South East Asia Volcanoes Trips

I had a brilliant winter walking holiday in La Gomera — fab scenery, great routes, and nice meals in the evenings. Swimming in the Atlantic after a January walk felt pretty special! This was my first trip with Explore and I was really impressed. From booking to the end of the holiday. The group (16 of us) was lovely and our leader, Roccío, was outstanding — friendly, organised, looked after everyone, spoke impeccable English and was good fun! Explore, she's a keeper! I also liked that meals weren’t included but we often chose to eat together, with the freedom to order what we wanted. For swimmers, you can walk to the beach for a swim in the Atlantic after a walk. Hotel Torre del Conde in La Gomera was good — I upgraded to a quieter park-view room which was worth it. Some have questioned the return to Tenerife the day before the end of the holiday- without it we wouldn't have had the walk in the foothills of Mount Teide foothills which I thought was spectacular! The final night hotel in Tenerife at the Grand Muthu Golf was the only downside, ostentatious lobby and self awarded 5 stars but poor rooms and I'd rate it a 2 star given that the La Gomera hotel was a 3 star and so much better. Explore, you need to look for alternatives? My room was pretty rough and in need of significant TLC, but it was just one night, we didn't arrive until 7 for a quick turnaround, dinner, bar, bed. And I had a swim in the pool pre breakfast and the breakfast itself was fine. Overall, a fabulous, much-needed sunshine walking break. I’d definitely travel with Explore again!

A fantastic trip that was expertly led by Aimee. A first class tour leader with a depth of knowledge and very personable. I gather she is scoping a trip around the Southern Philippines with Explore - she would definitely be perfect for this, coming from this part of the country. Our two drivers, Edward and Jerome, were also very professional and always helpful and cheerful - a fab little team! Highlights included the rice paddy field walks and the volcano ascent, the latter which we did on Christmas day - unforgettable! The resort for the extension was really lovely. I'm glad I extended the extension and stayed for the New Year celebrations on the beach. The staff were excellent and they arranged a few extra trips for me - fishing and snorkeling with whale sharks. There were a number of places of interest closed on a Monday, so perhaps the first full day of the tour should start on a Tuesday.

I found the leader welcoming and very helpful. However I found the trip too full often arriving at accommodations just before supper time giving little time to wind down or, for the more energetic, time to explore. I would prefer a more relaxed schedule and would recommend adding a facility to the website where I could actually sort trips according to level of physical activity.

The accommodations were excellent. As was the tour guide. Most of the excursions were very enjoyable and informative. We opted for the organic farm. The only things I wouldn’t recommend are the tropical walk requiring mud boots. The boots didn’t fit well, the path was hard to navigate and the sights were not very interesting. The only 2 people who opted for the volcano hike were the younger tour administrators. We were all from North Carolina where the beaches are beautiful. The last day trip to a beach was a waste. We opted for an independent aerial tram tour that included a butterfly house and bat habitat. I thought it was one of the real highlights of the trip. Overall, it was a wonderful experience.

Excellent trip over Christmas week 2025. La Gomera is a lovely, peaceful, rural island for walking with delicious food as well (and large portions of it!). The walking is reasonably varied with a bit of up and down, but not really demanding. I wish I had taken my poles as some of the downhill after rain was quite muddy albeit nothing serious. Our tour leader, Bert Palmen, was a superb host, guide and organiser and very funny! Strongly recommend this trip.

A really enjoyable time spent on a beautiful island with a lovely group of people. The walking was quite strenuous as it was mostly climbing up or climbing down but our group leader Bert was very knowledgeable and excellent at managing the whole group so that everyone was happy and safe. It was lovely to be sat in a Square surrounded by palm trees on a warm and sunny Christmas Day having a drink after a day’s walking and it was good to finish with a trip to Mount Teide on Tenerife as we had seen its snow covered peak from La Gomera all week.