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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127 Reviews

4.6 out of 5

michael o'leary

Reviewed April 2016

Trekking the Great Wall

Fantastic mixture of walking and cultural insights into Chinese culture and history

Most Inspirational Moment

Loads!!!! But watching the sun come up on the Great Wall was pretty special. Also, loved the early morning visit to the Temple of Heaven park in Beijing.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Dennis was fantastic - was great to have a Chinese guide with to provide such informed insights into China- past and present. Also helped that Dennis had a great sense of humour and nothing was too much tropuble.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Food was variable and some accommodation was a little nippy at night. But no real complaints as came prepared and the trip was excellent value for money.

Susannah Ewart-James

Reviewed November 2015

Walking the Great Wall

Fantastic trip – well organised, excellent itinerary and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The walking is pretty tough with hundreds of steps, but the amazing views are worth it. It’s hard to appreciate the scale of the wall until you see it stretching out for miles in every direction. The accommodation was better than I’d expected, as was the food. Sadly, I tore a ligament halfway though, which put me out of action for the rest of the trip, but based on the days I did do, I’d recommend this holiday to anyone.

Most Inspirational Moment

Watching the sun set over the mountains on the first day, and looking down into the valley to see how far we’d climbed. The almost vertical ’spiderman wall' was a bit daunting at first, but I really enjoyed it.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jerry was fantastic – funny, sociable and professional. When I hurt my foot and couldn't walk, he literally carried me down off the hill! After that, he did his best to include me in other parts of the trip as much as possible (e.g. asking his friend to drive me to the bottom of the wall so I could take pictures). Jerry and the rest of the group, who were all brilliant and really fun, made a big difference in salvaging what could have been a frustrating few days for me.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring snacks – breakfasts weren’t always that substantial and there was sometimes a long time till lunch, so I definitely needed a mid-morning chocolate bar. And take warm clothes for the evening as it was freezing once the sun went down.

Bruce Macdonald

Reviewed November 2015

Bucket List Must

The Great Wall Walk/Trek organised by Exodus was a great experience. The tour leader (Jerry) must be congratulated on his professionalism – he never missed a thing (even carried a lady down the Wall after she had either broken or sprained an ankle). Accommodation was better than I expected in the villages we had to stay in. The Food was always fresh and there was plenty of it (mostly vegetables though but still tasty).
The magnitude of the Great Wall is overpowering. Must say that for anyone who intends attempting the Walk then I suggest you have a reasonable level of fitness if you are over 50 years of age – the steps (numerous) at times are taxing. Strongly recommend Exodus if you intend “shopping”the net for companies who run similar ädventures”>

Most Inspirational Moment

Looking back , realising what we had achieved at the end of each day and thinking that for an "old fart", 66 years of age and overweight that I still could tick stuff off the bucket list

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jerry was the best tour leader I have ever encountered in all the years of trekking/hiking throughout the world. You could always see that he double checking things in his mind. From early morning to late at night , he was always there to ensure all was OK He is a great asset to Exodus.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you take stocks with you (particularly if you have knee or hip problems) - they really help on negotiating the steps. Take a small, lightweight camera with you - it is a pain have to drag good camera gear out of your backpack every time you want to take a snapshot.

Marilyn Turner

Reviewed November 2015

Walking the Great Wall

Approximately five days walking up to and atop the Great Wall of China, largely in sections that are closed to the general public. The walking is sometimes challenging and the conditions, unique (e.g., hundreds of steps, often narrow or with high risers; steeply sloped stone paths, like staircases without stairs; ladder access) but the scenery at the top is awe-inspiring. In addition, there is a tour of historical sites in Beijing plus a visit to the East Qing Tombs. While the add-on to Xian focuses on the terracotta warriors, it also offers the chance to see another different city quite different from Beijing.

Most Inspirational Moment

Being on top of the wall in quite solitary places and getting a sense of the level of engineering, foresight, and work that went into its construction. It's a wonder, yes, but I hadn't expected it to be so beautiful.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Kevin is a brilliant group leader: focused, fit, friendly, intelligent, knowledgeable, caring, humorous and fun. Not only is he highly skilled at his work, but he's a super multi-tasker willing to take on any job to make our visit easier. He served tables, made us tea and even sorted out the plumbing. The four of us who went onto Xian couldn't have found our way around the rail station in Beijing without Kevin's help. Plus he makes a point about being transparent about how our tip money is spent. Exodus and its clients are lucky to have him!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be aware that a certain level of fitness is required for this holiday. Several of our group were daunted by the steps, the heights, and the ladders. The ability to manage steep paths is essential. Take warm clothes if you go in October, as the nights can be cool (2 C) and the homestays are neither well heated nor insulated. Wear layers. Always carry toilet paper with you.

Malin Arvidsson

Reviewed October 2015

Great way to see a great wall!

This trek is a great way to get an impression of this magnificent wall. We only touched a tiny part of it and yet it felt like we’d seen a big part. All sections looked slightly different, some restored like you usually see in the pictures and some looked more like forest paths as there was so much growth and so little wall left. The pace was good, not too slow, not too fast, and we had plenty of free time to chill out and socialize at the end of each day. The food was excellent!

