How was your Explore Tour Leader?

The leader, Katja, had a lot of information about the sites and could speak both Russian & Ukrainian.

What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?

Try the Lonely Planet walking tour of Kiev and Lviv.

Do you have anything else to add?

The best hotel will be the one in Odessa when they have finished working on the lifts.

Big, unexpected highlight was chance to visit Chernobyl. Get there quick before more of the site is removed! Many other unexpected highlights such as the submarine pens and the small private museum to the Crimean war in Balaclava. Even staying in the 1400 room hotel in Yalta was fun and interesting for people watching. We had a great cohesive group of 13 lead by Stu Blackburn, a new guide who was warm and liked by us all. We were let down by some local guides and Sputnik reps, especially in Kiev, whose english was quite hard to understand and who couldn't answer questions 'outside the box'.  Usually I am in favour of local tour leaders but not in this case. Neither their english nor their personalities are ready for the challenge. The best local guides were the 2 ladies, both over 60, who could share a little of their life history with us. The tour would have benefited from providing Stu with more local history and knowledge. (RKC- 8th August)