Greece Natural landmarks sightseeing Trips

We like Explore! because of the small group mode of all the tours we've done with Explore! (5, so far). The Greek Island Wanderer was 5 guests and a guide, and we had 3 in our party. So, it was the smallest group ever for us. But it was like friends taking a tour and one of them happened to be a local expert. Panajotis was a brilliant tour guide who is passionate about his adopted country. I can't say enough about the tour guide, Pan. The calm nature he presented while the gears were turning in his head to find us the best places for history, the views, the coffee shops and restaurants plus the people of the places we visited. He figured out how to accommodate me and my need for MORE and my wife who's a marathoner but a shopper too. Plus, our cousin Gary with a physical limitation and a lady fresh out of an April surgery who was a total Champ. Folks could dial into all they wanted or chill out with the options Pan offered for 2 weeks. Just brilliant. Overall, the tour was fantastic, so my inputs are really only the stand-out goods or bads. Starting in Athens, the Evripides Hotel was a great choice. The location and the facility offered everything we needed. Initially, it seemed to be in a bad part of town, but it turns out that Athens just looks like that all over and its just fine. The location is unbeatable. We loved the long walks through Athens despite the heat. My wife would have added a few more water or refreshment stops. We absolutely loved the ferries. That's something new for Americans. The schedule was nice between islands allowing just enough time to really see the top spots. We also loved taking the night ferry to Paros. The Mykonos option was fun because of the Super Express Ferry, and we skipped the ruins stop. I’d have been happier staying on Naxos for that day but, indeed, Mykonos is a must-see on most folks list, so I’d do it again. I’d call it marginal. The Francois Hotel on Syros was a low spot. Its very small and the shower stall was ridiculous. We were glad to move on. Each island had its own charm, and the accommodation was just right in all the other places. On Santorini, Pan took us into an art Gallery where he knows the proprietors. I'm a rather-be-hiking guy but my wife and our cousin thoroughly enjoyed that visit. They both suggested more museum and gallery stops. Again, Panajotis made the trip what it was. I’m glad we had him almost all to ourselves even though we usually consider that the other guests and their experiences and conversation to easily be 50% of the reason for traveling in the first place. We’ll be perusing the Explore! Website soon for our next adventure.

Loved the trip, it was everything I hoped for and more! The trip followed the itinerary and had lots of exciting things to do. I loved the hiking, the group/leader, and itinerary.

Having been on many Trafalgar trips, this was a much different experience from the usual coach tours. I loved having days at each location to really get familiar the islands. While still having optional experiences available there was also time to wander and explore on my own and it was wonderful! I did feel like there was slightly less attention to detail than I've typically experienced from Trafalgar but it did not detract from my enjoyment of my trip. For instance, when going to islands where water is not to be consumed, I would have expected water to always be provided in abundance by Trafalgar. If not for the 1-2 bottles provided each day by hotels, we were required to purchase water on our own. Having a bottle or two of water provided when doing optional added experiences would be very nice. That being said, I loved this itinerary. I did miss having the "be my guest" experience available. That has always been a highlight of previous trips with Trafalgar and I would have loved that to be an option. It was not this time, and there were fewer meals and beverages provided even on added optional excursions. Being limited to a choice of 1 glass of wine or 1 soda with included meals was a surprise thought breakfast did have an abundance of options.

Appreciated the 3 days at each location. Not rushed, but experienced all of the highlights that we expected. Group leader was outstanding as well as the coach drivers navigating us through the cities. Hotels were also excellent. Location was great. The only suggested opportunities for improvement would be to communicate in advance the changes in the optional experiences from those that were shown in the original itinerary so that we could make better decisions regarding our free time.

The holiday was lovely. Thanos is amazing. So knowledgeable and full of information. George and Jargas were also wonderful. Food was very nice as well. I like that Thanos kept on top of the weather and wind conditions and adapted the daily plans according to that to make the most of the holiday. The accommodation was very basic, but this was very clear from the onset and information provided by Explore so one knew what to expect. The boat itself is well organised and even in the heat of the day, being on water means we had a breeze which made staying on the deck or in the langue really nice.

Collette’s tipping policy is a concern to me. Collette needs to spell out in your trip planning information how the tour guides are compensated. Is the tip or gratuity is part of their compensation or a bonus for a job well done. This was my second tour with Collette. I like the hotel accommodations and selection of activities and attractions that included. Please provide more information on the gratuity part of your tours.