Every detail of our trip worked perfectly. The numerous drivers we used throughout the trip were always on time,
the hotels were very nice and our tour guide was fantastic! We enjoyed the Mekong Delta and Halong Bay. All activities planned by our travel exprt,
we’re done incredibly well.
Local culture
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
This was my first trip as a single person and I had a fabulous time. The group of 12 (four couples and four singles) really gelled and were very friendly, supportive and fun. The itinerary was very good, with at least one specific thing to do, see or visit each day. The high points were the tea plantation, the spice farm, the cookery evening, the wonderful scenery and the houseboat . The accommodation was generally very good, but the homestay was too basic to be an enjoyable experience. It didn't feel as though we were guests in someone's home, it felt more like a commercial exercise (eg the host talked of building a hotel next year to accommodate more guests). The food was excellent in most places with some well-chosen restaurants/snack bars, and plenty of choice for vegetarians, but I was a little disappointment at the street food experience, which was just selecting one cold, precooked snack (such as samosa, vada or fritter.) I was anticipating some freshly cooked food (while we looked on) such as rice and dahl or pani puri. Also, I thought that the purpose of visiting the market was to select spices and vegetables to use later in our cookery evening, but there wasn't an obvious link. Our guide, Sree, was flexible, knowledgeable and very accommodating of all our needs.
Overall a really great experience with a great group of people. Will definitely use Explore again for another adventurous trip.
City sightseeingSight
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
The tour was excellent Our tour guides in Morroco, Sevilla and Portugal met all of our expectations particularly Hamid from Marruecos along with our Conductor. The only recommendation I make is to reconsider Panorama hotel. It was poorly maintained, poor hygiene. Other than that the other properties, itineraries and food were great. It was a memorable experience
Looking back at our photos now we've returned to the UK we can't believe the amount we saw and the amazing experiences we had on this tour. Sri Lanka is an amazing beautiful country with some much going on - we only scratched the surface. Our tour leader Cham worked so hard to make sure that we had everything we needed, resolving our problems and sorting out food for our fussy son! His knowledge about Sri Lankan history and wildlife was immense. He even found the best place to buy genuine Sri Lanka cricket shirts for the sporty members of our group. The only thing we'd change was the pace of the second half of the Sri Lanka leg of the trip. The first half gave us time to chill and bond as a group, as well as hang out in the pool at Giritale and play cricket. The second half we moved every night and covered a massive distance, though interesting, this was quite tiring (especially for the kids), so we'd suggest that a two night stop in the middle of this element would resolve this issue easily. This was clear in the notes, however, as was the high chance of not getting the train. The pace did slow considerably for the Maldives element, with a lot of time on our boats travelling between reefs. The snorkelling was quite frankly mind-blowing, and even the more nervous swimmers loved it. The crew were fantastic, and the food was delicious. The guide knew his stuff, and made sure we had great snorkelling experiences. Our only criticism of this part of the trip was that splitting the group when we'd got to know each other and were getting on really well was disappointing. There were larger boats, and we'd have preferred to be on a single boat given how long we spent travelling separately. The crew did what they could to mitigate this by tying the boats together when we moored for snorkels, meals and overnight and that was great. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable trip, and with a few very small tweaks it'd be perfect!
Active and outdoor
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
My Driver and manager were incredible! Very professional, well organised, but most importantly, FUN!
A good amount of people to mix with but enough to feel like a family.
City sightseeing
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Hotel, Hostel, Resort
Age Range
18-35 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Rome, London, Amsterdam, Berlin
Rome, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Krakow, Budapest, Ljubljana, Venice
Loved the organization of our Scotland trip! Steven, our guide, was excellent! Some of my favorite trips were Bosnia and Beyond and Baltics in Winter (older version). Great communication with the US office in planning.
Cultural, religious and historic sites
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel
Age Range
16-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Edinburgh, Dunblane, Loch Ness
Edinburgh, Dunblane, Loch Ness, Pitlochry, Cairngorms National Park
I'm not sure if you recognise excellence of tour guide specifically, but I just wanted to express how impressed I was with my tour guide of adventure Morocco tour. Abdoul Moussali was an exceptional tour guide who was informative, friendly, caring, and hilarious. This trip was definitely one of the best I have ever had, and by far the best tour I have ever been on. Please let me know if there is any way I can nominate him for any further recognition. I am also sure that many, if not all, of the other travellers would be interesting in recognising his excellence in any way possible.
Cultural, religious and historic sites
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Hotel, Tent, Resort, Camping
Age Range
18-75 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Marrakech, Ait Ben Haddou, M’ham
Marrakech, Ait Ben Haddou, M’hamid, Mhamid, Agadir, Essaouira
We reach most of the major cities very late in the evening,thus we hardly see anything in those cities.May be day time excursions need to be planned better
