Testimonials
Malcolm Michael A. - United States of America
"North Korea is a must-see for any Western traveler. It is a glimpse into a fascinating culture, and indeed into a society without any other on earth like it today.
The guides were extraordinarily warm and friendly, and the tour was extremely well organized. I was surprised at how much flexibility I was given in regards to the itinerary, and the sightseeing left me impressed and wanting to see more. The food and accommodations were both excellent, as well.
I was worried about traveling to North Korea as an American, but I never felt unsafe or even uncomfortable. The trip is a great value, as well.
Explore North Korea handles all the arrangements, and their representatives communicate everything very clearly to the clients. Everything on the trip went according to plan. I will be back for a second visit to North Korea, and I will definitely use Explore North Korea to make the arrangements."
The guides were extraordinarily warm and friendly, and the tour was extremely well organized. I was surprised at how much flexibility I was given in regards to the itinerary, and the sightseeing left me impressed and wanting to see more. The food and accommodations were both excellent, as well.
I was worried about traveling to North Korea as an American, but I never felt unsafe or even uncomfortable. The trip is a great value, as well.
Explore North Korea handles all the arrangements, and their representatives communicate everything very clearly to the clients. Everything on the trip went according to plan. I will be back for a second visit to North Korea, and I will definitely use Explore North Korea to make the arrangements."
Willy Gardiol - Torino, Italy
This trip has been very unique and special. Yes North Korea is a very very unique place!
And we didn't exactly knew what to expect, but we where nevertheless surprised at how good the organization was!
We also got to do some extra things and see some extra places during our stay in Pyongyang, and the train trip from/to Dangdong is by itself a must-do because its where you actually see the country and the people without the filter of the regime.
We managed to get in touch with some local jung people during a stop on the highway, this is something very difficult in North Korea, and we cannot complain about the guides: even if not officially, we where able to take most of the photos and videos we wanted, provided they did not see us. The guides where nice and chatting with them proved to be a very interesting experience.
Overall, we would recomend this trip over any other, specially over trips getting there by airplane or trips with big groups.
And we didn't exactly knew what to expect, but we where nevertheless surprised at how good the organization was!
We also got to do some extra things and see some extra places during our stay in Pyongyang, and the train trip from/to Dangdong is by itself a must-do because its where you actually see the country and the people without the filter of the regime.
We managed to get in touch with some local jung people during a stop on the highway, this is something very difficult in North Korea, and we cannot complain about the guides: even if not officially, we where able to take most of the photos and videos we wanted, provided they did not see us. The guides where nice and chatting with them proved to be a very interesting experience.
Overall, we would recomend this trip over any other, specially over trips getting there by airplane or trips with big groups.
Adrian Smith - Brigg, England
Travelling to the DPRK is an experience like no other, and one that no amount of research can prepare you for.
As a person who has been reading about North Korea for many years, particularly since its unfortunate branding by George Bush, I found that all the research I had done paled into insignificance when compared to the experience of travelling there.
The initial train ride is a real eye opener and really is a fast track introduction to North Korea. Regardless of its age, the train has a very warm, homely feel, and the guides made the ride all the more enjoyable by participating in games like hangman. It was even nice to sit with a few members of the train staff. Even if you speak a few words of Korean, they are still warm and friendly, even if they are a little shy at first.
The landscape is beautiful, particularly Mount Myohang which houses the international friendship exhibition centre. The centre has the feeling of a James Bond or a sci fi movie, a vast maze of rooms, marble flooring and bright lighting.
The Yangakdo hotel is excellent, well presented with some great restaurants, facilities, and ultra fast elevators. Warm and friendly restaurant staff who do their best to cater to you. I was even asked if I would prefer European breakfast, showing that they really will go out their way to please you.
All meals were very filling and you are provided with more than you can eat, and eating in a Pyongyang restaurant was a great experience. It even had the homely feel of some restaurants back home, but you can never forget that you抮e in North Korea.
The trip to the DMZ is a definite high point, and the soldiers are friendly. Just go with an open mind and listen to their take on the Korean War and you抣l have a great time.
Be prepared for plenty of time on the road, which is a wonderful feature. Just sit back and absorb as much of the country as you can. It抯 a unique experience to go along roads with such few traffic and see such beautiful lakes and mountains.
One thing pleasant surprise was been able to load up my camera with photos. The only time my guides restricted photography was on the train. It is always worth asking the guides before photographing, but I found myself asking permission much more than necessary. They are much more liberal than you would assume.
The guides were great. They enjoy talking with you, and my English speaking guide was keen to learn about England, and appreciated my interest in North Korea.
Just go with an open mind and no preconceived notions, as no amount of research can prepare oneself for the experience of North Korea. An incredible tour and warmly recommended.
