Explorica US Omdömen 

This is by far the worst travel company I’ve ever experienced! Terrible service. Charged me more than was quoted, and not helpful at all when I spoke with them. I’m so angry. Do NOT book with them!!

I would give 0 stars if I could.
We paid the down payment for our 2 kids, as well as the first installment for a trip 1.5 years out. My husband's health took an unexpected turn so, since we bought the "Cancel for Any Reason" insurance ($400 for each kid!!), I canceled their trip. However, our reason for canceling "did not qualify" for the insurance. Therefore we're out $800 for the insurance and only got back 75% of the amount we paid for the trip. Oh! And, we had to wait 12 (TWELVE!!) weeks for the refund.
To say I'm upset and feel taken advantage of is a HUGE understatement.

What they do well: Support and quick response to most questions and issues. They have a williness in most cases to try to make things right.
What needs improvement: Planning iteneraries to make the most of the travel time and locations and insuring that all hotels are adequate, comfortable, and functional.
Some of the aspects of the tour indicate that they're making sure you have a great trip, while others indicate that they're making money but cutting as many corners as possible at the cost of the experience.

First, Iceland is pure magic, and we had an incredible time. This review does not reflect the country, our guide, or our experience but instead Explorica's poor management thereof. Had the parents in our group not been our own advocates, it would have been severely diminished in many ways.

First, the trip was expensive with the promise of "standard" hotels. The hotel we checked into 3 different times was substandard at best. I have seen nicer hostels. It was a European 2 star- a 1 star by US standards with horrible reviews. Our first night (and three later nights) in Iceland was spent at Hotel Cabin. You literally could not open your suitcase on the floor. There was barely room for two people to walk around each other. Outside of our window at night there were drug deals and a pretty horrible sight of graffiti, broken glass, and disrepair. I am not being hyperbolic. The stairs were duct taped up. Again, for what we paid, spending 4 of 7 nights there was completely unacceptable. For only $30-50 a night, I was able to upgrade the last few nights to an acceptable room. I am not a high maintenance traveler but do need to be able to open my suitcase (and not on the bed). If Explorica did not nickel and dime its travelers by using LOW budget hotels, it could boost its reputation by at least booking reasonable, "standard," modest upgrades to improve their experience. This is my second trip with them, and without major rectification it would be my last.

Second, the organization of the trip was poor. Explorica figures out how to maximize time spent on the bus so that they don't have to entertain you. Fjaðrárgljúfur is one of the most iconic and beautiful sights in Iceland. We had to beg our guide (who was great) and bus driver to add that as a stop. We were driving almost right by it, and Explorica did not even include it on our itinerary! It was $20 parking investment. That would be like sending travelers to Paris and not including the Eiffel Tower as a stop. Also, they arranged us to drive 3 HOURS each way to go VIEW the glacier lagoon. Again, through our travel awareness, research, and advocacy, we requested to add a stop at Diamond Beach, another MUST do and FREE stop that Explorica omitted. And it was RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from the lagoon we were going to drive three hours to look at. To be clear, it was NOT on our guide's itinerary they sent him. We added a boat tour of the glacier lagoon. Explorica indicated they will reimburse us for that, and I will hope that happens. To plan an itinerary with 6 hours of driving to look at a lagoon and missing a gem across the street is completely unacceptable. Again, to use a metaphor, this would be like going to Rome to see the Vatican but not stopping in St. Peter's Basilica, which is of course adjacent.

One of our bus trips I asked our guide about the Viking Sushi Cruise that was on our itinerary and had been from the beginning. He looked at me with surprise and had no idea what I was talking about. We had all been so excited about it. I had to show him our Explorica generated itinerary. It was not on his. It turns out that they had stopped doing that tour 2 YEARS AGO due to insurance reasons, and Explorica kept it on there but removed it from the guide's. I guess they were hoping we would not notice?! Again, we had to advocate. They offered a museum to make up for it... not apples to apples for a sushi cruise. But, most striking is that they mislead the consumer.

One night 4 of us had to get bused to a different hotel from the group. This was not a major issue but was an inconvenience, for which they offered us $50.

Finally, the tour fee includes "breakfast and dinner." Of course, breakfast is already covered by the hotel so of no extra cost to Explorica. Some of the dinners were fantastic. However, we went to the same restaurant 2 nights in a row. Everyone was served a grilled chicken breast and French fries the second night. The last night, everyone was bused to a suburb outside of the city for an American buffet. We did not make a major travel investment to Europe to eat subpar America food.

