explorica.com

High Prices for LOW Budget 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.

Date of experience: Oct 04, 2025