Eastern Highlights

Mika, she is really the best. She made us all feel included, no concern is small for her and went above and beyond what is required of her and made sure everyone had a good experience. Our driver Ference took us around 3300 kms safely. My travel companions were all good and I made new friends. And the destinations, amazing. Special favorites were Ljubljana and Lake Bled in Slovenia and Bratislava in Slovakia

The trip was a good amount of days, the pace was good had a lot of free time. Accommodation was a good standard and breakfast was good. Tour meals were good

Mica was a fabulous tour guide. She was well organised, pro active and fun.

The route of the tour is well-planned. We had adequate time to do things on our own in addition to getting some guidance from the team leader and the local tour guides. The team leader Mika was a good organiser and presenter of Eastern Europe's history. The coach driver Ference was very attentive and thoughtful. Highly recommended.

This trip hit all of my must-see spots and more! Mika, our tour guide was amazing! Im already looking at the next Expat tour to book!

This tour was a wonderful experience to me. I have to give massive credit to tour leader Mika, driver Gabor, my family and the other travellers within the group that made the tour far more enjoyable. We all enjoyed each others companies and meshed together like bread and butter. The tour highlighted key monuments, buildings, areas, and places for a majority of the countries. I really enjoyed hearing the information, stories, folklore for all the countries, especially Poland and Czech Republic. The tour also provided travellers with adequate time to appreciate most countries by spending time in it, but this was not the case for Austria for example (in my opinion). Overall I highly enjoyed the tour mostly because of the people I was with and the beautiful countries and the whimsy, magic, history and everything the tour had to offer for me.

The whole group were lovely. Tour leader Mika was systematic and considerate to each and everyone of us. She was very reassuring with positive vibes to each and every country we are in. Bus operator Gabor was highly skilful. His expertise made our journey safe and comfortable. Gabor and Mika made our flight back home possible after stressful options. Job Well Done!

11 packed days of go-go-go! So many things to see, but well worth it to find those places that you may want to go back and spend more time. A ton of walking (we logged about 75 miles). Optional activities were wonderful. Tour guides were incredibly knowledgeable.

This was our first time tour with Expat Explore. This tour was our birthday celebration for our sister's birthday. We had a great time exploring. The most exciting part of the tour was the independence and exposure in public transport. We never had this kind of exposure with other tour groups. Our tour director Rachelle was very patient, approachable and precise in giving us directions. I would love to have her again in our next explore tour.

Well organized. Can't believe we fit in 7 countries in 11 days, Amazing. All the tours were exceptional as well as the optional ones.

I loved everything on this tour for the most part. Our bus driver Norbert really made the experience for our group! Everywhere you go there is so much history and culture to experience! I would recommend this type of tour to those who are looking to taste this part of Europe!

A good tour. Locations of some of the hotels could be better located as two of them were well outside the city centres with poor public transport connections, no restaurants within walking distance, including shops. The two night stops in several of the locations on the tour was brilliant and would appreciate if Expat would consider providing similar tours made up of mainly two night stops as I believe that there would be a lot of interest if they were to be offered as an option going forward. Two nights in Vienna rather than one would be great. There was nothing wrong with the Hotel in Vienna except for its location and lack of any facilities around the hotel. this would also apply to the Bento Inn Hotel in Munich. Hence as to why I am giving the hotels a three star rating rather than a comfortable four star rating

Tour guide is excellent

I would highly recommend MEH to anyone looking for a super fast paced tour that explores multiple countries. In 11 days we were able to see the hearts of several countries, exploring capital cities, eating local foods, learning about the countries from local tour guides and making lifelong memories. The hotels were above expectations and the meals provided for both breakfasts (buffet style) and dinners were exceptional. The tour guide rachelle and driver frank were both enthusiastic, hard working and very knowledgeable. The tour was very good value for money. The tour is very fast paced, so not for those looking for a relaxing holiday. The tour is predominantly older people - however still lots of opportunities to head into town for partying if your a young traveller like myself.

We had a wonderful tour, extremely good value for money. You see and do so much - great way to ""get a taste"" of each country. We had 6 dinners and all breakfast included which was delicious and very convenient. The hotels are nice and comfortable and most in great locations to city centre. Our tour leader Rachelle was absolutely incredible! She is very organised and made everything completely stress free. It was very well planned and smooth. Rachelle taught us so much about each destination and was very knowledgeable.

