Classic Journeys

Classic Journeys Galapagos Cultural Walking Adventure (or Pay Attention to El Nino when visiting the Galapagos!) — Our ²⁰¹⁵⁄₂₀₁₆ Trip — Part 1
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Approximately every 6 – 7 years the Humboldt current that brings cold water from southern Antartica waters and balances the tropical current from the tropics fails. As a result the equatorial waters surrounding the Galapagos are bathed in humidity. The phenomenon has been named El Nino as it usually begins around Christmas. It brings a deluge of warm, humid air to the Galapagos Islands and points beyond. This phenomenon is responsible for the string of storms that have inundated the southern Rocky Mountains with snow and active storm systems to the southern United States. One week before we departed for our trip to the Galapagos, we learned that there would likely be rain every day. We imagined a tropical mid-​day shower or two, but were not prepared for the deluge that followed.
We chose to travel with Classic Journeys because it is a land-​based trip. After a night and a day in Quito (un-​related to the Galapagos trip), joined Juan Fernando for our trip to San Cristobal, our first stop. Let me say at the outset that Juan was the most attentive and supportive tour guide we have ever had — he is beyond superb! No detail was too small to warrant his attention. He speaks excellent English and is a constant learner — able to translate much of what he observes in the wild into useful information for the group. There was consensus among all 10 members of our group (average age of ~65 years with a guessed range of 60 – 75 years) on this point. We enjoyed being with him and the trip might have been a total disaster without his presence. Another feature we liked about the trip was that it was, for the most part, all inclusive. All hotel and tips were included (except for the guide) and all meals were included. One or two alcoholic drinks were included with dinner. The food was above average most of the time, but 20% of the meals were average to below average. These will be noted below.
The average age of the group is important as there were varying degrees of physical fitness and most of the members were not actually expecting the trip to be as active as it was. For a 70 – 75 year-​old to pull him/​her self aboard multiple boats from the water’s edge pushed some members to their limits. This theme recurred at varying points during the trip.
San Cristobal — Baquerizo Moreno
We began our trip in San Cristobal (Baquerizo Moreno), the eastern most stop of the tour. The weather there was tolerable — warm with some modest amounts of rain. The Seaside Inn was relatively new with very large rooms, but almost no furniture. Our roughly 30 foot by 15 foot room had a large bed, a small desk with a chair and two semi-​comfortable easy chairs. It also had a wall closet with a small safe. It was air-​conditioned and the bathroom had a nice shower with adequate amounts of hot water. One drinks bottled or filtered water, but uses the local water for bathing. The atmosphere at the hotel was pleasant, but the desk was only manned until 7 – 8 PM. We communicated with simple Spanish — no one spoke English. We ate all of our meals (except breakfast the first day) at the Casa Opuntia Galapagos hotel, approximately a 10 min walk from the Seaside Inn. The food was average to below average with the exception of New Year’s eve when they served lobster (langosta) from the grill. This was outstanding! Beer was local and good. Wine was from Chile and average. From a food perspective, the group was happy to move on to the next island as we tired of a somewhat monotonous menu (different dished tended to taste the same). To be continued with Part 2.

I just got back from the Sicily tour and I loved every minute of it! From the very beginning, the staff was very helpful (Priscilla and Amy). I called many times to clarify things. The trip itself was so well organized. Sergio was our tour guide and I can’t say enough great things about him. He was so knowledgeable, professional and kind. He researched the roads of Sicily for months to prepare this tour for Classic Journeys. He went above and beyond to make sure we not only saw the main tourist attractions, but also the less well-​known, but equally majestic parts of Sicily. In the future, I would love to take another Southern tour of Italy with Sergio… maybe Puglia! Thanks again, Sergio. You were the best.

My wife and I recently returned from Portugal with Classic Journeys… it was our first experience with this company. Overall It was a mixed experience. The hotels were great and the meals included wine. Yeah! Overall the itinerary was good. My reservations was the group size of 18 participants… too large for optimal experience, with a large bus riding, lots of very long meals in two big tables, and guides without blue tooth head sets to allow all 18 of us to hear the lectures. (Most big groups have individual ear pieces so one does not need the huddle around the guide).
Also we thought this would be a walking/​hiking tour. It wasn’t…mainly a large cultural bus tour. The guides were accommodating, but not exceptional. Overall experience was «so-​so» and we will not use their services in the future.

We just got back from our first Classic Journeys tour of Normandy and Brittany, and I cannot believe what an incredible time we had! The length of the trip and the selected itinerary was just perfect! Our guide was the previously mentioned Dominique, and she kept things moving at a comfortable pace for everyone. Also, she took the time to make some changes to our tour to accommodate the interests of some of the others in our group. She shared so much French history and culture, and took on any and all questions with patience and interest. My husband is a military history buff, and he was blown away by the extent of her knowledge of not just WWII, but many of the other wars as well. The hotels were fantastic, the food was way beyond expectations, the wine was wonderful, and the people in our group were interesting, warm and relaxed. I really hated to say goodbye, and I look forward to signing us for future adventures with Classic Journeys! Better than any other tour I’ve been on! Maryann W.

