Posted Oct 05, 2012 - 11:02 pm:
We read the Balkan Trails reviews and they looked weird. The web site content is just average, with extensive descriptions of basic tours. Their blog can't be opened as it's malware infested. All other pages worked but were boring.
Balkan Trails
Posted Oct 23, 2012 - 02:58 pm:
We have just returned from a tour with them - 11 days in Romania, cannot say enough good things about our experience.
We booked the trip because my wife was interested in Romania, so I just thought I'd tag along and spend some time with her. I was surprised at the cultural diversity of the country and the landscape - simply beautiful. The whole tour was a lot more fun for me than I had expected.
My wife encountered no problems with their website, she actually found it better and more informative than most other sites offering the same services. She told me that the website quality and the information provided there was one of the main reasons she chose them for our trip.
The correspondence with the management was smooth, they were very prompt in getting back to us and showed a lot of flexibility - we ended up doing a customised itinerary, after more than 20 emails between my wife and them. Quite a few itinerary changes were made, since my wife had done some extensive research on Romania and wanted to see some sights which were a bit off the regular tourist track.
For me, the highlight was our guide, Valentin. He had extensive knowledge on pretty much any topic we were interested in, excellent communication skills (you would easily think he was an American - his English was that good), great sense of humor and he was also very caring. My wife experienced some health issues while on the trip, and he was a great help dealing with local doctors (very nice people, by the way) and also getting all the insurance - related papers sorted out.
As for Samantha, I am sorry you did not get in touch with them, you missed on a great travel experience. Romania is a beautiful country, the people are among the friendliest I have ever met, and I would have no hesitation recommending Balkan Trails to any of my friends.
Comments on Balkan Trails
We read the Balkan Trails reviews and they looked weird. The web site content is just average, with extensive descriptions of basic tours. Their blog can't be opened as it's malware infested. All other pages worked but were boring.
Posted Oct 23, 2012 - 02:58 pm:
We have just returned from a tour with them - 11 days in Romania, cannot say enough good things about our experience.
We booked the trip because my wife was interested in Romania, so I just thought I'd tag along and spend some time with her. I was surprised at the cultural diversity of the country and the landscape - simply beautiful. The whole tour was a lot more fun for me than I had expected.
My wife encountered no problems with their website, she actually found it better and more informative than most other sites offering the same services. She told me that the website quality and the information provided there was one of the main reasons she chose them for our trip.
The correspondence with the management was smooth, they were very prompt in getting back to us and showed a lot of flexibility - we ended up doing a customised itinerary, after more than 20 emails between my wife and them. Quite a few itinerary changes were made, since my wife had done some extensive research on Romania and wanted to see some sights which were a bit off the regular tourist track.
For me, the highlight was our guide, Valentin. He had extensive knowledge on pretty much any topic we were interested in, excellent communication skills (you would easily think he was an American - his English was that good), great sense of humor and he was also very caring. My wife experienced some health issues while on the trip, and he was a great help dealing with local doctors (very nice people, by the way) and also getting all the insurance - related papers sorted out.
As for Samantha, I am sorry you did not get in touch with them, you missed on a great travel experience. Romania is a beautiful country, the people are among the friendliest I have ever met, and I would have no hesitation recommending Balkan Trails to any of my friends.