Penguin TravelReviews 

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.

Recently travelled with Penguin on their Balkans kaleidoscope tour. 8 countries in 14 days. Despite a hectic pace it was very well organised and 100% met my expectations pre travel. The tour leader Bilyana was brilliant as was our driver Bobbi.

Penguin were a new company to me, having traveled with some of the more well known tour companies previously, but I would definitely recommend them and personally use them again.

Just finished Penguins 10 day tour of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. I went with them after a successful 5 Stans trip last year.
The company is reliable and delivers what it says.
I find very little to complain about and a lot to be grateful for. The accommodation is fine; the guides generally top notch; the itineraries are a good balance of natural wonders, cultural and historical sites and there is plenty of opportunity to get out and mix with people over food and drink.
Penguin are my goto travel company.

Super fun Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan trip with Pinguin. Well run with good itinerary, and excellent guide in Dimitar. Highly recommend Pinguin!

Excellent program—it's perfectly balanced, comprehensive without being overwhelming. Fantastic guide!
Highly recommended!

The 4 stars instead of 5 are because unfortunately we couldn't spot the bears, who were our target. But that's the nature and the area is huge.
The landscape is fantastic, the rives, mountains, the nature leaves you speechless!

"Best of Bulgaria" was nicely laid out and a good review of the country. The tour delivered what it promised. Our 7-person group got along well, and our guide had a deep passion for Bulgarian history. Overall very educational.

5/5 for the Caucasus trip in apr/may 2024. Everything was well planned and executed.

Excellent tour. My highlight of the tour is Sarajevo, Mostar, Ohrid and more places. I like the itinerary very chill knowing its a group tour. Not rushing at all. Thank you to Bobby out driver for keeping us safe back in Sofia. And also Thank you to our Tour Leader Georgi very accommodating, helpful and always there when needed. Very much recommended tour. Thank you to Penguin Travel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great trip thru the Guyana's. No way I could have done it on my own. Thank you for everything penguin. Great price and Andre was the perfect guide.

Algeria is an underrated travel destination. It's not very touristy but it's a must see country if you are a fan of ancient culture as it has a lot of Roman ruins. The ancient cities of Djemila, Tipaza and Timgad are amazing and I would say it rivals other well known places in Europe. Although we were only 2 tourists, the tour was well organised and our local guide was amazing.
The only downside was that the trip was organised during Ramadan and most of the places are closed during the day. Nevertheless, it was a good trip and I would recommend others to visit as well.

Everything was well organized from the very start. Knowledgeable staff/tour operator in Algeria. Trip/rates approved even though only very small group (we were only 2). Amazing company so far, will definitely book future group tours with Penguin! Thanks so much.

A very interesting itinerary that takes in some fantastic archaeological sites. Well organised, friendly atmosphere, adherence to timetables and discovery of the sites of interest. Not much in the way of cultural explanations, so it's best to have read up on the Sumerians and Babylonians before the trip.

My first Penguin tour to Federal Iraq and I am on it. The registration process is patchy at best. The response time is delayed and I wasn’t informed that a letter to get the visa on arrival will cost 170 euros. (This is not the visa). I booked the tour 8 months in advance and I was told of this cost 1 month before departure - I couldn’t back out even if they allowed as I’ve booked flights then. The vehicle they use is borderline extremely uncomfortable. It was a 4x4 they added seats at the baggage area and squeezed 4tourists + guide + driver into this vehicle. It was very painful in the back during our first day at the city. I couldn’t imagine how this is for our long drives. It’s just day 2 and it is horrible. I’ve been with other tours such as Lupine and vehicle wasnt this cramped. We have these vehicles back home and we wouldn’t add that extra layer of chairs even for our helpers to sit! I couldn’t take photos at the back because the window was so small. It even has a sticker to block the already small window. . And the vehicle was so dirty! So all photos are brown and muddy. Trash inside the car . And dirt all over. When I pointed this out to the guide I was told that tomorrow is rainy so no need to wash car. But inside gotta clean? Also the day we arrived was sunny and it was like this vehicle wasn’t washed for a Week!This trip has been dreadful so far.

