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

51 Reviews

4.5 out of 5

George Garland

Reviewed June 2019

Fascinating Place

The names of Samarkand and Bukhara have conjured dreams since my school days many years ago and I never thought I would have a chance to see them. The fall of the USSR and now visa-free travel has left this land of desert fortresses, caravan stops and the beautiful buildings covered in ornate blue tiles within reach. The land of Tamerlane, the vastness of the central Asian steppes and the magical cross-roads of civilisations and learning need to be seen to be believed.

Most Inspirational Moment

Arriving in Khiva and seeing the Silk Road monuments for the first time.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Shah is a young man fairly new to the industry. He is very knowledgeable but lacks some of the finesse and inter-personal skills that come with experience.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Uzbekistan is far easier to enjoy than imagined. Outside Tashkent English is widely spoken, particularly in the tourist industry and amongst the young. With a stay up to 15 days now visa free for tourists from a large range of countries including the UK this is the time to travel before too many people start making their plans and prices start rising.

Paul Grundy

Reviewed May 2019

Uzbekistan Uncovered

A good overview of the country taking in the historic and architectural highlights of Uzbekistan. Transport was Good although it was evident that the train journey was more often than not unavailable. On a personal note, I felt that the group size (16) was too large.

Most Inspirational Moment

The city of Khiva was the highlight for me. Still relatively unaffected by mass tourism and the locals were pleasant (as they were throughout) and interested to learn about their visitors.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent, well informed and concerned for the welfare of the group.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go now before mass tourism makes its mark.

Gary Lavin

Reviewed May 2019

Sucessful and Safe

It was a marvellous trip. Each day was filled with new wonders and excitement. Plenty of wow moments. A visit that was completely safe and rewarding

Most Inspirational Moment

The city of Samarkand was full of wonder and genuine WOW moments

Thoughts on Group Leader

A fantastic and informative tour leader. Very informative and knowledgeable. Exodus are lucky to have him.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do not miss out. Uzbekistan is a hidden jewel

Roxy Hooton

Reviewed April 2019

Unbelievably beautiful Uzbekistan!

Fantastic trip to a wonderful country! So much beauty it hurts your eyes, and the people are incredibly warm & friendly. Each of the main cities has a totally different feel to it, & I loved them all! Khiva was my favourite though : be sure to wander around in the evening after the crowds have gone home – it’s a completely different vibe to during the day.
Some tips:
If you climb the minaret in Khiva you need a proper torch, strong knees & no fear!! The view is wonderful but coming down is terrifying!
Being Vegetarian isn’t too hard but it’s not very exciting- just check the soup has ‘no meat’ even if it is called a vegetable soup it will often still have meat in.Vegetable kebabs lack imagination – best option is the pasta based dishes.
Be willing to have your photo taken by the locals – it will lead to some wonderful interactions
Do bother to get up for sunrise in the desert (if the Vodka the night before doesn’t prevent!) – it’s worth it!
Do have comfortable shoes & some energy! This isn’t really a leisurely trip – the pace is quite full on, but totally worth it.

Most Inspirational Moment

Dinner & a cold beer on a roof top terrace with a fabulous view over Khiva as the swifts whirled overhead and the sun set!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Full of knowledge and always ready to help.

Advice for Potential Travellers

See Summary

Anwar Bhutta

Reviewed April 2018

Brilliant trip and holiday

Amazing country and very, very friendly people. Incredible history and historical monuments. The Uzbek government is doing great work in restoring these incredible archeological gems. Full praise to them. A very varied and inspirational holiday plus brought back some indelible memories. Our guide Dilshod was very informative, caring and sensitive to the needs of a diverse group. He is a brilliant guide.

Most Inspirational Moment

Visit to see the Othmani Qur'an in Tashkent was a great privilege. This Qur'an written in about 646 CE was awe inspiring. Ragistan Square in Samarquand is incredible. The jaw-dropping moment came when we entered the the mosque in the Tilla-Kari Madressa. I could not take my eyes away from the amazing decorations of the ceiling. The ceiling is flat (so they say) but the the master craftsmen have done such an amazing work that it actually appears to be dome shaped. My highlight of the the whole trip.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our guide Dilshod was very informative, caring and sensitive to the needs of a diverse group. He is a brilliant guide.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Please go as soon as you can. strongly recommend this trip and holiday

Daphne Partridge

Reviewed April 2018

Amazing people and architecture

This holiday gives a great overview of the country and it’s history visiting cities along the Great Silk Road, each with their own amazing buildings and stories

Most Inspirational Moment

We had been to many squares, mosques and madrassas but Registan Square in Samarkand topped them all and one of the final highlights of the trip.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Dilshod was excellent - friendly, extremely helpful and incredibly knowledgeable of his country and it's history and also adaptable to our requests.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Everything was incredibly cheap and we struggled to spend $200 on food and drink and trinkets in the twelve days! Take dollars which can easily be exchanged for Som. Women travellers wear sleeved tops and crop trousers/trousers or skirts., and have a scarf handy for the couple of mosques. Don't worry about the night in the yurt - very pleasant with proper framed beds and and an electric light! To avoid disappointment, if you see something you like then buy it.... some items are only local to that city and you won't see them again. The food was good with salads, soups and meat dishes, some almost European style, but also plenty of local cuisine to try.

