Reviews

Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It’s the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you’re interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.

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21 Reviews

3.9 out of 5

Penny Houghton

Reviewed November 2018

Morocco

Interesting trip.

[Had spent a week in Marrakesh 10 years ago and loved it; this time found it disappointing]

Most Inspirational Moment

Camel ride into the desert and night in the camp. Otherwise: Chefchaoen - this was not on the itinerary, but was able to visit it before as I spent 4 days in Tangier before the trip and then took the train to Casablanca (20 Euros First class, highly recommended). Would recommend looking into the possibility of including Tangier and, in particular, Chefchaoen on the itinerary.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent

Advice for Potential Travellers

Late October should count as a "winter" departure. We were all very glad that we had packed a few warm clothes and should probably have packed more of them.

Joseph Harper

Reviewed October 2018

The best holiday ever.

Basically travelling around for two weeks having a look at almost everything Morocco has to offer. No two days are the same. No two places are the same. The only constants I found was how friendly the locals are and mint tea!

Most Inspirational Moment

It's between the sand dunes in the Sahara Desert and the High Atlas mountains. Both have to be seen to be believed and the skies were absolutely amazing after the sun went down.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Youseff was really helpful and just an all round great guy. Also the driver Mustafa, literally nothing was too much trouble for him.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The travelling times on the trip notes. Double them.

Rosemarie Pridmore

Reviewed June 2018

Great trip but some journeys too long

A good trip covering a vast area gave us a good experience of the country.

Most Inspirational Moment

Each area had something different, ,enjoyed the desert . also the Atlas Mountains, only problem we had was the distances somedays 8 to 10 hours in total travelling ,too much, not only for us but the driver & guide.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very good.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for a couple of really long days.

Diana Schooling

Reviewed April 2018

Enlightening Tour of Morocco!

Thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of the trip. Thought it was well organised.

Most Inspirational Moment

Riding through the dunes on a camel! Staying in Kasbah Oliver and exploring the village and community in the Atlas

Thoughts on Group Leader

Mohammed is a brilliant guide. He is very well informed, imparts his knowledge effectively and with enthusiasm and is always happy to explain anything whether to do with the culture or the practical arrangements of the trip. His commitment to us travellers was evident, all details were carefully planned and executed and it is plain that for Mohammed being a guide is more than a job. Overall he gave us a wide perspective and understanding of the people and culture of his country and we travellers have all come back enriched as a result.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If travelling in the Spring, make sure to bring warm clothes for the desert and, just in case, elsewhere!

Patricia Golding

Reviewed April 2018

Highlights of Morocco

This trip did what it said – we saw the highlights of Morocco from city to coast to mountain and desert. It was amazingly varied, balancing time in cities and countryside, and illustrating Morocco’s vibrant history, culture and people. I certainly came back with a real feeling for the place and people and a greater understanding of an apparently happily functioning Islamic country.

Most Inspirational Moment

I particularly enjoyed the stay at the mountain gite because it was very peaceful, there was no wifi, and all you could hear was the the wind in the trees, the river in the distance and the occasional bray of a donkey. At night the stars were wonderful and the walks were lovely. Best of all was our interaction with the local people there although admittedly it was rather limited. But if you have some French you can make contact.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was Mohamed. He was excellent - he took care of everything with no fuss and had it all at his fingertips. He was calm, fun, and informative, patient and caring. He had a wide knowledge of the country and we learnt a great deal from him.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a mattress! Even though we were on the premium tour, the mattresses seemed incredibly hard. Depends on what you like I suppose, but I found them pretty uncomfortable with a few exceptions. Take a portable basin plug, wet wipes and a torch. The loos were fine pretty well everywhere we went - at hotels and on the road. Don't assume it's going to be hot if you are travelling in the spring. Take clothes for all seasons. There are a couple of long journeys. I didn't mind the longest, to the Sahara, but the one towards the end, from the mountain to the coast, got me down. I guess I'd had enough travelling by then. I think we all felt the same way.

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Patricia for her feedback. We were pleased to read that she had an enjoyable trip overall but we are very sorry that she found the back row of seats in the vehicle to be uncomfortable. We appreciate that with a full group, the back row may have felt rather tight, but it is considered that a more compact vehicle allows access to a greater variety of roads and trails, is more environmentally friendly and enables the trip to be as competitively priced as possible. We are, however, looking at the possibility of allocating one of the new 20-seat vehicles that our local operator’s vehicle supplier has recently acquired, which we trust will improve comfort for our clients. Tom Harari – Product Manager for Morocco

Maurice Millen

Reviewed April 2018

Fantastic trip through incredibly varied parts of Morocco

This really is an incredible trip across Morocco. We got to see not just the cities, the history and the landscapes but a huge slice of Moroccan life as well. We covered an awful lot of ground but everywhere we went there had clearly been an enormous amount of background organisation to make everything run smoothly. We had numerous guides at all the sites we visited, who were all very knowledgeable and good at communicating their enthusiasm. We also stopped at numerous other smaller places such as an Argan oil factory, a pottery and even a huge solar power plant! The architecture, and the atmosphere, of the towns and cities is amazing and the variation in the scenery across the trip is extraordinary. We also got to meet, and chat to, enormous numbers of Moroccans who were all delightful and had a great sense of humour. This really was a panoramic journey through an extraordinary country.

