Reviews

Brilliant guide, amazing scenery

I’d hiked in the Chamonix area before, so I knew it would be stunning, but the variety of incredible scenery as we went round to the Swiss and Italian sides exceeded my expectations. The weather was extreme – 35 degrees for the first few days, then rain and finally sleet, snow and full-on winter conditions – don’t ignore the trip notes advice on clothing! Our guide, Mike Napier, was exceptional, managing the group with expertise and humour throughout.

Stunning scenery and a great sense of achievement at the end

A huge thank you to our guide Mike who gave us excellent advice each morning and managed to keep us all motivated and together each day The weather is unpredictable with extreme heat for the first week and one day of rain, snow and ice so be prepared! The food was good, the hotels were clean although some were basic due to the remote locations. The staff were great. Some days were very tough but the views were worth it and Mike rewarded us with Jaffa Cakes and M&M’s.

TMB

Overall excellent trek with a compatible group and an amazing guide, Augustine.

A spectacular challenge, could not have been better

Had the best 2 week holiday ever Our guide Mike was full of positivity, humour and knowledge. We trusted him with our lives! A wonderful group came together Views Views Views

Trip of a Lifetime

Sometimes you do a trip confident that it will give you great memories for many years to come, even a feeling of awe. For us TMB comes into this category. Let’s be clear from the onset – this a physically challenging trip – over 10 walking days we covered c 100 miles ascending c 32K feet (higher than Everest) and descending c28K feet. Din’t expect glitz – the trip takes you off the beaten track. Some properties are basic (no en-suite WMC and/or shower). Others. In particular the Hotel Richemonde in Chamonix where we started and ended the trip, had great character. Staff took great effort to make us welcome. Lunch is basic, but has to be sourced in locations where choice is limited. For us such details are relatively inconsequential given the stunning scenery we saw (we were blessed with great weather each day bar one). So all in all a genuine trip of a lifetime giving us memories to treasure.

TMB HOTEL TRIP

A great challenge with a wonderful guide, Hristian

Why there are so few recent reviews?

That was a question I asked the Canada based ‘Customer Experience Specialist’ in November 2021 when I first contacted Exodus on behalf of a group of friends. The reply I received was that it was because of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel. After my trip last summer, I believe that there are other reasons. During our hike we learnt that because of changes in regulations due to Brexit, Exodus had lost most of its established International Mountain Leaders and was relying on services provided by a third-party company. Based on my experience, I question the vetting process of this company for its guides. On day #5, as we were approaching La Fouly, a couple of group members wanted to detour to a waterfall that was off the TMB trail. The rest did not, but the group leader forced all to walk across a boulder field (read ‘ankle twist risk’) to access the trail to the waterfall. We returned to the TMB trail on a different path that was a safe hiking trail. Would a sensible leader put the safety of his group at risk by forcing them to traverse unsafe terrain? On the last hiking day, the leader stated that there was snow & ice on the trail (our hike was in August) from Le Brevent to Plan Praz, presumably to dissuade group members from hiking that last stretch and instead take the cable car. All but 2 elected to continue the hike. The only snow & ice was on the distant peaks! If you live in the United States, be aware that the company uses a reservation agent in Canada and a U.S. Operations Team. Communication between these two, and between the Operations Team and the local third-party operator was clearly deficient. At the time of making the reservation, because of the increased risk for COVID-19 infection in a confined setting, I sought assurance that we that we would not be staying in dormitory accommodation. In July, I asked for confirmation after finding that the accommodations in two locations had both rooms and dormitories. At one of these locations our group had to stay at two different hotels. The group leader told us that the Operations Team had not notified the local operator of our request and dormitory accommodation had been booked. After I wrote in July, they had to rebook and the Auberge did not have enough rooms for the entire group, hence the split accommodation. We were to meet with travelers arriving from the U.K. at Geneva airport for onward transportation to Chamonix. The Operations Team did not bother to notify us that the travelers from the U.K were arriving on a later flight. We spent an anxious 2+ hours in the airport not seeing anyone with an Exodus Travels sign and not being able to reach the local third-party company at the telephone number provided by the Operations Team. Writing to the company has only yielded defensive responses.

Most Inspirational Moment

Enjoying Mother Nature's beauty.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Lack of concern for safety of group members, Dishonest, Manipulative

Advice for Potential Travellers

I would not recommend this company to potential travelers.

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Murali for his review, although we are incredibly sorry that he was disappointed with several aspects of his time in the Alps, as this is not the type of feedback we expect to receive. We have sourced tour leaders for this trip from the same local operator for almost twenty years and have full confidence in their ability to select highly qualified mountain guides who meet ours and our customers’ expectations. The consistently high scores they receive suggests that this process works well, so we regret that this does not chime with Murali’s experience. We can confirm that his group lodged at the standard chalet used on this tour and did not spend any nights in dormitories, so we were equally surprised to receive these comments. Our customer services team have been in direct communication with Murali since he returned home and we remain satisfied that his trip was delivered in line with our expectations; we, nevertheless, remain apologetic for his disappointing experience.

