Penguin TravelReviews 

Did Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan (and before that the Ararat summit climb) with these guys. My favorite travel company so far, and I will be returning to them many more times in the future!

I recently did a great trip to Yemen with Penguin. We visited some really interesting sites and saw great architecture. My companions on the trip were all seasoned travelers and good conversationalists.
I really enjoyed the whole experience.
In my book Penguin provided an excellent journey and experience
Chris Pullan

I have just positive things to say about their Mainland Yemen trip in late November 24. Even though we encountered some changes due to Omani border closed for tourists some months before and the flight was postponed, and changed 3 days later, it was handled professionally and they changed the itinarary from Cairo to Yemen instead. If you couldn`t travel because of change of dates you would get full compensation.
The trip itself was as smooth as possible considering it it one of the least visited countries in the world with little infrastucture for tourists. The local guide and his team were great and we felt safe all the time with our armed guards. The guide from Penguin, Nesi, was always helpful and professional.
So all in all very satisfied, with the hotels, the itinarary, the transportation, the local fixers and from penguin. I will for sure travel again with them,

Dear Penguin Travel,
My name is Lily Zhao, and I first time traveled with Penguin Travel’s The 5 Stan-s - Follow in the footsteps of Genghis Khan from Sep. 14th, 2024 to Oct. 4th, 2024. I have been thinking for a long time before writing this letter to complain about this trip’s leader Lyuboslav. Eventually, I think that I should let Penguin Travel know about it to avoid more travelers suffering.
Lyuboslav was an awful tour guide I never saw in my whole life. He was not qualified to be a tour guide because of his terrible personality. He ruined my vacation badly. Because of him, I was unhappy and upset on this trip. Almost every day I was looking forward to the end of this trip without hearing his yelling, criticizing, warning, and threatening.
I have traveled to more than 80 countries over the last 20 years. I had never been mad with any other tour guide except Lyuboslav. As a quiet and polite person I always respect and listen to our tour guide with good tips for my appreciation. However, Lyuboslav is unworthy of me to do those.
The first time happened in Kazakhstan. After checking in the hotel I found that I left the honey-melon, which I bought from Bishkek, in the van. I went to see if the van was still there. I saw Lyuboslav’s smoking in front of the hotel. So I told him about what happened and asked if the van had left. Lyuboslav answered “I’m here not to look after your bag”. There were never any tour guides to answer questions like this. I was so angry that I was shaking all over, and I only said “I just let you know”, and then left.
After this experience, I tried my best not to talk to Lyuboslav. He tried his best to make things difficult for me and picked on me. For example, Lyuboslav announced his rules and threatened me at least three times “we will leave without you. You have to take a taxi to the hotel by yourself”. It was just because I was 2-5 meters away from the group.
There were so many things that happened like my nightmare on this trip. I only write a couple of them here. Once before entering a museum, I asked Lyuboslav if we should bring a bottle of water. He said “Did you hear me say to visit a museum”? He didn’t answer my question, only critics. He, as a tour guide, had no experience that we would need water if it's a long time there.
Without headphones for a group of 15 people, it made it difficult to hear some information in some places. Once we were in the line to cross the border, Lyuboslav announced something, which I missed. I told him “I didn’t hear what you said”. He yelled at me “if you were close, you would hear it. I will repeat it now”. And then he even lowered his voice to repeat it. Should I go to him to hear his announcement when I was standing in the line? Lyuboslav was deliberately making things difficult for me. He knew that I could not hear him repeat.
All right, I don’t need to write any more to complain about the tour guide Lyuboslav. He is the worst tour guide I have ever seen.
Sincerely,
Lily Zhao

Avoid Penguin Tours like the plague - their management is 100% about making money and absolutely inflexible - was not able to travel.
Offering tours is a side-line with them - it's money, money, money that motivates them

We took a Penguin tour to Iraq Kurdistan on September 22-28, 2024. We were well taken care of with our accommodations, food,schedules, sites seen, learning about the places and time allotted to enjoy the trip and get to mix and be friends with the locals. A special note of appreciation to our tour guide Nesi who made our trip more enjoyable. We had a very complicated problem and she handled it with professional efficiency with no wasted motion, maintaining her grace under fire. Such an asset to Penguin travel.

Penguin Travel is completely unreliable and useless!
The Yemen Trip in November 2024 was postponed twice: First the Itinerary was completely changed and then the travel days as well! There is no compensation for flight cancellations!

The tour was great. A lot of various experiences and cultures. You have to be prepared for the inconveniences when traveling in these kinds of countries, but it worth your time if you have passion for travel. Group was great and bonded pretty well with the help of our leader Biliana. She was flexible, handled issues, scheduled lunches and diners to keep group together, and was a great company herself.

I had an amazing time on this tour! Thanks to the wonderful group and phenomenal guide Georgi! This trip is so worth it for it's price, we covered so much in such a short time. Highly recommended! :)

Great quality guide (Georgi) made the trip. Well organised with every bus,car,coach,train,plane,visa and accommodation all worked well. Amazing value for money.

