Thoughts on Group Leader
Excellent
Advice for Potential Travellers
Bring a bell
Reviews
Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers
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Reviews
Cycling Vietnam
Great trip with super leader.
Amazing experience
What a fantastic trip. Full of new experiences, very well organised. We were so well looked after, would definitely use this company again. You do need to be confident on a bike, some of the cycling is not for the faint hearted! There is a lot of traffic for some of the ride, but also small villages and serene countryside.
Most Inspirational Moment
I'd struggle to pick just one! It was all inspiring
Thoughts on Group Leader
LAM was amazing. His enthusiasm, his knowledge and his encouragement were so helpful. He and his team are the best!!
Advice for Potential Travellers
You do need to be confident on roads with traffic. Don't worry what's going on behind you. Just keep your eyes forward and keep moving!
Very varied trip
A great tour around Sri Lanka seeing beautiful scenery, animals, temples and local people
Most Inspirational Moment
Spending time with locals on the two farm visits. The Sri Lankan games were great fun.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Roshan was excellent. He was relaxed but organised. He gave us a lot of information about the country and it’s history. Great sense of humour. An exceptional guide.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Enjoy the wide variety of activities.
Amazing
The whole trip was awesome, lots of different places visited the tour guide was fabulous lots of knowledge. Did some wonderful things that supported sustainable tourism an experience never to be forgotten
Most Inspirational Moment
Taj Mahal
Thoughts on Group Leader
Fabulous could not have been better
Advice for Potential Travellers
Expects lots of early morning starts aand a lot of travelling which is all well worth it.
Spice Trails TGK 0402
An amazing adventure exploring beautiful Kerala with local guides.
Most Inspirational Moment
Walking through the timeless beauty of the tea plantations and mountains with the sound track of the Bulbul birds. The delicious 3 course curry picnics eaten on mountain peaks with views across the valleys. Sitting in the shade eating freshly made banana fritters as the houseboat drifted down the backwaters, watching the kites, kingfishers and bee catchers swooping and diving over the water. Stopping for a warm welcome and a refreshing 2p cup of tea in a tiniest tea shop in a mountain village.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Santosh Kumar was the perfect leader, his local knowledge, his wisdom and his gentle sense of humour kept the group happy and engaged throughout our adventure. He not only guided us through the tour but also helped us to understand local customs and etiquette so that we could be respectful and be welcomed as visitors to the community rather than just tourists. He knows everyone! so wherever we went we were made welcome. Santosh managed our group so well with his calm 'can do' attitude. Even long journeys were made part of the adventure, with the amazing views of life from the bus and the extra special ‘Santosh surprises’ along the way, which could be a local artisan at work, a flower market, a roadside cafe with an incredible view or even a hillside cattle market. On a trip like this there will always be glitches, but Santosh always had a brilliant ‘Plan B’ and sometimes plan C! which always worked out perfectly. Travelling in the minibus was an adventure in itself and we had total trust in Jogi, our excellent driver, on the busy and at times chaotic Indian roads!
Advice for Potential Travellers
If you like walking and nature and seeing the sunsets and sunrises in the mountains and sleeping under the stars, then you will enjoy this wonderful adventure. Pack thin layers as it was really hot walking in the mountains, but could be quite chilly in the evenings and early mornings at the camp site (we all wore woolly hats and gloves in the evenings around the fire). Long sleeves and long trousers are preferable on the mountains as we were often walking through prickly things and of course there was the risk of insects and leaches (we had no trouble with either as it was quite dry). In towns and temples it felt more comfortable to follow local etiquette and have shoulders and legs covered. Scarves/sarongs were useful as quick cover ups for respect or for sun/insect protection.
Fantastic but full-on trip
The trip delivered exactly what it stated and in that respect was wonderful. However, we felt that the pace was too relentless given the large distances needed to travel. An additional day, perhaps in Ranthambore NP (with a further tiger hunt?) and some time by a pool would have been good to break in the itinerary. Overnight second class train from Agra to Varanasi was 6 hrs delayed adding further to the tight timeframe and was somewhat of a challenging experience. Express train from Varanasi to Delhi very good however. Hotels were fine but mostly tired.
Most Inspirational Moment
Visiting there Taj Mahal at sunrise
Thoughts on Group Leader
Manoj was exceptional in his organisational skills, knowledge, enthusiasm and sense of humour .
Advice for Potential Travellers
Be prepared for the fast pace and culture shock
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.
Most Inspirational Moment
Jordan: National park hike including lunch cooked by Bedouins on open fire in the mountains. Wadi Rum, no surprise it has been the set for so many films. Petra, hiking the longer trail is a great idea, much nicer than the usual entrance route. Egypt: St Catherine's Monastry and Mount Sinai night walk Snorkelling at the Blue Hole (hike and additional snorkelling cancelled due to poor weather). The Red Sea Hotel was great for relaxing, swimming etc after the Sinai walk. I never tire of seeing the Pyramids, they're awesome.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Jordan: Amer was so informative and had a great sense of humour. I learned so much about his beautiful country, and culture. Egypt: Amed was knowledgeable and funny. Both ensured they were available and contactable as and when we needed them.
Advice for Potential Travellers
These countries are safe for travellers. Please do not cancel your trip. You will experience a range of activities provided by experienced and seasoned guides. The differences and similarities in both cultures are fascinating and thought provoking and the landscapes are beautiful.
Amazing!
Absolutely amazing week, stunning scenery, great group and fantastic guide!
Most Inspirational Moment
So many fantastic moments! I think the day that stands out most was having fun making and sleeping in a quinzee, as it's such a once in a lifetime experience.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Elina was absolutely amazing, really friendly, helpful and always checking that everyone was warm and happy. She also ran a guide hour on several days where she talked about Finnish seasons, culture and history, which were really interesting.
Advice for Potential Travellers
The kit provided was brilliant and we had easy access to more kit if needed so beyond a thermal base layer you genuinely don't need to bring many clothes at all.
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!
Most Inspirational Moment
Too many to pick one but the scenery while trekking & sunsets were stunning
Thoughts on Group Leader
Santosh was fabulous. His English is excellent, he was on top of everything all the time, good sense of humour, went the extra mile for our group of 6. And managed to seem so relaxed all the time
Advice for Potential Travellers
It was hot so take more long sleeves than you think you’ll need if, like me, fair. Very comfortable walking boots essential & I used a few blister plasters as feet swelled although never need in uk