Best of Eastern Europe

Customer Reviews

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  Lee

  · October 6th, 2023
  Tour Leader was great. Very knowledgeable young woman. Enjoyed all countries and Cities we visited. Thanks to Emma. Our driver Gaby, what a gentleman and such a helpful, nice man. Met some amazing, friendly people from all over the globe. I will treasure my memories FOREVER. Thank you for everything. Selina (Lee Howard
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  Expat Explore Travel commented on this review

  Your 5-star review and recommendation mean the world to us! At Expat Explore, we're dedicated to creating life-enriching travel experiences and fostering a shared passion for exploring the world. We're thrilled that this aligns with your experience, and... Show more
  Trip date: September 2023
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  Dr Wida

  · August 13th, 2023
  I am writing to you regarding an extremely unsatisfactory experience my parents had as members of your Best of Eastern Europe - 11 Days tour from 27 July to 6 August 2023. I specifically texted the Expat Explorer Chat (+44 7731 943978) that I have my parents as part of your tour and below are our experience points to be considered: Tour Guide EMA. She was unfriendly and biased, to say the least. Was not helpful to my parents and in our previous experience with Expat Explorer, we had a male guide named Jordan and he was a complete opposite. The vibes were not there and she made the tour very awful for my parents. I expected the guide to take care of my parents but nothing of such sort happened. She concentrated more on the Australians on the tour bus so if she was not able to diversify her attention to the rest of the tour group, then this tour specifically led by her should not have been open to other countries. Tour Members 95% of the tour members are from Australia or New Zealand. With that, they formed their own alliances and left my parents to be by themselves for 11 days! If there is no diversity in your tour, you would have stated that the tour is only open to those nationalities so that we could select another travel operator who is more well-suited to us, who flew 13 hours from Singapore for this tour. Unnecessary remarks were passed and the tour guide only focused on the rest of the tour members, except my parents. This is complete racism and I have no qualms about raising this up to your management for more scrutiny. No friendships were forged sadly because it felt like it was a one-sided kind of tour group. Food Request When filling up the requested information before travel, we did state that we requested for halal/vegetarian options. As much as we understand that it might be challenging to abide by the request, I understand from my parents that they were being outcast specifically by the tour guide when they asked for their requested food option. This is completely unacceptable considering my parents are in their 50 - 60s and food is extremely crucial for their tour. They have to succumb to purchasing their own food when they paid the same prices as the rest of the tour members. There is also an instance that they asked their tour guide EMA for their food and was being cast aside, with her sounding frustrated. Accident Occurred On the way to Amsterdam, the bus jammed the brake. Both my mother's knees hit the back seat and her ligament is swollen. It left her limping and what a disappointment - No apology was given by the driver or the tour guide. Because she was not familiar with the place and/or clinics there, she had to limp her way through until we reached Singapore to head to the clinic. How can you compensate for this unfortunate incident?!!!!!!
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  Trip date: July 2023
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  BASIL

  · July 18th, 2022
  Excellent team, very professional and caring. Gustavo and Damian make a good combination
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  Trip date: July 2022
• MA

  Melissa

  · June 24th, 2022
  Loved this tour! Luke was our tour guide and he was so amazing and patient with the group. He made the experience much more special with all of his knowledge and tips! Will definitely book another tour in the future!
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  Trip date: June 2022
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  Nikki

  · September 11th, 2019
  Really enjoyed the tour & all the countries we went to. So many wonderful cities, I highly recommend!
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  Trip date: August 2019
• RO

  Roberto

  · August 30th, 2019
  It was really great experience but need more time in some places. Couple of accomodation not great but value for money i will recommend to friends and relative to do it too
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  Trip date: June 2019
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  Leonora

  · August 17th, 2019
  We had a great time...Highly recommended..Our Tour guide Brenden is Excellent xxx
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  Trip date: July 2019
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  Riza

  · August 17th, 2019
  Luke is exceptional. He is fun and can make the mood of everyone vibrant any time of the day. His energy and patience are limitless. My family had an amazing experience on our EU tour and I can tell that it's mainly because of his efficiency and well ordered system. He raised the bar, so I would only expect for an equal TL on our next tour, no less.
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  Trip date: July 2019
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  Allyson

  · August 12th, 2019
  I've never done a tour by coach before, but after having done it I believe there is no better way to see so many countries in so little time. What I didn't expect was the amount of traffic we would encounter, which takes away from the time you can spend in each city. However, this is to be expected in peak season. Traveling by coach also means sometimes lengthy border crossings, lunch breaks at highway service stations, and having to pay to use the bathroom at said service stations as using the onboard bathroom is discouraged (for good reason). Our bus driver Barry and the quality/ cleanliness of the coach was superb, I only put 4 stars because of an altered seat rotation due to disabled passengers who failed to disclose their level of ability and read the level of rigor on the trip. I loved that we had a large age range of 11 to mid '70s but if you are too old or too disabled or too overweight then I would not recommend this tour or any other coach tour. Boarding and disembarking the coach took much longer than it otherwise should have. The itinerary was pretty good, we got a taste of each city either from an orientation walk with Branden or with a local guide, and often had some free time to do what we wished. The hotels ranged in quality so keep an open mind and be flexible, you're only there to sleep. Some included meals were great, others were mediocre at best. I almost wish some of the included meals were lunches, so they could be more casual and people traveling together could go out for the night. Overall I liked this tour and got to see a lot and cross many countries off my list. Tips for future travelers: try to arrive with small bills (euro coins) for water and bathrooms, as well as (some) cash. Almost every city had an optional add-on and you have to pay in cash on the bus. Not all of them are disclosed before the tour. At the very least have access to a paper map or a map of the city saved to your phone and be aware of the meet-up time and location. This not only gives you the freedom to separate from the group but ensures you are not holding up the group at the meet-up time. Be aware of your surroundings and your personal belongings, as there were instances of pickpocketing, tour group targetting, and lost belongings. Lastly, participate in group activities and optionals when possible. Bonding with the group and making friends is one of the best aspects of group travel!
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  Trip date: July 2019
• CH

  Carmen

  · August 4th, 2019
  Very caring; helpful, emphatically correct, amazing job, couldn’t ask for more. The best!! I injured my legs, an Branden assisted me constantly and look after my grandson on tours I couldn’t attend. Double thanks!
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  Trip date: July 2019