Southern Africa Beach Trips

Susi was a superb guide, hands down the best I’ve had with Explore (and I’ve been on several Explore trips.). She’s the kind of person who’s just made for this kind of work (although she has done other work as well.). The kind of person I’d want to be friends with outside of an Explore trip, that is for sure. She made the whole trip enjoyable. I’d just bet she could have done that if our hiking weather was bad (but it wasn’t.) I don’t think we had any issue the entire trip (except maybe the one day the hotel didn’t have coffee at breakfast because the machine broke, so we just had some at a cafe during a short break period.). However, she gave me the impression that she had the confidence to deal with issues if they happened our way. I told her at the end of the trip, in a note that I included with my tip, that she completely made me forget that I was turning 68 in November. She made 38 miles over five days seem like a walk in the park. She was always encouraging, also solicitous (but not excessively so.) Susi is Austrian but lives in Barcelona (and travelled a lot in Europe) so that was a plus for me in getting intel over dinner for future travel plans. She knew plenty about Portugal as well and helped fill in my information gaps nicely. I think you will be fortunate to keep her working for Explore. She will make travelers want to come back for more. I understand she has done biking and cultural trips, as well at the hiking ones, which didn’t surprise me a bit. She’s enthusiastic about all of it.

The itinerary included a really good balance and variety of experiences. The bus driver, Miguel, was absolutely amazing, manoeuvring the bus in some tight situations. The tour guide, Nuno, shared his knowledge with a wonderful mix of humour and seriousness.

Gets all the highlights from the big cities to the small towns of Portugal. My only critique is based on the itinerary, few time is spent in Lisbon. If you are more interested in exploring that city, I would either get in a few days before the tour starts or stay a few days after the tour ends.

Thoroughly enjoyed this trip. We had a nice sized group of 10 people. Our tour leader Hadi was excellent, very friendly , organised and just an all round lovely jubbly guy! :-) Our highlights of the trip were definitely the boat trip around Rinca, Komodo & Padar Island, snorkelling at pink beach and spotting a Manta Ray. The hotels on this trip were really great and we had an upgrade on our boat meaning we all ended up with our own room with en suite, luxury ! Some long days spent travelling but well worth it for the stunning views and experiences. Thank you Explore once again for another amazing trip!

Did both South and North. South was little more challenging but duable. Long and some challenging hikes all worth it. Beautiful scenery and beaches. Accomodations were nice. Spiros was very passionate about his job and knowledgeable., also provided great support for me. Overall great experience.

This trip was a good introduction to Greece, the islands and the ferry system. There was a good mix of organized activities and free time for exploration. The guide went out of her way to make sure everyone had options, geared to their interests and abilities. I enjoy walking/hiking, and there was plenty of opportunity to do that along breathtaking scenery. Overall, a great trip!