As a person who has been reading about North Korea for many years, particularly since its unfortunate branding by George Bush, I found that all the research I had done paled into insignificance when compared to the experience of travelling there.
The initial train ride is a real eye opener and really is a fast track introduction to North Korea. Regardless of its age, the train has a very warm, homely feel, and the guides made the ride all the more enjoyable by participating in games like hangman. It was even nice to sit with a few members of the train staff. Even if you speak a few words of Korean, they are still warm and friendly, even if they are a little shy at first.
The landscape is beautiful, particularly Mount Myohang which houses the international friendship exhibition centre. The centre has the feeling of a James Bond or a sci fi movie, a vast maze of rooms, marble flooring and bright lighting.
The Yangakdo hotel is excellent, well presented with some great restaurants, facilities, and ultra fast elevators. Warm and friendly restaurant staff who do their best to cater to you. I was even asked if I would prefer European breakfast, showing that they really will go out their way to please you.
All meals were very filling and you are provided with more than you can eat, and eating in a Pyongyang restaurant was a great experience. It even had the homely feel of some restaurants back home, but you can never forget that you抮e in North Korea.
The trip to the DMZ is a definite high point, and the soldiers are friendly. Just go with an open mind and listen to their take on the Korean War and you抣l have a great time.
Be prepared for plenty of time on the road, which is a wonderful feature. Just sit back and absorb as much of the country as you can. It抯 a unique experience to go along roads with such few traffic and see such beautiful lakes and mountains.
One thing pleasant surprise was been able to load up my camera with photos. The only time my guides restricted photography was on the train. It is always worth asking the guides before photographing, but I found myself asking permission much more than necessary. They are much more liberal than you would assume.
The guides were great. They enjoy talking with you, and my English speaking guide was keen to learn about England, and appreciated my interest in North Korea.
Just go with an open mind and no preconceived notions, as no amount of research can prepare oneself for the experience of North Korea. An incredible tour and warmly recommended.
Sarianna Mankki - Helsinki, Finland
In spring 2010, I travelled to Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea with Explore North Korea Tour group. Explore North Korea offers comparably cheaper tours to DPRK that cost almost half of what other agencies ask. So it is good worth for your money.
We spent altogether three days in DPRK where we five westerners travelled with a Chinese tourist group. Travelling with Chinese tourists, we weren't watched or restricted as much as we might have been if we had travelled with a western group. Although travelling with Chinese, you can also have an English speaking guide. We also got to see the "real" North Korean countryside outside Pyongyang or other cities while driving through the country. In three days we saw more places than oI might imagine on any other tour. Transportation, meals, hotel etc. were also excellently arranged.
Whatever is your reason or justification to travel to DPRK, Explore North Korea is the best option for you.
We spent altogether three days in DPRK where we five westerners travelled with a Chinese tourist group. Travelling with Chinese tourists, we weren't watched or restricted as much as we might have been if we had travelled with a western group. Although travelling with Chinese, you can also have an English speaking guide. We also got to see the "real" North Korean countryside outside Pyongyang or other cities while driving through the country. In three days we saw more places than oI might imagine on any other tour. Transportation, meals, hotel etc. were also excellently arranged.
Whatever is your reason or justification to travel to DPRK, Explore North Korea is the best option for you.
Frank Hörmann - Berlin, Germany
I have been to North Korea with "Explore North Korea" and enjoyed the tour very much. Sabrina Wang has been very helpful in organising the tour, answering my numerous e-mails in a courteous and quickly manner. She also assisted in travel arrangements to and from the departure city, Dandong.
a. You will be part of a Chinese travel group. In the end we were 3 travellers from Germany, 2 from the UK, 1 from Australia and only 1 Chinese. One of the tour guides was speaking excellent English, the other one only Korean and Chinese.
b. Our programme was loaded with sights and I was satisfied with the prefab programme: Pyongyang train station, Kim Il Sung statue, Yanggakdo Hotel, Fountain Park, Military Museum, Palace of the Youth, some Buddhist temples, Kaesong and the Demiltarized Zone with 38th parallel North, the Arirang games (which were an extra 800 RMB. Although this price seems to be very steep, you should go and see the games when you are in Pyongyang in August/September as it is a once-in a lifetime experience), the famous Metro ride and more.
c. The 4 day tour is actually a 2day+ tour. You arrive by train in Pyongyang in the evening (though the 5 hour train ride is also quite worthwile). Day 2 and 3 are packed with sightseeing (see above) on Day 4 you will see some more sights in Pyongyang before leaving by train at about 11 am.I can recommend Explore NK as it is the cheapest way to get into the country while being able to see the most important sites in a packed itinerary.
a. You will be part of a Chinese travel group. In the end we were 3 travellers from Germany, 2 from the UK, 1 from Australia and only 1 Chinese. One of the tour guides was speaking excellent English, the other one only Korean and Chinese.
