Balkans Tours and Trips

The trip leader, Nick, is outstanding in every sense - intelligent, kind and witty. His knowledge of Georgia and his caring towards its people and history were wholehearted. I loved hearing about the history of each site we visited and went for being ignorant to well informed about this beautiful country. I felt that the itinerary was perfect. It was hot (July) and that made cycling harder. Do read the trip notes before going, you need to be relaxed on roads with traffic and be ready to make a significant effort as the cycling is challenging. Most felt that it was harder than moderate. The support team were excellent too, helpful and kind. The food was also outstanding with many homemade meals which were copious and delicious. Such a treat! I met some superb people and much enjoyed their company. Georgia is beautiful and a few of the roads were truly spectacular in terms of scenery. I do wish that the bikes had tires more suitable for road riding as so much energy was wasted due to mountain bike tires which aren’t at all needed. I’m glad that I chose Georgia and over the moon to have had Nick as our guide.

An absolutely fantastic trip that exceeded all our expectations! Highly recommended. In our top 3 Explore trips. While the scenery was spectacular (is there another country that can offer so much in such a small area?), it was the people that made the trip. Our tour leader, Sajid, was superb, and he was very ably supported by the jeep drivers for whom nothing was too much (see the photo). Such lovely men. And the local people wherever we went were so friendly and welcoming. We never experienced any hassle or were worried about our safety. The trip is strenuous so if you are not fit then you will not be able to enjoy it all. Get some hikes in before you go!!! The jeep travel was very interesting as it afforded great views, but it is not for everyone. The accommodation was very good except for 2 nights in one location where the quality of the bedrooms was very variable. Any pre-trip concerns on security and food were addressed. We are vegetarian, which we told could be a problem, but Sajid made sure that we always had plenty of options at every meal. We had raised this with Explore before the trip, but we were left a bit up in the air by their response so we brought back up food with us just in case. It would be helpful to make the trip notes more specific. We loved Hunza valley - the people, the scenery, the location and the town, which is good for shopping. There is not much opportunity to buy souvenirs etc on the trip, but Hunza is the place to do this (and not Naran, which is at the tacky end of the market). I suggest that the evening walk to the locals' house for dinner in the Hunza valley should be cancelled to allow more time to explore the shops. I recommend Karakoram Handicraft (near Zero Point). Credit cards are accepted at most places. The biggest improvement to the trip should be more specific advice on cold weather gear. The trip notes gave the impression that we would be facing really cold temperatures and, being unable to get accurate weather forecasts for the places that we were going to, we followed the advice and packed thermal gear. In the end, we used a fleece a couple of times and a thin jacket once or twice. The rest of the clothing remained unused. I now understand the need for the advice for an October trip, but not in June, July and August. There are a couple of very long driving days. It would be helpful to get advice at the start of each day on toilet stops, lunch, breaks etc (use the WhatsApp group?) rather than finding out along the way. The suggested tip amounts in the trip notes seem too low. A group of us were embarrassed by how low they were so added more for both the drivers and the guide. The trip notes need changing, I raise this on every trip - it is useful to get pre-trip advice on where clothes can be washed at a hotel. We were able to use the hotel facilities (quick, cheap and good quality) on 3 occasions. We should have taken fewer clothes! Definitely bring hiking shoes or boots. And walking sticks to be safe (but not entirely necessary).

We loved our recent visit to Northern Thailand. We were lucky enough to be guided by Wit who was an extremely knowledgeable and friendly guide. He explained everything in detail was always happy to answer any and every question and managed to negotiate our travels smoothly and efficiently and ensure that we covered large distances comfortably.

Great trip and covered a lot. Wished could have had more time in Galway and a map of each City we stopped in so we knew exactly where to go and what to buy. Great tour director. Glad we added on an extra day to see the Guinness and Jameson Distillery or we would have missed out. Could have passed in the seaweed farm. But it was on the way

It covered Ireland from Dublin to Belfast and A LOT in between. It offers the opportunity to visit popular sites and some off-the-beaten track adventures that are just as memorable.

Great time. Interesting and well worth it. Saw and learnt a lot. Great guide and driver. Enjoyed the experience. Need to have an average fitness level or you miss experiences. Planning the next one.