Spectacular Trek

We had an amazing trek with spectacular scenery. Each day was carefully planned and we had a full briefing of what was to come. We were helped by wall to wall sunshine every walking day which meant we could make the most of the views. Our group of eight all got on well and walked at a similar pace which meant we were always together as a group. Lunches were made from supplies bought by the guide and were varied and plentiful. The hotels were more than acceptable with a few excellent.

Wonderful Hiking BUT

Let me just start this review by saying that I have been on over 25 guided trips in the last 22 years so I have experience with tour groups. It never crossed my mind when booking this trip that I would have a poor guide. I have been fortunate that my experiences have always been exceptional. The good: the hiking was fabulous, different challenges, variety of scenery each day. By luck we had a fantastic group of 12 from all over the world. The bad: our guide, luggage transfer and lunches. The guide started off the trip by being very unwelcoming on Day 1. He then proceeded to share way too much about his personal life and how he was so tired each day due to lack of sleep. The first several days of the trip, he didn’t even do any type of route review or what we were to expect for that day’s hike. Thankfully we were a cohesive group (mostly because 9 out of 12 of us came down with a gastric bug on Day 3 of the trip) so we always waited up for the slowest person of the group. Due to us only having one uninterested guide, we had to lookout for that person. One day the group got about a quarter mile down the trail only to find the guide missing. When someone went back to look for him, he was found at the trailhead “chatting up” a woman that was waiting for the bus. The list of complaints can go on. A few days into the trip, three people didn’t get their luggage for 24 hours. The guide suggested that they “borrow” clothes from others on the trip. Luckily, a staff member at the hotel took them into town so they could purchase clothes for that night and the next day (the next day was a free day and there were plans to go to the spa). Nothing worse than coming off the trail and not being able to change into clean clothes. We made our lunches each morning with supplies that the guide set out. Typically the last two people to make theirs ended up with just bread and cheese since everything else had run out. There just wasn’t enough supplies purchased. Also, the meat and cheese sandwiches got a bit boring after a week. Fortunately, after some complaints he did add fruit and some vegetable toppings. Eventually we also got some chocolate at the end. Based on the amount of money that was spent on this trip, I expected much more from the guide. I emailed the company about 5 days into the trip to express my dissatisfaction with the services provided. I am sure that there will be more letters from others that I traveled with. I would suggest looking for another tour group to do this trek with. I certainly encountered many more enthusiastic guides on the trail from different companies.

Most Inspirational Moment

The scenery and views also making new friends

Advice for Potential Travellers

I would look to book with another tour company.

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Lisa for taking the time to leave a review, but are incredibly sorry to hear that she was disappointed with the tour leader assigned to her departure. We have a fantastic team of leaders for Exodus groups travelling to Mont Blanc, and can see that from the feedback we have received in 2023 that our customers travelling this year have rated them an average of 4.80 out of 5 on the Holiday Evaluation Forms we send to each client after a trip. We find this extremely encouraging, and it makes us confident that travellers choosing Exodus can expect to receive an excellent standard of tour leader who can elevate their time in this beautiful region.

However, we would like to apologise to Lisa that this was not her experience, and we recognise that the leader on her particular departure, who is usually consistently attentive, personable, and is an experience mountain guide, did not perform anywhere near our high standards on this occasion. We were in touch with Lisa and her fellow group members about this at the time and, having taken the matter extremely seriously, resolved this to their satisfaction following the trip. We also spoke at length to the tour leader in question, and our local manager has given him comprehensive advice and further training which we feel, in tandem with his previous high level of performances, will mean he is fully ready to lead future departures in line with our and our clients’ expectations.

We are glad that Lisa enjoyed the company of her Exodus group and the wonderful hikes and scenery in Mont Blanc, and sincerely hope we are able to welcome her back on another trip with us in the future which more reflects the positive experience our customers overwhelmingly have.

Danny Bell, Exodus Product Manager

This is an absolute ‘must do’ trip!

This is easily one of the best trips I’ve ever done – I had an absolute blast and highly recommend it!

The TMB itself is just incredible, words can’t describe how beautiful it is. Every day was different and the hiking was just so much fun. Just make sure you have a good level of fitness or you won’t enjoy it as much as you should!

I really enjoyed the group dynamic and was happy with the accommodation – we had two nights in what I’d class as hostel style accommodation (private rooms with shared bathrooms but sink in room which was good!) and the remainder in 2/3* hotels. Rooms were spotlessly clean, beds were comfy and hot showers were plentiful which is exactly what you need after a day on the trail! 🙂

Food was so good throughout – Lunch has never tasted better!