First off our tour leader Rachelle is the best. She's so sweet, organized and punctual. She's also very knowledgeable, you can tell she's been a travel lover and has been leading awhile now. Our driver as well, Ferenc is fantastic! Such a nice guy and felt very safe with him driving. I loved this tour but keep in mind, this is a tour not a holiday or vacation! It's a lot of moving and walking.

Amazing tour leader and driver who took care of us for the whole trip! Packed with many sites to see, facts to learn, fun optional excursions, local guides, bonding on the bus and great food experiences. Great memories created! Thank you!

Good! Great breakfast, great tour leader and bus driver!! Hotels in Prague and Lubljana were fantastic, but the hotel in Krakow was substandard though the location was very good. All local tour guides were very knowledgeable though some delved too much i9nto local history details.

Our 11 day tour was incredible. From beginning to the end, our guide Krizti was organised, informative and friendly. Our tour bus driver, Yozti was polite, and drove safely. Highlights were our stay in Prague including the folk night, our dinner cruise in Budapest and our stop at Auschwitz with an informative guide. All hotels and included meals were great. Most of the walking tours were good but the commentary on the bus by Krizti was a highlight for us.

Excellent Expat tours. Good guide Gabi D, driver & trainee Michalina. All prompt efficient caring fun. The tour and all paid options fantastic. We have been on several other tours Wendy Wu China Trafalgar Europe Globus Cosmos. We like the Expat approach. Already planning next tour with you. Thank you for an amazing experience

The tour was amazing. I saw and experienced so much and grew very close to the group.

Overall the tour was excellent as was both the tour leader - Peter and the driver

We thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Our tour leader, Kristz, was fantastic - steeped in knowledge and history of each country visited! Her calm demeanor and exceeding pleasant personality keep everyone on track and on time! Her local food and drink recommendations were spot on and definitely welcomed. We did all the optional tours and all were fantastic. Expat Explore continues to be the industry leader in value-based experiences and we look forward to our next adventure in November 2024

Our tour leader was great

Our tour guide was amazing, fun and friendly. Saw a lot in a short time.

The time seemed to have gone so fast,. Even in the very hot days everyone on the tour managed to keep up with everyone. In our tour we have some ""oldies"" who are doing fantastically, 82 .81,79,76,71,70.

Very well organized. We visited multiple countries, cities and have lot of memorable experiences in a short time. Instead of returning from Munich, could have had an additional day in Vienna.

This is an easy way to see some gorgeous European cities quickly .

This trip was incredible, from day one our tour guide was amazing .. caring and very knowledgeable.. thanks everyone who made possible this unforgettable experience! I booked this trip before Covid. My tour leader-Dee handled our entire trip from hotel accommodation, tour free day information, etc. It was so nice to pass that responsibility to somebody as competent and timely as Expatexplore. She was also there for us the entire time to handle questions and deal with travel issues. Highly recommend!

First of all our tour leader and driver were exceptional. Always so very cheerful, friendly, helpful, I can't say enough about the wonderful experience. Hotels were ok, some outside some close to inner city. Again tour leader and driver made it easy to get to attractions even when the hotels were a bit further out. Breakfast was always very good, rooms clean, some a bit small. The program and route were perfect. I highly recommend at least some of the optional excursions, well worth the money. Again tour leader had a lot of recommendations and offered information to those not participating in the optional activities. All the included and the optional meals were good, all had vegetarian options and dietary restrictions were taken into account. Thank you Dee and Chris it was wonderful!

What a well planned and adventure filled tour through the history of Eastern Europe. Our tour leader Dee was exceptional and went out of her way to make the trip enjoyable and hassle free. Our driver Chris was very safe and skilled. Have had a fantastic time.

Expat always delivers great value for the dollar. The included meal son this trip were fantastic - great restaurants and authentic.

Very busy but also very enjoyable

Dee made this tour! She went above and beyond to ensure that ALL passengers were given the best service possible. Dee was approachable, strict when needed (with tardiness and seat rotation), friendly and knowledgeable. She provided us with little "goodies" from the countries we traveled through. She even assisted us with travel plans outside of EXPAT!

