Nina was the perfect tour guide. Very knowledgeable and willing to share what she knows. She even took me to the community garden where she gardens which was not part of the original tour, but that I appreciated very much.
I've wanted to go to Alaska for years, but I'm not a cruise person. This trip with the tour operator let us experience part of this beautiful state in the ways I like best. I loved the hiking and biking, the Kenai Fjords tour was incredible, and the guides could not have been better. We're usually ready to go home at the end of the vacation, but we were not even starting to get tired of our adventure, our guides, or our other group members. Before we were home, I was already checking to see if this company did tours to other parts of Alaska, because I would like to explore the Inside Passage.
The tour operator provides me with the opportunity to see and experience the best of what many places have to offer, without the hassle of independantly looking for things to do or the expense of booking hotels etc. The tour(though fast pace at times) is good, however the highlight of my trip was the time spent at the Niagra falls. I am unable to express through words the feelings of joy and amazement while there. I would definitely recommend the boat ride into the falls. Larry(I.e the tour guide) and Leo(the bus driver) worked well together and were very personable and attentive to our needs. Larry is very organized and strived to be as detailed with all aspects of the tour. Alternatively, there are some aspects to the tour that should be amended. There are some travel days that are extremely too long(I.e. DC). 11 pm(having being up and on the road from 7:30), is far too late getting back to the hotel. Also the 2 hour stop in downtown Detroit should be assessed as there's not much to do there therefore, lots of time are being spent sitting and waiting for the return of the bus. Another issue I had was the fact that expat did not make sufficient effort in ensuring that the food stops tended to the needs of the vegetarians on the bus. The welcome dinner at dicks and the stop at cracker barrel did not account for the vegetarians, therefore leaving fast food as the most prominent food selections. This information was requested prior to the trip, so I'm of the view that this should have been sufficiently accounted for. Also, we were very disappointed with the "thank you token(I.e. a key chain)" received at the end of the trip. I understand that the US tours are fairly new, however, the operator, as a company is not new. In fact, I have been on a european tour with the company and we received a bag full of items branded with the tour operator's name....with the most important to me, being the passport book with stickers. I was really looking forward to getting a passport with stickers
