Reviews

Title reflected my experience

Notwithstanding cancellations by others, this trip went ahead. I suspect people were deterred unccessarily by events in Gaza.
I absolutely loved Jordan and the experience was most definitely enhanced by the fact there were only 2 of us! Our tour guides were brilliant. Attentive, informative, open discussions on history, culture past and present and knowledgeable.
Jordan is a beautiful country with friendly welcoming people. Our hikes were great and enhanced by our meals and conversations with Bedouins. I would return there any time and have recommended it to friends.
I have visited Egypt before but never been to the Sinai area. Staying at St Catherine’s monastry was a real treat and the walk up Mount Sinai was a real highlight, as was the snorkelling (the best i have ever done).
Accommodation throughout was varied and added to the adventure.

Amazing!

Absolutely amazing week, stunning scenery, great group and fantastic guide!

Great wildlife, shame about the minibus!

Costa Rica is undoubtedly a fabulous location. We really enjoyed the opportunity to see amazing wildlife in some stunning locations. Accommodation was mostly excellent (apart from a very tired-feeling Holiday Inn in San Jose) but there was simply too much time spent travelling in a cramped minibus. The ratio of travel time to dedicated nature-watching was simply too high. It might be too much trying to encompass three destinations, spread across a wide area, in such a short time.

Most Inspirational Moment

Boat trips in Tortuguero National Park

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very friendly and knowledgeable but occasionally somewhat overbearing. We sometimes felt like we were being talked to like naughty primary school children! Initially very unsympathetic and seemingly disinterested when group members' luggage was soaked while being transported on the roof of the minibus.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Costa Rica's a fascinating destination and our knowledgeable guide helped us gain a good appreciation of its natural wonders. You need to be ready to spend a lot of time travelling between the three locations on this tour. It felt like we spent as much time on the road (in a far from comfortable minibus) as we did searching for, and finding, Costa Rica's special flora and fauna. If possible, think about a longer tour with a better balance between travelling time and time spent out enjoying nature. Definitely not recommended if you're tall!

Reply from Exodus

Thank you for taking the time to submit a review of your Exodus holiday to Costa Rica, Philip, and we were pleased to read that you enjoyed the boat trips in Tortuguero. On the other hand, we are sorry that you found your leader overbearing and that you felt your tour featured too much driving. We acknowledge that one of the major reasons our customers choose Exodus is because we provide expert tour guides who can deliver our planned itineraries to a high standard, and ideally elevate a group’s experience in their destination. We are well aware of the impact that our leaders have on our clients’ overall enjoyment of the trip, and it is therefore a matter of great disappointment that you found yours to be unsympathetic and disinterested. Your leader is a valued member of our Costa Rican cohort and has proven in the time she has led for us that she is adept at leading tours that meet ours and our customers’ expectations; in fact, she has previously won our tour leader of the year award and regularly receives some of the best average scores across all our trips. We hope this shows why we were confident in her ability to successfully lead your tour, although we are sorry that your experience was not as positive as you had expected. We are further sorry that you felt there was an excessive amount of driving time proportionate to the length of your trip and that your vehicle was rather cramped. Our product managers spend a significant amount of time designing our itineraries and, though we cannot please everyone, we generally find that they strike a balance between seeing as much of a country as possible, whilst maintaining reasonable driving times. Having reviewed the feedback for all departures of this tour this year, we are satisfied that our customers rated their overall experience 4.27* out of 5*, which meets our general expectations, although we regret if this is not a reflection of your holiday. We sincerely hope that your disappointment on this occasion has not discouraged you from travelling with Exodus again.

 

Sarah Ahern, Product Manager

Fabulous Trip

This trip was just great on many levels. We had a very enjoyable holiday with a great small group and we all got on and laughed throughout the trip.
Trekking for the first 6 days after arriving in Munnar, was through stunning scenery, tea plantations, mountains, views, a village seeing real local life. However it wasn’t always easy in 28-30 deg with some pretty steep ascents and I found it challenging at times even being quite fit although not at my peak! I think calling it a level 3 rating in difficulty underestimates the walking. We walked from 7-16 km each day. Camping was wonderful, excellent food was cooked in basic conditions and our hot lunch was carried by the guide each day. Just had to carry a lot of water & sun stuff.
The second week was amazing too. As per itinerary we saw Madurai, temple is spectacular, we all did the street food tour & all ok after! Peniyar National park walk and the boat trip were great, saw elephants and other wildlife. The houseboat was so relaxing and the food was amazing. Out homestay was wonderful too, we were all together and spent time on the beach but it was v hot.
Our guide Santosh was A** and looked after us so incredibly well, took us to all our dinners & lunches not included so we didn’t have to think at all!

Spot on. A great introduction to the diverse island of Sri Lanka

Excellent tour leader, varied and interesting itinerary, excellent organisation and accommodation.

Cross country skiing Kvitvatn

Superb as always

The Best Experience

I arrived to Jordan by myself because I booked the tour last minute.
This was my first trip outside of the Uk since my husband passed away at the end of October 2023.

I can’t find the right words to express how this tour has made me feel. I’ve returned home to the Uk a different person to the one who left.

Jordan and its people are truly gifted.
The moment I stepped off the aeroplane the Exodus staff were there, waiting for me. Not for one moment did I feel afraid.
The group I spent the week with will remain friends for life.
The laughter we all shared together daily was not at all expected.
Our guide Mikhled was superb every minute of every day. Knowledgeable and attentive to us all.

Jordan itself is rich in culture and beauty, the sights we visited were stunning.
There wasn’t a single day that passed where I didn’t feel blown away with what I was seeing and learning.

I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who loves history, culture and being alive.

The bus journeys were also easy and very comfortable. I suffer with lower back problems but this was also very manageable for me.

Fabulous Cycling and Scenery / Wildlife

Very full two weeks expertly led by our local guide (Memo) covering cycling on both the Pacific and the Atlantic coasts as well as across the middle of Costa Rica. The scenery and wildlife are magnificent (particularly across the more mountainous middle section of the country) with the additional activities including boat trips, wildlife walks and kayaking all adding greatly to the overall experience.

A fabulous week

A wonderful week of activities.

Jordan - a country not to be missed!

A most memorable trip discovering Jordan’s sites, people and culture with an excellent guide and great company