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!
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14208 Reviews
4.7 out of
5
Reviews
Sue Beesley
Reviewed September 2024
A gem of a trip.
A truly wonderful trip. A chance to travel into Zimbabwe – an African country I hadn’t visited before – and to revisit Botswana staying in comfortable lodges, plus the highlight of wild camping for 2 nights in the Okavango Delta. Very comfortable transport which was appreciated on the couple of long drives on bumpy roads. A great group of travel companions (including our guide) who enjoyed the shared experiences and lots of laughter and banter during evening meals and a memorable sunset cruise.
Most Inspirational Moment
Innumerable inspiring moments. Close encounters with lions, elephants, rhinos and hippos. Sitting round camp fire and being entertained by the wonderful polers after delicious food cooked by Adonia. Numerous bird sighting. Given the opportunity to walk in the Delta and Matopos. Optional plane ride over the Delta emphasised its beauty and vastness. The immense knowledge of all our guides in national parks about the animals and birds we encountered. The lovely tented accommodation at Nata with an outdoor shower. Starry moonlit night skies. Beauty of Matopos hills.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Adonia is definitely a 5 * guide. Reading previous reviews, it seems that it is usual to have a guide and driver. Adonia performed both of these roles efficiently and with great good humour, ensuring everyone in the group was included, any problem dealt with swiftly, giving clear instructions and generally being one step ahead of any likely difficulties. His knowledge of wild life is great. His English is perfect. He is a fantastic cook. We learnt so much from him about Zimbabwe (his country) and Botswana. Any future group are lucky to have him as their guide.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Just enjoy and immerse yourself in every experience. Don’t expect to see everything on your wish list - so much depends on time of year etc. - and the luck of being in the right place at the right time. As said in previous reviews - put any footwear in top of luggage ready for disinfecting going into Botswana. There are a couple of days of long drives over bumpy “roads” but plenty of opportunities for snack and comfort breaks. The majority of our group felt we had too long at Vic Falls at the end of the trip and would have preferred more time in Hwange, perhaps because no one was interested in the optional activities there. However the Falls themselves are awe inspiring. Take some US $ in small denominations for tips and souvenirs in Zimbabwe. WiFi available in all lodges and ATMs in major towns.
Judith Hart
Reviewed September 2024
Truly beautiful trip
This trip has it all- mountain views, amazing food and wonderful service.
Most Inspirational Moment
Walking beside the 100m drop that is the Cares Gorge.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Laura was supportive and helpful to all the group members.
Advice for Potential Travellers
This trip makes mountain walking accessible!
Nia Harland
Reviewed September 2024
Cycling in the Baltics but allocated a poor guide
We were looking forward to discovering more about the Baltic states whilst cycling, however we were let down by being allocated a new guide with very poor English who was unfamiliar with the trip. Fortunately we had a lonely planets guide book and were able to make up for what should have been offered. The group was very good fun and we were able to make the best of a difficult situation, however we felt that this trip was well below what we would expect from Exodus.
Most Inspirational Moment
The Baltics are great countries to see by bike, with great scenery. Estonia was so clean and full of history. We found an Old believers Museum (from the guide book) and Tartu was so modern. Latvia was pleasant, but hunger overtook us by 3pm with no lunch stop and Riga was fabulous. It would have been helpful to have been told ahead of time that Midsummers day is the Biggest festival of the year in these countries and we found somewhere to celebrate- eventually! And on to Lithuania. We almost missed the Hill of Crosses (iconic place in Lithuania) as it is not on the itinerary. But we made a forced stop! Klaipeda and the Curonian Spit are stunning, but there was so much more we could have been told about it.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Valdas was a nice chap but had been placed in a difficult situation and was not a suitable guide for this trip.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Check who the guide is to be. Reviews since have been more favourable.
Reply from Exodus
Thank you for sharing your feedback, Nia. We sincerely regret that your Cycling the Baltics trip did not meet the high standards we strive to provide, particularly in relation to your tour leader’s performance. We fully understand how essential a knowledgeable and communicative tour leader is to the overall experience, and we are truly sorry that this aspect fell short. While the leader assigned to your departure had prior experience leading cycling tours, was highly recommended, and was thoroughly briefed on the itinerary, we acknowledge that they were not as prepared as they should have been. We also regret that this left you relying on a guidebook to fill in the gaps—this is certainly not the experience we want for our travellers. Following your feedback, we have since taken steps to prevent this from happening again. We have strengthened our leader training, with a particular focus on itinerary knowledge, bike maintenance, and communication skills. Additionally, we have refined our trip preparation process to ensure all future leaders are fully equipped to deliver the informative and engaging experience our travellers expect. We truly appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts, as it helps us improve. While we regret that this trip did not meet expectations, we are grateful you were still able to enjoy the company of your group and make the best of the situation. We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you on another adventure in the future—one that reflects the exceptional experience you deserve.
