Explore

Who is Explore?

Explore offers small group ‘adventure’ holidays in worldwide locations, with the average group size being around 12 people. Its website claims the travel company provides ‘over 500 trips to more than 120 countries’, including Botswana, Uzbekistan and Belize. Cycling tours, wildlife safaris and mountain trekking are standard fare. Book online or call for assistance from Explore’s travel team. 

Which? verdict

Explore offers interesting destinations and itineraries but is let down by the quality of its accommodation. Our tables show there are better-rated alternatives available for a similar price. 

Explore customer ratings

What's Explore like?

Explore covers trip-of-a-lifetime destinations, such as Antarctica and the Galapagos Islands, promising authentic adventure travel experiences that delve into the local sights and culture. Big hotels are avoided in favour of small, family-run guesthouses or mountain lodges.

Sadly, however, opulent and authentic rarely go hand in hand. Explore was let down in this year’s survey by the quality of its accommodation, which received a below-par two-star rating. Some customers described it as ‘disappointing’, while others thought it was all part of the experience, with some accommodation clearly labelled as ‘basic’.

Explore has an excellent customer score of 82% and received mostly solid four-star ratings. Those who used Explore were impressed with the range of ‘interesting’ locations that 'a lot of other tour operators would not consider’ and the ‘knowledgeable’ guides.

Customers were also pleased with Explore’s organisation, giving it a four-star rating. As one holidaymaker put it: ‘I didn’t have to think about anything.’ This was confirmed by a serial Explore-r, who has ‘travelled with Explore on about 60 trips and found that the trips are always well organised’. This customer was also pleased with the ‘local companies’ used by Explore. 

Explore does impress with its policy of carbon-labelling its holidays. It estimates how much CO2 is emitted on each holiday, allowing you to make more planet-friendly choices. Only a few companies currently do any kind of carbon-labelling, including Explore, and its (better-rated) competitor, Exodus.

Price-wise, Explore is a mid-range provider, with an average short-haul holiday per-day cost of £135 – similar to Trailfinders and HF Holidays, who are both rated more highly.

Should I book with Explore?

Explore offers interesting and unusual itineraries, but it's let down by its accommodation. All of our Which? Recommended Providers for escorted tours (Exodus, HF Holidays and Ramblers Walking Holidays) have higher star ratings for accommodation. HF Holidays and Ramblers Walking Holidays also received a better value for money rating than Explore.