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.

Simply use the selector below to search our trip reviews and start reading real feedback from real Exodus travellers who have ‘been there and done that’!

Lots of our clients also like to post handy tips and advice about their travels. It’s great to know what to expect on an Exodus adventure before you go, so make the most of their experience and you’ll make the most of yours!

Haven’t posted your review yet? Here’s how to do it…

Once you return from your Exodus adventure holiday, you will be emailed a link to add your review. Any feedback collected is posted onto our website, totally unedited.

Alternatively you can navigate to the relevant trip page and add your review via the Reviews tab.

Select a trip specific review:

Select

14215 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Reviewed January 2012

MONT BLANC CIRCUIT

This walk was so much more than expected – on every level; the effort required, the landscape, the organisation, the camping grounds, the guide and support staff, the company, and even the weather. It was a real experience for us coming from the tropics. We booked this trip over 12mths earlier so the anticipation was intense and expectations high.

Most Inspirational Moment

The weather was perfect on two days - the day we arrived and the day we departed - so one of the inspirational moments was sitting in front of our little tent - DOM, and having the snow-capped mountains and the Les Bossons glacier right in front of us against an impossibly blue sky. Another was the optional trip on our rest day across the massif via the teleferique from La Palud to Heilbronner and on up to the Aguille de Midi. This was just sensational and a “must-do”, though very cold above the clouds.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Mel was the quintessential guide and her enthusiasm for her “shy” mountains and her botanical knowledge were remarkable. I am in my 60s and our youngest walker was probably 19 but Mel was able to juggle that dynamic of a wide age range and fitness level with consummate ease. Carey and Pasquale were well- organised support people and great camp cooks.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Pack as per the trip notes, whatever the season. While it was mid-summer the weather wasn’t good for most of the time. Our first walking day was completed in unrelenting heavy rain so everything in our backpacks was soaked (take a pack liner and a good gortex). Fresh snow fell for a couple of days after that, so layers of light fleeces were required (not cotton!), and a good sleeping bag essential.

Reviewed January 2012

EVEREST BASE CAMP

well organised from start to finish.i felt safe and the info each day was well given.standard of guiding excellent with a very good ability to look after the needs of different abilities

Most Inspirational Moment

first view of everest

Thoughts on Group Leader

a very able man and a good communicator

Advice for Potential Travellers

be relaxed and prepared to accept anything.i got ill just near base camp and had to turn back but it wasnt a problem and i didnt feel in danger

Reviewed January 2012

WALKING IN NORTH CYPRUS

Yet another brilliant Exodus holiday. I would thoroughly recommend this trip to anyone thinking of discovering the stunning scenery & history of the North Cyprus region.

Most Inspirational Moment

Too many to mention however the views from the top of Kyrenia Castle were simply breathtaking!Also - sitting enjoying an Al Fresco beer in the beach side bar at the end of the Karpaz Peninsula was amazing!The Al Fresco meals we had down at Kyrenia Harbour were also great - sitting having dinner with boats bobbing about in the water beside you takes some beating!

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had a different group leader for the first couple of days however our leader for the majority of the holiday, Ghisa(apologies if that's the incorrect spelling!) was excellent in every way - highly organised, very sociable & above all his knowledge of the area and it's history was amazing.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The main piece of advice would be, if you're thinking about this trip then go for it!!It was VERY hot, even in September when I was there, so take plenty of sunscreen(although I'm a fair skinned Scottish chap!)

Reviewed January 2012

CYCLING CUBA

Excellent holiday, brilliant guide and a fascinating insight into Cuba and the Cubans. Just be warned cycling in Cuba in August is HOT, HOT, HOT.

Most Inspirational Moment

Finishing the last leg of the last day and managing to keep up with everyone else - not something I'd managed on the other days!! Arriving at a village park on the day of Fidel Castro's Birthday to be greeted by children dancing salsa and being offered huge slabs of "Birthday Cake" with nothing other than Cuban Cola on sale which went perfectly with the Rum one of our party had purchased - classic!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose was a great guide, very knowledgable, enthusiastic and a great sense of humour. He definitely inspired an interest in the life and history of Cuba and the Cubans.

Advice for Potential Travellers

As I said in my summary be warned it is hot in August but the support vehicle is always there so if waivering just give it a go you'll see a life in a completely different way, take your own saddle or at least a gel cover as you don't want saddle sores to blight your trip. Fabulous people, so friendly, welcoming and generous when they have so little compared to us for such a well educated population, our driver was a lawyer and our guide was a languages teacher!

Reviewed January 2012

THE AMALFI COAST

Beautiful landscapes, sunlight every days, nice walks, swimming in a very warm and blue sea, good food… Great time!

