Patagonia Active and outdoor Trips

Wonderful short trip to the highlights of Sri Lanka! Explore didn’t disappoint once more — everything was well-organized and perfectly planned. Our leader, Ash, truly made the trip special. He was professional, knowledgeable, and shared amazing stories from his own life that brought the country’s culture to life. I’ll definitely be back — thank you for an unforgettable experience!

This was my very first group tour holiday. I opted for the Upgraded- Discover Morocco because quite frankly I like to have 'quality' accommodation rather than hostels. There was one hotel downgrade due to not enough space for all that I did not find was agreeable and certainly not on a par with our other Riads and Kasbah. I hope Explore do not ever consider using this particular hotel on their upgraded tour again. Looking back, I feel I was very disappointed, but the rest of the tour had been wonderfully overwhelming that I had many more fabulous things to experience. Our Tour leader Boubker Boutkhoum, had stepped in to cover for the original tour leader and I get the impression that this may have been short notice for him. Boubker was kind, caring, an excellent organiser as well as being a diligent mediator. He was often often phoning ahead liaising with the accommodations, booking restaurants for us and even finding some that sold wine! (This was important for our group). His passion for his country, religion and being a Berber shone through with so much integrity and intelligence that everyone loved him and learned so much from him. I felt he was really looking after us all and seemed to be calm, have so much patience and a good sense of humour.

Covers lot of ground and this is the one disadvantage. One day we did not arrive at our destination until past 8pm. Plenty of opportunities to get to grips with wildlife but some trips underwhelming, such as Rorke's Drift and the Hippo cruise at St Lucia. Good to have three nights at St Lucia to get over the earlier long trip, but with a couple of changes this trip could be extended a day or so and give pause for breath.

A great safari experience! We had the opportunity to experience four different game reserves, each with its own character, with knowledgeable guides and luxury camping. Joseph and Joseph made sure we got to see a great range of animals and birds, and looked for the best photo angles too. Good food, good company and good weather made for a fabulous trip.

Diego was a fantastic tour leader. He managed the adversity of the itinerary when it had to be changed due to civil unrest, he kept us up to date with the situation and produced a great variety of alternative destinations. He was very interested in the wildlife and flora, he was able to take wonderful pictures of the things we saw - which he shared with us. He was passionate and very knowledgeable about his country and passed that enthusiasm to us. The itinerary was varied and the days were full. My only comment would be that it would be nicer to sometimes have meals at the end of the day instead of big meals at lunchtime.

In a short period the trip packed in so much visiting several UNESCO sites , a traditional village, the former Capital Kandy . We went to a stunning beach and went on safari . We crossed the island seeing the countryside and the mountains and an interesting stop to see toddy tapping . I felt I saw the diversity of this beautiful island and what it offers . I would highly recommend this trip . It’s full on but worth every minute .