian border crossing and the miss direction re advice and answering questions which was very time consuming. Such a shame as everything else was great.

This trip is action packed and a great way to visit three very different countries in one hit. Mike the tour leader was super probably the best leader we’ve experienced on any of our trips. The cycling can be challenging at times partly due to the heat and humidity, and the undulating nature of the countryside so some preparation will stand you in good stead. We were fortunate to share the experience with a great group of people.

I would definitely recommend doing the trip and you need to be quite fit before going and able to cycle challenging hills in hot and humidity conditions. Mike our tour leader was amazing and Louiska (driver) and Eric (bike support) were great too. The planning/logistics were very good as well as the quality of the bikes. However, as mentioned before we started on the trip the quality of some of the hotels was very poor. E.g. live wires/electrics in the showers, some people had blocked toilets etc. So would be good for Explore to source some other slightly better options.