Jules Verne Reviews 

Our Guide, GianLuca, was excellent; very knowledgeable and thoughtful, interesting and interested. However, as always on continental Europe 4* in terms of hotels equates to 3* over here.

This was a very enjoyable, cultural trip travelling from Braga in the north to Lisbon further south. We had an excellent guide Pedro, who was with us for the entire week guiding our small group of 11 around palaces, convents and churches. The 3 pousadas were great places to stay and they all served an excellent breakfast. If I had a criticism, there wasn't enough admissions into historic places that we only viewed externally - but otherwise i highly recommend this tour.

Relaxed, well-organised tour giving a snapshot of central Portugal. The accommodation was excellent although the advice to book half board was unnecessary due to the close availability of local restaurants in all but the first hotel. There were a lot of long stairways inside buildings, many without handrails, which proved challenging at times.
Our thanks to Pedro, our guide, who did an outstanding job despite a number of problems with the buses and national strike!

This was a full on tour of some of the classical cities in Central Spain. We were fortunate to have an excellent tour manager. The City Guide in Madrid was not up to an acceptable standard.
The three hotels were excellent. I recommend the tour to anyone who wants to visit these cities

We recently returned from the Silk Road Explorer. It was a pretty full on trip for 25 days, but that was necessary to fit everything in. Four of the guides were fabulous: helpful, proactive, knowledgeable, friendly and interesting. The fifth one in Tajikistan was, I understand, on his first guiding trip. He failed to follow part of the itinerary and didn’t sort out meals or impart any information unless asked directly. The hotels were either 5* or the very best the areas had to offer. The food was surprisingly good for me as I don’t eat meat or dairy, but there was an enormous amount at every meal! The team at VJV were also really helpful and friendly, sorting out an issue we had with visas for Tajikistan. Great trip all in all.

Overall, an extremely enjoyable trip which was sadly spoilt by the extremely poor quality of the guide selected for us in Tajikistan. Little or no interaction, evening meals un-booked, and a general lack of interest tarnished the trip.

My friend and I have been on wonderful jules Verne holidays, but this just wasn’t the one for us. It was too big and there were only about ten English speaking guests. The boat could not be faulted and the crew were friendly and helpful, although when the taxi taking us back to the airport on our return was very delayed, nobody seemed to know what to do about it. The food was good and we were put on a table with other English speakers who were great company. Our problem was with the huge groups of passengers going on the organised excursions by coach. The English speaking guides varied in quality. The excursion to Bratislava castle was interesting as we arrived after a coach journey to be told that both the castle and gardens were closed.

Good guide, nice person too, and good local guides.
Too small a group (4) to be comfortable (literally: minibus, long walks from car parks, guide acting as both driver and commentator - missed out on latter) and psychologically (a bit too close for comfort), Too much driving along uninteresting motorways or routes but excellent choice of venues. Beautiful seaside landscapes (when one got to them). First hotel (Pamplona) excellent, professional staff, but stay there should have been shorter in favour of another location closer to eventual venues; second hotel much past its best with poor staff training but ideally situated.

Our tour of Puglia was excellent, made all the better having a fantastic guide in Lucia. She was very knowledgeable and great fun to be with, she really made the trip a great experience.
We had a small group all of whom were excellent company.
Lecce, Matera and Alberobello were fascinating places to visit especially seeing the Sassi in Matera and Trulli Alberollo.
I can thoroughly recommend this tour.

I’ve been travelling through Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 and Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬 for 11 days with a small group tour organised by Jules Verne.
I must say that these two countries are absolutely amazing and incredibly beautiful. The people are very kind and friendly, and the food is also very good 👍
It’s not overly touristy, and I hope it stays that way.
The accommodation was good overall. Some places were quite basic, while others were very comfortable, but I enjoyed every place we stayed.
During the trip, I took part in many activities such as horse riding, hiking, and archery 🏹, and I enjoyed them all so much. It was a truly meaningful experience.
I would definitely recommend visiting these countries if you are interested in exploring somewhere unique and less crowded.
The guides from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were excellent. They both had deep and extensive knowledge of history, culture, religion, traditions, and local food. I was truly amazed by their professionalism. They were also very kind and communicated clearly in English.
The trip also reminded me of my secondary school days in Japan. We learned a great deal about Central Asia, the Great Silk Road, Genghis Khan, and the famous Japanese Buddhist monk who travelled across the Silk Road to India to obtain Buddhist scriptures and bring them back to Japan.
I can’t even imagine how difficult that journey must have been. He had to face bandits, wild animals, and extreme heat along the Silk Road. He travelled with three strong guards who protected him throughout the journey.
I still remember those stories vividly. It felt as if the history I had learned long ago suddenly came to life right in front of my eyes. I was deeply overwhelmed.
Overall, this trip was a wonderful and meaningful experience, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to discover a different part of the world with joy and curiosity.

Of course the treasures of Sicily spoke for themselves but it really was an excellent tour. My first praise is for Beate our guide. Her talks were in line with first year at uni she was so knowledgeable and made it so interesting one could never switch off! She was sensitive too to the needs of the group. The other praise is for the hotels J V always find. The best was in Teormina. A lovely Sicilian villa high up in the hills above Teormina with amazing views to Etna. I have had many holidays with JV over the years and was so pleased to find that they are as good as ever. Many thanks.