Lesley Prosser

Reviewed October 2017

Very well-run tour of a great destination

This was a fascinating insight into a country I knew little about. The pace was good, and both the sites and the sights were interesting and varied. With one exception, the accomodation was better than my expectations. We were 15 people in a full-size coach, a real luxury for the several long drives. It was great to be able to swap sides to see a better view, or join others for a chat. The group were a pleasant assortment of people who got on well with each other and were enjoyable company.

Most Inspirational Moment

What can one say? The Registan at Samarkand. Just when we thought we were all mosqued out, there it was...

Thoughts on Group Leader

I generally prefer solo travel, as I like to go my own way, but Dilshod had made a convert of me. He is a brilliant leader. His long experience shows in the effortless ease with which he performs this very demanding job, but nonetheless, he injects his presentations and information sessions with a freshness and enthusiasm that never, ever sounds like he is just playing a tape recording in his head. He is an immensely likeable person, and a pleasure to chat with out of hours. He is the first leader I have come across who was willing to spend dinner with his group every night to make the ordering and paying a painless process in restaurants where English was rare.

Advice for Potential Travellers

While standards of hygiene are generally good, some public toilets really require you to have a supply of tissues and sanitiser. Oddly, if you wanted to buy a roll of toilet paper, it would be easily found in any little local shop. Kleenex, on the other hand, is hard to come by - you really need to find a pharmacy to buy that. So take plenty of Kleenex.

Hayley Mooney

Reviewed July 2017

Unbelievable Uzbekistan

Definitely book this trip, Uzbekistan is beautiful.

Most Inspirational Moment

The yurt camp. Sitting under the milky way listening to the guy singing is something I'll never forget, even the 6k walk through the desert the following day was fun. Of the historical sites, the necropolis in Samarkand was my favourite, and Samarkand was my favourite city. It's easy to get around and the people are lovely, although that can be said for every town and city in Uzbekistan.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Dilshod was incredible, his passion and knowledge of Uzbekistan is awesome. He must be the best guide in the whole of Uzbekistan. He's also just a really fun and lovely guy. Valentin is a fantastic driver. Even though most of the roads are in good condition it did get a bit bumpy at times, but I always felt safe.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Uzbekistan airways is great, you get plenty of leg room and the food really isn't as bad as everyone says. A lot of the historic sites have been reconstructed in the past 10-15 years, so much so that it kind of became a running joke, it doesn't detract from the trip though. The food is delicious. Plov is the best! The kebabs taste amazing, but can be a bit greasy. The bread is delicious, and there's plenty of salad options for vegetarians.

steve adams

Reviewed May 2017

the delights of uzbekistan

The people of uzbekistan are so open and friendly. The cities and the monuments within them live up to all expectations and there is so much to see. The Yurts are comfortable and spacious, toilet facilities at the camp are good, much better than expected. Camel ride and walk through the desert was a great experience and finishing up with a swim and a picnic beside the lake was a great rounding off of the camp experience.
There are long bus journeys on this trip between the towns and some of the roads are quite rough but we felt safe in the hands of our driver.
Food is much better than expected and there is more variety than the trip notes seem to indicate. Nobody appeared to get any serious stomach bugs on the trip which is unusual when the weather was so hot. I think this was because our guide advised on good eating places and kept us right.
The currency issues are not as difficult as hinted at and are easily managed. Security, including arrival and departure at the airport was robust but not a problem

Most Inspirational Moment

Hard to say as there were many. For me the Registan and other monuments in Samarkand were probably the most inspirational thing but the night in a yurt camp with camel ride was amazing as were the desert forts. Or maybe the most inspirational thing was the openess and friendliness of the uzbek people. A trip of many highlights

Thoughts on Group Leader

Dilshod was patient, understanding, organised and extremely knowledgable on history and local customs. He had a good sense of humour, gelled well with the group and shared many personal experiences of his life in uzbekistan. He made the trip easier for us all and kept us going when the heat of the day made us wilt. I think his guidence and attention in terms of directing us to eating places also helped to keep us healthy

Advice for Potential Travellers

Travel as light as possible, have a torch for the Yurt camp and make sure you drink lots and lots of water. Take money in US dollars and slap on the sun cream before you go out.

Erica Whitfield

Reviewed May 2017

Uzbekistan uncovered

This was a well structured trip , and took in most of the spectacular sights of Uzbekistan. It is busy with little free time (in the right places ) and we didn’t get to go on the train , which would have been a relief from the tour bus ,as it covers a lot of distance.
Uzbekistan is a fabulous place to visit , has many awesome buildings , and you cannot walk more than 50 metres without a local wanting a photo with you, which meant lovely conversations and interactions.
It was great to have a camel ride to the lake , as this meant chilling time and a much needed refreshing swim.

Most Inspirational Moment

The Poi Kalyon was fabulous , and seeing the Koran in Tashkent (which we would have missed if we had not insisted on going )

Thoughts on Group Leader

Dilshod was very good , a calm and knowledgeable guide who would try to accommodate our wishes.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The vegetarian food is nowhere near as bad as suggested , try to avoid the set meals though , they are not worth it for Veggies. Do not accept a ground floor room by reception in Bukhara Hotel Aist, it is very noisy ,dark (no window) and cramped.(which the other rooms are not )

Prev 1 2 3 4 … 6 Next