East Asia Food Trips

While I did miss not spending more time in Paris and the Eiffel Tower the Country Roads truly showed me the beautiful countryside and people of France. My friend and I enjoyed checking out the "bakery's" in the little town we stopped in for lunch. Sandwiches on fresh baguettes with fresh cheese and meets were fabulous!

Despite being incredibly hot, this was a fantastic week. Gaia our guide was excellent and kept us in the shade as much as possible. The Amalfi coast behind the main towns is stunning and the views amazing. Lovely group of people too! Perfect for solo travel. Enough free time and flexibility to please everyone. Agritourismo was as you'd expect and great to feel part of a bit of day to day life. Couple of impromptu stops which were a lot of fun.

A taste of Italy is an excellent tour. The food is delicious, the walking is enjoyable , the company fun and the tour keader, Massimo went above and beyond to ensure we all had a great time. i went on the last trip in June and the weather, at times, was a bit too hot for walking but it also poured with rain one day. The hotels were very good, especially in Matera. I enjoyed all of the varied things we saw and did and would happily recommend it.

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'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!