The trip was very well planned and managed by Marta, the leader. The local guides were top notch. The trip included a variety of experiences. I went primarily for natural world experiences. Really enjoyed the landscapes, hiking. Learned a lot about the plants, trees, birds. Didn't know what to expect from the historical\cultural talks in areas visited (like Buenos Aires - Manuel at Memorial to victims of terrorism). These experiences added a real depth of understanding that rounded out the trip. Recommend Iguazu extension. Liked the small group.

Best trip ever! Crew was wonderful and everything about it was great. Would definitely go again.

It was and excellent-- the ship's crew are fantastic-- I will be taking another trip with Grand Circle!!

I am an 8 time traveler with OAT. Although I have enjoyed all of my trips, this trip exceeded all expectations. From viewing Tokyo on a beautiful autumn sunrise from my hotel, to having a wonderful home visit with a Japanese family that dressed us in their precious kimonos, to seeing the day blossom over Mt. Fuji from my bedroom window, to experiencing the crowded market place in Kyoto, every day brought more that one surprise at the cleaniness, splendor, efficiency, spiritual country that is Japan.

Morocco should be on every traveler's "must see" list and OAT did a great job in making this trip one of a lifetime.

Awesome time! Super friendly!

a great adventure

Anle was the best guide ever!! I would have liked some non-Vietnamese food choices for more of the meals. Food was good; I just got tired of it.

I have taken many OAT trips and by far this one was the best. The pre trip was fantastic as was the rest of the journey. the trip leader,Sour,was one hunk of a wonder man. He went above and beyond the expectations of all of us. His knowledge of the culture and areas enhanced the travel experience to the max. I am looking forward to finding him on another African adventure.

The trip was fantastic. Our trip leader Sour was so knowledgeable, accommodating, friendly and always available. He went the extra mile. I would love to have him again when I go back to Africa

6 weeks of travel saw a lot but could have done even more! So much to see and experience!

We had a delightful time. Louise was excellent, enthusiastic & helpful. The food was excellent(particularly the bacon). I have been known to dream about GC bacon before a trip. There was a great balance between sights, time to explore on your own & time to rest.

We did this same trip 6 years ago but we had more fun this trip than we've had on most of our other trips. The ship is very clean and the crew is fantastic! Our program directors were also the best we'd ever had. Any one of them would help you out whether you were in their group or not. The local guides were all very good also. They were very knowledgeable and easy to understand. The only problem we had was we took the very first Christmas Market trip of the season and there were some Christmas Markets that weren't open yet. We would definitely recommend this trip and this company.

excellent trip

A very memorable trip to this unique country. There are many beautiful animals, people and places to see and interact with.

We took the pre and post tours, which made the trip a bit long, but it was worth it. Sometimes pre and post tours seem like add-ons that don’t make much sense, but these made a lot of sense and gave us a good feeling for the whole region. The ship cruise in the middle worked well as a change and a time to recharge. Lodovico was a truly wonderful trip leader. We would like to travel with him again. The hotels were very good, but the first in Ravenna was a bit strange. None of us stayed in the hotel, but were farmed out to various buildings in the area. Our place was clean, but rather stark and cold in appearance.

My first OAT adventure and it was wonderful. Cruising the Adriatic on a small ship was much better than I expected. Lots of commaderire with crew and passengers. Food was delicious. Trip leaders were knowledgeable, fun and energetic.

We really liked our tour guide Takeo Kada. He was very organized and paid attention to detail. We were informed of out itinerary daily and given information about our daily excursions. Takeo went out of his way to make sure everyone’s questions were answered. Many times some on our tour weren’t listening and Take0 stilled tried to accommodate them. Takeo got blamed for things that were not his fault or not in his control. We could tell that taking care of everything from travel arrangements to hotel accommodations was very stressful for him. I strongly recommend local guides to help him as well as giving the tour group more in depth information. It will give us a deeper understanding of each part of the country. Takeo also went the extra mile for us to write down in detail on how to get to a destination that was not on our regular tour. He even help me find some relatives in Japan that I wasn’t sure that I had. Takeo also took the group on extra excursions during our free time. He made recommendations on what to do during our free time. We also like the hands-on adventures. Getting to participate in many of the activities was awesome. We liked the small group size. We liked the excursions chosen to do by OAT. We would like more time at some of our venues. We felt a little rushed. We didn’t like the Italian Japanese restaurant in Kanazawa. We would have liked more infusion with the samurai cultural. I would recommend visiting the Nomura House in Kanazawa.

Yoko was the best leader ever! She emailed and called each one of us weeks before the trip even started. She helped us with reservations and made terrific recommendations for all of our free time. She helped us go to pharmacy, when we got colds. She called to check on my husband, when he stayed at the hotel and missed our tour. As for the trip, we all had great and different home visit experiences. I wondered why we were taking us for such a long drive to go the The Samarai House for lunch, and was pleasantly surprised with a tomago sushi lesson, where we learned to make our own. To top it off, we all played dress up in kimono and samarai costumes for a fun photo op. Our visit to the Buddhist Temple on top of a mountain in Arashiyama was an amazing, once in a life time, spiritual experience. We loved having the opportunity to go up the Hakone Ropeway to see the plumes of smoke billow from the smoldering mountain. We all appreciated that Yoko and the bus driver added it to our day tour, as most of us wanted to go. We opted not to go to the Nijo Castle, as we had been there previously. Instead, Yoko wisely advised us to go to the Kiyumizo-dear (Maple) Temple with blazing maples, when it opened to get in before the 2 hour long line from the crowd. It was a dream come true for peak color on a perfect autumn day. I can’t imagine how I will ever edit those endless photos I took to a manageable number. The only thing I would criticize about the tour, is that I would have liked more elegant hotels. However, they were a fair value and immaculate, but small by American standards.

A special trip I will always remember -- wonderful fellow passengers and the best trip experience leader. Louise Lewis contacted all of us prior to the trip and then found ways to compensate for the high waters in Venice. Louise -- thank you!!