"This was our ninth EF Go Ahead Tour. The itinerary was up to the usual superb Go Ahead standards. We saw the Northern Lights, the main purpose of the trip, and other interesting sights and learned about the history of Iceland.
The organizational aspects of the trip were well below par.
First, we have never encountered “travel groups” within our tour group who had their own travel organizers. There were 34 participants in our Go Ahead group; all but seven of us were not associated with either of the travel groups. Most members of the travel groups had vacationed together, some extensively. Luckily, the seven of us who were not part of the travel groups got along and enjoyed each other’s company.
Second, we and three others, not associated with the travel club groups, signed on for the extension and two of our “traveling companions” returned home. Our Go Ahead tour director returned us to Reykjavik on Saturday (noon) and said his good byes. Go Ahead did not schedule our return home until Sunday evening. …leaving a day and a half with no planned activities…..not a typical extension.
We are very pleased the trip was only one week. It did not offer the fine interaction among travelers and the comradery that is the hallmark of Go Ahead trips. Had this been our first Go Ahead trip, it would have been the last. Two couples, to whom we recommended Go Ahead had this same experience and have never traveled with Go Ahead again. We did not understand before this trip, exactly what they described or how it felt to be the “odd man out” on a trip.
We hope our next trip in March returns to normal!"
"Wine: excellent tastings of Cava (sparkling white). La Rioja , and Ribera Del Duero (tempranillo reds) , Food: multi course dinners with lamb and suckling pig to tapas in bars and markets. Our tour guide Cata took us on a tapa crawl in one of the small towns,so much fun! The guided tours of the Guggenheim Modern Art in Bilbao (and lunch in the museum) as well as the Prado were highlights. The cooking lesson in Barcelona was another highlight. We had enough free time to do a little exploring on our own. Very memorable experiences!"
"This tour was just great as with all the Go Ahead tours we've been on. We just meet the nicest people who feel as though they could be friends for life. My favorite places were the sheep farm and the Cliffs of Moher although all of them were unforgettable!"
"Everything was wonderful our tour guide Patrick long was the best ever he made our trip over the top good the only complaint I had was both free meals were beef What if liked a little more variety the buffet breakfast were great and because our flight left so early in the morning I feel like we lost out on A-day in Paris but the days we had were wonderful"
"Our tour director, Juan Carlos, was the best tour director on any of our tours. Galapagos Island was fantastic, the islands were beautiful and the ship and crew were the best! We missed Ecuador, other then landing at Quito airport and taking off from there we didn’t get to see Quito or the surrounding area due political unrest. Definitely not Goahead fault but about 40 percent of our tour was cut out. Maybe the tour should have been canceled? In better times this would be a great tour."
"I just love ❤️ to travel and take pictures . Grateful that my cousins and friends are on the same thing. We had fun as we visited places and dined to restaurants . Thanks Go Ahead. "
"Every moment was a wonderful experience. Our tour guide was exceptional & knowledgeable as well as local guides. GAT is far more than a company w/guides. It’s an educational tour company so the experience far exceeds other tour companies I have used. "
"The itinerary for this tour is terrific. We visited widely different parts of Spain that allowed us to appreciate the variations in the landscape and experience the differences in the culture. The food was amazing and we never encountered a wine we didn’t like!
Each day had something that surprised me by its excellence! Whether it was the flamenco performance or the cooking class or the Guggenheim Museum, each day held something I will remember forever! As always, our Tour Director Cata was incredible and helped us find our best trip! "
"This was an excellent tour with a great tour director. I highly recommend the optional excusions to Delft and Gent, they were highlights on our trip."
"We had an awesome experience with Ihad. Left Israel with a new friend and a new perspective.
"
"My husband and I had a wonderful experience on this 12-day tour beginning in Naples and ending in Salerno with tours through beautiful Puglia. Our tour guide, Marianna, was terrific--she was personable, knowledgeable, and responsive to all of our needs. We were in 6 locations over 12 days, and all of our tours and locations were interesting and well-planned. Puglia is not as well known as other places in Italy, but it certainly delivered with lots of history, culture and beautiful scenery. All of our hotels were comfortable and well-located. We also enjoyed the optional tours we participated in--particularly the cooking class where we prepared and ate focaccia and pasta (high in carbs, but well worth in)! "
"We had a wonderful on the ground experience with EF Go Ahead during our time in Kenya and Tanzania. The hotels were very good overall, and several gave you that feeling of being right in nature that we were looking for. When you have hippos feeding outside your patio at night, that's about as close to nature and animals as you could want.
Our Tour Director and Driver Guide in Kenya were absolutely the best. They knew the areas we visited like the back of their hand and had that instinctive feel of where and what the animals were going to do. This got us into many excellent photo opportunities. We saw the "Big 5" and many of their closest friends. The National Parks are amazing when you consider the range and quantity of species that you see from the time you enter the Park gate.
The roads are rough but you should expect that when travelling in the middle of paradise. The Land Cruisers were well equipped and in good condition, so the "Kenyan Massage" was just another part of our grand experience.
Food was quite good, though the box lunches we had on several occasions were not as appealing as they could have been. The main hotel buffets were very good with good range of different foods, and the breakfast buffets were all excellent. Lots of food and good range of variation.
Get you bags packed for the trip of a lifetime."
"Excellent tour guide!! Exquisite lodging!! Top notch sites!! This is my third ancestry tour with GoAhead and about 10 of us have met on the first tour and continued to travel together. It's been a wonderful experience!! I will definitely do it again!! Thank you goAhead and ancestry!!"
"A group of 30 of us took our tour of the South and North Islands of NZ. It was excellent! We had Luke Bonney as our guide and he was fantastic! We started in Queenstown with a 3 night stay- loved the area. We went to Milford Sound. Then we went up the west coast making stops along the way in Franz Josef to go to Fox Glacier, on to Hokitiki, stopping to see cape Foulwind sea colony and Pancake Rocks & the blowholes of Punakaiki- then we arrived in Nelson. We went to Abel Tasman Nat’l Park & Kaiteriteri Beach on a scenic cruise! After a week, we moved on to the North Island and stayed in Wellington for 2 nights. We did wine tasting in Marlborough & went to NZ’s national museum- so impressive! We went on to Rotorua for 2 nights. We went to a Kiwi hatchery , visited a Maori village and learned about their culture and had a traditional hangi feast! We visited a thermal springs village which was fascinating- we learned about the Maori people’s lifestyle and traditions.
We had excellent food, we had time to shop, we had plenty of stops on our bus rides to have potty breaks and pick up snacks. Many of us opted for the add-on tour of Fiji for3 days. This was a bit of a disappointment. Our accommodations were wonderful and Doubletree where we stayed was a pretty area, but the water was like lake water, not the beautiful blue crystal clear water you see in the ads for Fiji. They told us it was because we were in a bay and we had to go to another island to see those waters.
We were gone Oct 17- Nov4 and this was just the beginning of their spring . It was raining a lot and lots of wind, not too many days of sunshine! So I would suggest taking the trip January-April to have more beautiful weather!"
"Great itinerary, excellent guide. Could be a little longer to give us more time at the sites and suggest to replace the hotel in Caesarea, which was in need of refreshing/remodeling"