Review Time
What they do well: Support and quick response to most questions and issues. They have a williness in most cases to try to make things right.What needs improvement: Planning iteneraries to make the most of the travel time and locations and insuring that all hotels are adequate, comfortable, and functional.Some of the aspects of the tour indicate that they're making sure you have a great trip, while others indicate that they're making money but cutting as many corners as possible at the cost of the experience.
First, Iceland is pure magic, and we had an incredible time. This review does not reflect the country, our guide, or our experience but instead Explorica's poor management thereof. Had the parents in our group not been our own advocates, it would have been severely diminished in many ways.First, the trip was expensive with the promise of "standard" hotels. The hotel we checked into 3 different times was substandard at best. I have seen nicer hostels. It was a European 2 star- a 1 star by US standards with horrible reviews. Our first night (and three later nights) in Iceland was spent at Hotel Cabin. You literally could not open your suitcase on the floor. There was barely room for two people to walk around each other. Outside of our window at night there were drug deals and a pretty horrible sight of graffiti, broken glass, and disrepair. I am not being hyperbolic. The stairs were duct taped up. Again, for what we paid, spending 4 of 7 nights there was completely unacceptable. For only $30-50 a night, I was able to upgrade the last few nights to an acceptable room. I am not a high maintenance traveler but do need to be able to open my suitcase (and not on the bed). If Explorica did not nickel and dime its travelers by using LOW budget hotels, it could boost its reputation by at least booking reasonable, "standard," modest upgrades to improve their experience. This is my second trip with them, and without major rectification it would be my last.Second, the organization of the trip was poor. Explorica figures out how to maximize time spent on the bus so that they don't have to entertain you. Fjaðrárgljúfur is one of the most iconic and beautiful sights in Iceland. We had to beg our guide (who was great) and bus driver to add that as a stop. We were driving almost right by it, and Explorica did not even include it on our itinerary! It was $20 parking investment. That would be like sending travelers to Paris and not including the Eiffel Tower as a stop. Also, they arranged us to drive 3 HOURS each way to go VIEW the glacier lagoon. Again, through our travel awareness, research, and advocacy, we requested to add a stop at Diamond Beach, another MUST do and FREE stop that Explorica omitted. And it was RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from the lagoon we were going to drive three hours to look at. To be clear, it was NOT on our guide's itinerary they sent him. We added a boat tour of the glacier lagoon. Explorica indicated they will reimburse us for that, and I will hope that happens. To plan an itinerary with 6 hours of driving to look at a lagoon and missing a gem across the street is completely unacceptable. Again, to use a metaphor, this would be like going to Rome to see the Vatican but not stopping in St. Peter's Basilica, which is of course adjacent.One of our bus trips I asked our guide about the Viking Sushi Cruise that was on our itinerary and had been from the beginning. He looked at me with surprise and had no idea what I was talking about. We had all been so excited about it. I had to show him our Explorica generated itinerary. It was not on his. It turns out that they had stopped doing that tour 2 YEARS AGO due to insurance reasons, and Explorica kept it on there but removed it from the guide's. I guess they were hoping we would not notice?! Again, we had to advocate. They offered a museum to make up for it... not apples to apples for a sushi cruise. But, most striking is that they mislead the consumer.One night 4 of us had to get bused to a different hotel from the group. This was not a major issue but was an inconvenience, for which they offered us $50.Finally, the tour fee includes "breakfast and dinner." Of course, breakfast is already covered by the hotel so of no extra cost to Explorica. Some of the dinners were fantastic. However, we went to the same restaurant 2 nights in a row. Everyone was served a grilled chicken breast and French fries the second night. The last night, everyone was bused to a suburb outside of the city for an American buffet. We did not make a major travel investment to Europe to eat subpar America food.In sum, we had a magical trip, thanks to our parents and NOT to Explorica. The fee they charge does not align with the budget experience they provide. If I had sent my child on that trip and been hands off, I would be quite livid.I am a professor of public relations and have worked in reputation management for decades. Explorica, you will quickly lose customers if you charge for a nice experience then cut every corner to maximize your profits. Repeat customers are more valuable in the long run than saving money by delivering a budget experience and losing them.
