Explore Worldwide Reviews
The 198 Explore Worldwide reviews listed below are from past clients of Global Journeys that have traveled with Explore Worldwide. Each review has been individually verified by our team.
4.7
5 Star
4 Star
3 Star
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1 Star
The mountain views were spectacular but the paths up the mountains were hard and steep. The guide was very good and very knowledgeable. There were no problems encountered at any time. Most of the accommodations were very good.
Great tour if you are fit and healthy. Heaps of walking at sites and some steep. We enjoyed the tour, but few order travellers did find it challenging. Once the tour starts, it should be Explorers responsibility to make sure guest are safely taken back to the hotel. This did not happen on the first day of the tour. However, we had an excellent tour ...read more leader that made up for all the short comings.
The Silk Road trip of Uzbekistan was fantastic. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and went well beyond for us many times. I loved the old cities of Kiva, Bukhara and also Samarkand. As a group we got along very well. The locals were very hospitable and friendly. Highly recommend this tour, there was a lot of construction going on so experiencing ...read more this tour sooner rather than later would be ideal. Maybe a second night in the yurt camp to spend a day at the salt lake to break up the trip would be beneficial. It was quite a busy tour.
Driver and Tour Director were good, but the condition of the coach was really bad as the AC was not fully functional with high temperatures recorded during the tour, all passengers were sweating as they came out of a steam bath. Would be my first and last trip if managed by Explore UK.
I've made about ten bookings through Global Journeys, and as I keep going back to them, they must be doing something right! As usual, Hannah handled my booking request and questions promptly and professionally. This was my first booking with Explore! as their itinerary included a number of game drives around the Okavango Delta, including two nights ...read more on the Okavango Rivers itself. I was a little anxious about the five nights of 'wild camping'; but, although basic facilities, this turned out to be an adventurous highlight. The other styles of included accommodation were fantastic. The meals served during our camping adventure, and during our stay on the houseboat, were outstanding. I can't say enough about our tour leader/guide Bibi, who was also our driver, and the supporting camp/houseboat staff; they deserve a medal. We were blessed with fantastic weather and wildlife sightings. I can't think of any negatives of my adventure. I would definitely consider travelling again with Explore!
I highly recommend travelling with Explore as our local tour leader Arturo ensured every aspect of our visit was enjoyable and memorable. Arturo was the ultimate professional making sure our stay was trouble free and his passion for his work and Peru left a lasting impression on the group. All the accommodation, transport, meals and access to sites ...read more exceeded expectations as Arturo ensured that each moment was spent soaking up the atmosphere and learning about Peruvian history, culture and heritage without any worries or concerns.
The local guides, staff and people were very friendly and hospitable towards us with many happy moments spent sampling the local cuisine and beverages in the restaurants, cafes and with locals such as at Lake Titicaca and Maras.
Its easy to recommend the well known sites such as Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu but visiting Arequipa with its many churches, volcanoes and traditional markets was memorable as was the day trip to Ollantaytambo town and archaeological site in the nearby hills.
Add to that Raqchi and the Sun Temple, Colca Canyon and Valley with its condors and hawks, there was plenty to see for all types of visitors that it would be unfair to single out one particular moment or experience. Attending both Corpus Christi and Inti Raymi festivities was an eye opening experience getting to witness a mixture of religious practices and soaking in the atmosphere and warm weather with thousands of people left you deeply emotional and excited.
I look forward to returning in the not so distant future to see the extra places on offer and partake in the additional Amazon visit as the those who were lucky enough to visit had a fun time living it up seeing the beautiful scenery and witnessing exotic animals in a safe environment. Thanks Explore and Global Journeys for a life changing trip!
The local guides, staff and people were very friendly and hospitable towards us with many happy moments spent sampling the local cuisine and beverages in the restaurants, cafes and with locals such as at Lake Titicaca and Maras.
Its easy to recommend the well known sites such as Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu but visiting Arequipa with its many churches, volcanoes and traditional markets was memorable as was the day trip to Ollantaytambo town and archaeological site in the nearby hills.
Add to that Raqchi and the Sun Temple, Colca Canyon and Valley with its condors and hawks, there was plenty to see for all types of visitors that it would be unfair to single out one particular moment or experience. Attending both Corpus Christi and Inti Raymi festivities was an eye opening experience getting to witness a mixture of religious practices and soaking in the atmosphere and warm weather with thousands of people left you deeply emotional and excited.
I look forward to returning in the not so distant future to see the extra places on offer and partake in the additional Amazon visit as the those who were lucky enough to visit had a fun time living it up seeing the beautiful scenery and witnessing exotic animals in a safe environment. Thanks Explore and Global Journeys for a life changing trip!