Vivien Urban, Exodus Product Manager
Larry Meyers
Reviewed September 2024
Combination of Hiking and Culture
I have followed Albania’s history from WWII forward and being able to experiencing in person was most satisfying. The hiking portion was the challenge I was looking for. The culture portion not so much so.
Most Inspirational Moment
Without a doubt hiking in the mountains.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Dorien was an excellent guide, always available and engaging. His insight while growing up and witnessing the changes brought the trip together.
Advice for Potential Travellers
The hiking is hard--think 4+. Come prepared--good hiking boots (not trainers) with good tread. Hiking poles are a must. Trails are rock filled and shale in parts. You will find "commando" camps on some of the hikes where they sell cold (chilled by natural springs) beer and other beverages. Sometimes coffee and limited food. Be prepared for long drives but the van is comfortable. Exchange hard currency for Lek but keep most of your money in Euros. One can always pay in euros and may get euros in change. You can spend cash fast as credit cards are hard to use anywhere on this trip. The Sept heat was more than I had planned on--always looking for shade. Keep that in mind if traveling during the summer months.
Zoe Gordon
Reviewed September 2024
A real adventure for the whole family
This was a jam-packed trip, taking in city life in Cape Town and experiencing the wide variety of wildlife on the coast and in the reserves. Our tour guides were friendly and informative and happily shared all of their stories and knowledge with us on the journey. There were so many highlights and our family enjoyed the changing scenery from the coast to the Karoo and everything in between. Thanks to Petro we sampled a real variety of food and drink and enjoyed trying lots of new things. We were very sad to leave and will return to explore more!
Most Inspirational Moment
There are too many to choose from! We loved seeing all of the amazing wildlife from penguins and meerkats to elephants and rhinos and everything in between. Buffelsdrift was a lovely reserve and felt less commercial than Aquila. Watching whales in Hermanus as we walked along the coast path and walking along the cliff edge at the Cape of Good Hope were amazing experiences too. Despite the chilly weather, the hot tub at the glamping site was a real treat!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Petro was amazing. She has an amazing local knowledge and seems to know everyone in and around Cape Town. She was warm, friendly and nothing was ever too much trouble, even when she was feeling under the weather. She knew all the best spots for coffee stops, lunch and dinner and her cooking was great too. Sthandiwe was fantastic too. She brought a real energy to the group and worked hard to bring the teenagers into conversations and activities. She shared lots of local knowledge with us and even organised a township tour for our family at the end of our trip. She made a real impression on my daughter - Sthandiwe is a great role model for kids!
Advice for Potential Travellers
Throw yourself into every activity - kayaking to see the penguins was hard work but unforgettable! It can get cold if you come in the UK summer, so pack a hat, gloves and warm socks for the early morning safari drive and for some of the evening activities. Bring binoculars too, so you don't miss any animals. Also, the cable car on Table Mountain shuts during the winter, so that was a bit disappointing.
Peggy Rybachuk
Reviewed September 2024
Kenya and Tanzania Adventure
It was an absolutely amazing trip. We saw the Big 5 plus their babies. We also saw the Ugly 5. Plus thousands of zebras and wildebeests and hundreds of different gazelles.
Most Inspirational Moment
Too many to pick just one.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Darlene was a very knowledgeable and personable leader. Excellent.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Just go with the flow and bring toilet paper .
Paris Zinn
Reviewed September 2024
Obrigado Portugal!
A really good introduction to Portugal indeed! When I booked this trip, naturally the first thing I did was read the reviews like we all do!
The trip starts in Porto and ends in Lisbon – with many unique small town overnights in-between. Most people mentioned that it was very fast paced – however I feel that Exodus has really taken the time and effort to improve this trip in recent times as I felt very relaxed and had ample free time to explore on my own and with some friends I made in our group!
My personal highlights were Porto (worth an extension) and Batalha Monastery which no matter what camera lens you have, cannot actually describe the unique, intricate architecture and design – you have to see it to believe it!
Our guide Mariana was very cheerful, informative and very passionate about her country and sharing that with us was wonderful!
Prepare yourself for big portions of food (lots of cod) and ample Port Wine! If you are not into Port a good old Imperial “beer” also does the trick!
There is an optional “fado” dinner at a local’s house on the last night that was very interesting… Also expect big city life when you stay in Lisboa!
Overall I would recommend this trip to anyone who wants a overview of Portugal and all that it has to offer.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Very good!
Sirkka Vandergraaf
Reviewed September 2024
Worth the Ride!
