"Great Organization"

From an organizational standpoint, Explorica does very well. Everything is planned for the entire trip so there is usually never any worry about what happens daily. I say usually because even Explorica can't plan for everything, like a transit strike.

"Really appreciate how Explorica handles…"

Really appreciate how Explorica handles all scheduling, booking and our itinerary for the trip. Equipped us with a local Tour Director who advocated for us the whole way, and transportation everywhere we went. Very easy to work with and plan. Our tour director, Vincent, was exceptional at keeping us organized and informed about what was next for us on our trip. He handled multiple SNAFUs with professional grace. My only complaints are regarding some of our hotels being too far from the city centers, making it time consuming to get to and from the city, and 2 of our hotels were in less than desirable neighborhoods. Food was usually very good, but at times less than expected. Lots of activities planned in our itinerary made for fast paced days and would have enjoyed more time at the various sites and museums. All-in-all a great experience.

"Great trip! "

First and foremost, our guide Liza Mora was truly the best part of our trip. She made everything from day 1 special and exciting for the whole group. The driver, Randall, was also a highlight for our group. The pair made sure that we were safe, educated, and having fun throughout the experience.

"¡México Maravilloso!"

This tour covered so much ground in 10 days! Each day brought a new adventure! It was the perfect blend of language, culture, and history!

"Brazil visit in June 2024"

We saw a variety of hot spots in Brazil and had a wonderful tour guide, Araceli.

"The itinerary lacked attention to detail--we spent too much"

Our school booked a trip to New Orleans. A 4 day 3 night trip. The itinerary lacked attention to detail. Lafayette Cemetary has been closed since 2019--so that part of the tour had to be rearranged by the ocal guide. Twice, the menu options given to us by our tourguide for a restaurant were not what was presented for us to eat--and I'd say it was rather disappointing, the second one having food that was honestly not very good at all--buffet style golden coral like food--boiled green beans (tasted canned), chewy chicken fingers....anyway.
Redeye flights are fine, but expecting a full day of travel and siteseeing with parents and teens without checking into the hotel to rest first is unrealistic.
The jazz cruise tour was a hit--but it seemed that there were other options that were not so pricey. I feel as though more attention to detail and pricing could have been made to save our group money.
Having a hotel outside of the city was a waste of time and money. Spent a lot of time on the darn bus--which I had specifically said to the tour director/faciltator that I DID NOT want. Not to mention that the hotel was ghetto. My room didn't even have a telephone, which concerned me in case of emergencies, etc. A student tried to contact me using their phone, but couldn't, because I didn't have a phone in my room. The floors were sticks/slimy feeling under our feet and shoes. It was weird. Breakfast got better every day, but the first day, it was lacking, to say the least. On our last day there, they finally put out a toaster to toast bread and bagels. I would have rather spent the extra on a hotel in-town with guaranteed quality and service, and taken advantage of public transportation to places that were nearby or farther away. For select places, that were farther, used a bus company, instead of having a hired bus driver with our group the entire time...who was also armed, as he pointed out to me during the trip--which wasn't an issue really--just surprising, especially with no heads up.
On the other hand, both our guides, Rich (Worldstrides employee) and Mickey (the local guide) were AMAZING, and I have nothing but good things to say about each! Their flexibility, kindness, attentionate guiding was wonderful.The kids appreciated the "free time" to shop and explore on their own, and the insightful knowledge from both was wonderful.
I would have given Explorica 1 star for the lack of attention to detail, the lack of attention to building an affordable itinerary, but our guides were so good (4 stars each easily) , they made up for the lack of better planning and thought to the itinerary. Explorica charged too much for what we got. I could have probably planned the trip better on my own--but lacked the time, of course. Our guides were phenomenal.

"Thank you Explorica for a wonderful experience!"

Our tour director (Ruben Alonso) was absolutely amazing at his job. He was professional, but also relaxed and great at dealing with high school students. He never tired of answering kids' questions, or from chaperones either. I cannot imagine anyone doing better in that role and he made our first trip wonderful. Our entire group loved him so much.

Overall, the hotels and food were very good. There were a few hotels during our 11 day tour that were less than excellent and a few food experiences I would suggest changing for future trips, but overall our experience was excellent.

The monuments we were able to see and experience such as the Alhambra in Granada, the Grand Mosque in Cordoba, and the Royal Palace in Madrid were among our highlights. The stops we had and places we visited were loved by our group. I think the planning and execution of the trip was top notch. Great job by Explorica and the staff.

"Great company"

Great company

"Just finished my 5th tour with Explorica. Excellent as always!"

Just finished my 5th tour with Explorica. This one, French Canada and other places in Ontario. Have also taken kids to France, Spain, and Gibraltar with Explorica. They have always been great to me, and the tours are top notch. I am an experienced / picky tour leader and they always work with me pre / on-tour to provide the best possible experience for all. Will start planning my next Explorica trip this fall.

"Great places and great people"

Our trip saw some absolutely gorgeous locations and our tour director was the best. Overall, a great experience for my students.