Two trips to Costa Rica...so far. I'd totally recommend this company to anyone. The pricing is very reasonable for all you get. Our tour guides are local with numerous contacts everywhere we went. Safety was never a concern. The hotels have been good - some less and some ridiculously awesome! I've appreciated the help they give along the way: answers to questions, power points to show, posters to put up, etc... The online ability to pick a trip and customize it is very cool. Collecting & hanging onto tip money is stressful - I'm glad they now offer the option to include it in the parents price & I'm out of it. Go on an Explorica trip!

Our trip, from start to finish, was smooth and enjoyable. The hotels were good. I love that some were family run and we got to meet the owners first hand. The guides, especially our tour director, were outstanding. We always felt safe, well fed, and well informed. Despite rain hitting us for multiple days in Athens, we truly experienced Rome and Athens and it will impact our students for a long time to come. This is the first tour that I've led with Explorica and now I can't imagine doing it with another company.

I have traveled with this company for the past few years. I have been able to design the trip based on my past experiences and so I am always happy with the results. They always listen to my concerns about hotels and restaurants and they are easy to work with. My group normally includes 30-37 students and 6 chaperones. Phil Todisco is the best! He and I have worked together for the past three years and he always works hard to see that we are satisfied. What I despise, truly despise, is the "robot" system of billing and notifying my students of billing issues. I handle all the money through my school's student account, therefore I sign up for "Manual Billing". Well, "Mr. Robot" doesn't acknowledge that, so I have to put my own email into the box for each and every student so that their families will not freak out. I am then the one who freaks out because there is a very punitive tone to the emails! Explorica needs to work on their communication via this system. Every teacher who does a manual payment should NOT BE SUBJECTED TO NASTY EMAILS! I intend to stick with Explorica as I always receive good value for the money. We have also been very happy with the tour guides.

After two trips with EF and feeling like I'm nothing more than a number, Explorica has been a breath of fresh air. My program consultant, has been patient and informative. More importantly, she calls me when it works for me, not all day every day until I commit.She actually listens to my needs even after I have committed to travel with them. My tour hasn't left yet, but if the trip is anything like the service I've received so far, I’ll be traveling with this company for years to come.

Explorica is a great company and the tour guides they provide are excellent! They are VERY knowledgeable and the passion for travel is evident. They broke down the registration process very well so the steps are clear as to what is necessary for preparation. The payment was very easy as well and the trip I went on was very affordable. The hotels they booked were also nice. They were all spacious for our group and everyone fit in comfortably (I traveled with a large group of 30). The only problems was that I wish we would have learned more about the topic we were going to Europe for, the tour guide explained a lot but I wish we would have spent more time at those places. We did follow the itinerary pretty well there were some replacements because of lack of time or the site was closed but it was well adjusted. The only thing I would say is that I wish the tour guide would have planned sites or pointed out more sites pertaining to our topic and talked about them. Overall, I am pleased with Explorica and their tour guides and just the very easy and clear registration.

I have worked with many different student travel companies over a 35 year career in teaching Foreign Languages. Explorica is BY FAR the best of them all......The key to any travel with kids is the rapport between the teacher and the students and holding regular meetings prior to travel. Educating the kids what travel IS and what it is NOT is key to the best possible experience. Explorica personel at every level are beyond helpful, competent and professional. It seems to me that if students (and teacher chaperones) travel with the idea of expecting "America and/or flawless travel they are fully missing the opportunity to experience diverse cultures and the chance to develop flexibility and patience. This is GOOD for all Americans and especially for our "instant gratification" youth culture. Explorica, with whom I have booked 10+ tours has NEVER disappointed and my students have memories of a lifetime. Thank you, explorica for all that you do to promote good will and education to our youth AND the traveling adults with them. The role model that adults display dramatically affects the students' experience.

We just registered 20 participants for a Paris/Rome trip in 2011. Our 2009 Paris-Rome was fantastic, so we are repeating the itinerary in 2011. Customer service is prompt, knowledgeable, and extremely helpful. We selected the customized tour process which allows us to have a private, full-time guide, and upgraded meals/hotels. We LOVE the customized option...for example, it allows a group to have its own private tour...no other schools, students, or teachers to deal with. I have chaperoned student tours to Europe for nearly 30 years, and I have traveled with just about every company out there. By the way, Explorica is not the most $$ (NETC, ACIS) or the least $$(EF), but right in the middle. Keep in mind that a successful high school tour is based on preparation and planning of students. It takes me about a year to fully prepare my students for the culture shock of traveling to a foreign country. If students/teachers complain about these trips, then they usually don't have realistic expectations. If you want a "perfect vacation", then go to DisneyWorld. If you want to see the grand, the old, and the historic, then "do your homework" and visit the real deal in Europe.After all, isn't that why we travel to distant lands in the first place...to experience their authentic culture. Bon Voyage!

Explorica, Inc delivers what it promises and more. Our guide was very knowledgeable; she established an outstanding rapport with every member of our group and she made sure all details were taken care of expeditiously. The wide variety of first-class buffet style meals and the various menu options for set menus guaranteed a delicious fare for all. Explorica is, by far, the best--low prices, the best service, and a tremendous experience.

I've traveled with this company two times and they have delivered more than expected. You always run into last minute changes, but it always worked out. Their tour directors were very knowledgeable and worked very hard to meet our demanding last minute additions to our daily scheduled. Every evening we added activities and not only did they make the calls, but accompanied us. All hotels were clean and within walking distance or on a bus/metro line. The meals were varied and local guides were wonderful.

I went on a trip with Explorica to Italy and Greece this year. It was amazing! We had the best tour guide. She gave us great insight into the history of the places we visited (Rome, Pompeii, Athens) as well as a great deal of information on the culture of the people in each place. We had plenty of time to visit each of the sites with time on our own to explore each location. We had a ton of fun at the Colosseum imagining we were gladiators! I know a lot of kids complain about the flights but I had my ipod and some games so it was cool. We had a blast in the airports looking at the different products and trying to guess what they were (the whole foreign language thing). I'm hoping to be able to go again this year!