Most of the places we stayed were great but the Rhine valley wasn’t upto what we expected.. the place we stayed, the food was pretty poor.. other than that we enjoyed everywhere else.
Travelled in October 2019 on the Europe jewel. For the price, the tour was great. However, the tour guide had his moments where although he said he "attempted" to connect with all from the group he clearly had his favorites and assisted them more then the ones he had to tolerate. He also sat with a specific group and didn't really share with all equally. Also if you made friends with people from the tour he would separate you so you can meet other groups which isn't bad , but one should be allowed to sit with whomever you want. The tour guide also came off very pushy with the tips and when a lady on the bus fell on the bus he lacked compassion. He was extremely upset and acted annoyed and not very supportive to the lady at the time. He just wanted to get her to the hotel and get rid of the problem. As for the optional excursions, some are worth it and some aren't. Some optional dinners were 40$ euros a person but the quality was lacking. The food you can tell was not fresh and the options were very limited. A suggestion, for those who are triggered by others actions, I recommend to ensure before booking that you're okay with dealing with 49 other personalities. The group we had was a mixture of annoying phillipinos who wanted to be the first in everything to laid back nice families.
It was a very eventful itinerary that allowed us to see 8 countries in two weeks. The tour was very fast paced in order to accomplish the advertised program and it felt rushed. In order to travel to 8 different European countries, you have to expect that there will be a lot of coach seat/drive time. Our tour guide Jemma and coach driver Gabriel were very professional and focused on meeting Expat Explore's tour destination requirements. Jemma always provided interesting information and tips about the cities and sites that we were visiting. Our driver Gabriel always got us to our destinations on time and safely. The included and optional excursions were conducted at a moderate to swift walking speed, at some places there was no time to take pictures. Some of us found it difficult to keep up with the group, and once caught up to the group, who were at a stopping/rest point, it was time to resume the walking tour which did not allow some of us to catch our breath. You have to keep in mind that this tour is a ""budget"" tour. With that in mind, some hotels were sub-standard. The Paris hotel had mold in the shower. As expected, some hotels did not have air-conditioning, and other hotels which did have air conditioning were not adequately able to cool the room. The included tour dinners and lunches were very average. We had better dining experiences when we were left on our own when we used our free time. Overall, we were pleased to see all European countries/cities/sites included in the tour.