Ajit Singh Panwar and Najib were excellent guides, well informed and willing shared cultural information. Sadly the first two days in Madrid were very confusing, particularly the visit to the Sports stadium. It would have been useful to explain how long we had and then meet at the appointed location. It was impossible to try and follow Ana. Due to the rush to keep up I lost my expensive Apple Watch as I couldnt return it to my wrist return passport to my person once I had gone through security. It feel out of my bag someone picked it up. we In Madrid It was very confusing sorting the different groups at the hotel. Perhaps different language groups could meet a staggered times. Once on our bus Ajib was very good. I particularly enjoyed our days in Morocco. Najib was an excellent guide, personable, well informed and willing shared his love of his country. Those flying in from Australia or New Zealand really need an extra day tomcod with the jet lag. Alahamlba local guide was excellent. Perhaps a guided tour in Seville, particularly for the visit to the Roman amphitheatre would have been great.
Good introductory tour to the Balkans. Need a bus-seat rotation plan to prevent some passengers from hogging the good seats. Choose buses that provide USB charging ports. Avoid less organised hotels where coffee and food runs out, such as in Hotel Marinela in SOFIA and Hotel Panorama in Veliko Tarnovo. Choose hotels that serve breakfast early, at least at 7:00AM, e.g. Panorama in Veliko Tarnovo serves breakfast only at 7:30AM and tour leaves at 8AM, not enough time. Choose hotels that provide express-laundry services as we do not have time to look for laundromats elsewhere. When arriving too early at a city to check-in at hotel, do not waste time unloading bags first, directly go on city tour then come back at check-in time. Maybe reduce a day from Bulgaria or Croatia and add at least a day more in Serbia, which is rich in history. If possible design a new tour to cover all Balkan states and add Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Albania.
The itinerary provided so much enjoyment, filled with variety, excitement, and entertainment. it combined scheduled events with added free time to explore on our own. The breaks in driving time was well planned out but, ALL FUTURE tour busses MUST have a WC on board. The accommodations for the most part were like no other. Just one location should be taken off the list in Savilla, it is not a good representation of you fine company. All in all, it was FANTASTIC and a bucket list item that I am so glad I took. Thank you
Arrangements were efficient, the hotel was lovely, the reception and meal on
arrival was most welcoming.
Walking was as brochure said and the town/suburbs was abundant with flowering
plants.
Evening meals easily available at very reasonable prices.
The guide was full of interesting information about the historical context of
the island.
As ever the greatest fun was meeting the excellent other holiday makers!
The hotel were very attentive to providing me with "gluten free" meals.
The visit to the roman remains at Salamis
Art and architecture
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Hi,
Overall it was a nice and good trip but i would like to highlight some points.
1. Short duration of personal stroll in some places/towns.
2. The detailed itinerary was not respected. There was a day where we returned to the hotel earlier than mentioned on the itinerary.
3. Another day, we were given only 30 minutes to stroll around Rouen including dinner. How is that possible? we traveled 4 hours to reach Rouen from Paris only to visit and eat within 30 minutes?
4. Breakfast lack options, everyday we got the same things in 5 hotels we were staying. Too much pork options as breakfast and not everybody consumes that.
5. Diamond cutting factory was a waste of time as nobody was interested to visit this. The explanations were so dull and sleepy, they put 40 people in a closed non aerated room and we were all suffocating. I had rather stroll around Amsterdam from morning to evening.
Overall it was a good and nice trip but it could have been perfect.
Prashan Hemraj.
I took the "Reverse Puglia" trip June 18 to 25, 2024. It was a great trip and overview of Puglia. We stayed in trulias in Alberobello and a cave room in Matera. Everything about the grip was perfect, the pace, the places we visited, the food and local guides. However the best part of the trip was Gabriele the tour guide. He took care of everyone and was funny, intelligent, gracious and a pure delight. He is what made the trip so special and memorable, a philosopher that showed us Puglia.
