Penguin Travel Reviews 204

We went on the Lure of Central America, starting 26th March. Angelina and the local guide Eli went out of their way to make sure that everything went smoothly and the tour was interesting and enjoyable. We also enjoyed the company of our diverse group.

I was really pleased to travel through these three relatively unknown countries. 8 of us on the tour plus Penguin guide and local guides and drivers.
I have to say it started off in Guyana in a disappointing way in that we were unable to get to Kaieteur Falls - mechanical problem and bad weather. We had been warned this could happen but we were all obviously hoping it wouldn’t. I’m sure if we’d got to the falls, I would have given 5 stars.
The rest of the trip was great. Suriname and Paramaribo are super places to visit, including a turtle watching trip - optional extra.
French Guiana was great too. Space Centre tour at Kourou and day trip by catamaran to the ‘Papillon’ islands.
Pre tour organisation was excellent as were our Penguin guide Andre and local guides.
There were some very early starts but luckily nobody in the group kept others waiting.
Accommodation was of a good standard - I particularly liked the hotel Palacio in Paramaribo, and our minibuses weren’t cramped or uncomfortable. I also liked the river crossings between the various countries, a much more local experience overall.
Included on itineraries now must be ‘I love ………..’ signs!

Our tour to Guyana, Suriname and French Guyana have mixed review . If I can divide each country I will rate Guyana 3 stars . Its not because we didn't see the kaieteur falls ( weather and mechanical problem)but theres no option B if the flight is cancelled. We wasted quite a lot of time waiting for the flight that never happen. We ended up doing a rushed city tour because coordinating transport was another problem . Im glad we did the optional bird watching tour which made the trip in that country better. Guyana Local guide was very unorganized. Suriname and French Guinea are both 5 stars . It was pack full of interesting activities and I love every minute of it . Robin on Suriname is such a great local guide. Very organize , very caring and very flexible . Andre who is our tour leader with 3 countries was excellent he is like the glue in between countries that made everything easier . Victoria even if she was not there physically made all the arrangement pre, during and post tour at ease . Shes always there answering our questions. This 3 countries are great places to see and Penguin did a good job making it very interesting. We have seen turtles while laying eggs without disturbing her, seen many birds during our boat tour , saw some pink dolphins, tour the space center in French Guiana which is super interesting and they have English speaking guide now .

Our Penguin trip to the Maldives exceeded our expectations. It was truly a great value. The staff were friendly and helpful, the food was healthy and plentiful, and the daily excursions were great fun. We highly recommend the Garaafu experience.

Trip’s organization was extremely disappointing - long distance journeys were on inadequate local buses which broke down twice - tour leader was often in bitter disagreement with local guides and participants. Arriving in Gondar for Timket celebration we were found with no hotel booking. For most of the trip we were on our own to figure out our agenda and deal with inadequate communication.

A very interesting tour with both cultural and natural highlights. Saw a lot of wildlife, especially birds. But also a quite busy tour due to the distances between the highlights and of course the fact being in Africa - No stress!

I loved this tour. The itinerary was well designed, although a day more in Gambia would be nice. The transportation was very good. Hotels were reasonable. The only bad thing was the local guide who abandoned the group near the end of the tour without explanations. He was very incompetent.

The first half of the trip went as planned. However, we missed the Chimpanzee sanctuary in Cameroon due to flight rescheduled , 4-hr boat trip from Bangui to Singa was replaced with a long car ride as the local guide claimed that he was never paid for it (just for the van ride) hmmm. Also at Mbaiki we never met any Baka pigmies as they were in the forest. Also lost a day and a half of excursions in CAR due to VOA formalities which took place at the local city immigration office instead of at the airport on arrival. The Penguin tour leader was very unprofessional and only looked out for herself and her comfort . She was also very argumentative and got into confrontations with the local guides and lacked communication skills.

The trip to Gabon and Congo was interesting and pleasant in all ways,a nice balance between hectic and fulfilling outdoor experiences,culture and some time to digest it all. Tour leader Aristide ,lokal guides and drivers made all a wonderful job.

A varied trip and a lot of good experiences. I liked the use of different forms of transport train, boat and bus. The trip was full,12 customers plus 2 guides, which distracted at wildlife viewing.

Totally recommend! We had a magic experience with Sanna as a planner and Johnson as a guide. We felt so safe and was able to swim with dolphins in a very respectful manner. So happy with our experience!

In December 2025 I returned from "South Sudan - Land of the Cattle Herders", my 4th tour with Penguin Travel. Firstly a big hand to Viki (Victoria Andreeva): She did a great job - reliable and also with speedy answers to all my questions. Thank you very much, Viki!
And now for the tour: It`s important to know that things move at a different pace there, as they do almost everywhere in Africa. If we say we`re leaving at 8 a.m., it can easily turn into 10 a.m. because of a lot of regulations and necessary permits. Knowing that makes everything much more understandable and enjoyable. And I knew that before and enjoyed the trip!
Our hotels were really good, the Sudd is impressive, but the absolute highlights are the Dinka and Mundari tribes: a phantastic atmosphere, unforgettable impressions and moments - you will not find that again in the world! Highly recommended - go visiting them!

Passed over to Axa to do a claim
Declined claim for not saying I had a fatty liver 9 years ago
Listed 9 other medical conditions I currently have and paid top back premium
Don't trust these

I travelled through the Guianas with Penguin Travel. The Customer office (especially Victoria) was efficient, responsive and genuinely helpful throughout the booking process, during the trip and afterwards.

