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.

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207 Reviews

4.8 out of 5

Ruth Jones

Reviewed March 2024

Happy memories of Sri Lanka

Cycling through a unique meze of colourful chaos and quiet country roads with a great mix of people all wanting a good time, with delicious food thrown in, by far the best way to see Sri Lanka! It’s an exciting country and Suresh brought it to life for us, providing great commentary, and passing on his knowledge on the way. I learned so much about the country in the best possible way! He cleverly orchestrated the tour giving information and leaving enough time the group to bond, also important .

Most Inspirational Moment

So many every day!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Suresh is by far the best leader I have witnessed, his attention to detail in dealing with group members is over and above anything I have seen on other trips and this for two weeks, I have only done week long trips. He works with a pertinacious resistance to interruptions, sometimes failing and sometimes exasperated by our constant questions, I’m sure, but he is funny, caring and very professional. I have huge respect for anyone working so hard to give a great experience in tourism. He is an excellent ambassador for Sri Lanka. Exodus you are lucky to have him!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go with a good attitude, a sense of adventure and a quest for joy!! I did and had a fabulous time! I did go a couple of days early and therefore very chilled by start of tour, can be hard straight after long flight!

Sandra Burns

Reviewed March 2024

Wonderful Sri Lanka !

A wonderful , full on trip with a mixture of culture and cycling, spent with a lovely group of people

Most Inspirational Moment

Cycling past elephants, and seeing all the wildlife Visiting tea plantations / tea factories Beautiful scenery in Nuwarya Elyria and waving at all the children when cycling The additional extras such as walking up Lions rock, tea with a local family ( food was amazing) and visit to Galle to do some shopping

Thoughts on Group Leader

Suresh was a brilliant leader and the crew were so helpful always smiling and happy to help Suresh was Very organised and nothing was too much trouble, he was Extremely knowledgeable on the history and culture of Sri Lanka and happy to answer questions whilst cycling and walking - he stopped many times to tell us about history or to point out a rare bird or crocodile! “Best leader so far”!

Advice for Potential Travellers

The weather was very hot and humid and made the cycling very challenging at times, we had to get in the bus a few times due to the heat, there are a couple of challenging days, and the train was an option for 1 day Which in hindsight I wish I had taken! A good level if fitness is needed Or consider an e- bike Half of the group were on e- bikes and I would consider for next cycling trip There was some busy roads at times but also cycling the back roads We didnt get the rabies vaccine as not mandatory- I would however recommend as there are lots of stray dogs and monkeys!

Rebecca Taylor

Reviewed March 2024

A fantastic country filled with lovely people!

I loved Sri Lanka, but found the heat hard work on a poorly chest and tummy. I was ill for the whole two weeks plus on returning home, but I at least managed to do a bit of cycling.

Most Inspirational Moment

I loved the gorgeous scenery of the train ride from Kandy to Nuwara Elya, although I felt ill! The downhill cycling, the tea plantations, the Indian Ocean resort - it was all magical.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The support boys were fantastic - absolutely faultless and hard working. