"Seasoned Traveler - First Tour with Explorica"

This was our eleventh trip to Washington DC, Philadelphia, and New York City, but our first time traveling with Explorica. I don't know why we waited so long! The payment process went smoothly. No more worries about getting payments to the bank. Our program consultant listened to our ideas in the planning process. Our tour director was exceptional. The security guards on our floor at the hotel enabled us to get a good night's sleep. Everything went well, including the bus window repair after we hit a large bird on our way to the Statue of Liberty Ferry. We will do it again.

"I overall enjoyed the trip"

I overall enjoyed the trip. There were a few things though I wish were a bit smoother or better. Do not plan cool stuff for us to do when we arrive. We missed all of it because of when we arrived. Book the flights so the first day can be just travel and the first tour day is actually a tour day. We missed out on several things and that is disappointing!!! The evening meal venues were hit or miss. The places we went did not seem to want us and food was so so. When we actually did have time to find lunch those were the best eating experiences. And some days we had no time built in for lunch. Our guide was moody and had little interest in us as people. Very difficult to have a conversation with her. Travel can have bumps, but part of our group was split up and we couldn't all get flights home together. It worked out okay, but some things to think about is what if they had all been minors. They chopped the last three off the list which was me an adult and two kids. If I hadn't been adult it would've been three kids. It was nice that your company gets the tickets, had knowledgeable guides at the sights and arranged all the parts of transportation. Hotels were nice and comfortable. Its a quick pace and when we had free time wasn't always clear so it was tricky to then plan what to do. Again I enjoyed the trip and plan on another. Thank you for a great time.

"Never again"

Our guide was awful for the first half of our trip, total disappointment. Not educated on the locations we went to with him. He just wanted to party. I went with my family and he was completely unprofessional. I would never gone if I had know we had not choice in what we ate, went to a crappy restaurant and we all had to eat the same thing. Only reason I’m giving 2 stars is because our team leader was super nice.
…. Never again!
Sincerely Kelley Burren

"We were in Costa Rica for 10 days"

We were in Costa Rica for 10 days. There were so many activities, it felt like 30 days. We were led to believe we would have downtime at the hotels but this only happened 1 day. Eating times were not always coordinated correctly. Information was not always relayed which led to confusion. Overall, I do not plan to use Explorica again.

"While the actual trip was excellent"

While the actual trip was excellent, the process of planning and organizing the trip was challenging to say the least. Kelly and Chelsea were wonderful in trying to help us along the way, but it doesn't appear the company has recovered from Covid and is prepared to handle large groups. I'm sure if you're traveling with a smaller group, all will be ok!

"It was the best trip I've ever taken"

It was the best trip I've ever taken. The guides were outstanding. I can't wait to travel again next summer!

"Scotland/Ireland Brion Hoke"

I would like to commend the tour guides we had for our Ireland/Scotland trip with Brion Hoke. Well organized and helpful in every way. We had Covid delays so it was a well anticipated trip.
The only thing we all agreed on was Air Canada was bad. Terrible experience, no customer service. I could not sit next to my wife. Delays. Missed connections. Had to spend overnight in Montreal. Up at 2:30am to get rebooked.
I reached out to Explorica for help and I was just told to contact Air Canada. Well, they don't answer there phones and they say so on a recording.
Luggage was lost for 5 days and when it was returned we had our souvenirs stolen. OMG!
Needless to say our trip ended in a disaster.
Thanks for everything Exporica.

"A Lot to Do"

Overall, the trip was an amazing experience. Costa Rica is a beautiful country and there was a lot to see. It would have been great if there were not as many activities packed into the last day. There should be time to decompress and just revel in the experience. The last accommodations, the Hotel Amapola, were a bit dated and there were several bugs.

"A little too much adventure..."

The tremendous efforts of our tour guide Diego made the difference in what could have been a disastrous trip but was instead full of fun and adventure...at little too much adventure. Diego was truly heroic in chaperoning us through the civil unrest in Ecuador, making alternate plans when needed, keeping our spirits up during challenging times, and making the trip memorable despite deviations from the scheduled agenda.

I'm quite an adventurous person and have been around the world (Israel, Portugal, Canada, Mexico) and this is the most physically rigorous trip I've been part of. The description from Explorica beforehand was not nearly as informative as it could have been about the rigorous nature of the activities (snorkeling with rather dangerous entry points, very muddy/wet hiking, open air transportation in the rain). My family and I would have likely taken part anyway but we may have brought different gear (especially footwear) with more information. I was surprised no one got hurt, but this could be the rustic nature and appeal of the Galapagos Island.

I don't know if some of the sites should be visited during the seasons we did so as there was little to see at the volcanos after a very long hike (cloud cover and weather made visibility very low). We didn't make it to the Darwin Research Center (ran out of time???) and this was pretty disappointing.

"The website was frustrating to use at…"

The website was frustrating to use at times but the trip was awesome and I had a lot of fun.