I found the tour very well organised without feeling rigid or rushed. There was plenty of time to explore independently, which made the experience feel relaxed rather than over-structured.

The itinerary was refreshingly off the tourist trail with long stretches surrounded by the jungle and nature instead of crowds. Decent hotels too. I’d happily recommend Penguin Travel for anyone wanting to feel supported on a tour that’s really competitively priced; and strikes a good balance between guided experiences and having enough time to pursue your own interests—especially in a region as wild and fascinating as the Guianas.

I have just returned from the Penguin tour to Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. Overall, I had an excellent time, especially meeting the local guides and other travellers on the tour. It was so interesting visiting these countries, which I have heard about but never visited before. We had a good mix of history and cities, and nature and wildlife. Accommodation and transport were organised and although the journeys between countries were long, I felt safe and looked after. Communication from the Penguin office was helpful coming up to the trip to prepare for the documentation and packing, etc. My only complaint would be that our tour leader was very absent, barely introduced himself and didn't really make an effort to get to know the group nor bring people together.

This tour company is best avoided. There were indications of how unprofessional they would be when I booked the tour but what came after was seriously ridiculous and unacceptable. At time of booking I think I dealt with about three different people in their Bulgaria office, it took several emails to get them to issue an accurate invoice. After paying for the tour I didn't receive any communication so after several days I contacted Penguin via Facebook. The person who messaged asked me 'what did I expect?' And 'didn't I read on their website that vouchers would be issued 10 to 14 days before departure '. Big red flag here, this company has been operating for 35 years and can't be bothered to send an automated email of confirmation to customers at time of payment. I've never dealt with a tour company that doesn't do this. It's nothing short of incompetence and ignorance to treat customers like this. Unfortunately things deteriorated when I arrived in Oman. I was given an itinerary by my airport driver that was not only written in German but was not identical to what Penguin advertised on their website or voucher, meals and activities were not included. So the fun started even before the tour did because I had to email various people to determine what exactly was going on and to confirm that the company would honour the tour as advertised. The tour was outsourced to a local company called Magic Arabia who thought it appropriate to join customers who had booked through Penguin and customers who had booked their itinerary (significantly cheaper and with less inclusions), so it was a week long struggle of insisting that the inclusions I paid for were given to me. A week that should have been a relaxing week in Oman turned into a week long battle of arguments and insisting the tour was carried out as per what I had paid for. This is not my idea of a holiday. In addition the tour guide decided to loose interest on the second last day, wanting to cut our schedule short on the last day and being rude to the point where I insisted on speaking to his manager, again, not something I particularly care to do when I'm on holiday. It was my first and last tour with Penguin. They are appalling. Choose other reputable and professional tour companies, there are plenty out there. In Oman don't bother doing a tour, hire a car and do your own thing. The government encourages short tours to the same places that will not give you an impression of the country. Overall this ended up being the worst tour I've ever done and a waste of time and money. Penguin should not be allowed to operate. I emailed Penguin advising them of my disappointment, as expected no reply. Yes, that's how much they care about their customers. Typical Bulgarian customer service standards when they advertise themselves as a Danish company. There is nothing Danish about this lacklustre company.

Georgi was a caring and considerate tour leader of our recent Saudi Arabia tour. He was very keen to assist all passengers in any way possible to ensure that we had the best possible tour.

He was a good communicator and kept us informed each day of the itinerary both verbally and via WhatsApp.

Accommodation was of very good standard although not located in the CBD which is standard a lot of tours these days.

I had a fantastic trip to Ghana, Togo and Benin with Ivaylo. Program was interesting, but a little bit too packed. Long days in a bus and we were changing places almost every day. Our guide was amazing. He sorted out all the problems and took good care of all participants.
The communication between the office was poor. I had several unanswered questions, even mandatory when applying for the visa. This might be due to a lack of personnel. Still I think I'll use them again.

I combined the Ghana, Togo and Benin tour with the Ivory Coast tour. Penguin were really helpful in putting up the tour on their website for the dates I wanted to do to see if more people wanted to join to make it more cost effective for me. The Ivory Coast tour was not particularly busy and could have been condensed into 2 to 3 days rather than 5. By contrast, the Ghana, Togo and Benin tour was very packed. Transport was good and comfortable and our local guides, Alex, was very helpful and informative. The itinerary was varied and interesting. Ivaylo, the Penguin tour leader, was inclusive, informative and dealt well with issues that arose during the tour. Where Penguin could improve is with their communication. At one point I had to wait a month for a response. Visa details were difficult to obtain which resulted in multiple emails. Penguin could save this irritation and anxiety for customers by providing all required information upfront. This is my third trip with Penguin and I would use them again as the tours are cost effective and good, once you are able to obtain the visas and get on the tour. I would hesitate to use Penguin for a tour which required a challenging visa, however and would go with other companies I use who provide all information at least one month in advance and who provide more detailed and transparent information regarding the itinerary, activities and costs. There was a hotel change on the last night which had not been communicated and caused issues for those who had booked an extra night at the hotel listed in the voucher. Ivaylo spent a considerable amount of time trying to sort this issue, which could have been avoided with better communication. Overall a great trip with a fantastic group.

the organisation of many different activities , different transport means,and often in contact with locals.The accommodation choice was great and diversified and the participants from different countries made it an unforgettable trip.