Western Europe Tours

The group was an excellent size, lovely guide and bus driver. Plenty of time at each stop, and Meghan our guide was very thorough in both informing us and setting us on our way for our free time slots. Hotels okay, but the Relais hotel in Parisshould not be allowed to let room 111. It is not up to standard. and actually, most depressing to be in. All in all a great trip.

We enjoyed our cycle trip from Porto to Lisboa in October. This was our first bike tour and although challenging at times, we did it. THe group was easy to get along with and the Guide, Mike (from Montaraz Outdoors) was exceptional. He was very encouraging and always assisting. I had a flat tire one day and he had it fixed in less than 5 minutes (okay, read more 6).The communication with Explore was good; the cost was reasonable and the tour itself exceeded our expectations. It was a great way to travel and see the countryside of Portugal. We look forward to our next journey.

Both Spain and Portugual have been on my to do list for quite some time! They did not disappoint! The 3 week trip with Intrepid, consisted of 2 smaller trips (8 days - Northern Spain) and 15 days (Classic Spain and Portugual), so our guide and group changed after the first week. In this first week, we caught public trains and buses which was generally read more good. However, when we arrived in a city/town like Palermo, we caught local buses to our hotel. These were often crowded and you got the distinct impression that the locals were not happy having 12 travellers with their luggage on board! This problem was solved in the next part of the tour, which used taxis/UBER to ferry us from a bus or train station to the hotel. This was far more confortable. I would also say that the hotels were only OK and generally not very centrally located (Granada, Lisbon and Porto were exceptions). Despite this, they had good access to public transport. Our local guides were excellent and had a good knowledge of food, culture and history. I would recommend this trip but make sure you know what you are getting for your money!

Vineyards and Mountains Back Roads Tour was definitely that and the back roads were stunning. We loved the wine experiences, talks and tastings in Chablis and the champagne district. The cheese making was another very informative day on the edge of The Alps.The mountains, then the Alps and then the high plateau and gorges going on down to Provence were read more spectacular. We loved the way the guide could slightly change the itinerary on the journey to suit the clientele and these changes obviously had the permission of Head Office. Our experiences were uniquely French ad a very satisfied group found the tour inspiring and educational. Thank you.