The Uzbekistan highlights trip was efficiently organised and the tour leader, Viktorya, went above and beyond to meet the group’s needs. She was thoughtful, helpful, very energetic and knowledgeable of the history, customs and culture of the major Silk Roads cities. In short, I felt that the tour met the criteria set out in the VJV brochure. The historical sites were spellbinding and the markets and souks colourful and enticing. I had a lovely time and, being a lone traveller, was heartened that dinners were taken together with the group.

The hotels were all fine and the bathroom facilities (the most important factor in my view) good quality. I particularly liked the Devon Begi hotel in Bukhara, which is small and characterful and fits with the local cultural style.

The tour guided walks around the major sites were detailed and full of interesting stories and anecdotes. However, these walks were often very demanding of the group. We were sometimes wandering for 3/4 hours and, although we were supplied with plenty of water, many people in the group felt it would have been appropriate to stop for a half our or so for a rest, plus tea or coffee. I took the VJV Tunisia tour last October 2025 and also felt that, although it was an excellent trip, the group needed a coffee/tea rest when walking around Tunis or Sousse.

To return to my recent Uzbekistan trip, my other caveat would be that the dinners were somewhat sparse in content eg at one restaurant : salad, soup and one kebab skewer. In contrast to this, our Pilov dinner with a local family in Samarqand, was plentiful and delicious with lots of luscious fruits, nuts and sweets as extras.

Overall, I had a marvellous seven days. I’ve been travelling with VJV since the late 1990s and have done a couple of river trips, plus visits to Prague, Hungary, Jordan, Oman and, more recently, a Tunisia tour. I hope to do more VJV in 2027.

Good selection of gardens to visit with knowledgeable guides (Julia and Daniela)
Excellent breakfast at hotel but dinner was overpriced and disappointing. The hotel would have been grand once.
Pity about the weather - but that can't be helped.

The hotel and staff were fantastic. I upgraded to a lake view and it was well worth it .
Although the tour guide was lovely she was looking after 2 tours and i felt the gardens tour were her priority. As a single person , i would have appreciated an occasional check in that I was Ok

It was an enjoyable and very interesting Tour visiting historical sites and passing through variable landscapes from the sea to the desert.

although a bit late to review, im still recovering from a wonderful experience in india, and will certainly return. we were a small group and Kulip our companion and guide was most attentive and helpful to us all. yes as other people say its long days and lots of travelling, but it makes you realise how big India actually is. travelling in both a luxury minibus and then individual cars, was a very interesting way of watching the world go by, and although everything was fascinating, its was easy to shut your eyes for a few minutes, then when you opened them more incredible things to see. as a suggestion, on our last night in New Dehli, we arrived late at the train station and made our way to a very nice and luxurious hotel, which due to the late hour we were unable to enjoy as we had to catch flights early next morning, perhaps one nearer the airport may have been easier and more restful? once again congratulations to Kuldeep and Jules Verne for a very memorable experience. here's to the next adventure with Jules Verne

Our trip to India's golden triangle and Shimla was extremely well organised with helpful, efficient, and friendly guides (in particular Chandra for the main part of the tour and Raol for transport arrangements in between). All the travelling worked out perfectly and our minibus and driver was very comfortable and carefully driven. There was only one negative and thst was the hotel in Agra, The Tajview, which didn't compare favourable to all the other hotels. It was claimed to be 5 star but I think 3 star is a fairer rating. The rooms were tired looking, food mediocre and staff not of the same calibre as the other hotels used. The only plus point was the nice pool. Sadly, that did affect our experience in Agra and was disappointing. All the other hotels used were exceptional and Shimla was amazing.

Such wonderful architecture to enjoy everywhere. The tile work in turquoise, dark blue and yellow is exquisite. Such a welcoming country. Just one comment re the otherwise perfect arrangements … it was unfortunate that our Samarkand hotel was changed without notice for one that was a long distance from the main centre.

Excellent guide in Fariq who was knowledgeable, attentive and resourceful and ensured both that the trip went very smoothly and that we were all well looked after for the whole of the trip. The local guides were also excellent, especially in Bukhara.
Only real criticisms: the hotel in Samarkand (Dilimah) was some way from the centre and main sights. Also, would have like a bit more time to see Tashkent although appreciate that for logistical reasons this might not have been possible.

We went on the 600 mile Nile Cruise which started on 6th April, 2026 and what a fantastic experience that was. The boat, MS Darakum, was lovely and I cannot praise all the staff enough. They were so efficient but also friendly and helpful. The boat was spotless and the food plentiful and varied. My special thanks to the chef who made me a surprise birthday cake. It was delicious. This cruise is the ultimate in Nile cruises as we sailed all the way from Aswan to Cairo and were treated to seeing so many sites that other cruises do not go to. My biggest shout out is for Mohammed, our Egyptologist and guide for the whole trip. He was absolutely superb. We learned so much about ancient Egypt from him and he explained everything in such a way that it was comprehensible, interesting and enjoyable. He is also a wonderful person and he made the trip for us. Thank you, Mohammed.