This is a relatively relaxing tour compared to other Expat tours that we had. Of course there's a lot of walking involved like in many tour groups but getting to the key cities required long driving which gave us enough rest between cities and the road trip (and ferry rides) were very comfortable. And we visited small cities in between… The Scandinavian and Baltic cities visited were all gems! A lot of checks in my bucket list! There were good amounts of free time. Hotels in general were very good but a few were far from city center… Our tour leader Aaron was very efficient and fun to talk with. Gabriel was an excellent driver too. All in all, EN is worth it! We are very happy we embarked on this tour with Expat Explore!
This tour was amazing. We saw so many things and visited so many places. I can not even begin to say enough good things about our tour leader Steve and our driver Pascal. Steve was very informative. He knew quite alot about every country and city we visited. He has a lovely soothing voice, and told many local folklore stories to us as we entered each city. Steve was very professional and knowledgeable. He led us with grace and conviction through some difficult situations. For example, navigating the packed subways of Paris, or the walk back to the bus in the pouring rain in Florence, without losing a single person. And then there was Pascal, our fearless driver. The skill with which he handled the bus through the tightest streets and craziness of Parisian traffic. That man can drive! More importantly, Pascal kept the bus spotless. Every time we stepped on the bus, it looked like a showroom model. Not to mention Pascal has a great sense of humor and interacted seamlessly with Steve. However, just like all adventures, this tour had some downsides. For instance, our hotel in Vienna wasn't the cleanest, they ran out of pillows, and even worse there was no hot water for our entire stay. Hopefully Expat will reevaluate their partnership with that hotel. Most of the hotel rooms were very small, but that's too be expected in Europe. In addition, this is a very fast moving tour. There are a lot of early starts, and a lot of walking. In my opinion, the early starts, and the miles of walking were all worth it. At the end of tour I was left with a very positive experience. I'm already thinking about which expat tour to take next.
Nic our tour guide was fantastic, he really made the trip feel more like a bunch of old friends travelling and made it easy for everyone to get to know each other. He went out of his way each day to help us get the most out of things and I had a great time. The hostels were all great especially in the Swiss Alps. I'd definitely do another Topdeck trip.