Just returned from my 3 week Stans trip with Penguin and I can't keep gushing over how wonderful an experience it was. Ive done a few tours previously and have travelled solo extensively but thought id try this conpany tour due to the countries involved (and the need for one to enter turkmenistan). Well, definitely glad i joined this one. Not only were all the sights stunning and my fellow travellers an absolute joy to be with, but this company made it as seamless, fun, educational as possible for all the sights and the inevitable difficulty one will have in these countries (language barriers, long bus drives etc) . There is so much value for money with this tour that it actually should be more expensive! Do yourself a favour and book with these guys! From booking the tour, easy communication throughout and the beautiful/efficient and kindhearted leader Biliana it was a travel experience I would repeat again and will definitely book with Penguin for another trip!

I just came back from a 21-day tour of the 5 Stans, my 3rd trip with Penguin tours. It is my go-to travel company. The Stans are fascinating countries (history, hikes, yurts, marble cities, burning gas craters, ancient sites, bazaars, unique landscapes, amazing food), and I highly recommend. With any long tour, be prepared for not everything going exactly as planned. But Penguin delivers value for money despite the hiccups along the way (e.g. six hour wait to cross the border into Turkmenistan). Loved every minute of it.

Afghanistan Tour 2024

This was my second tour with Penguin.
My local guide, Azim, made a female solo traveler feel safe and well taken care of throughout the tour. We were a very diverse group and he accommodated our group’s needs and interests so well. His professionalism was exemplary. Thank you for the organization in such a difficult environment. The extra effort put into each detail of the tour did not go unnoticed. In addition, he was also so flexible with our schedule. It made a big difference. Thank you for the memorable experience. I will carry it with me always.

Когато се отправям към някое местенце от света, проучвам дестинацията, но не и хората, с които ще ме срещне тя. С "Пингуин" пътуват пътешественици от цял сват. Това безспорно обогатява създаването на преживяванията и тяхното симпатично споделяне.
"Пингуин" имат готовност чрез екипа си(в частност Боряна и Неси) и качествата им да реагират на всяко предвидено събитие и появило се форсмажорно такова, придвид времето и ситуациите в районна.

Багажът ми придружава намеренията.

За Ирак са нужни малко багаж, пари и за нещо непредвидено, толерантност и голяма желание да посетите страната. Защото е много вероятно да се сбъдне още една мечта

Not the best company to engage for self-guided walks...

This was my second experience with Penguin Travel in 2 years and I loved it again. I did a trip in 2023 and now this one to the Caucasus. I liked the size of the group,14. Our tour guide was very helpful all the way from booking to the end of the trip! He was a pleasant tour guide who always did his best to fulfil all of our requests and handled problems that came up along the way. He had a smile for everyone and made us all feel comfy. The tour stops on the way were interesting to me, however, some people thought too many monasteries. Food was great. Hotels mostly good, one not so nice for me. Good value for the money overall. I loved the trip and would recommend it to others. Loved the mix of the 3 capitals and also the out of the cities locations. You got an impression of daily life and also a peek into each countries' cultural heritage. This is what a short trip like this is all about. I am sure I will try another trip with Penguin again in the not so distant future.

Got amazing service from Frank in original Pinguin Las Vegas in Miracle mile shops
Frank was really helpfull and very sympatic

The clothes and perfumes is super cool
Clothes is really Nice quality

Penguin delivered what the brochure said. Our 14 day tour of 8 Balkans countries offered a concise view of 8 distinct places. We encountered various cultures, historical places, traditional foods, and modern experiences. We had enough guided tours and enough free time to climb to fortresses and museums. Andrey proved an excellent guide with just enough commentary. He treated tour participants, tour guides, hotel staff, and everyone we encountered with respect. Boby is a true professional driver. Hotels as advertised, three star, although we stayed at a few 4 star. Hotels were close to city centers, safe, and clean.

Generally a good experience. Horses were healthy, fit and happy. Nice scenery, mainly woods, meadows and remote villages. Helpful and pleasant guide Lubo. About six hours a day in saddle. Plenty of opportunities to canter. Accommodation and food okay.

It’s been a week since I came back from Balkan Kaleidoscope Tour. 14 days…longest group tour I experienced so far. I’ve been wanting to explore more of the Balkans and looking at other group tour companies, I opted for Penguin for fair reviews online and for, I think, being one with original itineraries. I would like to thank our tour guide Biliana for guiding us all the way and ensuring our group pass through safely in the borders. Biliana is passionate about the Balkans and is very approachable when you have queries. I would also like to thank our driver Chicho Bobbi for the smooth drive and keeping us safe and sound on the road. I’ve learned so much about the Balkan countries in this tour. Most times I get emotional with the stories. But it’s not all war and bloodshed…this trip offered me a lot of good sights, food experiences, and new perspectives. I liked the closeness of our group in particular. We got along pretty well and there was no major issue I could think off. I highly recommend Balkan Kaleidoscope…not just for ticking the list…it’s an experience of a lifetime.