Tours and Trips for Experienced Travelers

I would highly recommend this Morocco trip. It is a full-on pace, so be prepared, but absolutely worth it to see as much of this wonderful country as possible in a relatively short time. I was very lucky to travel with a great group and our guide, Nabil, was fantastic! He made sure that the trip was filled with highlights and adventure, as well as a lot of fun! If you are considering this trip then all I can say is…..just go!

We started our Dhoni cruise after spending 5 nights on a resort, as we wanted to experience the “real Maldives” in contrast. We wanted to extend our trip as felt it was a long way to travel for just 6 nights. One of the main highlights of the cruise was our outstanding guide Egan and the crew of Koimala, who all worked so hard together to ensure we were incredibly well looked after and safe. The food was out of this world, three beautiful meals a day, healthy and fresh with plenty of variety. Catering for any allergies well. The crew made us an unforgettable dinner on an uninhabited island one evening which was very special. We enjoyed the visits to two inhabited islands as it was good to stretch our legs and see how Maldivians live on land. Although I would say the time spent on Male was quite underwhelming. Our cabin was basic but clean and comfortable. One small double bed with a single bunk on top and en-suite bathroom You definitely need to enjoy snorkelling to consider this trip, as the dramatic scenery is all under water. Huge reefs with so many colourful fish. We were taken out snorkelling at least twice a day. Highlights included swimming with turtles, dolphins and nurse sharks which were so gentle and serene. Also seeing sting rays. I would also suggest that you need to be reasonably fit to do this trip, as although it’s very relaxing you need to be able to climb into a bunk bed, climb in and out of the dingy and negotiate walking around the boat when it is rocking!

The North Phillipines was an excellent adventure tour. A good mix of sight seeing, and meeting the people and their culture, The rice fields, weaving, pottery and UNESCO heritage sites were interesting and fun, all made so much better by Ian our tour guide. Ian was very informative, interesting, and very humorous. He did everything to make sure we had everything we needed, was able to answer all questions and bought some special local treats for us to try. Ian looked after us all so well. The drivers were amazing too having quite a lot of driving to do. Bohol beach extension was so relaxing, in a beautiful hotel with a lovely Sandy beach. A perfect end to a great holiday.

Although I travelled from quite far away, (Vancouver Island, Canada), I was so very pleased at the kindness and friendly attitude of everyone in the group. I was the eldest in the group (73 years young), but had absolutely no trouble keeping up. I would say this trip is not for the feint of heart; even at the end of October/early November the days were quite hot (although the evening temps were perfect). We experienced no bugs and no rain throughout the week. Definitely expect long days and some arduous climbs as well as steep descents. Hiking poles were essential. It was occasionally windy and cool at each summit but I was able to hike in shorts all week. I’m quite used to climbing mountains and found this itinerary to be just perfect. The accommodation was basic but comfortable; the food was good but at times limited for me as a vegetarian. Breakfasts outside were fantastic and the triple-decker sandwiches that José made for us were to die for. You definitely won’t be disappointed.

Outstanding tour! Jim, our tour manager, did an outstanding job. All destinations were beautifully decorated for the holidays. Favorite memories: dinners at the Greenbrier (I never write about food but these dinners were outstanding); wonderful staff at the Greenbrier; nighttime tour of a couple of the DC monuments; seeing Aladdin the Camel at Mount Vernon Things I wish could have been different: plan it so that we could do an evening event in Williamsburg (like their Illuminations) or Mount Vernon. Go for a White House tour or substitute another special thing instead of going to the White House Visitor’s Center.

The whole tour was magical! The snow set the scene for strolling through the markets with gluhwein and delicious food. Walking through the towns all lit up with beautiful Christmas lights and displays was equally festive. I thoroughly enjoyed creating our own tasty Yule log and the icing on the cake for me was the maple syrup farm. There we had a traditional breakfast and made maple candy on a board of snow. Thankful for the variety of maple products in their gift shop. The chunky maple sugar cubes are the best. A new found favorite for coffee, tea or just eating by themselves. What a treat!! Oh, and maple cream cookies….THE BEST!