Our response

Thank you for your review. We note your remarks with respect to our tour leader, Steffi.

We understand her performance fell below your expectations and we were disappointed to read this.   Whilst interaction between group and tour leader and, to a lesser extent, the provision of information are aspects of a tour that are difficult to quantify, we are sorry that in both areas you felt Steffi’s efforts did not match the level of service that you have come to expect on previous Explore tours.  Please rest assured that your feedback has been highlighted to our local agent and will be discussed with her at length as a matter of urgency to ensure that she is providing groups with the level of service and commitment that we expect.

In regards to your comment about the comfort rating on the trip, it may be helpful if we explain that the individual days spent at different hotels are labelled correctly as H in our accommodation ratings: 

H : Basic hotels, lodges or guesthouses (also village houses, mountain huts, hotels etc often come into this category). Accommodation may be communal or dorm-style, and WC / washing facilities are usually shared. Running hot and cold water may be unreliable or even unavailable. These can be the most rewarding and memorable places to stay, but comfort levels are low.

As we use a variety of accommodation at many of our nightstops, our classification rating must be a rudimentary one and is not intended to give a specific indication of the facilities that will be available at each hotel. Nevertheless your feedback will certainly be considered as our grading system is being reviewed shortly and this tour has been under discussion.

Our response

Thank you for your review.  It is good to know that your tour leader Velur did such a great job.  We are pleased to know that Velur continues to put his knowledge and experience to such good use and that this added to your enjoyment of Iceland.

We like to ensure that our itineraries are busy and enjoyable and we are delighted that the road journeys across the fascinating Icelandic landscape were enjoyable.  We do agree there is little chance of getting bored on an Explore trip.

We do feel that 22 is a suitable maximum group size for this holiday but note that you feel having 21 in your group in all was too many.  We hope that this did not detract from your enjoyment of this holiday.  Our Product Managers will be reviewing this with our local agent as we want to make sure that we have the right number of customers travelling with us to ensure our tours retain their unique feel.

We also like to make sure that our groups are always able to spend as much time as they need when visiting sites of interest.   Not being able to do so would go against the spirit of adventure travel as you say.  We will follow up your observations as you should not at any time be made to feel you are being given insufficient time to fully appreciate the places you visit.