b. Our programme was loaded with sights and I was satisfied with the prefab programme: Pyongyang train station, Kim Il Sung statue, Yanggakdo Hotel, Fountain Park, Military Museum, Palace of the Youth, some Buddhist temples, Kaesong and the Demiltarized Zone with 38th parallel North, the Arirang games (which were an extra 800 RMB. Although this price seems to be very steep, you should go and see the games when you are in Pyongyang in August/September as it is a once-in a lifetime experience), the famous Metro ride and more.
c. The 4 day tour is actually a 2day+ tour. You arrive by train in Pyongyang in the evening (though the 5 hour train ride is also quite worthwile). Day 2 and 3 are packed with sightseeing (see above) on Day 4 you will see some more sights in Pyongyang before leaving by train at about 11 am.I can recommend Explore NK as it is the cheapest way to get into the country while being able to see the most important sites in a packed itinerary.
Ralf Kreuze-Netherlands, Dutch
Hi, my name is Ralf Kreuze and I went on a tour to North Korea recently. Lets start with the percieved difficulties on actually getting a visa for North Korea. It is true that if you would apply for one as an individual without the help of an agent you would probably have a very hard time getting one. This is where a tour agency comes in. To travel North Korea you need to book a tour with an agency approved by the North Korean government.
So how do you go about finding such an agency? It is quite simple really, you can just search for one on the internet. You will be directed to several agencies and can find one that you feel suits you.
Which agency should I choose? Having looked at several options I went for Explore North Korea. Why? There were two good reasons for this, first it is the cheapest option out there, and as a backpacker this is very important. But equally important is the fact that with Explore North Korea you don't fly into the country or fly out of it, but take a train which makes for a far more interesting experience in my opinion. Flying into North Korea is all very fine (and expensive) but you miss out on a big chunk of the country, and you miss actually being able to come in close contact with the local population. You are after all in a train with them, even if you can't hold a conversation with them, you will be able to see what is going on in your carriage as well as on the platforms and on the stations you pass. If you fly in you will basically be picked up by a bus at the airport and dropped at your hotel, after this you will be bussed around the country and you opportunities to interact more closely with the locals will be more or less impossible. So taking the above to aspects into consideration I would highly recommend Explore North Korea.
Is it easy to apply for a tour with them? Yes, they have a website where you can directly apply for a tour of you liking. Just follow the steps mentioned on the online application form.They are eager to help and you will get a reply from them as soon as you have applied. If you have questions about the application form, just shoot them a mail and a response will be given fast and efficiently. You will never have to see the inside of an embassy or worry about the paperwork involved. It is all taken care of. Applying for a tour couldn't be made more easy.
Is it safe travelling in North Korea? Crime doesn't exist in North Korea so in that respect it is a very safe country. Add to that that you are always accompanied by a guide and you don't have to be afraid of anything. But there are some rules which you need to follow. North Korea isn't a normal destination and you will be entering the most reclusive country in the world. There will be severe restrictions placed upon you. You have to follow the instructions of the guides to the letter, there is no wandering off anywhere, you should not talk about politics or the regime. You should not critisize in any way the regime, no matter how you might feel about them. You can't take photo's at random, your guide will tell you when you are allowed to take a photo. You will be asked to do some things which you might find morally objectionable, like bowing to the statue of the Eternal President. I know as a European that having to bow to anybody isn't something we do, and having to bow to what we consider to be the statue of a tyrant doesn't come easy. But rest assured, it won't take more than a second and you needn't fold yourself up to your knees. A small inclination of the body will suffice. Just try not to think about it and get it over with. All of the above rules and regulations are also mentioned on the website of Explore North Korea and they will hand you a folder as well telling you what you can and cannot do before you start the tour.
Was it easy to keep my mouth shut and not talk about what I saw while I was in North Korea? Truthfully, no it wasn't, but luckily you are not alone. Since this is a group tour you will be able to talk to your fellow foreign tourists and vent whatever frustrations or opinions you might have to them. Just keep your voices low and try to speak so your guides can't hear you. They very likely know how we feel about their countries government, but they don't want to hear your opinion about it. Talk with your fellow travellers all you like in your room or in the restaurant at the other end of the table, or in the back of the bus. Just don't do it in front of the guides.
How was the tour? Is Explore North Korea a professionel and well organized tour operator? The tour was good, and the North Korean guides were nice and experienced. Explore North Korea are a great agency who help you all the way through, and answer any questions you might have. Again I can only say positive things about them and I would urge anybody interested in a trip to North Korea to contact them.
I would like to end this note with a big thanks to the team of Explore North Korea for giving me this experience.
Ralf Kreuze, The Netherlands