The only thing I would suggest is add $10 on to cover payment at all the comfort stops

Very organized trip and our tour leader was so helpful.

They are organized , nice hotel accomodations, very good tour leader , ours was Dee. You get your money's worth.

I really enjoyed this tour! Csaba was our driver who was great and made the journey so smooth and safe. The coach was very comfy. Rachelle was our tour leader who did an exceptional job of all the timings (we didn't miss anything!), who is friendly, confident and has a wealth of knowledge in the history & culture of each place. She taught us basics in all the languages for this tour and about the currencies. She was there to answer any questions and did a perfect job of it all. Rachelle had plenty of recommendations of things to see and do and (what I enjoyed the most)- things to eat and drink! Poland was definitely the country of the best food during this adventure. If you go, you gotta try the Pierogis (dumplings) I'm obsessed with them haha. The vodka in Poland is also something amazing. In each country, i did my best to embrace the culture and the food and it honestly made my trip all the more fun and worthwhile. I chose this tour because of the free days. As a solo traveller I like the freedom and as a returnee to Expat I know from experience in the last trip I took, that sometimes a 'taste' of something is just not enough! I wanted to spend at least a day or more in a couple of places and this tour ticked the boxes for me. Optional excursions- I highly recommend the Slovenian and Prague folk evenings! Both were a lot of fun and the food was delicious! The optionals are a great chance to bond with the group. I met some really beautiful people on the tour. We were a bit like family at the end! Having local guides take us around, hear their accent & about the history etc was good.The comfort stops were also good. Ranging from 20 min rest stops or 2 hours for exploring. I felt like I had to keep an eye on the time though as it tended to fly. Few snippets of advice- wear a watch, make sure you have change for toilets, eating at restaurants can really eat up time (pun intended), be open minded. We saw so many countries & walked a lot. Loved it!

Very interesting places and great optional tours. Hotel in Ljubijana was very uncomfortable very low and hard beds. When taking public transportation round trip tickets should be provided. Overall wonderful experience.

Very good tour leader, good itineary and reasonable cost.

It was an excellent way to see many places in a very convenient, safe, and a very knowledgeable Tour Leader.

Fun times with the family!

Overall my wife and I enjoyed the tour seeing new places and meeting people. The tour was executed as described in the itinerary. However, there are few things I would like to bring up that we encountered. We understood the hotels we stayed at are not 5 star hotels but some of the hotels we stayed at are unsatisfactory. Achat hotel is dirty (room 522) Sept. 14. The shower pan drain is clogged, room smells cigarette smoke, dirty carpet, and pillows smells human head. I will not sleep in that hotel ever. The hotel in Slovenia BB hotel, the shower enclosure is too small even for an Asian size body like us. Your tour leader attitude is not good. Yes she can speak English very well, explained the necessary information about the places we are going BUT she is very poor when it comes to interacting with the needs of the tour group (your customers). She is not considerate when it comes to giving us enough time between breakfast and departure time. One hour is not enough for us to have breakfast, pack our luggage and be on the coach ready to go. She does not tell us where are the good places to eat. She has negative attitude encouraging her tour group to explore interesting places. Example the castle in Salzburg, she recommended it is better to walk up there instead of taking the Finicular because it is faster to hike than waiting in line to get a ride. She made the tour very exhausting when it comes to schedule. She even told us to take a vacation to rest after the tour. She even emphasize at the end of the tour how cheap the cost we paid. If you want 5 star accommodation then expect to pay more. This is my second time with the tour operator and I will not join another tour if I will get the same tour leader. The driver in our tour is very quite as well, he does not interact with the tour group. Overall we did not give them the tip your tour leader is asking for. We felt they do not deserve even the minimum amount!

Just finished the amazing Eastern Highlights (11 days) tour and I had a wonderful time exploring each and every city, and of course, meeting new friends. Definitely worth every cent and highly recommended specially to solo travellers like me ??

Took the Eastern European Highlights 11 Day bus tour and it was so much fun. Well worth the money, the hotels were great and most importantly, Kim Simpson our tour guide was beyond amazing, sweet, kind, and helpful through the entire trip. She's an excellent communicator and reads peoples need and attitudes on point! She guided 45 people of various ages, personalities and attitudes like a champ. Very intuitive human being. I hope to go on another tour with the tour operator in the near future.

