Explore Tour Reviews

One of my personal highlights of the tour was being taken into a spice shop in Madaba by one of the other tour members. Given that this tour is specifically called the Spice Trails of Petra an organised option around spices or cooking would have been a wonderful addition.

I don't remember the trip notes being separate to the final confirmation details on previous trips, so nearly missed that. The trip notes are very useful for budgeting and knowing what kit to bring. (Due to accommodation quality at Wadi Rum though, didn't actually need some if recommended kit!)

The Phnom Penh - Siem Reap trip could be replaced with a flight. Loved the food but would have appreciated a couple of more upmarket recommended options to try out modern local cuisine too. Binh, our guide in Vietnam and Cambodia, was exceptionally good.

It was an amazing trip with a great leader, and fully lived up to expectations. It was expensive, but we knew that in advance and it was worth it. I would disagree with a couple of points that others might criticise: 1. The number of early starts: Mohammed was very clear on these from the start, and fully explained the reason for them (to beat the crowds ...read more and the heat of the day). They were worth it. 2. The number of excursions not included. I do think that Abu Simbel should be added to the itinerary, as everyone seems to want to do it and there's otherwise nothing included in Aswan. However in terms of the overall number of options not included the itinerary was very clear, as were the optional excursion costs, so everyone should have gone on the tour realising this.

Three things we would pick up on 1. Veggie food: on the train the veggie option was 'leave the meat' (which was in a separate pack, but this isn't the point: it meant not getting the protein and having less to eat); whilst the cruise food was great but the one area it lacked was veggie options. I am veggie and went pescatarian (ate fish) for the cruise. If I hadn't it would have limited me. 2. Access: my travelling companion sometimes uses a stick (if it's rough ground / long walking) and sections of the trip were a challenge: without me to assist she'd have really struggled. The trip notes only really cover the need to carry your own bag, which she can easily do as she has a wheeled case and short-medium distances are no issue.I would like Explore to add 'access notes' to trips and excursions which summarise points like the evenness of ground, whether there tend to be handrails, whether there are lots of steep curbs/steps, the sort of distances to be walked etc. Access to boats should also be covered (as there's a big difference between walking a railed gangplank, and stepping across/down a biggish gap or a plank without a rail). This would be very helpful to people planning a trip who are mobile but with some access challenges. 3: Paying for excursions. It should have been made 100% clear before the trip that excursions had to be paid for in cash, not with cards. This made for a lot of ATM visits (and associated charges). We could have brought more foreign currency had this been clearer.

You can tell this trip has many years of experience behind it as it all works to plan to see as much as possible in the time available with all the usual contrasts: different styles of accommodation, transport, types of sights etc etc. The addition of Kamphaengphet to replace the rice barge is good, but I suspect it's virtues are a little lost amidst ...read more so many historical temples/ruins over the surrounding days. I'm glad it was on the itinerary, though, as getting to the hotel earlier would not have been so appealing.

The group size was just right, not too big or too small. The places we went to for dinner as a group were very nice. I especially enjoyed the food at the garage in Selcuk, the fish restaurant by the beach near Olympios, the Tat restaurant in Selcuk and our last meal in Istanbul overlooking the river! It was nice getting some evenings free to arrange ...read more our own food when we weren't feeling too hungry. The arrival flight on the first day (about 3am on the day the tour started) was too late. Though I know that had changed because of the new airport, so there wasn't much else could have been done about that! Also the tourist attractions at Pergamum and Patara should have had toilets. Patara had no toilets at all (they were all closed). We waited 25 mins in Pergamum for the toilet queue & still didn't get to use the toilets- 2 toilets there was not enough!

The trip was an enormous success on every level and was hugely enjoyable, the memories of which will always stay with me. I loved every second of the journey, and Explore were very efficient in organising a replacement flight home for me after the problems with Jet airways, including booking me into a lounge at Doha airport for an 8 hour layover. Many ...read more thanks for that courtesy.

We felt this was an excellent itinerary with a brilliant guide. The wildlife, the culture and history were wonderful with the added bonus of arriving in Antigua at Easter time, in time for the religious ceremonies. The catholic processions were amazing. It would be good to flag these up on the tours that go at Easter.

Our tour leader was very resourceful and was excellent with the details, such as assisting with connections at the end of our tour. Highly recommend this small group jounrey along the coastal trails of Portugal!

Awad was excellent at giving us enough local information without overload. I learnt such a lot but a good balance of travel and rest. Would have liked the opportunity to spend two days in Petra since it was such a long walk in, a morning was not enough time to return to the things I missed. Maybe too, less food and more visits to the supermarkets ...read more for snacks. Overall, a lovely trip.

Judith looked after us very well - lots of care and attention and always available. Well done and thank you! Accommodation worked well for us - we changed rooms and this transformed the experience. Perhaps ask for the ?better' rooms when Explore book them as others had a different experience on this holiday we understand. We were in room 1003 and the ...read more rooms in this side are MUCH better than than those on the road side (even numbers). Worth knowing.

I can only restate what a truly professional guide Thomas Siebert proved to be; for example, as a teacher myself, I was impressed by the way he always gathered our group when we were using public transport and counted us at every opportunity.

Don't drop the trip... it gave a great overview of Morocco. tired of tajines, food could have been more diverse, especially for vegetarians.

I have done many trips with Explore and other companies as well as independent travelling. I felt that the cost of this trip was excessive particularly given prices within the country of food, transport, accommodation etc. Also I know viewing wildlife isn't guaranteed but Explore imply that sightings of cats, otters and other mammals are good where ...read more as this is not the reality. This is essentially a bird watching trip. Those interested in birds really enjoyed it. However I am not in this category.

Mule trek in Lalibela was great, but I would strongly recommend to take the bus downhill because the trek was to dangerous for the mules and for hiking downhill. And the first stop in Lalibela should be the famous St. George rock church. We had it at the very end when the weather turned already bad. Luckily we had time again before our flight from Lalibela ...read more to Addis. Optional boat trip on Lake Tana should be included in the tour; this was certainly one of the highlight on the trip. Hotel at Simien Mountains was very basic; think about staying at the National Park Hotel inside the Park and charge a little bit more money for the whole trip.

I think it would improve the trip if breakfasts were included in the price wherever possible. Most of the hotels we stayed in provided decent breakfasts and most of us ate there. This is a holiday where the cost of meals soon mounts up and the equivalent of ?300-400 needs to be budgeted for the cost of meals not currently included. On the whole meals ...read more were a little pricier than some of us expected.

It was a trip for committed walkers with a good level of fitness. This was set out in the information but the group might have struggled with any less capable participants to enjoy the full walking experience. Our group had a reasonably consistent level.

It was a real shame the weather was SO bad for most of the trip. I didn't have appropriate clothing with me for the cold and wet. Not your fault they had 'once in 100 year' bad weather the week we visited!!

On Day 5 (Wednesday) it was a transfer day but there was plenty of spare time from 11:00am onwards. It would have been good to have had a briefing on locally payable activities as some people in the group missed out on a boat trip to some caves, which were one of our highlights on the trips. This could easily become wasted time for some if they are ...read more not informed.

The walks are graded moderate which is OK in general but on Andros there are loads of steps. We didn't have a problem with them, although it was quite hard work! I think more elderly clients or people with breathing difficulties might struggle. It might be worth mentioning this in the grading. Some varied and interesting walks and definitely worth the ...read more effort. The Greek Islands are simply stunning and we loved this trip and the friends we made along the way.