In sum, we had a magical trip, thanks to our parents and NOT to Explorica. The fee they charge does not align with the budget experience they provide. If I had sent my child on that trip and been hands off, I would be quite livid.

I am a professor of public relations and have worked in reputation management for decades. Explorica, you will quickly lose customers if you charge for a nice experience then cut every corner to maximize your profits. Repeat customers are more valuable in the long run than saving money by delivering a budget experience and losing them.

I traveled with my students to Japan from June 9–16, 2025. This was our third trip with WorldStrides/Explorica, and once again, it was a wonderful experience. We visited Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara, and everything—from the food to the hotels—was excellent. Our tour director was also such a genuine and kind person, which made the trip even more enjoyable.

Before we left, I suggested that students bring smaller carry-on bags and avoid checking luggage since the trip was short. However, the students insisted on bringing large suitcases because they wanted room to shop. In the end, they shopped so much that, even with their large suitcases, some of them had to buy an extra bag to bring everything back!

One of the highlights was the hot spring experience. To my surprise, the students were not shy at all and enjoyed it fully. I personally felt a little uncomfortable joining them at the onsen, so I decided to pass this time. It’s something I’d like to experience myself when I travel privately in the future.

Although Osaka was not included in the official itinerary, I really wanted the students to get a glimpse of it. After our last group dinner, I personally took a small group of students on the train to Osaka. We only had about an hour there before catching the last train back around midnight, but even in that short time, we managed to take photos at some landmarks and enjoy the lively atmosphere. It was a spontaneous adventure that became one of the most memorable parts of the trip.

Overall, it was a meaningful and refreshing journey filled with great memories. Both the students and I truly enjoyed every moment.

I am simply to the point of having no words for this agency. I guess we will start from the very beginning. Before my trip had taken place I first had an issue because they took the payment out of my account twice which ended up taking more out of my account than the trip even cost. then after i contacted them one of the payments got refunded. After that no issues until the trip itself. I was part of a group studying abroad in Switzerland and Paris for 10 days. Problem number one was that we were not informed we would be on the trip with high school students while being a group from a college. problem number two was that our tour guide has never even been to Switzerland where we spent a majority of the trip and she was also extremely rude screaming at everyone the entire time. problem number three was with every hotel we stayed at… wet towels, no toilet paper, no fans, no A/C, 45 minutes away from everything, very dangerous areas, mold, A/C units leaking from the ceiling which we do have videos of… I actually slept in the lobby of the hotel because they refused to give us a new room, smashed tvs, windows that don’t open, spiders and roaches everywhere we stayed and just so many more issues. problem number four which should probably be number one is the apple sauce and mac n cheese they were trying to serve us as grown adults. I simply didn’t pay to be served the same plate we serve children at my job for $7. Due to all the issues the entire group lost out on education, traditional meals from the countries we were visiting, rest/sleep, and even lost out on souvenirs because we were forced to feed ourselves and take ubers when we were told transit and dinner would be taken care of. Now lets skip to the disrespectful part when we got back and our professor had a meeting with the agency we were then told we would receive a refund. The trip was over 5 thousand dollars and we received a refund of $100. I feel as if the company was probably laughing at us as they signed those checks. I have never felt so scammed and walked over. 100 dollars does not cover everything that went wrong not even close. for a trip this expensive with this many wrong doings I believe we should have all received at least half of our money back. I hope no other school or families plan or pay for anything through this agency. Not only did we not receive what we paid for they also clearly don’t have the respect to really make things right for our group. Also if you are waiting for a refund I would triple check with the company because I was never told it would be a physical check which I moved so I had to call and have the check resent then on top of that when I changed my address I checked with them twice they had the right one but then receive the check with the complete wrong address on it which only made me feel more like this is really a joke to them and they are just looking to steal money from people. Hopefully this review will get to others and save you the hassle of losing money when life is already so difficult with the economy we are living in

We've traveled with Explorica multiple times now, and we always have a great experience. Our tour guides have been knowledgeable, entertaining, and helpful. We usually plan private tours, and Explorica helps us fit everything we want to see and do into amazing itineraries that our students will remember forever. We've never had a bad experience.

I have been working with Explorica for over 15 years. I have never been disappointed. From the company staff that helps online and communicates clearly to the tour directors that work literally magic (I’ve learn a couple of tricks!), I know I am in good hands. I love the feeling of seeing someone when we land that I have already communicated Jared with. It’s like meeting a pen pal and then watching them guide us through Europe while listening to our suggestions and requests.
I definitely recommend Explorica. Even when the unexpected happens, because surprises do occur no matter how well you plan, I trust we will be taken care of and a quick solution will always present itself.

