Reviews

Rugged, beautiful but not always as described....

Not a great start, our flight was late ( absolutely nothing to do with Exodous) but I expect nothing less from British Airways, not sat together with my wife and no food to purchase on the return trip. So once again British Airways never cease to disappoint and if any future Exidous trip has nvokved flying with BA… I’ll go with someone else. It’s not the first time but it is the last when “Blooming Awful” spoil my holiday…. and then after being an hour late arriving the Exodous rep was another 45 mins late in Marrakesh!

Now for the good bit…. our guide was just brilliant. He had a great sense of humour, awesome local knowledge and unparalleled mountain knowledge. He brought an incredibly diverse group together and all 15 acheived the summit. Well done Hamid… we’ve nominated you for guide of the year!

And now for the final bit that Exodous managed to deliver…. the itinerary…. other than the start, finish and summit it bore no resemblance to the actual distances, locations, times or camps on the ground. It was worthless.

So would I go to Marrakesh again – probably.
Would I climb Toubkal again… definitely but preferably in winter next time
Would I use the guide we had again…. without doubt – he was awesome
Would I use Exodous again after 2 awful flight experiences and having to wait to be collected even after arriving late because of their choice of operator? No…. would I trust any itinerary from Exodous – never. As I have said in my feedbackbdirectly ( which no one has responded to even though 2 people read everyone apparently) …. I’ll stick with the smaller operators for similar trips that pay attention to detail and truly care for their clients and their experience unlike Exodous.

Most Inspirational Moment

The guide helping some very inexperienced and exhausted climbers summit.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Awesome - I’ve nominated him for guide of the year :-)

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don’t rely on thevitinerary - it beats very little resemblance to what you do on the climb

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank David for taking the time to provide us with feedback both on his holiday evaluation form (HEF) and in his review. Whilst HEFs are read by 2 members of staff, we endeavour to make it clear both in the email we send inviting clients to complete their HEFs, as well as at the end of the survey itself that due to the volume of feedback we receive, we are unable to respond on an individual basis to the comments our clients make. We do, as a result of this, provide an email address which clients are welcome to use if they would like to raise any specific concerns to our customer services team. We would like to apologise if you feel this could be further clarified, but we do hope this explains why we did not get in touch with you previously. We regret to read that your flight experience has reflected poorly on Exodus and that you did not find the itinerary outlined in the trip notes accurately mirrored your experience. This is the first time I can recall receiving feedback of this nature and I would like to sincerely apologise that you found the distances and camp locations to be incorrect. I intend to join a departure of this trip next month and will update the trip notes as necessary. I am glad that despite some disappointment, you found your tour leader, Hamid, to be awesome – Frances Spowart, Product Manager.

Mt Toubkal Climb 7 day trek

I have a wonderful time met some amazing people and shared the adventure of a lifetime. I would have no hesitation in recommending this holiday to anyone who loves hiking/trekking

Mt. Toubkal Climb - A Tale of Two Peaks

The Mt. Toubkal Climb provided a wonderous view of the Atlas Mountains. A straightforward trek, the trip offered many picturesque vantage points. This trek may not be the best trip for the more aspirational mountaineer as this trek could be done outside of group travel. However, I was lucky that the group provided a camaraderie that made the trip. Our guide, Hussan and the muleteers were hardworking and exceptional throughout, ensuring that our best interests were met. A questionable hotel in Marrakech was tolerable due to the short length of time there and the rest of the accommodation was good when compared to the alternatives on offer in the region.

Mt. Toubkal Climb was a start of an even bigger aim for myself, a trip that I shall look back on with fondness.

Amazing Week

I have just returned from my weeks trekking in the Atlas Mountains, 3-10th September. All I can say is the experience was everything I hoped it to be. The staff at Exodus have been fabulous. Said our guide was fabulous, and the group of people brilliant despite mixed abilities. What I can say is that I did prepare for this trip and would not have been able to have done it if I hadn’t spent time improving my overall physical fitness.
I am ready to book my next trip with this company already…looking to go to the Simien Mountains Trekking,

Challenging but very rewarding week in the Atlas Mountains

A challenging trek but definitely achievable with a good level of fitness and pacing yourself. The terrain is very tricky, with steep inclines, scrambling over large rocks and long sections of loose scree. However, the scenery is inspiring and you’ll finish the week with a real sense of accomplishment. Rounding off the trip with a day in the hustle and bustle of Marrakesh is great fun.

