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.
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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.
