Antonio was absolutely amazing. I could not ask for a better guide, he really made the entire experience for all. However I had contacted the team through the website several times with questions before i went away and the information was all incorrect. Antonio tried to help where he could but the mis-information from the contact team really spoilt the start of my trip and affected the experience i had in the first few cities. For Antonio i would give 10 stars if i could but due to the fact that the help desk told me wrong information I can't give Expat 5 stars.
This was our 2nd experience with the tour operator. We had such a great time before, hence we booked again,It was generally good, tho I wish we were informed in advance during our email correspondence with Expat that they changed a part of the itinerary, since we already planned and booked our subsequent trip based on the one they emailed us!We already booked our train tix and hotel accommodations for our trip onwards from the last published lunch stop(since we were no longer going back to Ams with the grp) only to be told on the first day that we were no longer stopping there(Hannover).Nevertheless, Carly, the tour guide and Hans, the driver were considerate enough to drop us off at a train stop ,albeit small and obscure, somewhere in the vicinity before proceeding to their last lunch destination.Also, I would just suggest that whenever possible, they get real local tour guides in the cities we go to, because the one we had in Tallin, Estonia only lived in that place for 5 years and was more concentrated in impressing us with his "academic" knowledge-made us seat in the cold for 30 min "lecturing" us, instead of just leisurely walking us around and being sensitive to our requests.Carly, the tour leader, while being technically efficient and judiciious with her job, sadly lacked people skills. She hardly smiled and came off as grumpy, cold, even standoffish, to us , her supposed "guests". For instance,when we gave her our honest feedback on how we perceived that "non-local" guide, she got very defensive, and "berated" us even! Fortunately, the whole group was comprised of happy and easygoing people ( more than half were filipinos! ), hence,we enjoyed the tour ,inspite of her barely-there people skills Hans, tho, was nice and congenial, and a very good driver! Anyways, the whole tour experience was a good value for money.We just certainly hope that we will have better memories with the next tour leader should we try for the 3rd time..
The tour was very nice it even covered places that one could not think about when arranging your own travel, Noddy and Paolo were amazing, the hotels were great as well as the breakfasts and applicable dinners. We had the time of our lives and I will highly recommend this tour. We've met new friends and exchanged numbers and we will be visiting each other shortly, how amasing. This was the best tour ever and it was our 2nd time travelling with Expat explore and will certainly do it again.