Most Inspirational Moment

After a very nice walk on the top of the mountain, walking down to the beach, swimming a little in the beautiful water, resting a little on the beach with a fresh drink or icecream and return back by boat enjoying the view all along the beautiful coast!

Thoughts on Group Leader

A very nice girl, funny girl! We did a lot of funny things! lovely!

Advice for Potential Travellers

The weather is very hot, you must be prepared to walk under the sun...

Reviewed January 2012

LAND OF THE TIGER

A great holiday for a variety of experiences in India – from seeing tigers, historic sites to visiting the local school. India is a vast county with beautiful scenery but also be prepared to see great poverty. Dehli illustrates the extremes between wealth and poverty

Most Inspirational Moment

The best moments of the holiday were when our guide decided to go it alone and we came across a tiger asleep on the road - it woke up, looked at us, yawned and wandered off, and of course, seeing the Taj Mahal at sunrise (before the crowds arrived)

Thoughts on Group Leader

Nothing was too much trouble for Krishna our goup leader. He loved his country and shared his knowledge and enthusiam with us. He worked very hard to get the group to where we were meant to be at on time - not an easy task!

Advice for Potential Travellers

My advice for potential travellers:* It is very dusty in the reserves so take a scarf / hat for your head, a scarf for your nose and mouth and a cover to use to protect your camera* Nibbles (cereal bars) there can be very long gaps between meals at times* Warm clothes - it was freezing at 5.30 in the morning waiting to go into the reserves* Take a torch - power cuts....

Reviewed January 2012

LAND OF THE TIGER

I had wonderful time and would have given 5 stars but for the bathroom at the lodge at Kanha. The guide was friendly and both helpful and informative, the accommodation very good (other than mentioned above) and the food also good. The group was very friendly and despite the age range everybody got on well. I had one magical encounter with a tiger. Seeing Simon King was a bonus

Most Inspirational Moment

My second encounter with a tiger, at Bandhavgarh. I was in a jeep with three others, the driver and a guide. We were driving along a rough track when a tiger rounded the corner ahead of us. We stopped dead whilst the tiger literally sauntered towards us; when he got too close the driver backed up and then again. Finally he veered to his right, scratched a tree and then strolled across the track and into the trees. The whole encounter lasted around 10 minutes. While we were discussing it I became aware of two rangers talking to the driver and guide, turned around to see where they had come from, saw a motorbike parked at the side of the track and then saw an elephant coming down the track behind us. The mahout directed the elephant close to the jeep and then turned it round close to the jeep, so close that I could have touched the elephant's eye, and then rangers climbed over the jeep and on to the back of the elephant and they all disappeared into the trees. This was a magical encounter with just our jeep and the tiger and I have over 25 photos recording it.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was an excellent guide, friendly and knowledgable and most helpful when I fell down some marble steps in one of the blackouts. My only criticisms of him are his unwillingness to admit anything could be wrong with India so he ignored the slums, the poverty, the caste system, etc and evaded questions about them. Whilst I admire his loyalty I do like to get to know the country I am in, warts and all, and have never encountered this attitude before, even in China. His excellent descriptions of the sights tended to be a little long, and when we were with specialist guides he tended to let them finish their description and then embellish it which I found rather embarassing as it tended to highlight the inadequacy of the descriptions of the regular guides. Nevertheless, he was excellent and coped well when the overnight train was delayed. I have only once had a better guide - on one of your trips to the Galapagos Islands.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Game drives in the morning are very cold - much colder than you imagine before you go. Take several layers, socks, woolly hats, the lot. Evening drives can get cold before you get back, take a fleece at least.View the overnight train trip as an experience. India is a third world country and that is what you get. Go as a traveller rather than a tourist and you won't be disappointed.