We have never been part of a tour group previously, preferring to plan everything ourselves at our own pace, etc. This tour was our first group and we loved it. The guide, Justyna, was amazing and went above and beyond at every opportunity. The group itself was very fun, and the tour left enough time for us to do some things on our own.
Very scenic tour and I enjoyed the small group vibe. Nice hotels in very convenient locations and a lovely, helpful guide made it a trip to remember!
Thoroughly enjoyed this tour. We were fortunate to have great weather...no road closures or inaccessible areas. Our guide Gusti was extremely informative, helpful and entertaining. A good representative for Iceland and the local tour company representing Explore!
This tour started in Singapore and although I have visited the island a few times before I appreciated seeing the sights again with an informative local guide. The journey through Malaysia covered the highlights that I wished to see: the historical Dutch influence on the Straits settlement of Malacca, the contrast of skyscrapers and local areas in KL, ...read more a homestay amongst the rubber plantations near Ipoh, the rolling hills of tea in the Cameron Highlands, UNESCO Georgetown, Penang and finishing with a relaxing stay on Langkawi.
This was actually two tours, Portugal and Spain with Felix and the Morocco with Boobker. Felix provided daily summaries of what we would be doing and when. Boobker provided limited and only verbal details. Tipping was an issue across the whole tour with some of the group using "optional" to mean they could contribute either nothing or very little. Boobker ...read more was left in the position where he had no tipping pool and one or two of us had to do all the tipping in Morocco.
We had great variety in fitness levels which slowed us down, especially in Lisbon and Porto - both very hilly! Felix was very knowledgeable and repeatedly went the extra mile to ensure we covered everything, even arranging an additional guide for the Cordoba Mosque/Cathedral. Because Morocco requires licensed guides in each city, Boobker had less opportunity to do this. All accommodation was at least 3 star and most were 4 star. All accommodation was either in the main tourist areas or just outside - very convenient.
We had great variety in fitness levels which slowed us down, especially in Lisbon and Porto - both very hilly! Felix was very knowledgeable and repeatedly went the extra mile to ensure we covered everything, even arranging an additional guide for the Cordoba Mosque/Cathedral. Because Morocco requires licensed guides in each city, Boobker had less opportunity to do this. All accommodation was at least 3 star and most were 4 star. All accommodation was either in the main tourist areas or just outside - very convenient.
I enjoyed learning the history of the three countries visited as well as the current politics and social environment. I liked the capital cities of Baku, Tbilisi and Yerevan, as well as the Black Sea resort town of Batumi in Georgia. and many historic churches and monasteries in between. It's a pity though that the time in Tbilisi was rather limited. ...read more It's a city that deserves more sightseeing time. On the other hand, I think there was too much time spent on wineries and wine tastings.
Very good tour. A full tour - 16 people including 10 singles, people from all around the world which was great to see. This was my 3rd tour with Explore. This is graded as a "moderate" tour and was certainly a lot slower paced than my previous trip to Georgia & Armenia. Tour leader and driver were both North Macedonian. Tour leader had a great personality ...read more and was very professional and caring especially when 1 person had a fall and broke a bone in their foot on day 12 of the tour. We had great weather, sunny and warm with an enjoyable 3 night stay in Lake Ohrid and visit to Thassos island in northern Greece. Hotels were well located, being walking distance to town centres. Lots of monasteries and churches, especially compared to the number of ancient sites in northern Greece we visited. Booking with Georgie is always seamless, she provides very prompt, professional and friendly service.
As an introduction to the lakes area, Walk the Lake District was amazing! We had the best sunny weather ever which was unheard of for the entire week. The views were spectacular and the group of people we were with were friendly and fun to be with. The accommodation was first class and the food fantastic. Our walks guide was excellent in both gauging ...read more the fitness level of the group and history of the area. Would I recommend this to anyone? Yes, but be fit because to get the views you have to go up! Hannah was great with keeping me on track with paperwork, made it all very easy.
For me this trip was about getting out in nature. Loved the time spent in Triglav National Park, going for beautiful walks, staying in Bohinj. Fab location. Also Lake Bled. I could easily have spent more time in the mountains and forgone the towns and cities on this itinerary. Clare was a fantastic guide, giving up her two client-free days to take us ...read more on stunning walks etc. I do think the company should retain private driver/bus for the entire day when needed, especially when some public transport e.g. buses are known to be unreliable. Clare was even told by a public bus driver she shouldn’t be putting her people on public buses. Overall, I lived the trip 💚
All in all, this was an excellent trip. The guide provided by Explore was exceptional- could not recommend him more highly. The trip was all it said it would be, and more. We saw places and met people that most tourists never would experience. The cycling was challenging. We hadn’t properly understood that half the tour group would be on e-bikes. This ...read more took a bit of negotiation to keep the group together and not break the morale of the non motorised bike riders.