MELLOM KORANEN OG KHAT
Da Penguin Travel i 2023 lanserte en pionértur til nord-østlige Jemen, valgte vi å melde oss på denne 7 dager lange rundreisen, fra Salalah i Oman til Kairo - trass i at norsk UD frarådet alle reiser til landet, og etter hvert også i bevissthet om at det i vest pågikk en krig mellom den iranskstøttete houthimilitsen og vestlige land som grep til våpen for å skjerme egen skipstrafikk i Rødehavet.
Vi er glade for at vi lyttet mer til Penguin, representert ved Lyuben Sinadinski, enn til norsk UD. I en gruppe på 11 personer fra 5 ulike land følte vi oss helt trygge der vi i tre biler av god standard, assistert av diverse væpnete vakter, fikk oppleve en sunnimuslimsk stat som av FN er rangert som verdens minst likestilte land.
For naturen var fabelaktig - høge, rødlige, mektige fjell, vidstrakte ørkenlandskaper, enkelte grønne oaser.
Og arkitekturen i ulike (lands)byer - rett og slett fabelaktig med sine mange moskeer, palasser og tradisjonelle hus bygd av leire. Som i Shibam, grunnlagt i det 3. århundre, kalt "Ørkenens Manhattan" og på UNESCOs verdensarvliste siden 1982.
Dessuten var menneskene (les: mennene) vi møtte vennlige, gjestfrie, hjelpsomme. Men i spennet mellom fromme bønnerop, bulende khat-kinn og maskingevær over skuldrene minnet mennene oss stadig om at Jemen er et kvinnediskriminerende land. Ingen kvinner solgte varer på markedene, sto bak disken i butikkene, var synlige på hotellene hvor vi overnattet. Gikk kvinnene ut for å handle, var de alltid kledt i svart burka utstyrt med nikab som snaut lot en passerende (mann) skimte øynene deres.
Ellers var det ikke spesielt plagsomt for en ikke-muslim å bli påtvunget å bære en abaya underveis. Dette tradisjonelle klesplagget var luftig og behagelig å bære når temperaturen lå rundt 30 grader.
I tillegg må det nevnes at maten var enkel, men oftest velsmakende, at de fleste hotellene holdt grei standard, at vi ble invitert på en krevende, pittoresk fjelltur, og at vi opplevde heftig mannsdans til tonene av arabisk musikk.
Med andre ord: Enda en fascinerende, passe eksotisk Langtvekkistan-reise i regi av Penguin Travel.

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Considering this was a budget tour, the hotels, clean, comfortable rooms and bathrooms with good breakfasts.
As we were only a group of 4 we travelled by car with a guide/driver. Salman in Riyadh was exceptional.
What I appreciated most was the availability of Neis via WhatsApp or email. We had the odd hiccup which could be easily resolved. Great customer service.
If opting for the Bahrain extension and traveling across the border by road, its very easy to obtain the visa at the border and you can even pay with Saudi currency – which is widely accepted in Bahrain.
Tours in Bahrain are limited or quite costly, but we found it easy to get around to the places we wanted to see with Uber – efficient and reasonable prices. As I didn’t have global roaming I purchased an Esim in both of the countries – also simple and cheap.

I cannot believe that Penguin Travel are offering holidays to Russia - apart from it NOT being a safe place ( not even for Russians) the very idea after the Russian inversion of Ukraine & the murdering of innocent people destroying property & creating world financial turmoil… inflation/ refugees crisis across Europe / environmental damage - I could go on. Plus in the very week Alexei Navalny was murdered. Unbelievable … I will not travel with Penguin again until you remove this option from your website. Shame on you Penguin Travel.

I don't understand clearly but I think this application is helpful to earn money

I am very happy to have made my first trip with Penguin Travel. The price of the trip was very attractive compared to other similar providers. The itinerary which gave us just a few highlights in each country suited me, as I like to augment the experience with extra days on my own, before and after the tour dates.
I was pleased with the Penguin tour leader, Andrej, appreciating his casualness. I am someone who ingests the trip notes and does extra reading before any trip, so don't expect the leader to go over every detail again. One day when we arrived at a border, only to find it closed for the day, Andrej's relationship with the piroge owner saved the day and we had our passports stamped.

On the other hand, the Penguin office needs to attend to business. Are they short staffed or not adequately trained? My final voucher arrived only nine days before the tour and that was only SIX days before I left home on Nov 22. That was when I finally learned the names of the hotels, too late to book my extra nights, as by that time I had made bookings on my own. And that was when I finally learned that the transfer at the end of the tour would be organized by Penguin.

I want to take more Penguin tours, because I liked the first one, but timely administration by the Penguin office is essential! I often leave home many weeks before a tour begins and I do not carry any electronic device, so cannot be contacted. It is essential that all arrangements are completed and forwarded to my travel agent at least 30 days before I leave home.