"The hotels weren’t good nor in a good…"

The hotels weren’t good nor in a good location, we sometimes were back at the hotel at 4 and we weren’t even close to a town to walk to and experience the city or markets, anything costs Rican. One hotel in Jaco was across from the beach, on the itinerary it said free beach day when we got there but we were told we can’t swim at that beach so we had a day with nothing to do once we got to the hotel.
I asked if there was a place for my girls to do some Costa Rican dancing (that was what they wanted more than anything) our guide was awesome! But she kept talking about how dancing was a part of Costa Rican culture but didn’t have a place for the girls to experience it. One hotel in Monteverde, one of the girls beds had a spring sticking of the bed so she had a hard time sleeping on it, another girl found a used bandaid on her bed, we could hear every conversation and creak in the floor through the walls.
I wish in sarchi they would have let the girls wander the city to see more than just the commercialized souvenir shops or even have more time to lol at the street vendors in Manuel Antonio.

"We had a great tour director"

We had a great tour director, Elena Capiaghi. She was organized, very knowledgeable, very responsive and willing to be flexible. She spoke French and English very well, she communicated with us about the next day's activities and was very clear. She knew how to navigate Paris and the busy locations.

On the other hand, I felt that some of the restaurants were not as authentic as I would have liked - the crêpes restaurant and the couscous were great! Flam's was fine, but we were told we would have multiple different types of flam kutchen and we had only one. On our last night (La Mère Catherine?) in Montmartre we had hachette, which was bland and very much "a big batch" meal. I wish we could have had confit de canard or some other well known dish.
I heard from many students who wished to have more time at specific locations (Musée D'Orsay, Giverny).
Lastly, we almost missed our flight and ended up almost missing our flights due to leaving for the Charles de Gaulle airport late due to confusion. First we had 2 small vans (7-8 people each) and confusion about who was taking our lead person who got us to the airport. Then, the two vans let us off at different locations (again, loosing time), lastly the person did not know where to take us to check-in for our flight (again, losing time) and did not explain how we needed to navigate the rest of security & customs to get to our (which were very confusing). We had to run to be on time to catch our flight. The groups should get to the airport at least 3 hours in advance of the flight to be sure to get through all of the hoops and not have to run.

"Tips included was very helpful"

Tips included was very helpful. The first hotel was good, the last 2 were great, the second one was not good. Tour guide Joe Costa did a great job! Overall, it was a good trip. We were disappointed when we found out we were not going inside the Sagrada Familia. The Morocco excursion turned into a hard sell at the end. Long travel time for short, rushed experience in Morocco. Wish we had known that we were giving up the beach when we chose Morocco (we selected this before we even left the country). Wish we could have sat together on the planes. Our group was spread all over the planes.

"Trip of a lifetime"

Our tour guide was awesome! He clearly enjoyed working with people, especially the students. He took the time to personally talk with everyone everyday. He was a lot of fun, organized, knowledgeable, and flexible. In the future, I plan to request him!

The trip started off with a student learning at the airport that he needed a VISA to join us. I needed to contact customer service, and although they couldn't help him my brief experience on the phone was positive. He had purchased trip insurance and was able to file for a refund.

The trip itself was wonderful! I do wish I had realized just how long it was to some of our destinations, but the scenery along the way made up for it. For future trips, I will plan to on focusing my time in 1-2 countries, not trying to see more in such a short time (8 days). That said, I would not choose this exact program again.

Our hotels and meals in Germany were outstanding. We needed only a short drive from the hotels to get to our destination, but it was worth it for the cleanliness of the hotels and in order to keep the trip cost down.

"Things I liked/disliked"

Things I liked: the price, de accommodations to my requests prior to the trip, the attention before the trip, the guide, transportation,.

Things I didn’t like: we did not have enough rooms and when I called the emergency room there was a constant hold-no answer, hotels were very far from city which meant an extra hour or so getting there from attractions more walking more metros, food portions were small and food selection was very poor.

"Costa Rican adventure with Explorica"

Explorica planned this trip meticulously down to every little detail! I had so little on my end to figure out. The Tour Director on sight was incredible in giving us exactly what we had envisioned this experience to be. Our travel experience was an incredible value; I can't believe all they were able to pack in for the price!

"Puerto Rico"

The choice of activities was very nice. We would have like to spent a little more time in a few of the locations. We enjoyed going to the beach but we felt that that happened a little too much. Excellent job on restaurant selection. The reason for the 3 stars is things felt disorganized at tines and there was no set schedule for meeting times. A list of items needed for excusrions and a schedule in the lobby would have been a nice addition for students reference as well as a curfew or set of rules and expectations for free time and hotel protocol.

"Uncompromising Quality for a Budget Price"

A Tour Director can make or break a tour for a company, and Explorica hires good ones! I have had two great experiences. The food and hotels are sometimes amazing and sometimes a little lacking, but overall the good far outweighs the small disappointments. As far as quality for cost goes, Explorica is a lower cost travel company that goes above and beyond to make your trip personalized. Customer Service for the past few years has been the best in the business!

"Did not meet expectations"

Flights weren't ideal: we were split onto 2 different flights, both with stopovers. Dinners were meager, unauthentic, and not very balanced. Breakfasts, however, were consistently good. Hotels were always far outside of the cities with nothing to do or see nearby. We felt trapped at the hotels, with no viable options to easily get to an from the city centers. Be aware that the bus driver's hours are strictly limited by EU law, which greatly limits the flexibility you have with timing.

"Our trip was OUTSTANDING"

Our trip was OUTSTANDING! From the walking tour to the Broadway shows, my kids were mesmerized! Jackie Hernon did an AMAZING job as our tour guide (as ALways) and we can't wait to book our next tour!