About Us

Great Explorations Tours is owned and operated by the husband and wife team of Brian and Michelle McNichols, who manage all aspects of each and every tour from their home in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. The company was formed in 2009, but we have been organizing trips since 2001. We have successfully arranged trips to Ireland, Italy, France, Germany, England, Wales, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, and more.

We love to travel. That is what makes us the perfect choice for your vacation. When you go with us, it's like going with an experienced friend. Someone you are familiar with that can show you the sights while helping you avoid the pitfalls that can come with travel.

At Great Explorations Tours we are extremely hands-on in our approach to the tours we run. We personally arrange every aspect of the tour and we personally respond to every email and phone call we receive. We also act as your group's tour guide during your trip. We are exceptionally knowledgeable about all of our destinations from both personal experiences and copious amounts of research. We are constantly studying locations and speaking to all of our local contacts to stay up-to-date on everything that you need to know.

What follows below is a brief overview of our company and what we believe is the right way to travel. If you care to know even more about us you can read co-owner Brian McNichols' travel blog by clicking here. Beware though, Brian loves to talk about travel, so there's a lot on there.

Our Travel Beliefs

There are a few things that we at Great Explorations Tours feel help define our travel style. These items are simply our thoughts on the way we prefer to travel and you may or may not agree. We also believe in choice and freedom while traveling, so wherever we can we give you the option of doing your own thing instead of what we've planned for the group.

1) Well Located Hotels - All of our Great Explorations Tours vacations utilize hotels that must meet our high standards for cleanliness and service, but as the saying goes; location, location, location. Wherever possible, we will always choose a hotel that is within the central area of anyplace we are touring. This does not mean that we will select a sub-standard hotel, simply that we want you to have the option of exploring on your own without having to take a cab or train to get to an area of interest.

2) Immerse Yourself in Local Culture - At Great Explorations Tours we do our best to show you every aspect of any location, but there is no better way to understand a new place than to find the people that live there. That is why we encourage you to try a small, out of the way restaurant or to find a pub and start a conversation with the bartender. You'll find that they are friendly, helpful, and just as interested in you as you are in them. Your guides will always help you find such places if you would like and you may even see your guides there too.

3) Walking Tours - We love walking tours at Great Explorations Tours because we feel that is a vastly superior way to see any city or town. Walking gives you the chance to really absorb your environment and notice some of the little things that you wouldn't see from a bus. In just about every city we visit we offer a walking tour of the city's center, which is usally quite compact anyway. Of course we also understand that walking is not for everyone so we do our best to offer riding alternatives where we can, but if you are willing and able we strongly encourage you to take to your feet with us.

4) Take Your Time - This is perhaps the most important of our beliefs. At times traveling can feel like a workout because you're constantly on the move, trying to squeeze in as much as possible. While we do our best at Great Explorations Tours to see all the major sights, we also schedule plenty of free time so that you can slow down and relax. Sometimes the most memorable part of a vacation is the time you spend in a quaint little restaurant or a sidewalk cafe just watching and enjoying.

What Makes Us the Best Choice

At Great Explorations Tours we strongly feel that we offer a better travel experience than any other escorted tour company. Here are some of the reasons why it's better to travel with us:

The Personal Touch

Here at Great Explorations Tours we run all of our tours personally. Unfortunately that means that we don't have as many tours as some other companies, but that also means that from booking to traveling you are dealing with the same friendly people. This allows you to feel comfortable with us and allows us to get to know you and to customize our tours based on your wishes and ideas. Participating in each tour also allows us to address any issues that may arise during the tour or adjust the tour should there be a need to.

You also don't have to worry about the quality of the tour or the guides when you travel with Great Explorations Tours; we plan each tour individually and act as our own guides on all of our tours. We are experienced travelers and will share our knowledge of locations, history, culture, and customs with you as we travel together. On other tours you are assigned a guide that may be inexperienced (or worse). With Great Explorations Tours you always know your guide and I'm sure you'll agree that it's the best way to travel. You'll feel like you're on vacation with a friend (who just happens to know a whole lot about the places you're traveling to).

No Excess Tips - No Excess Pressure

On other tours, you're expected to tip your guide, driver, tour director, and others after you've paid for the tour. At Great Explorations Tours we don't think that's fair. Our quoted price includes all your tips* for your driver and guides. We organize your vacation so you can relax, and we don't think being asked to shell out extra cash is particularly relaxing.

We will also never try to sell anything to you that you may not want. We may offer optional activities that are of interest to some, but we will never pressure you to buy, and we will not try to sell you any such items during your tour. We wouldn't want to be pressured on our vacation either.

*If you decide to take a tour that is not included in the itinerary or any other such things outside the scope of the purchased tour, you will be responsible for any necessary tips.

Freedom and the Help to Attain It

We try to build every tour so that it includes a fair amount of free time. We feel that encourages you to explore and allows you to see things that may not be included as part of the main tour. To help you on your way, Great Explorations Tours supplies you at the outset of the tour with a folder of useful information that includes things such as street maps, attraction info, restaurants, pubs, and information on public transportation (the folders are different for each tour, so please contact us if you would like specifics).

If exploring on your own is not your ideal situation have no fear, we will gladly help you in any way if there is something specific you would like to see or do. At Great Explorations Tours, we consider ourselves true guides. We guide your trip so it is a perfect fit for you. We don't want to control every aspect of your tour and force every traveler to do the same things every second of every day. We feel that this makes for a more pleasurable and more memorable experience, and we're sure you'll agree.

Unequaled Customer Service

Great Explorations Tours wants to make your vacation as enjoyable and worry-free as possible. That includes doing everything we can to assist you in preparing for your trip. Simply contact us to ask any questions, share any concerns, or find help scheduling anything.

Some of the things we can help you with include: Finding and purchasing airline tickets, instructions on how to obtain a passport, assistance with airport procedures, clarification on any scheduled tour events, information and help with finding and scheduling anything you wish to do apart from the group while on the tour, and more. Just contact us and ask and Great Explorations Tours will be there for you.

Help Us by Taking Our Very Short Survey

If you have a few moments, we at Great Explorations Tours would greatly appreciate you taking a very brief (5 question) survey after you've browsed our site. Please click here to take the survey (which will open in a new window). If you prefer to browse the site first, clicking the big banner at the top of any page will bring you back to this page. We thank you for your assistance in making our tours and our site better.