Eastern Europe Adventure Trips

This was a fantastic trip through Madagascar, great people and a wonderful itinerary. Our guide Charles was an excellent tour leader, full of information about his country and the wildlife. You need to prepare for long journeys! Some days are many hours on a bus across bumpy roads but these are all worth it to see a variety of landscapes and wildlife..We had a fab driver who kept us safe on these roads! This is a fascinating country to visit but be prepared for the widespread poverty you will see, more so than other developing countries. It can be upsetting at times. All that said you will not regret this trip. We saw lots of wildlife, lemurs, birds, chameleons and so many beautiful places and hikes. I few tips- take some warm clothes and waterproof layers if going in winter as the first few days are cold and can be wet. Take cash with you to exchange! Don’t rely on ATMs as a lot of them run out of money or swallow your card! You can exchange money at the first hotel as it’s usually a better rate than at the airport. (Not sure if they exchanged pounds but definitely USD and euros can be exchanged) Only 2 hotels will except payment by card! The rest of the trip you have to use cash. It’s not that expensive for meals - most of the time meals cost between £2-4 and you do have a lot of meals included in this trip. Any left over money change back at the airport before you go through security etc as you can’t use the local currency once you’re through. ( only usd or euros!) crazy!

My biggest piece of feedback is that the restaurant we went to the first night on the trip, was it in York?, did not do a good job of "setting the table" for the rest of the trip. We are foodies who value fine dining. The meal was way overpriced for the amount and quality of food we got (the salad was 10 sprigs of arugula, 5 piece of goat cheese), and the service was god awful. We got the cheapest wine on the menu. When I offered to pay for an upgrade, first the waitress, then the manager refused. Not a good way to begin a 15 day trip. Again, just for feedback, many of our fellow travelers, especially the ones who shared that first night's dinner above, chose not to do the Insight dinners except for the dine around, which was included. They tended to be overpriced with the same salmon, chicken, vegetarian dish. I was glad we had the option to pass. I would imagine others were happy to eat the salmon and chicken so they wouldn't have to find their own experience. On the other hand, the experiences and the rest of the trip were all amazing. Most times, I wanted more time in the cities we visited, but that was the nature of the trip. There were sites and experiences we never could/would have known to plan on our own. That was a good thing.

This was an amazing holiday with Explore. The scenery was spectacular and the itinerary varied. Denis our tour leader was bouncing with enthusiasm and was always looking out for us. We were a fairly small group of 9, most in our 60s but fit, and we gelled well together. This was a holiday with a wow around every corner.

How interesting the information is presented. Small tidbits as we drove along. The age of things. Coming from America (USA), our oldest buildings are 250 years old not thousands. The quality of workmanship is fantastic.

Our leader Nela was exceptional. Responsible , caring and proactive. It rained one day and she and Bozo the mechanic researched alternative rides for us when the planned route would have been dangerous. High praise for Bozo too who cared for us and our bikes to the highest standard.

Included dinners are way too late! Pre orders are taken and still there is delays. Earlier dinners please. 4 and 5 star hotel breakfasts are very stingy compared to what they used to be. Very very disappointing way to start very long days. Have more than coffee and pastries! Do better!