The customized tour with a lot of preparation and research ended up very successful.

Communication with the company is terrible. And when you finally do talk to someone, the stuff that they tell you is often inaccurate. I have traveled with other student travel companies, and this will be the last time I travel with Explorica.

After pricing out their offering vs going on a self guided trip. It's about double the price. Also, they offer a 10% discount to repeat travelers but refused to consider a similar discount for other travelers. Pass.

We signed up with Explorica in November 2023. We ended up with several different representatives to handle our trip. This caused delays in communication when there were questions that needed answers or no response at all. Finally. It was time for departure and our first flight was canceled, which was the airline's fault. We talked to the airline rep about when we could get another flight and they told us Thursday.. mind you, this was Monday. When contacting the 24 hour hotline at 5am, I was told the "team" would be looking into our issue. I called back 30 minutes later to inquire about the length of time it would take to hear back from the "team" and was told that they would not be looking into it until 8am. In the meantime, I had 18 participants and parents that traveled up to 2 hrs, waiting to find out when or if this trip would even happen. Would it be delayed until Thursday and would we only get half of our tour? Explorica advised me to work with the airline and the airline advised me to work with our travel agent (Explorica.) Seriously, could not get any help from Explorica. Thankfully, I had 2 seasoned travelers in my group that helped me at the counter and after a full, 2.5 hours at the counter, we were able to make arrangements fly out the next day. Mind you, parents and participants are waiting as patiently as possible for an answer. Most had to drive the 2 hours home and come back the next day for a 6am departure. Bonus: Explorica booked a bus tour in Miami because our layover was so long. So cool and thoughtful! We'll, because we couldn't fly on our original date, the tour was canceled. Our return flight had an 8 hr layover and when asked if the bus tour could happen on our return Explorica replied with no, it could not be transferred to a different date. We sat for 10 hrs at the airport waiting on our connecting flight home.
Now, let's talk about our tour: we had the absolute, best tour director ever! I would give Maria 10 stars if I could! She was great! Our hotels were nice and the food was great! The pace we took for our itinerary was perfect. It included the right amount of downtime. We had a great experience while on tour in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Those with dietary needs were well cared for. While our travel experience was very negative, our tour itself was amazing. Therefore, I would give our experience a 3 at best.

Our tour guide was great, but the rest of the Explorica experience was not good. They twice raised the price of the trip after we had signed up. At the last minute they cancelled our original trip and said we needed to pick from a couple other dates a month later, which is obviously a scheduling problem when people have jobs. We could have gotten our money back, but it would have taken 90+ days and by that time the vacation window would be closed. They have it set up so that they can screw you around and you are simply stuck with them. They also added us to two other groups, for a total of 36 people. This was way too many for one group and one guide. Movement was extremely inefficient and frustrating. Finally, they pick hotels that are below average and/or an 45-60 minutes away from the attractions, which means you waste a lot of time every day. I do NOT recommend Explorica.

My high school boys went on the Spain, Italy, and Greece trip. They enjoyed portions of their trip, but the handling of the trip by Explorica was not ideal.
They went to famous sites but did not get to into them as promised including just seeing the outside of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and the Colosseum in Rome. And Pompeii was rushed and the tour does not include the museum where most of the artifacts are kept.
The hotel chosen at the last minute (not on the itinerary until right before departure) in Spain was a Travelodge that had bed bugs or fleas, windows that fell out and/or did not lock.
The ferry ride from Spain to Italy was very cramped and felt a little bit scary. Explorica said the ride would be overnight 12 hours at most. It was a 24 hour ride meaning a day of touring Rome was missed. Though easy to learn this information online, Explorica was unaware of how long the ferry would take. There were other inconsistencies as well, mostly around transportation choices that were not thought out well enough to make for the most efficient travels.
Either it was already scheduled this way or they were trying to make up for lost time, but more than one day ended at 12 or 1 in the morning with the next day wake up time of around 5am so that people only got about 4-5 hours of sleep.
The promised online "tour diary" never happened, even when brought to their attention.
Some other issues arose but were outside of Explorica's control such as strikes and delayed flights to Spain. Also the general issues with traveling with a large tour group and being crowded, etc. were not pleasant but unavoidable.
On the plus side the boys said the tour guides were for the most part good and knowledgeable. The places they did see such as the Vatican, Pompeii, and Olympia were impressive. They enjoyed Greece the most. Overall they were glad they went.
They would have given the tour 2 stars, but after multiple folks complaining the company did respond by reimbursing $250 to each person who had the bad hotel and $200 to those that had a more favorable hotel and due to this fact and the fact they are still glad they went they moved the review to a 3 star tour.

