Where Adventure Holidays Begin

My second exodus trip in portugal and once again the food (especially the picnics) was exceptional. Not quite enough cycling to burn off all the calories from the pasteis de natas and other delicious pastries/cakes! The scenery on this trip was the best I have experienced on an exodus trip – on other trips I’ve found some great scenery interspersed with longer stretches on roads with nondescript views, on the porto to lisbon trip it was multiple stunning beach/cliff views with forest, boardwalk, bays and quaint villages. Hotels were generally of very good quality (worth the superior comfort level advertised). The start hotel was changed to the Hotel Vila Gale which was OK but could do with a refurb of the rooms (doesn’t look as good as the planned hotel neya).

Philip Murray Porto to Lisbon Atlantic Ride

This was the best vacation we’ve ever had. There were four things that made this vacation absolutely outstanding:
First: the location- between the Northern lights and the snowy forest and river landscapes, this place is heaven on earth.
Second: the guides- Janne and Lars made this a really special trip. It’s clear that they love their jobs and their location. Lars makes all of the bread fresh daily and his kitchen staff is so talented. All of the food was delicious. Janne is such a great outdoorsman (Janne was our main guide for the trip)- it was so neat hearing of all of the training experiences he’s had. They were both so knowledgable about all of the wildlife in the area.
Third: the activities. The activities were so great! The snowshoeing and cross-country skiing was challenging and fun. I loved them both, and I even had time to improve my new skiing skills over the trip (my husband wants to continue in our winters at home!). Then the dog-sledding, reindeer-sleighing and learning about the Sami culture and visiting with a Sami reindeer herder were once-in-a-lifetime experiences. They were amazing, and I will never forget them.
Finally, the fourth thing that made this trip fabulous was: the group. I wonder if Exodus just calls to people who you really want to spend time with. We loved the entire group, and they made this vacation amazing. They were supportive in all of our falling-down efforts, no one felt they had to outdo anyone else, and our evenings of downtime while we chased the Northern lights were all so much fun! We’ll definitely book with Exodus again!

Jennifer Klein Arctic Circle Aurora Adventure

Surprisingly beautiful, challenging and hospitable.

Cynthia Zabin Cycle Kerala & Tropical India

Spending a few days in Belize (Caye Caulker specifically) before the tour began allowed time to rest after the flights as well as time to acclimatize to the heat and humidity. Before this trip, Belize was a place on the map where I had never been. By the end of the trip, I came away with the feeling that “Belize was now in my blood and would always have a very special place in my heart”. Every day and every place was absolutely alive with new learning opportunities. I would say this trip is very good value for money and would highly recommend.

Cynthia (Cindy) Brown Belize Reef & Ruins

Interesting ,fun, scary, exhausting, dirty, heart warming

Cynthia Zabin Cycling Through Rajasthan

Trip completed in Jan-Feb 2025. This was my first time in India. The cycling was excellent (one day with 900m elevation riding to Kumbhalgarh but otherwise actually easier in terms of elevation/distance than on other grade 3 trips I’ve been on). Cycling in the cities is somewhat of an adrenaline sport which was great fun! The Taj Majal, Udaipur and Jodhpur Fort were all excellent. The food is exceptionally good. The bus was the most comfortable exodus trip bus I’ve ever been on and made the longer journeys a pleasure. I enjoyed the experience of the overnight train journey.

The Shree Ram hotel, Kumbhalgarh Forest Retreat and Sariska Safari Lodge I found to be very good and enjoyed staying there. The room in Ashok Country Resort was somewhat damp/musty. With the swimming pool closed there isn’t much to do there and, other than the airport, there’s nothing nearby. Food there was good. Bathrooms in the vesta mayura palace and udai villas were dirty. A night club next to the vesta mayua pumps out window shaking music until around midnight. This holiday is really cheap for two weeks – I know I can’t expect too much of a three star hotel in India but I’d rather have paid a bit more and had a nicer cleaner hotel at every stop.

Philip Murray Cycling Through Rajasthan

My second exodus trip in portugal and once again the food (especially the picnics) was exceptional. Not quite enough cycling to burn off all the calories from the pasteis de natas and other delicious pastries/cakes! The scenery on this trip was the best I have experienced on an exodus trip – on other trips I’ve found some great scenery interspersed with longer stretches on roads with nondescript views, on the porto to lisbon trip it was multiple stunning beach/cliff views with forest, boardwalk, bays and quaint villages. Hotels were generally of very good quality (worth the superior comfort level advertised). The start hotel was changed to the Hotel Vila Gale which was OK but could do with a refurb of the rooms (doesn’t look as good as the planned hotel neya).

