"I couldn’t have asked for anything…"

I couldn’t have asked for anything better! Humberto our guide was a good listener and made things happen as we asked, everything went very well. The food and hotels were way better than what we had a experienced. Nabil (who helped us arrange the trip) also did a excellent job communicating and answered any questions we had.

"This was a trip of a lifetime for people of all ages"

This was a trip of a lifetime for anyone of any age. I would highly recommend this type of a trip for all ages.

"Pace and dinners"

Only reason not a 5 was some dinner options and intense pace. BUT had we not had that pace we would not have been able to take it all in. It was one of our first times planning a trip this big with a huge group so lessons learned for us too. Our tour guides listened to our needs and communicated every evening about the next day. The students and adults engaged and learned so much. Explorica is a great introduction to travel. My son is already planning mini trips at home and looking forward to more international travel. And I will continue to help chaperone. A job well done.

"The whole time I felt like we were in good hands, despite the situation."

This was my 3rd trip with Explorica and my first to Ecuador. We arrived in Quito right at the beginning of political protests and uncertainty. Unfortunately, we missed several scheduled events, but I felt like the wheels were constantly in motion behind the scenes to find the next move throughout our trip. We were fortunate to be at a nice resort with lots to do when we were unable to travel to our next destination, and we were presented with more tour options to entertain us during our extended stay. Our transport back to Quito was scary, but planned out and all of the tour directors & bus drivers worked together to get us safely through several roadblocks. We were not able to do much back in Quito, so Explorica moved us to better accommodations in a safer area where we could go out a bit and where we could have more to do within the hotel. Our bus driver stayed aware of road conditions and was able to avoid blockades to the airport for a safe conclusion to our trip. The whole time I felt like we were in good hands, despite the situation.

"Well planned"

Well planned, majority of time sightseeing- minimal bus travel time. Meals were adequate but lean.

"The planning was terrible and…"

The planning was terrible and unorganized. The 1st hotel was being renovated. I had one that had dietary restrictions and that was not made aware by our guide. She was not helpful in providing dietary ideas when asked where we could eat. All of the leaders called many times the 24 hr help line and was not answered nor was anything fixed. Most of the places we were not able to visit because the guide did not have tickets for these places. We rarely had time to visit the places we did actually get to visit. Even food was not promised because the venues continued to cancel on us and there were three times we were on our own for food- even though they were meals that were supposed to be included. The person who had dietary needs missed out on at least 3 days where he had only been able to eat 1 meal each day- meals he paid for. There are so many things that went wrong that there is not enough space to type it all here. We only had one true Hawaiian cultural food. We had dishes like pasta and pizza, and zero fish/seafood until the Luau. We never knew what was going on unless we constantly were asking our guide. No information was freely given.

"Our first tour with Explorica"

Our first tour with Explorica and we only have 2 other tours with EF to compare. The hotels were a bit on the shady side, we assume because we had originally paid 3 yrs ago, they were trying to save a bit of money. We ended up walking more and even having to take the subway once, not typical I hope.
However, our tour director was wonderful and we got to see all the inspiring sites. We were also able to tweak our itinerary and get some extra swimming in!

"Sandra was amazing!"

I traveled with Sandra and she was nothing but wonderful. She was kind witty and helpful and made the tour perfect! We enjoyed the perfect amount of tour time as well as free time and I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. I am so lucky to have gotten this once in a lifetime experience with explorica

"Europe Tour."

Our tour guide was Emiliano Fernandez and he was so amazing. I could write a whole article about how he interacted with the people, how he took the time to learn the history of specific areas, and how energetic and excited to take us on a tour.
The hotels were all maintained well in a very safe location, and the food that was provided was even better.
I will defiantly be doing this trip for as long as I can.

"Helpful Guide"

We were going through the turnstile to get on the subway to go back to the hotel when a guy was trying to butt in our line. I was blocking him. After we got back to the hotel I discovered that my wallet had been stolen from my right front pants pocket. George helped me file a police report and encountering jurisdictional bureaucracy. He went above and beyond his duty and was very concerned.