Reviews

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!

Haven’t posted your review yet? Here’s how to do it…

Once you return from your Exodus adventure holiday, you will be emailed a link to add your review. Any feedback collected is posted onto our website, totally unedited.

Alternatively you can navigate to the relevant trip page and add your review via the Reviews tab.

Select a trip specific review:

Select

317 Reviews

4.8 out of 5

Reviewed August 2012

MONT BLANC HIGHLIGHTS

I had a wonderful time and would thoroughly recommend this trip to anyone wanting to see the best of this beautiful area. The views on the walks were simply stunning and the hospitality of the hosts Oliver and Elaine made for a friendly and welcoming atmosphere at the accommodation. I hadn’t travelled on a group trip like this before and was unsure what to expect, but couldn’t have asked to spend the week with a nicer group of people, which helped to make the week perfect. If you are as lucky as we were with the weather, make sure you go up the Aiguille du Midi and Helbronner cable cars on the free day – the views are just unbelievable!

Most Inspirational Moment

Hard to choose one moment/day, but I think my favourites were climbing up to Lac Blanc - which was a bit of a slog but well worth it - and day 3 above Val Ferret which was (thankfully) modified from the original itinerary thanks to Oliver's local knowledge and was full of some of the most beautiful alpine flower meadows I have ever seen!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very experienced and this knowledge has enabled him to plan some excellent and rewarding routes, which didn't seem too busy even in mid-July. The pace each day was just right, which was quite an achievement given the diverse range of people/ages in the group. I reckon he needs some new jokes to tell though!

Advice for Potential Travellers

You will enjoy it more if you get your fitness up beforehand and are used to walking - good boots are also a must, I had some Meindl Burma pros and these were a lifesaver for my feet! Plan in advance for the free day too.

Reviewed July 2012

MONT BLANC HIGHLIGHTS

This was a fantastic holiday. The walks were well chosen through beautiful scenery and the leadership was great, ensuring that everyone in the group was able to comfortably appreciate the surroundings. The chalet was very cosy and the food delicious.

Most Inspirational Moment

Every day was lovely but I particularly enjoyed the walk to Lac Blanc with exceptional views of the Mer de Glace. I found the ascent difficult but was rewarded at the top with a hot chocolate in the sunshine next to a beautiful lake, while baby Ibex roamed nearby.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver was a very skilled group leader and a fun and friendly person. He was able to judge the ability of each member of the group and set the pace accordingly. He was very safe and careful, and seemed to have an endless supply of knee straps and energy drinks. What I enjoyed most about this trip was that Oliver gave us time to enjoy the scenery, take photographs and indulge in coffee and pear and chocolate tart at refuges without ever feeling rushed. Oliver has obviously worked very hard to forge good relationships with the owners of the best refuges ensuring that we always recieved a warm welcome, despite descending on them in large numbers and sometimes eating our own food. Although we did plenty of walking and I returned home with sore legs and a couple of blisters, this really did feel like a relaxing holiday, and that was thanks to Oliver.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Although there are some quite lengthy ascents they are taken at a steady pace so don't worry too much if you are like me and not super fit.

Reviewed July 2012

MONT BLANC HIGHLIGHTS

A relatively easy way to experience awe-inspiring scenery. You can just take in the beauty of nature without worrying about anything else.

Most Inspirational Moment

The purity of the mountain streams, the beauty of the mountains and the overwhelming feeling of happiness being part of the world which is somehow completely absent in normal everyday life.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver was very caring and looked after all of our interests. He is more or less omniscient though not in an annoying way. An incredibly nice man with an even nicer dog and a wonderful sense of humour.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go for it.

Reviewed July 2012

MONT BLANC HIGHLIGHTS

Unique! A week wirh some of the friendliest people I have ever met. Walking with Oliver was a special experience, he is an expert in so many fields, but he was ever watchful of his group. He was always bubbling with humour. After our walks there was always a warm welcome home by Elaine, with her delicious food and twinkly good humour. Not to mention the hot tub, Dylan-the-dog, and the puns!

Most Inspirational Moment

Finding meadows alive with flowers in hidden valleys high in the mountains - and knowing that I had walked every step of the way.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Inspirational and extremely professional. It takes vast experience and expertese to maintain Olivere's level of good humour and leadership while still monitoring individuals AND hold together a group with a range of experience and ability.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Remember to take gloves along with the hat and sun block.

Reviewed July 2012

MONT BLANC HIGHLIGHTS

What a stunning week! Unrivalled views, excellent hosting by Oliver and Elaine whose care and obvious enjoyment of their work made this a fun, exhilirating and memorable walking holiday.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were several highlights of the trip: after the somewhat long and, at times, challenging walk to reach the top at 'Lac Blanc' it was worth every minute. We were privileged to see Ibex who paused long enough for photos posing adjacent to the turquoise meltwater.The trip to Italy was beautiful - the amazing 'balcony walk' through meadows filled with wild flowers identified and described by Oliver, whose extensive knowledge made them even more interesting.Every day was different and memorable in its own right.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver, as our group leader was caring, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and also great fun! His co-pilot, Dylan, was also amusing (Fox Terrier!). At all times, we felt safe, included and we could not have asked for a nicer person to make the walks interesting and fun .

Advice for Potential Travellers

I would certainly advise being prepared for changable weather. One day we experienced all conditions apart from snow! It was often warm and benign low down needing suncream and sunhats, but at high altitude the weather became cool and wet on two occaions thus needing our waterproof leggings which we had fortunately packed in our backpacks.

Reviewed July 2012

MONT BLANC HIGHLIGHTS

The best holiday I ever had in my life so far. Wonderful scenery, wonderful guide and wonderful group.