I’m very disappointed in my experience with Explorica. My daughter had to transfer schools, and because of that, her former school informed us that she was no longer eligible to go on the trip. It wasn’t our decision—she was simply no longer allowed to participate because she wasn’t a student there anymore.

Even though I purchased the insurance, I was told I’d only be refunded 75% of what I paid. That’s unacceptable for a situation completely out of our control. On top of that, it’s been over a month and I still haven’t received any refund at all.

This has been incredibly frustrating. I followed all their procedures and did everything I was supposed to, but I’m left feeling like Explorica just keeps the money whether your child goes or not. I would never recommend them based on this experience.

The overall experience of traveling to new places, meet new people is great. I wouldn't have been able to see and walk in places that I have been to so far.

Educational Trip to Ecuador & the Galápagos Islands with Explorica — June 2025

Overall, our recent trip to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands with Explorica was a meaningful and memorable educational experience for our students, with some truly standout moments and individuals — alongside a few logistical challenges that deserve mention.

Highlights:

Sarah Kanellis, our Program Associate, was incredibly helpful throughout the planning process. She was organized, responsive, and accommodating, ensuring that our pre-departure experience went as smoothly as possible.

Our Ecuadorian Tour Director, Alfonso Freire Cano, was exceptional. Friendly, thoughtful, and highly accommodating, Alfonso helped keep the group informed, comfortable, and connected throughout the entire trip. His local knowledge and calm leadership style were invaluable.

Meals and accommodations were overall sufficient. Meals were reliably filling and appropriate for student travelers, although a bit repetitive. Lodging met expectations — nothing fancy, but clean, safe, and well located.

Areas for Improvement:

While the core experience was strong, there were a few logistical issues that impacted the flow and comfort of the trip:

Unplanned Open Days: Both the first and final full days in Ecuador had completely open itineraries that were not communicated in advance. This left me, the group leader, scrambling to make last-minute decisions on excursions and transportation, while trying to minimize unexpected costs for our student travelers. Better planning or optional add-ons through Explorica would have been appreciated.

Final Day Logistics & Redeye Flight: The departure schedule on our final day was particularly difficult. We left Quito on a redeye flight (11:40 PM), connecting through Miami and Charlotte before arriving at SFO — an exhausting and inefficient route. Compounding the issue, we had nowhere official to store our luggage during the day. While our guide Alfonso kindly arranged for continued access to hotel rooms, he had to personally cover the cost of that accommodation extension — a generous act that should not have been his responsibility. Ideally, a different flight time or an included hotel day room would have made this final stretch far less stressful.

Final Thoughts:

Explorica delivered a memorable educational adventure that our students will never forget. The cultural exposure and natural wonders we experienced were priceless. With a few logistical refinements — especially in ensuring full days are accounted for and end-of-trip transitions are more thoughtfully planned — this already strong program could be even better.

The guide, Katherine was amazing.

Most inefficient and unorganized tour I’ve ever been on. Our group was 41 people. It was WAY too big for our guide to handle and created chaos in getting on the same mode of public transport or sitting near people in your group in a restaurant. Everything about this tour was cramped because there were 41 people in one space at almost all times.

The hotels are 45mins-1.5hr from the city center and they are either in rough neighborhoods or gross themselves (or both). Explorica is cutting costs on the things that make or break a vacation, like clean safe lodging and decent food. The meals we had as a group were not good, and those with historical significance were not explained (such as Indonesian food in Amsterdam). Even our guide expressed disappointment with the food and lodging situations. You will spend most of your time and see these new sites on a bus or train.

Our tour got better as time went on, but it started off as a disaster. Apparently in the EU a guide cannot give you information on a tour if they’re not “professionals” in the city so we wandered around aimlessly in the first city with no information because our guide was not considered a pro.

There were adults on the tour that were violent and created drama from day one which impacted everyone’s experience. Everything was cutthroat because of the tour size - fighting for seats next to your group, people shoving others, etc.

Despite this all, our tour guide did her absolute best.

There were of course some positives of this tour, but for over $5,000, use a different company. They prioritize profit over experience.

An awesome tour guide, Katherine