Southern Africa Natural landmarks sightseeing Trips

Excellent 14 day tour of Turkey from Istanbul through Ankara and Cappadocia then onto Antalya and Kaş before moving onto Pammuckale, Selcuk and Cannakale. The tour guide was knowledgeable and you could tell his love for Turkey. He was inclusive in activities. The only thing was that he set a fast pace when walking and didn’t really stop or slow during these walks until he got to where he wanted to be to talk about an item or historical event. I’ve not encountered this on any other tour I’ve been on. You could quite easily get left behind and he wouldn’t know where you were. Besides that this jam packed tour was great, although I’m sure you’ve already been told before that more than one night in Antalya would be better considering you don’t arrive there till the evening on this tour

It was a wonderful experience. I wouldn't change a thing. I was part of a group of seven led by an awesome tour leader (Lucas). From start to finish, the trip exceeded my expectations. The itinerary was the perfect pace. Accommodation was all lovely. It was an ideal balance of walking, cultural experiences, group revelry, and reflection time. I highly recommend this tour and look forward to traveling with Explore again.

First, the Picos de Europa are stunning mountains, with beautiful beech forests on the lower slopes. But the logistics of walking are complicated because there are very few roads. The great thing about this tour is that the itinerary is designed to overcome those logistical challenges. The tour guide has been leading tours for 35 years and is passionate about the mountains and the paths. He and his family run the small hotel where the tour is based. The hotel is clean and simple, and the food is very good. The guide's detailed knowledge of the mountains meant that he was able to make rapid adjustments if the weather required it. Some of the walks are demanding, but all of them present awesome vistas. I thoroughly enjoyed the week and would definitely recommend it.

Our tour leader was amazing. Sanse (probably incorrect spelling) was very knowledgeable and did a great job organizing the daily activities. She made sure our group was well informed and knew what to expect before each activity. The dinners were excellent and accommodation very comfortable. Would highly recommend this tour.

This was my first walking trip overseas and was a fabulous introduction. Our tour guide, Nigel, was extremely competent and knowledgeable and he made me feel safe at all times. He was also extremely considerate to the mix of capabilities. The itinerary was just right. Whilst the distances don't look great, the cliff walking (ascents and descents) together with the heat, all added to the challenge and should not therefore be underestimated. The scenery is breath-taking making the walks so worthwhile. The Agriturismo was a great way of supporting and immersing oneself into the local community - it was perfectly comfortable and we were well fed too! Highly recommended.

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.