Wonderful trip.Met many nice people on this tour. Every day was fully occupied with sightseeing from morning till night.This tour is not for people who dont like walking or expecting a relaxing time. It is a very compact tour to fit in as much activity as possible within the given time. Every place visited was amazing. Thanks to Carly our tour guide who was very informative and made sure all of us were safe all the time.

I usually don't write reviews after my trips but I decided to point out a few things after my last one. This tour bus was the largest of them all, comprising of 49 travellers. This causes a lot of delays, especially when you only have one guide. From all my trips, we've always experienced a guide who was welcoming and inclusive to all people. However on this tour, the tour guide could not stop expressing her own political opinions. There's a time and place for politics, but a tour bus filled with multicultural people is not an appropriate setting. We came to explore and enjoy the cities and felt the tour guide was very fixated on her own bias and became very offensive with her comments. A tour company that relies on business from travelers from all over the world should have inclusive tour guides who respect diversity and not push their own opinions on others. In addition, I would recommend a few changes to the itinerary. Both Prague and Krakow were very small cities that did not require a two day visit. On the other hand, we were not provided enough time to explore in Vienna or Budapest. Overall the tour, hotels and food were good with a few exceptions. But ultimately the tour guide provide a sour experience that makes me wonder if this company would be worth my money on my next traveling holiday.

My daughter and I travelled together which was great. We visited many interesting and beautiful places. The tour was rather heavy on history. We would have preferred a bit more variety in experiences.

I really enjoyed the tour. Dee, the tour leader, one of the best tour leader I have come across. Looking forward to do more tours with expat

This was my second tour with Expat and will likely not be my last! I was an absolute pleasure working with them leading up to the start of the tour, with ample assistance and support. We knew the tour would be well planned and orchestrated, but our tour leader absolutely MADE the tour. Dee was awesome and so well organised - I cannot imagine the tour without her. Thank you to Expat and the wonderful Dee!

It's a past face, but you have a chance to be a part of the culture and tradition of each country we visited .

The trip was great. We saw many sights and Rachelle, the tour leader, was helpful and informative. The driver, Csaba, navigated through the cities and countries with phenomenal ability. If you want top of the line accommodations, don't do this tour. The hotels were adequate. We didn't spend very much time in our hotels because we were out seeing the sights. It was a place to sleep and get clean. All of the hotels had more than a continental breakfast and most had a large selection of food. The price was good and the value was better. We had a fantastic time. We were also fortunate to have the founders of the company join us for a couple of days on our trip.

This tour company tries to give value for money. This was my second trip. Some of the hotels were not up to mark. Due to the big number hotels are not able to cater properly for breakfast. There were a few hotels that hardly had enough food on the buffet. Coffee served was not hot. We were at Achat on the last day. Two bus loads of Expat travellers in one hotel. Hotel unable to cater food. Tour leader was knowledgeable and informative but lack personal touch. Tendency to only have conversations with preferred guests. Seat arrangement was good. It was a exhausting trip. Half an hour breakfast. Quickly rush to the bus. . We were on a long drive to reach Budapest. Immediately did a 3 hour walking walking tour. We had the next whole day free. What is the reason for the rush. It is the local tour guide. Why can't it be arranged the next day. Free dinners were given but without drinks most times. Even water has to be paid. Expat should look into this. Water is a necessity. Cover the cost. You are saving costs on us vegetaraians.

Love the trip but not meant for retirees over 65 because of long walking tours. Would recommend to younger people

Our tour guide and driver were amazing. We could not have asked for a better pair. Dee, our tour leader thought of and did everything for us, from checking us in, getting us times of the subway system, securing dinner reservations, as well as advising us of the best places to eat and drink in every town. Dee knew the history of all the sites and cites and passed on that information in a knowledgable way in order to keep us all interested. Dee had a qreat sense of humor and made us laugh. Our driver, Czabe, was great, never getting us lost, getting us to our destination on time and always being ready. However, the downsize to this trip, the hotels were a lot less then what we were expecting. Would not have even given them a one star. Dirty, run down and lacking in services that one would expect from a hotel.