Most Inspirational Moment

Coming down the west side of the Atlas mountains we came through a massive area of blossom and spring flowers which was quite sensational - particularly after coming from the dry and sandy Saharan side of the mountains.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had a fantastic group of people, the sheer scale and breadth of what we covered was extraordinary, but the third element that made this holiday so good was our group leader, Mohamed. He remained both laid-back and very organised. He was incredibly enthusiastic about Morocco but not reluctant to mention the country's issues . He has fantastic English, was very witty and was extremely solicitous about everyone's well-being. He really was a great guide and the trip wouldn't have been half as good without his enormous hard work in making it a success. Also worth mentioning we had a fantastic driver.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The weather varies enormously on this trip so you need to bring clothes for every season. I did have my umbrella up against the rain in the Sahara at one point! Also, bear in mind Morocco is effectively a dry country even though they do produce their own wines and beer.

Debra Turner

Reviewed March 2018

Good and bad

Enjoyed the places we went to see and the activities planned. Great group of people’. This was my first trip with Exodus so had no idea of expectations. I thought the hotels were a bit lacking for a premium package, however, not having any idea what hotels were like in Morocco, I had no high expectations. I enjoyed the riads as I did feel like I was experiencing the country and how they lived. What I didn’t enjoy was staying at a riad in the High Atlas Mountains with no heat. We were very fortunate that it didn’t rain on our hike to the riad as we would have had no way of getting dry or warming up. It was very uncomfortable to have to go right to bed after eating as we could not be in our rooms unless we were under multiple layers of blankets to keep warm. Showering was impossible as it was too cold.

Most Inspirational Moment

I enjoyed the local guides but didn't enjoy the pressure of being taken to places where you felt like you had to buy something.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rabia was knowledgeable but not engaging at all. Did not sit with us or interact very well. I found myself asking stupid questions just to engage him

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Debra for her review, although we sincerely regret that some of the properties on this tour fell below her expectations and that she was disappointed with her tour’s leadership. We use client and staff feedback to review each property and if any concerns are raised by clients throughout the year, these will be addressed and dealt with accordingly. We have also shared her comments with Rabiaa and we have asked the local manager to discuss with him how he can continue to improve his local knowledge and language skills for future trips.

Tom Harari – Product Manager

Teresa Lipson

Reviewed March 2018

Disappointing holiday with potential to be so much better

If there were a category between Fair and Good I would have ticked that one. I was on the same trip as Steve Winfield and concur with pretty much everything he said. Apart from the guide (ssee below) another disappointing matter for a trip called Premium was the variability of the accommodation. From a delightful (but cold) riad in Meknes and a lovely one in Essaouira to a rather sterile (and cold) hotel in Fez and a really miserable and dirty one in Marrakech. The latter was probably the biggest disappointment as I had hoped to stay, at the end of the trip and the hundreds of miles covered, in one of the many lovely riads in the city or at least a hotel that justified the Premium label. We ended up in this ghastly hotel , on a busy noisy road (my room was right on it), a lousy breakfast and unhelpful and rude staff (who denied that the wifi didnt work in some of the rooms when some of us were clearly experiencing the opposite).
I am sounding negative because I had hoped better of Exodus but I would not recommend this holiday as it was delivered to us.

Most Inspirational Moment

Riding the camel through the desert ...the beautiful Secret Garden... the wonderful guide at Todra

Thoughts on Group Leader

It is extremely telling that the review of the same trip taken in November is much more positive than our experience and that their guide was described as excellent and fun. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for ours and this set the tone of things. I think we all had a good time but this was despite him. He was very efficient on the organizational side so we could travel with no worries about luggage etc but he gave the minimum of information and the kind of cultural and historical background that most travellers seek when visiting a country as rich and varied as Morocco and rarely interacted with us at mealtimes. The information he did give was, as Steve indicates, invariably incorrect as regards timings, temperatures and what to expect on a day by day basis. Briefings were ad hoc - no regular times and opportunities missed to impart details in the coach with a microphone to hand. His English was competent but halting and this was in total contrast to the excellent local guides who were engaging and amusing and interesting. Our young guide in the Todra Gorge, for example, spoke excellent and highly adaptable English learnt from subtitles on TV ! Minimum education but a great love for his area and a desire to impart everything he knew. T

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you dont like to be cold dont go to Morocco before mid March. This is a fascinating country that pays your attention and the local people , particularly in the country and desert are delightful. Find out who your group leader will be and where you will be staying. However, Exodus was not at all forthcoming with the latter information. Oh.. and avoid the hammam in the mountains..... a few of us women had a less than enjoyable experience. Give the money to support the villagers some other way.