Most Inspirational Moment

The view of Lac Blanc on the third day of the walk. While having lunch beside the lake, I felt for moment that all my dreams are fulfilled. Even after a week from the holiday, I still stare at my photos from that day. It is hard to explain the scenery in one word as you can see the snow caped mountains,beautiful lake, refugee, ibex (mountain goats) etc in single location. For facebook users, you will be confused which photo to be made your profile photo.

Thoughts on Group Leader

In one word, "perfect". I still wonder how a person can manage these many days of walking in a year.Being my first walking holiday, I was a bit worried about the difficulty of walking for five days. But he set the walk speed in such a way that we never feel the strain of walk. I was even ready for walk on the sixth day also. He kept on interacting each and every member of the walk and made sure the group enjoys the walk. Another thing not missed out is the endless flow of jokes from his mouth, But you have to listen carefully to understand them, which I couldn't do most of the times.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Walk is within the limits of anybody who is used to 5-6 hours of weekend walking. Longest walks are on third and last day. I will be very helpful if you practice multiple days walking as we are tend to relax on the next day of our weekend walk. Being a centre based walking, we have the option of not to walk on any days if we dont feel like. Personally I will advise you not to miss out walk on third day (Lac Blanc). Also never ever forget waterproofs on any day of the walk.

Reviewed July 2012

MONT BLANC HIGHLIGHTS

This was truly a GREAT week and a GREAT walking tour! It starts with the friendly Chalet where you live, to the guide (Oliver) who is simply superb to the actual trekking days which were all very nicely planned out and offered a little bit of a different twist to every day to keep it exciting!

Most Inspirational Moment

The second day where we started to walk from Courmayeur in Italy and where the full day was basically "postcard views" every single minute!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver, the groupleader & guide was one of the highlights of the trip! A trip like this can be a success or a none success based on the tourleader and Oliver got it ALL right! The greatness of the trip is partly made by Oliver who is knowledgeable, funny, interesting and had a great way of making the full group feel special!!

Advice for Potential Travellers

We can 100% recommend this trip! The tempo of the daily walks are set at a very reasonable pace so anybody can really make it without any pre-training. As the trip notes point out, be aware that the rooms in the chalet are quite small and basic.An extra bonus to the Chalet (on top of the the great food and the outdoor jacuzzi) is that the Chalet has very good wireless connection so if you have to check back with work or need system access its very handy!

Reviewed July 2012

MONT BLANC HIGHLIGHTS

A fabulous introduction to walking in the Alps. Oliver choreographed a terrific week which took us into stunning scenery and must take full credit (ably abetted by Elaine and Dylan) for sensitively taking care of the whole group’s needs. Thanks for a great holiday.

Most Inspirational Moment

There are too many highlights to pick out one, but memories will remain - the traverse around Mont de la Saxe on the Italian side of Mont Blanc stands out as a fantastic walk through Alpine meadows full of flowers; spotting Ibex at Lac Blanc and lunches at refuges (particularly the stunning views from below the Col de Voza).

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver was a real star. He paced the walks perfectly taking full account of everyone's abilities. He was informative and knowledgeable and was always sensitive to group needs. He received great back up from Elaine who provided wholesome cooking and provided great pack lunches as well as ensuring that the Chalet felt like a "home from home".

Advice for Potential Travellers

The walks are graded as "B". This fits well with the description in the brochure. If you are super fit, then be prepared to rein yourself in for the benefit of the rest of the group and recognise that there is much to be said for slowing down a little to take in the fantastic views and enjoy the comaraderie engendered and nurtured by Oliver.

Reviewed July 2012

MONT BLANC HIGHLIGHTS

Excellent week. Oliver was a fantastic guide and looked after the whole group professionally and expertly. Elaine provided fabulous food the whole week and although I don’t usually eat cake – her cakes are so delicious I had one everyday.

Most Inspirational Moment

The whole week was brilliant. I loved each walk as they were all different in terms of the immediate landscape but always with the mountains as the stunning backdrop.Eating pear and chocolate tart and drinking hot chocolate at a mountain refuge in the sunshine with clear blue skies was a real moment of joy.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent. One of the best leaders I have had on a group activity holiday. This is because he paid attention to the needs of the whole group and worked hard to ensure we all enjoyed the walking and the landscape.Elaine provided food for the week and she did so incredibly well. The food was excellent and the amount available was brilliant. In fact I would have to admit to eating a little too much. Large breakfast and lunch (enough to spread over '2' lunches), and a 3 course dinner. Good job I was on a walking holiday.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This holiday is for you if you want a good introduction to the area, enjoy taking in the views and time to appreciate the journey.It is important to understand the grading of the walk as this will determine the level of the group that you will be walking with all week.If you want to use a holiday to push your own physical fitness then you need to understand your own fitness levels and how this compares to the walk selected.This holiday is graded as a B and this is a sound description of the walks.Oliver is a true group leader and will set the pace of the walk according to the needs of the group, as he should. I found the pace on the holiday good and it was great to see the whole group enjoying the walking. There was a great deal of diversity in our group, from marathon runners (not me!) to regularish walkers. But we all enjoyed the walking thanks to Oliver.

Reviewed July 2012

MONT BLANC HIGHLIGHTS

This trip was fantastic as it combined trekking in Mont Blanc during the day with the luxury of chalet accommodation in the evenings!

Most Inspirational Moment

The walking was fantastic and the views were amazing - especially on the final day on Aguillette des Houches! I really liked seeing Mer De Glace on the free day - i've never had the chance to go inside a glacier before and it was amazing!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver our leader was very funny and very knowledgable about the local area. He paces the walks just right- you get to have regular rests to catch your breath and he made sure we were all enjoying ourselves.

Advice for Potential Travellers

My advice would be to take all the essential equipment and clothing as the weather changes quickly on the mountains!

Prev 1 … 27 28 29 30 31 32 Next