Reviewed January 2012

KILIMANJARO CLIMB - LEMOSHO ROUTE

Fantastic, a holiday of a lifetime

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching the summit and watching the sunrise.Also watching our porters carrying all our gear on their heads and making it looks so easy!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Really good, could not fault him.The whole team worked very well, we were given a briefing every morning and night so we were always clear on what we would be doing each day.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Nomad Travel were excellent - they provided much better medical advice than my own GP and helped us put together a personal travel pack and at very reasonable cost.Invest in a good down sleeping bag, you won't regret it, and we used the lightweight blow up mats from Therma Rest, these were very comfortable and warm.Take plenty of one dollar notes - we did not and it felt awkward when we could not tip as we only had large currency, once in Tanzania it is hard to get any further dollars and tipping is widespread and all done in american dollars.Do not buy a hat that is not adjustable and can be loosened off. Everyone in our group had to cut their hats as we got higher as they really started to dig in and this does not help with any headaches. This is the same for sunglasses, they need to be fairly loose.Aspirin seemed to be the leaders drug of choice for headaches rather than Paracetomol or IbuprofenThe leaders did not encourage the use of Diamox unless you showed symptoms of AMS and they would then recommed when to take it. In fact they did not want you to take any medication without telling them first, including headache tablets. This way they could moniter you much better for AMS than if you were trying to treat yourself. We purchased Diamox to take with us so if we did have to use it we could at least take our own medication but luckily neither of us had to use it. Others in our group did take it in the final 2/3 days but it is difficult to know if it really helped as it certainly did not cure their symptoms, although the AMS may of got worse without it. Keep drinking - those in our group that drank anything less than 3 litres whilst walking certainly seemed to develop symptoms of AMS much quicker. Those that used water bottles seemed less inclined to keep reaching round to grab a drink than those that had a bladder and drinking tube close to your mouth. I veiwed my water as my medicine to prevent AMS and kept sipping every few minutes. This certainly worked for me and I had no AMS symptoms at all over the whole trip. By day 5 I had up'd my water intake whilst walking to 4 litres and grabbed any oppotunity to have drinks with our meals as additional fluid.Keep eating - even when you really don't feel like food you must eat! Take plenty of nice snacks with you and boiled sweets. I found Power Bars good and they are light to carry and certainly give you a long lasting boost.Take at least a 35 litre ruc sac - you don't have to fill it but it makes it easier to pull clothes out quickly if you haven't had to squash them in. On summit night you will take and use all your clothes as by 3am its very cold and you are not generating any heat as the walking pace is very slow. This is when the larger sac really helps.Train before you go - best form of training and the only training we did was walking and lots of it, especially using the walking boots you'll be taking with you. We trained with heavy ruc sacs and this really helped us on Kili, not that you carry a really heavy pack it just meant we were used to it.Washing - you are provided with a bowl of hot water at breakfast and before dinner. Take a light flannel and we used baby wipes as a top up. Take 2 hand gels, we kept one in our day pack and one in your wash kit.

Reviewed January 2012

CYCLING CUBA

Great guide and back-up team – very enthusiastic and hard-working. Lovely group of friendly, sporty cyclists

Most Inspirational Moment

Listening to our guide Jose singing the Cuban national anthem in Revolutionary Square

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was great - very helpful, up-to-date with political, social and environmental issues in Cuba, and funny!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take your own saddle - those ones supplied by Exodus are ungiving to put it mildly. If you're fair-skinned invest in kaftan-type tops made of light material such as cheesecloth. You're in the sun for a long time each day. Take gifts such as soap, pens and pencils, which are in short supply in rural areas.

Reviewed January 2012

THE TROPICAL SOUTH

The trip was very well balanced with a range of activities and sufficient time to enjoy them. Manoj, the Tour Leader was excellent, professional, calm and efficient. He quickly worked out what the group liked to do and ensured that our needs were met. Memorable images include the fishing nets in Cochin, tea pickers in Munnar, pilgrims in the temple in Madurai, rice planters in Tamil Nadu, floating along in the houseboats on the Allepey backwaters, fishermen hauling in their nets in Kovalam and pilgrims visiting the shrines at the southern tip of India.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many colourful sights. I enjoyed travelling over the Western Ghats through the tea plantations and spice gardens. The colour and human hubbub in the temples in Madurai was fascinating. I enjoyed relaxing in the houseboats on the Allepey backwaters watching daily life unfold on the banks. Watching the fishermen hauling in the nets in Kovalam was interesting.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Manoj the Tour Leader was excellent. He was very professional, calm and efficient and made sure that the needs of the group were met. The driver and assistant were also very professional and helpful and ensured our safety. Manoj dealt with problems in a manner that was co-operative such as having to leave early in the morning to flee from Thekkady to beat the blockade. He quickly worked out the needs of the group and would make sure they were met. He provided good advice on eating places, places to buy articles and places of interest. He was very knowledgeable and provided sufficient information to make the tour interesting. He also gave good tips on photography, being an expert.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for different climates as the tour goes from warm tropical to chilly mountain climes.Take rehydration powders as there is a possibility of stomach problems.Although we were able to borrow adaptors and eventually managed to buy one, the normal plug adaptors you buy here did not seem to fit Indian plugs. You will be taking a lot of photos!Be prepared for quite a lot of travelling on mixed road surfaces.

Prev 1 … 1,302 1,303 1,304 1,305 1,306 … 1,422 Next