Most Inspirational Moment

I think the first day of seeing the wall was the most impressive! And the first few days we all kept taking tons of photos of it because it just looked amazing. I think it wasn't until the last day that I slowed down taking pictures.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader, Jerry, was full of energy, cheerful and friendly and he shared great knowledge about the wall, what it was used for (way more than just a defense like I thought), history and life in China in general.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you don't want to be surrounded by too many people, don't go in golden week as all Chinese people are on holiday then and even the parts of the wall that are usually quiet were quite busy. But at the same time, the weather is perfect at that time of the year as it's not too hot and it's doesn't rain much. I can imagine walking on some of the slopes being quite dangerous if it's very wet.

Scott Graham

Reviewed October 2015

walking the great wall, china

Fantastic, group tour, guide (jerry was such a nice guy and nothing was to much trouble for him) , food, weather and the organising from start to finish was superb.

Most Inspirational Moment

seeing the wall fro the first time and climbing the crouching tiger

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jerry was fantastic from when we meet till we left nothing was to much trouble and he was always on hand to help.

Advice for Potential Travellers

pack a warm jacket, fleece as at night it did get cold.

Anne Barker

Reviewed October 2015

China - Walking the Great wall plus Xian extension

The trip was well organised and was as described in trip notes. Any changes to itinerary were made by the group leader and as for example our early visit to Tiananmen Square and the forbidden Palace were excellent choices because of the timing of the trip and National Day!!! The accommodation was generally as described in the trip notes but home stay was quite basic and cold!!! The Qing Feng Hotel was very basic and the food not up to the standard of other accommodation. One of our best lunches was at the farm on day 5. The extension to Xian was well organised but again extremely busy which made it very difficult to feel the full impact of the site. The over night train journey fine but quite and experience!

Most Inspirational Moment

The views from the wall are stunning particularly those parts which are not developed and staying in the local villages gives a great insight into life in China. The visit to the Terracotta warriors was amazing but as above it was not possible to appreciate this fully because of the crowds.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Kevin was fantastic - his leadership skills and knowledge of his country were exceptional! He made it a very special trip! He made changes to the itinerary as necessary including our trip to the Olympic Park.Our leader in Xian was fine but not in the same league as Kevin! He kept the group together well when walking and had a good pace for group walking.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you don't like steps - not the trip for you! Some parts of the wall are quite steep and scrambling is involved. You also need to remember that there can be quite steep climbs up on to the wall. Practise using chop sticks before you go!!! The food is good but very little meat BUT some excellent fresh vegetables!!!

Kevin Wallace

Reviewed October 2015

Walking the Great Wall of China

Excellent walking trip to the incredible Great Wall, one of the wonders of the world. My first time in China.

Most Inspirational Moment

The first time we climbed up onto the Wall and were able to appreciate its stunning location.

Thoughts on Group Leader

"Jerry" was a top man. Constant good humour. Very knowledgable about the Wall. Loads of laughs had by all.

Claire Whiles

Reviewed August 2015

Walk The Great Wall

An absolutely fantastic holiday! This was the most incredible experience to trek along The Great Wall of China and it exceeded our expectations.

Most Inspirational Moment

The most inspirational part of the trip was of course The Great Wall itself - what an amazing site, and so fabulous to trek on the non touristy bits too - really feeling like we were seeing the real China.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our guide Kevin was just superb, so knowledgeable and nothing was too much trouble. I feel we learnt so much about Chinas history which was so interesting. I was concerned about the food as I am vegetarian but Kevin always made sure there were vegetarian options available and explained what I could and couldn't eat. I was also the slowest ofthe group but was never made to feel that was a problem and he was very supportive at all times, especially on the difficult climbs!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Amazing and incredible and my advice for potential travellers is just go and experience it!

Harvey Reynolds

Reviewed June 2015

Walking the great wall

A very well organised trip. The walking is fairly tough, but rewarding. Another ‘once in a life time’ experience.

Of course, when considering this trip, you will expect to be spending a lot of time walking along the Great Wall. Therefore the variety of activities are not as high as on some trips, although you will find the different sections of the wall surprisingly varied. I particularly enjoyed ‘The Spiderman wall’ near the beginning – will leave it a surprise to find out what that is about.

The provision of food is well considered. Even for a vegetarian, there was plenty to eat, although there was most variety for meat eaters.

As usual there is a lot packed in to a small space of time. I had worried that I would not see much of Beijing with two half days, but as it was, we saw the Forbidden City, walked through the Hutongs of old Beijing, watched a flag lowering ceremony in Tianamen square, went to an acrobatics show and even had time for a massage to recover from the walking earlier on in the trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

First sighting of the distant wall as we arrived at the home stay on a sunny afternoon. Shortly followed by first seeing the wall through the trees as we ascended from the valley on the first day's walk.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jerry was very organised, sociable and knowledgeable about the areas we visited. He was concerned for the less able members of the group and looked out for them. We were also impressed that seats had been reserved by a local Exodus staff member when we went to the acrobat show - people start going in to get the good seats three or four hours before the show starts, but we arrived just as it began and went straight to our seats.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The Air China flight is a bit more basic than normal, most of the entertainment caters for Chinese speakers. So either be prepared to watch old films or bring a book to read! As usual when travelling, if you expect to rough it a bit, you can only be pleasantly surprised. The quality of the accommodation varies, but it is all adequate. The walking was tougher than I might have expected based on the distances. This was partly due to a heat wave in May when I went on the trip, but also the terrain itself. You can expect the wall to undulate up and down quite a lot and also since it is on the tops of big hills, each day will usually begin with a bit of a slog uphill. So even the easier days will not be as easy as in the UK.

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