Reply from Exodus

We were very sorry to hear that Teresa was disappointed with aspects of her tour’s leadership and that this impacted on her enjoyment of the holiday. Rabiaa has been working as a tour leader for 6 years in Morocco and we have received positive feedback about him from his previous Exodus trip. Teresa and Steve’s comments have been shared with Rabiaa and we have asked the local manager to discuss with him how he can continue to improve his local knowledge and language skills for future trips.

Tom Harari – Product Manager

Steve winfield

Reviewed March 2018

an experience but quite tiring

What you get to see and do is quite an incredible variation: one minute in the hustle and bustle of cities – old and new – next in the snow on mountains, then in the desert and next on the coast! Through all of this you get to experience what Morocco is in terms of a modernising African country but you also get to see that it is not all modern ‘1st world’ living, it hasn’t forgotten or left its past; for me the latter was why I came on this trip.

Even for a premium trip some hotels etc and their locations weren’t great; generally cold, damp and you weren’t exactly encourage to explore the local areas at times.

The trip downtime all but vanished and this left us with very prescriptive days which wasn’t what I expected or wanted. Add to this the very uncomfortable bus seats and you’re left feeling very drained and stiff at the end of most days, but also feeling that you’d not been able to make the most of what you visited. Sometimes you want to get lost in a city to explore it, not jolly around on a ‘follow the brolly’ excursion; for me that’s not an adventure.

Our biggest disappointment was the food. Due to the hotel locations or how your guide presents restaurants there is very little variation beyond beef (or is it goat) / chicken tagines, kebabs and salads. And despite the myriad of spices and herbs in the markets most meals were really very bland.

Overall it was quite an experience and I’m glad I’ve done it.

Most Inspirational Moment

By quite a distance the time in the desert, it is amazing. We had a little bit of time whilst at our auberge to explore the nearby dunes getting a taster of what was to come, but the trip on the camels into proper desert environments and spending the night out in the desert I would happily do again tomorrow. Seeing the wonderful changes of colour as the sun dips down across the dunes, watching the shadows grow and the landscape change is magical.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable but at times quite aloof and trip timing seemed to come from a different time zone - 8 hours journeys were 11 hours+.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I would suggest that the rating of leisurely is compared to other tours they do. Whereas we found it ok some didn't; don't expect just gentle inclines or less and for winter tours bring proper walking shoes - trainers won't be good enough. At the back end of Feb early Mar it is a pain knowing what to pack. During the day in the desert it was mid 20's at night though around freezing. Cities at the start were just into double figures but Riads and hotels a little chilly, not so bad if you can get the a/c blowing warm air though.

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Steve for his review, although we sincerely regret that some of the properties on this tour fell below his expectations and that he did not enjoy the food in Morocco. We use client and staff feedback to review each property and if any concerns are raised by clients throughout the year, these will be addressed and dealt with accordingly. We are pleased that Steve overall had an interesting experience; however we have taken both his and Teresa’s (please see above) feedback on board and will make any necessary changes.

Tom Harari – Product Manager

Susan Hall

Reviewed November 2017

Moroccan Highlights Solo Travel

Highly recommend this trip. A really varied trip showing the best that Morocco has to offer. Marrakech is very manic and a bit ‘in your face’ but thanks to an excellent tour leader and local guide the group were able to find our way to such hidden gems as the Majorelle Gardens (Yves St Laurent’s former gardens) and the ‘Secret’ Garden. The trip up to the Atlas Mountains and stay in Douar Samra was nothing short of magical, I got to stay in the Tree House while others stayed in the very unusual and individual rooms in the house or annex. Meals were a delight thanks to the marvellous cooking of Rashida the resident cook and the atmospheric use of candles (there is no electricity in the main house) and traditional low level seating and tables. Your luggage is transported the final distance by donkey and there are also ducks and all vegetables are grown in the Douar’s vegetable garden. Fabulous views and sunsets and great walking in the mountains. However the gem is absolutely Essaouira. I had never heard of this place before but it is the most delightful and fascinating seaside town. Again great orientation tour from local guide Rashida and plenty of time to enjoy the shopping, sweeping sandy beach, bars, restaurants and busy exciting fishing harbour. Our leader, Abdul, was very informative and accommodating and great fun. Morocco is well worth a visit and I will be back!

Most Inspirational Moment

The walking in the mountains and stay in the Douar Samra. Seeing disadvantaged youngsters being trained to do delicate silver work in Essaouria and having an elderly artisan in woodwork explain all about his 'boites magique' in a backstreet workshop without any pressure to buy.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Abdul was great fun, very informative and accommodating. He obviously loves his home country and is enthusiastic about its history and culture.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The walking is not really what I would call 'leisurely', although it is all perfectly manageable so long as you are reasonably fit, have the right equipment and are used to walking in mountain areas. Walking poles are a good idea and proper walking boots essential. You need to fill in forms for both arrival and departure and be prepared for long waits at Marrakech airport getting through Passport control. Money is easily changed at the airport and offers a much better rate than can be obtained in the UK. Take sweets or something like bubbles to entertain the local children in the mountain areas.

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