I recently returned from a Classic Journeys walking tour in Turkey. While there were strong points and weak points to the tour, when they are tallied, I would not recommend this tour company
I chose Classic Journeys primarily because they had been reviewed so highly, and because I was traveling solo, and the single supplement was very low in comparison to other tours. Other than that, and the fact that most of the food was fresh and good tasting peasant food, I did not feel it was a good value at all, even though the tour was enjoyable .The wine was substandard and resembled vinegar more than wine on more than one occasion.
The company did not take responsibility for neglecting to pick me up at the airport as scheduled, and I had prepaid for the airport transfer to my hotel and confirmed it twice with the tour operators. They reimbursed me the $ 84.00 and apologized for the inconvenience, but really there was no excuse for finding myself in Istanbul at 1:40 AM without a driver or anyone to help me with my luggage. By the time I found another driver and got to my hotel, I was exhausted and too tired to take advantage of a private tour I had booked for the next day.
(As an aside, I ended up taking the tour the following day, and it was outstanding. The guide on my privately booked tour was better than any guide employed by Classic Journeys for the Turkey trip .)
The first Classic Journeys guide was fired by the other group participants after the first day. They disliked her performance, ganged up on her, and demanded that she resign. Classic Journeys replaced her with a lethargic, but knowledgeable fellow, who was a lot more interested in chatting with his wife on his cell phone, and meeting friends, while dropping the group off at particular shops which marked up their merchandise astronomically, and rewarded him with a handsome, commission .It felt like a shopping tour, not a walking tour. The extent of the shopping was over the top, by any reasonable standards, and not at all how I would have chosen to spend my time.
I asked Mister Guide if he could help me change some money into Turkish Lira„ and although this small request was made several times, he did not honor even this small request. .I asked numerous times, and he sent me to a bank. I went to two or three, but could not accomplish the task, but rather than helping, Mister Guide went to meet a friend and left me in a café without money to buy even a coffee.
This guide did the least amount possible to satisfy the requirements of his job. Each thing requested of him was an imposition. For example, after 4 days on the gulet, where guests were provided with only one bath towel and one hand towel for the duration, l, I requested an additional towel (the cost of the tour BTW averaged about $ 800 a day), he VERY reluctantly got me one, but only after I insisted, stating emphatically that my towel was wet and dirty .“Do you use a new towel every day at home? he inquired .
No wine was served before dinner, unless a gla requested, and then only the person requesting it got it. A second, was likewise treated as a huge imposition. $ 800 a day was all I could think of!
In order to swim off the gulet, you were required to climb down a steep ladder, without much support. The guide sat in the water on one of 4 available noddles and ignored me when I was frightened to come down alone. Finally, I said I was uncomfortable and frightened, and he told me to then move aside so the next person could come down. I suggested that it might be a good idea for the guide to help me instead, at which time, he moved off his noodle and helped me down into the water. He did it to save face in front of the other tour participants, but his reluctance was not lost on the group. He was too generously tipped by all of us– but for what, I am not sure .He also had a pretty bad cold and transferred it to me before departing.
The wine provided by Classic Journeys (YUCK) on board the gulet was terrible, and the food as Istated earlier was fresh peasant food.- nothing special and certainly nothing gourmet. Since alcoholic beverages, when we were not on the boat were not included, that was the only time I had a decent glass of wine, Many of the restaurants were not establishments I would choose to eat at .The food was offered buffet style and I had no idea how long it had been sitting there.
In the hotel in Cappadocia the lock on my door did not work. At this time we had a different guide, and I asked him to have my room changed or to have the lock fixed, but neither of the suggestions was taken. Instead, the outside door was locked, forcing the other tour participants in my section to have to walk a circuitous route to reach their rooms.
I have done quite a bit of luxury travel, and at least by my standards the Classic Journeys tour does not qualify.

We have been on 4 Classic Journey trips: Tuscany, Normandy, Amalfi Coast and Cornwall England. It basically comes down to the tour guide doesn’t it? That person can make the trip come alive or not. The Normandy trip was the best with Dominique as our guide. Make sure you research the trip guide before you make the reservation. Two of our guides were awful and two were great. Not a great batting average.

This is truly an A+ Travel Company, and take you to pretty much any popular destination in a unique, personable way! The staff are supremely knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly, and I absolutely love that I can choose from so many fun options, complete with must-​needed exercise built in!

I just returned from a 7-​day walking tour of the Cotswolds, Stonehenge and London and I can only rave about Classic Journeys! Our tour guide was super nice and extremely knowledgeable. I agree with Sarah G., who wrote that Classic Journeys don’t feel «touristy». We went to Stonehenge and Blenheim Palace, but we also toured an organic farm and visited a falconry. We walked through London, but we also watched a rehearsal of the bell ringers of Chipping Camden’s church. So many things we did seemed off the beaten «tourist» path and that was just fantastic.
Our hotels were very nice and comfortable, and all our meals were delicious. Our walks through the country side were spectacular and we got to see some parts of England that I don’t think the average tourist would see.
Another great aspect of Classic Journeys is the small groups they have. My tour consisted of a total of 6 people, plus our guide. That made each event and each walk so much more intimate and much more memorable.
I can’t wait to save up enough money for my next Classic Journey!

A culinary tour is the perfect way for a foodie to experience a new place. Cooking instruction, visits to local markets, vineyards and museums is my idea of a wonderful vacation. That is exactly what Classic Journeys has to offer.
I went on a culinary tour of Provence, France with Classic Journeys. The tour guides were born and raised in the south of France and knew their history well.
Tours with Classic Journeys don’t feel «touristy». Sure, we went to all the touristy areas and museums, but we also went to non-​touristy places like local restaurants and markets.
The culinary tours are a unique way to experience an area. I had such a great time on the tour of Provence that I have booked a tour of Tuscany and a tour of the Amalfi Coast. I am so excited to go on these next two tours!
My only complaint of Classic Journeys would be that they don’t offer culinary tours in enough countries! They have cultural walking tours available in just about any place you want to go, though.