Our tour guide was great, but the rest of the Explorica experience was not good. They twice raised the price of the trip after we had signed up. At the last minute they cancelled our original trip and said we needed to pick from a couple other dates a month later, which is obviously a scheduling problem when people have jobs. We could have gotten our money back, but it would have taken 90+ days and by that time the vacation window would be closed. They have it set up so that they can screw you around and you are simply stuck with them. They also added us to two other groups, for a total of 36 people. This was way too many for one group and one guide. Movement was extremely inefficient and frustrating. Finally, they pick hotels that are below average and/or an 45-60 minutes away from the attractions, which means you waste a lot of time every day. I do NOT recommend Explorica.
We signed up with Explorica in November 2023. We ended up with several different representatives to handle our trip. This caused delays in communication when there were questions that needed answers or no response at all. Finally. It was time for departure and our first flight was canceled, which was the airline's fault. We talked to the airline rep about when we could get another flight and they told us Thursday.. mind you, this was Monday. When contacting the 24 hour hotline at 5am, I was told the "team" would be looking into our issue. I called back 30 minutes later to inquire about the length of time it would take to hear back from the "team" and was told that they would not be looking into it until 8am. In the meantime, I had 18 participants and parents that traveled up to 2 hrs, waiting to find out when or if this trip would even happen. Would it be delayed until Thursday and would we only get half of our tour? Explorica advised me to work with the airline and the airline advised me to work with our travel agent (Explorica.) Seriously, could not get any help from Explorica. Thankfully, I had 2 seasoned travelers in my group that helped me at the counter and after a full, 2.5 hours at the counter, we were able to make arrangements fly out the next day. Mind you, parents and participants are waiting as patiently as possible for an answer. Most had to drive the 2 hours home and come back the next day for a 6am departure. Bonus: Explorica booked a bus tour in Miami because our layover was so long. So cool and thoughtful! We'll, because we couldn't fly on our original date, the tour was canceled. Our return flight had an 8 hr layover and when asked if the bus tour could happen on our return Explorica replied with no, it could not be transferred to a different date. We sat for 10 hrs at the airport waiting on our connecting flight home. Now, let's talk about our tour: we had the absolute, best tour director ever! I would give Maria 10 stars if I could! She was great! Our hotels were nice and the food was great! The pace we took for our itinerary was perfect. It included the right amount of downtime. We had a great experience while on tour in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Those with dietary needs were well cared for. While our travel experience was very negative, our tour itself was amazing. Therefore, I would give our experience a 3 at best.
Most inefficient and unorganized tour I’ve ever been on. Our group was 41 people. It was WAY too big for our guide to handle and created chaos in getting on the same mode of public transport or sitting near people in your group in a restaurant. Everything about this tour was cramped because there were 41 people in one space at almost all times.The hotels are 45mins-1.5hr from the city center and they are either in rough neighborhoods or gross themselves (or both). Explorica is cutting costs on the things that make or break a vacation, like clean safe lodging and decent food. The meals we had as a group were not good, and those with historical significance were not explained (such as Indonesian food in Amsterdam). Even our guide expressed disappointment with the food and lodging situations. You will spend most of your time and see these new sites on a bus or train.Our tour got better as time went on, but it started off as a disaster. Apparently in the EU a guide cannot give you information on a tour if they’re not “professionals” in the city so we wandered around aimlessly in the first city with no information because our guide was not considered a pro.There were adults on the tour that were violent and created drama from day one which impacted everyone’s experience. Everything was cutthroat because of the tour size - fighting for seats next to your group, people shoving others, etc.Despite this all, our tour guide did her absolute best.There were of course some positives of this tour, but for over $5,000, use a different company. They prioritize profit over experience.
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
Explorica is a dedicated leader in educational travel, helping teachers introduce their students to new people, cultures, and languages in over 75 countries every year.
flysas.com
www.starlinetowncar.com
crazypuffin.com
cheapdealsfare.com
flightshall.com
georgian-airways.com
driverinrome.com
henricotaxi.com
instaglobaltravel.com
followalice.com