Philip Murray Porto to Lisbon Atlantic Ride

This was the best vacation we’ve ever had. There were four things that made this vacation absolutely outstanding:
First: the location- between the Northern lights and the snowy forest and river landscapes, this place is heaven on earth.
Second: the guides- Janne and Lars made this a really special trip. It’s clear that they love their jobs and their location. Lars makes all of the bread fresh daily and his kitchen staff is so talented. All of the food was delicious. Janne is such a great outdoorsman (Janne was our main guide for the trip)- it was so neat hearing of all of the training experiences he’s had. They were both so knowledgable about all of the wildlife in the area.
Third: the activities. The activities were so great! The snowshoeing and cross-country skiing was challenging and fun. I loved them both, and I even had time to improve my new skiing skills over the trip (my husband wants to continue in our winters at home!). Then the dog-sledding, reindeer-sleighing and learning about the Sami culture and visiting with a Sami reindeer herder were once-in-a-lifetime experiences. They were amazing, and I will never forget them.
Finally, the fourth thing that made this trip fabulous was: the group. I wonder if Exodus just calls to people who you really want to spend time with. We loved the entire group, and they made this vacation amazing. They were supportive in all of our falling-down efforts, no one felt they had to outdo anyone else, and our evenings of downtime while we chased the Northern lights were all so much fun! We’ll definitely book with Exodus again!

Jennifer Klein Arctic Circle Aurora Adventure

Surprisingly beautiful, challenging and hospitable.

Cynthia Zabin Cycle Kerala & Tropical India

Spending a few days in Belize (Caye Caulker specifically) before the tour began allowed time to rest after the flights as well as time to acclimatize to the heat and humidity. Before this trip, Belize was a place on the map where I had never been. By the end of the trip, I came away with the feeling that “Belize was now in my blood and would always have a very special place in my heart”. Every day and every place was absolutely alive with new learning opportunities. I would say this trip is very good value for money and would highly recommend.

Cynthia (Cindy) Brown Belize Reef & Ruins

Interesting ,fun, scary, exhausting, dirty, heart warming

Cynthia Zabin Cycling Through Rajasthan

Trip completed in Jan-Feb 2025. This was my first time in India. The cycling was excellent (one day with 900m elevation riding to Kumbhalgarh but otherwise actually easier in terms of elevation/distance than on other grade 3 trips I’ve been on). Cycling in the cities is somewhat of an adrenaline sport which was great fun! The Taj Majal, Udaipur and Jodhpur Fort were all excellent. The food is exceptionally good. The bus was the most comfortable exodus trip bus I’ve ever been on and made the longer journeys a pleasure. I enjoyed the experience of the overnight train journey.

The Shree Ram hotel, Kumbhalgarh Forest Retreat and Sariska Safari Lodge I found to be very good and enjoyed staying there. The room in Ashok Country Resort was somewhat damp/musty. With the swimming pool closed there isn’t much to do there and, other than the airport, there’s nothing nearby. Food there was good. Bathrooms in the vesta mayura palace and udai villas were dirty. A night club next to the vesta mayua pumps out window shaking music until around midnight. This holiday is really cheap for two weeks – I know I can’t expect too much of a three star hotel in India but I’d rather have paid a bit more and had a nicer cleaner hotel at every stop.

Philip Murray Cycling Through Rajasthan

My second exodus trip in portugal and once again the food (especially the picnics) was exceptional. Not quite enough cycling to burn off all the calories from the pasteis de natas and other delicious pastries/cakes! The scenery on this trip was the best I have experienced on an exodus trip – on other trips I’ve found some great scenery interspersed with longer stretches on roads with nondescript views, on the porto to lisbon trip it was multiple stunning beach/cliff views with forest, boardwalk, bays and quaint villages. Hotels were generally of very good quality (worth the superior comfort level advertised). The start hotel was changed to the Hotel Vila Gale which was OK but could do with a refurb of the rooms (doesn’t look as good as the planned hotel neya).

Philip Murray Porto to Lisbon Atlantic Ride

This was the best vacation we’ve ever had. There were four things that made this vacation absolutely outstanding:
First: the location- between the Northern lights and the snowy forest and river landscapes, this place is heaven on earth.
Second: the guides- Janne and Lars made this a really special trip. It’s clear that they love their jobs and their location. Lars makes all of the bread fresh daily and his kitchen staff is so talented. All of the food was delicious. Janne is such a great outdoorsman (Janne was our main guide for the trip)- it was so neat hearing of all of the training experiences he’s had. They were both so knowledgable about all of the wildlife in the area.
Third: the activities. The activities were so great! The snowshoeing and cross-country skiing was challenging and fun. I loved them both, and I even had time to improve my new skiing skills over the trip (my husband wants to continue in our winters at home!). Then the dog-sledding, reindeer-sleighing and learning about the Sami culture and visiting with a Sami reindeer herder were once-in-a-lifetime experiences. They were amazing, and I will never forget them.
Finally, the fourth thing that made this trip fabulous was: the group. I wonder if Exodus just calls to people who you really want to spend time with. We loved the entire group, and they made this vacation amazing. They were supportive in all of our falling-down efforts, no one felt they had to outdo anyone else, and our evenings of downtime while we chased the Northern lights were all so much fun! We’ll definitely book with Exodus again!

Jennifer Klein Arctic Circle Aurora Adventure

Surprisingly beautiful, challenging and hospitable.

Cynthia Zabin Cycle Kerala & Tropical India

Spending a few days in Belize (Caye Caulker specifically) before the tour began allowed time to rest after the flights as well as time to acclimatize to the heat and humidity. Before this trip, Belize was a place on the map where I had never been. By the end of the trip, I came away with the feeling that “Belize was now in my blood and would always have a very special place in my heart”. Every day and every place was absolutely alive with new learning opportunities. I would say this trip is very good value for money and would highly recommend.

Cynthia (Cindy) Brown Belize Reef & Ruins