It became apparent that the group members had received differing information in the lead up to the trip mainly regarding bike specific info about clip in pedals, helmets etc. This was concerning as it did potentially negatively impact the trip. My one little criticism would be that others on the tour had received a ‘last minute’ email, gee-ing them up for the trip. I didn’t receive this and so flew from Australia not feeling 100% sure that the tour would happen. This was further exacerbated when we were met at the airport by a driver who didn’t speak English and holding a mis-spelt hand written sign with no mention of cycling. He also drove very fast and dangerously and was abrupt with some of the group members.
It became apparent that the group members had received differing information in the lead up to the trip mainly regarding bike specific info about clip in pedals, helmets etc. This was concerning as it did potentially negatively impact the trip. My one little criticism would be that others on the tour had received a ‘last minute’ email, gee-ing them up for the trip. I didn’t receive this and so flew from Australia not feeling 100% sure that the tour would happen. This was further exacerbated when we were met at the airport by a driver who didn’t speak English and holding a mis-spelt hand written sign with no mention of cycling. He also drove very fast and dangerously and was abrupt with some of the group members.
Fabulous tour. 13 people on this tour, including 5 solo travellers. I was the only Aussie. This was my 2nd tour with Explore. Fellow travellers are well travelled and most have travelled with Explore numerous times. Great tour leaders, we had different tour leaders and bus drivers for each country. Both tour leaders were more than willing to answer ...read more all our questions and talk about their lives in this part of the world. The included lunches in Armenia were lovely, lots of fresh salads, herbs, cheese and fruit.
This is graded as a "full on tour" and that is certainly the case. We saw and did a lot, every day was filled with new experiences. I didn't really have any time for shopping! Early September was very hot: 35C every day which made the uphill walking even harder!
I would not recommend this tour to anyone who has knee problems (we did a lot of walking, especially uphill on uneven ground) or back problems (lots of potholes on roads in both countries, very windy roads up to mountain areas) . Booking with Georgie is always seamless as she provides very prompt, professional and friendly service.
This is graded as a "full on tour" and that is certainly the case. We saw and did a lot, every day was filled with new experiences. I didn't really have any time for shopping! Early September was very hot: 35C every day which made the uphill walking even harder!
I would not recommend this tour to anyone who has knee problems (we did a lot of walking, especially uphill on uneven ground) or back problems (lots of potholes on roads in both countries, very windy roads up to mountain areas) . Booking with Georgie is always seamless as she provides very prompt, professional and friendly service.
Great hotels in the centre of town making it so easy in our free time to see any attractions that weren't actually included - but there weren't that many as the tour was very comprehensive.
The itinerary for hiking Madeira island made this trip very enjoyable. From north to south, east to west I left feeling I had a wonderful sense of what makes Madeira so unique. Phillipe our guide was very committed to creating an enjoyable, informative and interesting trip - wonderful knowledge which he generously shares. I respect his organization ...read more of a diverse group of strangers - a great skill - done so nicely. I now have my sights set on the Azores with Explore!
Exceptional experience of Western Turkey...now for Eastern Turkey
1
Timothy and Susan, NSW, Australia, Jun 2024
It was with apprehension that I booked my sweetheart & I on a small group tour as we our preference is solo/freelance or private tours. However, the Turkey Explored tour exceeded our expectations for several reasons. The local tour operator is Sobek Travel, based in Istanbul. The 1st reason was the exceptional tour guide, Alkan Sisli, due to his passion, ...read more organisational skills and attentiveness. A big call here, but we rate Alkan as one of the very best guides over 20 plus years of travelling. Furthermore, Atilla, who was our driver for most of the trip, was professional at all times and never driving in a way that felt that we were at risk while at the same time getting us to each destination within excitations.
The 2nd reason was the itinerary which ensured the best places were covered including places that most tourist don't visit. The 3rd reason was the group; 2 wonderful couples (1 from Britain and 1 from Canada) made the trip extra special. Accommodation exceeded our expectations. Too many highlights to list! The only area to note would be the last night farewell dinner, which was very expensive relative to the small portions served; suggest let the group know the day before and ask the group for their yea/nay beforehand. To close off, now that we have experienced Western Turkey, please investigate a tour which covers Eastern TurkeyY - if this does become available, we are highly like to book.
The 2nd reason was the itinerary which ensured the best places were covered including places that most tourist don't visit. The 3rd reason was the group; 2 wonderful couples (1 from Britain and 1 from Canada) made the trip extra special. Accommodation exceeded our expectations. Too many highlights to list! The only area to note would be the last night farewell dinner, which was very expensive relative to the small portions served; suggest let the group know the day before and ask the group for their yea/nay beforehand. To close off, now that we have experienced Western Turkey, please investigate a tour which covers Eastern TurkeyY - if this does become available, we are highly like to book.
