What People Say About Us

It was exactly what I was looking for when researching the Balkan region. I'm glad I decided to do a tour and not a solo trip. My tour guide Andrey was very helpful and knowledgable and without him I would have been completely lost.

I booked this trip only a few weeks before the start of the tour and the booking process was very smooth and efficient with Penguin – questions were addressed very promptly. The tour was very enjoyable and hassle free. Initially the schedule looked very busy but it actually wasn’t that bad however adding 2-3 more days to the tour would have made it better. The 1st and last day are not really ‘tour’ days. Also, the time on the bus didn’t seem as long because the scenery along the route was beautiful – didn’t get tired of it at all. Our tour guide Remy was excellent. She was very organized, professional and made the whole thing go very smoothly. And our driver Emile was great – easy to tell that he has a lot of experience and he was so patient. Overall, great value for the money. The accommodation and breakfast was overall very good, some better than others but nothing to really complain about. Some hotels don’t have elevators but rooms would be on the 2nd or 3rd floor, so factor that in when packing. And due to short stays in the different cities, doing laundry is not always possible and sometimes it’s just too expensive. My first but certainly not last time I will be traveling with Penguin Travel, and can’t wait to jump on another one of Remy’s tours.

This was a wonderful trip with a beautiful guide who was so professional and pleasant. It is well organised and runs smoothly. If I have a complaint it's just too short I would love to have spent longer in almost everywhere but especially Montenegro . I was worried about this trip because I found it the week before online and knew nothing about penguin travel I took the chance and for sure I'll travel again with penguin. I hope to do the Romania Moldova Belarus Ukraine trip very soon with them especially since Remy our guide is the guide . Remy was a brilliant guide and very nice young lady I look forward to seeing her again. I would recommend this trip and penguin travel

Pre trip: Excellent dossier. Help provided in booking hotels before start and after finish. All paperwork provided in a timely manner. Tour leader: Very good. Good judgement used about providing enough information and too much. Good knowledge of the areas we travelled. Only too pleased to assist when necessary. Hotels: All at least adequate and some better than expected. Note, however - bed bugs in the Berat hotel. Two people (in different rooms) were bitten. Schedule: Well chosen. Dubrovnik and Mostar were disappointing because of the crowds. Perhaps alert people beforehand in future. Transport: Excellent. A big bus for 19 people was appreciated. (There had been some on-line criticism previously about small buses) Value for $: Very good. Value for broadening horizons: Excellent. A wonderful opportunity to understand the geographic, cultural, religious and historical complexity of the Balkans. Would I recommend the tour?: Without hesitation to many of our friends, but not all. People have to be prepared to tolerate many road hours, carrying luggage and less than 5* accommodation. Not all of our (elderly) travelling friends would cope.

I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who is looking for an enjoyable and hassle free way of travelling through the Balkan countries. The schedule is busy but the scenery along the route is truly magnificent. The tour gives an insight into countries with rich and complex histories and the guides do an excellent job of relating this. Local guides usually conduct walking tours in the cities that are visited while Tsvetelina from Penguin manages the rest. Tsvetelina is an absolutely excellent guide- friendly and professional at all times and it was to her credit that the tour ran without a hitch. Food, transport and accommodation were wonderful on this trip and represent really good value for money. The driver (Rosin) is also to be commended for his patience and skill in navigating some challenging terrain! I would have loved to have spent a little more time in Macedonia but otherwise I cannot fault this tour.

This is a well trodden and well polished tour which provides the opportunity to see many of the major sites in the Western Balkans. Time spent in each location was just right, travelling times were spread comfortably across the duration of the tour and all of the hotels were well located and of high quality. Our tour guide, Tsvetelina Rangelova, was knowledgeable, helpful and friendly with a great sense of humour and an infectious smile. Travelling with a Bulgarian company ensured that any exposure to a biased view of Balkans history was limited to the occasional local guide. I can strongly recommend this tour and this company. I plan to use them for future tours in other parts of the world.

The Balkan Kaleidoscope tour far exceeded my expectations. I was a single traveler with 18 others from various countries who were all seasoned travelers. They were all interesting and friendly. We traveled on a large comfortable bus with plenty of room. I forgot the driver's name but he was very professional and talented. I marveled at his skill in maneuvering that bus through some tight quarters. The hotels were all better quality than I had expected and were within walking distance of restaurants and sights. I especially enjoyed the free times in Dubrovnik and Kotor and a highlight for me was hiking up to St. John's fortress in Kotor, Montenegro. The view was incredible. Saving the best for last here, I must say that our leader, Tsvetelina Rangelova, is the best. She truly made this trip enjoyable. Her smile and enthusiasm each morning was contagious. I could tell that she truly enjoyed traveling with us. I marveled at how much information she gave us from memory without reading it. She really knows those countries. I hope that I can travel with Penguin Tours and Tsvetelina again sometime.