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There was a great mix of activity on this holiday. It was a wonderful experience
Seeing the bears and the whales in their natural habitat.
Good. Very knowledgeable.
Make sure you have taken suitable precautions for any injuries you may be carrying. Spraining my ankle again meant I couldn't take part in all the activities I wanted to.
A fabulous experience, with a fabulous group of people of a wide age range!
Walking from the valley up to O Cebriero - I had fantastic views before the clouds came down.The arrival in Santiago and knowing that the challenge had been met.
A superb group leader and backup person who couldn't do enough for us; everything planned to make each stage of the journey achievable and flexible enough to sort out any bike problems along the way.
Ensure you get in some practice climbing hills before the trip; not totally essential, because the backup vehicle is a fail safe. If not, be prepared to walk fast and push!
Great trip from start to finish
Sounds trite but there was something to amaze me everyday.Obviously the temples-but the friendliness of the people, the motorbikes and how organised everyting was!
Al made the holiday -much more than a leader a friend too!. Nothing was to much trouble-everything was so well run that it seemed so relaxed.Poor Al was the only one to come off his bike on a very wet, slippery bend- only bruised thankfully
Money from atms no problemSunscreen, a hat, and insect repellant vital!
An amazing experience, great scenery, long hard days, excellent food and catering, great guides. The trip is tough but well worth it as one of these once in a life time events
The most impressive sight was mid way in when i walked out of my tent and saw that we were above cloud cover. At 3,500m in the morning, feeling like you are standing on top of the clouds is an odd sensation. That was a better sight than the summit.
Very knowledge, had been up the mountain 104 times and our trip was his 105th! I didn't see him much, the other guides were the main people who walked with us, but the best kind of group leader is one who makes sure everything is done and sorted and the one you don't see rushing around shouting at people. It was all very professional. The other guides were amazing, they didn't talk too much, but you always knew they were there, ready to help.
Don't underestimate this trip. Even though Kilimanjaro has become commercialized with 30,000 people going up each year and the whole fan fare of the celebrities going up it, the trip is still hard. Altitude is hard to adjust to and you will have no idea how you whilst you are sitting at sea level reading this. I got bad altitude sickness which actually prevented me from gettting to the true summit, I only managed to get to Gilman's point, as I was being sick for a good 4 hours prior to getting there.If you are getting headaches and feeling ill early one, i.e. before base camp, take altitude sickness pills. I acclimatised slowly and usually over night, but at base camp (Kibo Hut 4700m) you may be able to acclimatise, but once you start summitting you are climbing 1000m in one night to the true summit (5900m), there is little chance to acclimatise whilst climbing, so if you get sick it is too late to take pills. In heinsight i would begin starting altitude sickness pills from the start. If you weren't going to get sick its fine, but if you were, then taking them may reduce the effects of the sickness. Essentially I didn't take them and if i had, i may have summitted, something which i am gutted about. The only problem about pills is that the side effects can be the effects of altitude sickness, so if you don't think you are going to get and then take the pills, the side effects from the pills could be make it look like you have altitude sickness when you don't. Hard choice. Obviously you need to seek professional advice around this, and I can only say what I would have done.
This trip was great and was the first one for me as a single traveller I couldn’t have had a better time.
I can't pick one inspirational moment as it was all equally good.
Al was absolutely fantastic nothing was a problem.
Don't take a waterproof you won't need it, its so hot that if it rains its welcomed!
A great mix of walking & sight seeing in a relatively untouched part of Europe with the added bonus of a lovely hotel.
The walking was great, especially as we were really lucky with the weather (7 days of sunshine!). Wonderful views throughout and a nice mix of woodland and mountain pastures. The two main walking days were certainly my highlight.
Cosmin was great, one of the best Exodus leaders I have had. Extremely knowledgable and it was really nice to have a local guide who grew up in the area.
Try to read Bram Stocker's Dracula before you go and stock up on tasteful Dracula souvenirs at Bran Castle!
