Europe Taster New Year

Customer Reviews

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  Peta Gail

  · January 6th, 2024
  The trip was made excellent because of the tour leader Steve. He kept us informed of what was happening and what to expect and was very knowledgeable and easy to listen to. The hotels and food were average which we expected based on the tour price although I know that they are constantly looking for improvements. Would definitely go on another one.
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  Expat Explore Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for sharing your experience with us and for recognizing the excellence of Steve. We're happy to hear that he made your trip enjoyable and life-enriching. Your feedback regarding the hotels and food has been noted, and we're continually... Show more
  Trip date: December 2023
• CM

  Christopher

  · January 6th, 2024
  This for 7 Day Taste of Europe over New Years. This was my third overall tour and in a 30 day period. I was quite disappointed in my Expat experience. Disorganized to start; First an announcement of a Facebook group for our coach group and being made aware of optionals on the trip. Not a list of options and what they are just that there would be optionals and we needed to bring cash. I asked and was given names of the options and that and costs per for a total of 450 euros cost, only a week or two before the trip. Then on day one they had multiple tours and seperate coach groups meet at the same hotel at the same time. This meeting was scheduled for 0630 departure, and the hotel did not appreciate people showing up who hadn't stayed there; quite understandable. We finally arrived to our Hotel for the night around 9.30 pm. On the way to the hotel is when our tour director reminded the few of us single riders that we would be rooming together. I thought I had paid the single tax, but apparently to get my room was twice the actual cost for the trip. Now for anyone who haven't been to the europe, rooms are small and a double room is two twin size beds. They are not ideal for two perfect strangers. The tour diector should have introduced the roomers a lot earlier in the day, not when being checked in at 930 at night. This was a very uncomfortable experience made worse with a bed so firm that I couldn't sleep. Four out of the 6 nights I ended up with beds to firm. Two nights I opted to pay for my own extra room because on the 5th night the room was so small that the twin beds were practically together. Not acceptable EXPat. The Guide actually on the last day was bragging on Expat's behalf that they keep the costs down so its affordable. This isn't true since all the options need to be added in. And 200 a night per person for a 40 a night uncomfortable room is just bull. It is stated that without the extra payment for your own room singles would have to share in Expat's Terms and conditions. However it is not stated that in some places the beds are only centimeters apart. I did get to see a lot of things through the optionals that I would not have thought of, but they should have been listed out with descriptions. Overall despite a great driver and making a lot of new friends I don't think I will be doing another Expat tour.
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  Trip date: December 2023
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  Brenda

  · January 6th, 2019
  I really enjoyed this tour and had a fabulous time! It was great to be able to meet people from all over the world. Caroline was knowledgeable, friendly and accommodating to all of the guests. I would have liked to spend more time in Switzerland. The Jungfrau excursion was amazing but left us no time to explore the nearby cities. The Rhine River cruise was good but very cold in the winter. Is there a possible seasonal alternative for the winter months? The dinner cruise in Amsterdam needs to be replaced with optional excursions. It was poorly timed and managed, the pizza was "carry out" style and left us insufficient time to explore the city. I would have rather had free time in Amsterdam to get dinner on my own and to explore the city before many of the major sites closed for the day. I would definitely do another Expat Tour as overall my experience was good!
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  Trip date: December 2018
• HC

  Hui-Ju

  · January 5th, 2019
  I had a wonderful and safe tour! Many thanks to our tour leader Caroline and driver Craig. They are excellent!! I will join the Expat tour again and introduce to my friends!
  Trip date: December 2018
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  Igniana