There and back a gain..........a trekkers tale

From the bustling red city of Marrakech to the peak of Jebel Toubkal (and back), this trip far exceeded my expectations. The days in Marrakech that bookend the trek offer the opportunity to explore some of the main attractions such as the Jardin Majorelle, and, of course, the medina with its labyrinth souks and the famous Djemaa el Fna main square. Both are within walking distance of the hotel, which is of a good standard with very friendly staff (they will print your boarding pass for you, thankfully!),though i would recommend taking a taxi to the medina unless you are confident of the route. Most taxis hold 3 passengers and as a rule of thumb 10 Dirham per head is a good price. The trek offers a wealth of stunning and varied scenery and trails, from lush valleys and terraced fields irrigated by the rivers flowing from the High Atlas to the snow capped peaks of the mountains themselves. A highlight was the lunch on day 1 of the trek taken in a meadow. The trail is a combination of mule paths, rough, stony terrain, and scree ( and snow at the higher altitudes when we visited in early May). I have never used walking poles but these would have been very useful on days 4 and 5 when ascending and descending the optional high pass trek and Jebel Toubkal. Ice axes and crampons were needed for the Toubkal climb at this time of year and i found these great fun- it was the first time i have ever used them, but will not be the last! There was a great range of age groups and abilities in our exceptional group, and our tour leader Hassan and additional guide Mohammed who joined us for the Toubkal ascent managed the pace extraordinarily well, ensuring everyones welfare and giving everyone the best possible opportunity to achieve the summit- everyone who went for the summit made it. The views from the summit will stay with me from some time. Toubkal is tough and was my first high altitute summit for some time, and serves as a great foundation for some loftier peaks.
Our tour leader Hassan was magnificent. We had to divert from the itenery on day 2 which resulited in a comfortable stay in a gite rather than camping due to snow making a high pass on the traditional route inaccessible for our mules. Hassan expenmined the diversion in detail and our acclimatisation did not suffer. This was symptomatic of the whole trip which was flawlessly organised from start to finish. The food was amazing and supplied calories just when they were needed. What makes the quality of the food even more amazing was that for the most part it was prepared in a tent by a chef that had traveled with us . No-one was made ill by the food. I am full of respect for our tremendous guides, chef, muleteers and the magnificent mules that formed our team in Morocco and who do an exceptional job.
I highly recommend this trip for anyone with a sense of adventure, perseverance and with a reasonable level of fitness. Camping is basic so perhaps not for those who need their creature comforts, but it all adds to the adventure in my opinion and i wouldn’t change a thing. Afternoon tea and delicious pancakes at the campsites were an unexpected treat ( if your group saves you any……protecting them from the wasps indeed!)

Returning to Mt. Toubkal and the High Atlas Mountains

The 8-day trip is the perfect way to explore the High Atlas Mountains and get a flavour of Moroccan culture and history. It gives you time to build up to the climb, appreciate the scenery you’re walking through and get to know your fellow trekkers. I really enjoyed the experience, and hope you do, too.

Walking up Mt. Toubkal.

Great to be able to walk to the highest mountain in North Africa and in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. No special skills or climbing gear was required for the trip. For this trip you needed to be reasonable fit and able to cope with moderate high altitude walking. The weather was kind to us, but there were numerous clouds around the top of the mountain meaning that our distant views were not clear. Close mountain ranges looked impressive. Lush green valleys contrasted with stark bare mountain tops. A walk well worth doing.

mt toubkal climb

a very well organised trip, my first with exodus, so not sure what to expect, but the hospitality
of the berber people, and our guide hassan, will live long in the memory

Mount Toukbal Climb

My partner and I choose to use Exodus again having experienced a fantastic trip with an amazing guide to the Anti Atlas in October 2014. However we were very disappointed with this trip; on the first night the tents arrived after us: consequently we all got completely soaked despite wearing our waterproofs; our kit bags when they arrived had not been covered properly and consequently some travellers had wet kit; there was a no toilet tent; the tables and equipment were very poor quality. None of these problems had we experienced the previous year. To add to this the guide was very unfriendly, set the pace at that of the fastest walkers (bad mountain leadership)! To summarise we are very reluctant to use Exodus again; pity after such a good first experience. We are travelling to Nepal in February with a rival company.