The 5 days walking were awesome a good variety of walks. The farm house was great, especially the pasta and the pool. Liz was a great guide. The only disappointment was that we didn’t spend longer by the pool or on the mini golf course at the end of the afternoons, our schedule regularly overran, on the first day by over 4 hours! Given this was no fault of Exodus I haven’t knocked down the star score although it definitely did impact on my overall enjoyment of the holiday.
Bob and Alan we inspirational, both are just under double my age at somewhere around 60. Both were amongst the fittest people in our group. When I was told Bob had run 5 miles and swum 100 laps of the pool before breakfast before the upcoming 6 hours walk I thought they were pulling my leg, they weren’t. I aspire to being as fit as they are when I am nearing retirement. As one of 4 mild vertigo sufferers, still being alive having walked across the ridge was pretty inspirational (challenging departures only). Having muttered a raft of expletives on first sight, with Liz’s and the group’s encouragement we all got to the other side, this was very gratifying. On the later walks looking back at the mountain one you had already been up was very cool.
Liz was awesome and dealt fantastically with everything that was thrown at her. She is almost certainly never going to have so many people keel over exhausted or injured on her again. 4 vertigo suffers, myself included, on an exposed ridge would test the patience of a saint. Although Liz clearly doesn't get why some bits are particularly terrifying, she never ran out of encouragement.Very good driver, which helps in the mountains
Some departures are moderate and some are challenging. Pick your departure carefully being realistic about your own level of fitness. If you can't walk at a brisk pace for 5 hours don't book a challenging departure! The exodus web site describes the grading system in massive detail http://www.exodus.co.uk/walkinggrades?Just like in any sport, get fit to play don't play to get fit. That said if you are fit, the challenging departure was awesome.
A great trip, a long flight out but if you are interested in wildlife and are wondering about visiting the Galapagos then go for it. I experienced several of those moments when I couldn't believe what was happening right in front of me.
I cannot possibly describe everything I enjoyed but here are samples: rising at early light to see storm petrels dancing on glassy smooth water before the morning breeze comes up; flamingoes in dayglo red, as vivid as the vermilion flycatchers; small flightless cormorants with bright turquoise eyes that stood preening themselves as we passed by or surfaced near the panga as they returned from fishing expeditions; male frigate birds sailing through the air with red throat sacs inflated to impress their girlfriends; gorgeous green dragonflies in the highlands of Santa Cruz and elegant coffee and cream dragonflies near the beach at Floreana; a great blue heron, taller than I am, that I was cautiously approaching when it decided to walk towards me, I might be exaggerating about its height but I don't think so; marvellous sea caves with nesting noddies; evening on the north side of Santa Cruz where hunting sealions swam rings round hunting sharks and opportunist pelicans perched on the boat waiting to pounce on the dozens of fish that shot across the surface in fright; hunting packs of blue footed boobies that form merry-go-rounds of dozens, if not hundreds of birds when one of them spots a shoal and whistles for its friends so that they can take turns at diving and circling round to have another go; Espanola where, rather surreally, albatrosses with pretty faces sat on their nests gently touching each other's bills and necks whilst in nearby bushes the mocking birds were attacking each other ferociously.
Darwin Alvarez is probably the best group leader I have met, very knowledgeable, helpful and considerate and well able to adapt the daily trips to circumstances and the particular preferences of individual members of the group.
Do read the trip Notes! They do tell you what to prepare for in the islands. It helps to be moderately fit but the walking is lightweight compared to that on Exodus walking trips, no more than 2.5km on any walk and the greatest height gain was about 140m. The steeper paths had flights of steps and often handrails. To get the most from the trip you should be able to snorkel (often opportunities twice a day). Plenty of shallow water beach visits and life vests are provided if you are not a strong swimmer. James and Suzy have given good advice on keeping baggage light. I wish I had taken earplugs. The engine and generators are noisy and you move between islands at night!
An excellent holiday with an amazing variety of activities. Our guide Sampath was brilliant, informative and entertaining. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country and the Exodus trip certainly makes the most of all the best bits.