This was our first time on a biking tour with Exodus and we would highly recommend it!! Biking through small historical towns, UNESCO sites, scenic natural beauty, – amazing! Our guide, Jan, and driver, Lubos, took great care of us and Jan’s knowledge of the historical political scene during the Cold War made the tour so much richer. Worth the ride!!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Excellent!!
Advice for Potential Travellers
Do it!
Louise Jones
Reviewed September 2024
Beautiful Island...fantastic holiday
South Evia is such a lovely island, and this hiking holiday shows it off to it’s best advantage. George was a wonderful guide, and went above and beyond what I expected, made everyone feel safe and gave an insight into the area as he grew up around there. Highly recommended this hiking holiday.
Most Inspirational Moment
All of it, especially the beaches we visited.
Thoughts on Group Leader
As above ...fantastic
Advice for Potential Travellers
Good hiking boots, and in at least one hike, a head for heights
Linda Arnold
Reviewed September 2024
Wonderful wildlife
Hotels
The hotels were clean and the staff were friendly. Some of the hotels were run on solar power or generators which were turned off around 22:00/23:00. Turned back on about 5:00, remember to take a torch with you. All the rooms were a good size. Some hotels did not have hot water, although a bucket of hot water could be provided. The hotels provided bars of soap, some of which had been used by the previous occupants. Net curtains were provided in some of the hotels. I would recommend always wearing mozzie spray at all times, and taking sufficient toiletries for the duration of your trip.
The roads are awful, making all journeys long and uncomfortable. Arriving at the hotel after an early start, given our room keys and told we needed to order dinner. I understand the need for ordering as they needed to freshly cook the food. There was no time to wind down before eating.
Food
Breakfasts were simple, bread, jam, fruit, and eggs. There was enough food provided to start your day.
Lunch was non-existent on many days. Several days we had chips and cereal bars
On the occasions we did stop for lunch then it was a tourist type restaurant where the food was more like a main meal. There were no light lunches and we ended up with a plate of chips (French fries). For the majority of our journey there are no places to buy snacks. At least 4 of our journeys resulted in a picnic lunch of the bus. One hotel offered us a packed lunch of omelette or sardine sandwiches which are not to everyone’s taste.
Dinner. All bar one was taken in the hotel as there are very few restaurants around, and none outside the main towns. There was a limited choice of food in the hotels and most people on our group had upset stomachs. The food was overcooked and the meat/fish was tough.
Roads
Are terrible, potholes that you could fit a car in. The journeys on the 4×4 and the bus were very uncomfortable and the proposed journey time in the trips notes were under estimated. We had three journeys of 12 hours. The state of the roads means that after your early start to the day that you are unable to have a ‘nap’.
Transport
The bus and 4×4 were in a good condition, albeit that our bus needed to change a tyre and to fix a slow puncture. The tread on the tyres would not pass a MOT.
As we were a small group (8) then we could spread ourselves around. It did however make slow progress due to the road conditions
We had sufficient room in the 4x’s however we were thrown around due the road surface, which was mainly mud. The drivers were very mechanically minded and could fix problems on the cars and quickly change tyres.
The very long days did detract from the overall experience of the trip
Wildlife
There is abundant wildlife which our guides managed to find for us. We were able to take many, many photographs. The wildlife and in particular seeing lemurs in the wild was the main reason to go to Madagascar. There were a lot of them and we saw many different types. The mouse lemur is the cutest.
Walking
There is a lot of walking on uneven ground as the animals are living in their natural habitat. Be prepared to scramble through the undergrowth to get ‘that’ picture.
Begging
Madagascar is a poor country and not set up for mass tourism. Be prepared to see a lot of children begging for sweets and money as you travel through the countryside.
Most Inspirational Moment
Tsingy
The harnesses were in good condition and were fitted on to people by the guide. The stepping rocks that you use to climb are securely bolted as were the ladders. The metal ropes that you clip onto looked new and again were securely fitted to the walls. The bridges did have a few larger spaces between the slats but were acceptable to walk across. The caves are not that large and you did need to bend or crawl through them. This is a strenuous walk but worth the effort.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Sol was our guide. He was very knowledgeable about the country and the wildlife. He provided commentary whilst we were traveling, stopping the bus to show us various village activities. He joined us on our excursions providing us with information on the animals and was always happy to answer any questions.
Advice for Potential Travellers
To go or not to go
This is a very interesting and tyring trip with basic amenities. The plumbing is very different to home, service station stops and ‘wild wees’ are the norm. It’s not a holiday but an adventure. However, it’s a beautiful country that needs to be seen before it changes. The wildlife makes it well worth the trip.
Tips
Take a torch
Take Imodium
Take walking type boots
Take long trouser for forest type walks
Take mozzie spray
Take snacks
Take tissues for toilet breaks.
Take antibacterial hand gel