  · January 8th, 2018
  well, it was a "taster" on right, but the one that leaves you with a sour taste in your mouth! I truly don't know when/ how to begin to say how disappointed I am! I'll start will the "tour leader" Emma -who from the first minute we met wanted to let us know clearly that she's not a "guide" but a "tour leader", and by the way , for that we had to tip her 4-5 euros/ per day/ per person! and she did her best to literally remind us every single day of the tour! she even provided us with envelopes at the end of the tour (well, actually before bruges -i guess she needed the money to spend on chocolate!...) and also with a review card that we had to fill in (although the trip wasn't over yet and we had to review Brugge that we didn't get to visit yet...) I'm not against tips but I founded her manner very pushy, rude and unprofessional! I usually tip when people deserve -but wasn't the case here.. "the tour leader" only cared to sell us the optional excursions and to remind us about the tips, not once asked us if everything was on right or help us in any way Just to be clear -i don't tip for "Wikipedia" boring info about the places, for not caring about your people, for rushed and wrongly timed stops, for misleading information (we were left at a Christmas market in Amsterdam - that we couldn't find -because it didn't exist!), the Rhine valley cruise -no idea where to get off, how long it will last, we were left on our own, to guess everything. also, we had to insist to receive change from a excursion we paid cash - another tip?? on the Jungrafrau trip -she practically left us with gustavo, another tour leader -luckly he was fun and professional and he did a good job! (you could learn a thing or two from him..) She didn't do anything extraordinary, didn't guide us in any way, I fell that we could have done this tour with the driver and Google maps/ Wikipedia! Apart from her unprofessional attitude this tour is very very rushed, you are a lot on the road, it's not well timed or organised and the most important -not at all value for money! Considering is not exactly cheap - the hotels are ok, a bit old and dirty but the food! omg -what a disaster! they say that most of the dinners are included (except of the free days) but what they don't tell you is that you get cold little food, with questionable quality and validity! the idea was to probably buy the cheapest thing and serve it to as many people as you can! all went to extreme on the Amsterdam "dinner" , burnt pizza, deep fried pepperoni ??! (see the pictures) - my partner got sick with food poisoning! my other friend got a small Caesar salad, when I say small I mean starter size for her main meal and she had to eat it with a tea spoon, as they didn't have any forks overpriced drinks, they would do anything just to make you pay a bit extra on every single thing! if you don't want to starve or get food poisoning, be prepared with seriously extra cash for this trip! All in all, a lot of places were wonderful and we got an idea of what/were we want to go back and revisit -but as I said not value for money, if you would hop on a city tour or go with your car and book the hotels in advance, probably you'll have a more relaxed and pleasant time! (at least you won't have somebody reminding you every day to not forget to tip)
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  Trip date: December 2017
• NM

  Nieves

  · January 6th, 2017
  Best Tour! Tour Leader was AWESOME! I had such a good time on this tour. Best 7 days of my life. Steve was so enthusiastic, friendly, knowledgeable and funny. He ensured our experience on the tour was a good one. He clearly loves what he does and that come across throughout the tour. It was nice to have an articulate tour leader who I could actually understand. The walking tour with Steve was simply amazing. He had stories and insights to the city and its quirky history that both amused me and made me think especially Amsterdam. Steve is very informative and gifted story teller. He's approachable and has the skills to interact with people every day and answer questions. The world needs more STEVE
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  Trip date: December 2016
• J

  Jocelyn

  · January 5th, 2017
  The trip was so much better than we expected! Great value for money, plus great insight in to each country with Steves fun facts! Will definitely book again
  
  Trip date: December 2016
• YC

  Yvonne

  · July 22nd, 2016
  I went on the New Years Taste of Europe tour with Steve! He was super knowledgable about the history of each region we traveled through, he was charming and witty, the experiences we had were on point for each countries culture. He brought people on the coach from all different backgrounds together easily and quickly had us all feeling like one big family! I would most definitely do an Expat tour again!!! Great experience!!!
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  Trip date: December 2015
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  Shaun

  · January 10th, 2016
  Was so much better than expected! Tour leader was great, accom and food were great, tours great, everything! Will definitely go through them again!
  Trip date: December 2015
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  Delyth

  · January 7th, 2015
  The tour felt a little rushed, with a lot of early starts, long travel days and not enough time at the locations to fit in many activities. I would consider a longer tour next time. Overall, good value for money though.
  Trip date: December 2014