Lots of moments that could compete for this, to name just a few - lunch next to the river where the elephants came to bathe, trying durian and other exotic fruits from the roadside markets, climbing Sigiriya and cycling round the local villages, playing traditional games, relaxing on the south coast, elephant rides (realised rather too late that elephants don't need bananas peeled for them).
Sampath was excellent - he looked after all of us, entertained us and gave us a real feel of life in Sri Lanka. Was also brilliant at effortlessly organising us all without us feeling over-organised. Never too busy to answer questions and manage all the behind the scenes running of the trip. It was also reassuring to learn from Sampath how much Exodus have given back to country particularly following the aftermath of the Tsunami.
We arrived a day early and left a day late than the Exodus trip dates - an excellent decision as those booked on the Exodus flight didn't arrive at the first destination until the evening so essentially missed this part of the trip - a lovely beachside hotel. The Exodus flight also left very early on the last day leaving no time to explore Colombo. Sampath gave us ideas of what to do in Colombo for the day and we had a brilliant time.Sampath was very open to suggestions from us re things we would like to see and do and accommodated as many as he could eg sampling roadside food, organising tuk tuk ride, tasting toddy etc.
I had wanted to go to Sri Lanka for about 15 years and it met and exceeded every expectation! It is an incredibly comprehensive trip, combining culture, wildlife and beaches, so something for everyone!
As I'd wanted to go to Sri Lanka for so long, the whole trip was inspirational for me. If I had to pick out the most exceptional moments though, I would have to pick highs and lows (in relation to sea level!!) The highs were climbing to the top of Sigirya, which tested my head for heights something rotten coming down a not terribly wide staircase literally nailed into the side of the rock!!) and climbing Adams Peak and seeing the sunrise (even though it wasn't a clear sky) from the summit. The low, which was probably my most favourite moment of the holiday, was taking an optional whale watching tour at the end of the holiday which was out of this world! However, it seems unfair to only pick a few moments of the holiday, as we did and saw so much. Everything was great - from the cave temples to Kandy, the cycle ride in Giritale and the visit to the Tsunami house (both of which involved a most stunning local curry lunch!), World's End to the Ella Gap to Yala National Park...
Roshan was fantastic! He was smiling from the day he met us to the day he left us! He was always happy, helpful and efficient and has clearly benefitted from his many years of experience to make the holiday into an absolute pleasure for everyone. It quickly feels like he is an old friend and just another part of the group. Roshan started every day with an informative talk about various aspects of Sri Lanka, whether it was politics, traditions, food or the numerous amount of holidays so we learnt an awful lot (before our mid-morning coach nap!!) Do watch out for his cheeky sense of humour though and his appalling number of English clichés!!
This is actually a pretty active holiday with lots of travelling, so can be tiring - our group frequently used the travel time to cat nap!! However you have your own bus and can often leave bags (or yourself!) on them whilst visting various sites. Be warned though - the bus may be inclined to break down every so often, but fortunate our drive and helper were technically minded and managed to patch it up well enough most times!Don't go too mad on the clothes front - shorts & t-shirts are the way forward - but ladies, make sure you have some below the knee trousers or skirts and tops that cover your shoulders to respect the rules in the temples. Do take some travel wash though as there are not that many opportunities to do laundry.If you're planning to climb Adams Peak, be prepared for 6km of steps up and 6km down! You don't need walking poles and a good pair of trainers is sufficient. If you're reasonably fit, you should be fine - I am but by God my calves hurt next day!! Also, wrap up warm for the summit - it's pretty chilly up top at 4.30 in the morning!!Take a good supply of wet wipes, hand detergent and tissues! And DEET is a must if you don't want to get bitten!For the Yala National Park safari drive, make sure you have spare batteries and memory cards as you'll doubtless be zooming for England! And be prepared for a very bumpy and dusty ride! My t-shirt was so filthy afterwards, I just threw it away!!If you are there in the right season, definitely go on the optional whale watching tour. It cost about £50 for pretty much a 5 hour trip, we were plied with tea, biscuits, water, fruit, omelettes & cake throughout and saw 3 different types of dolphin, two different types of whale and a couple of sea turtles - amazing!!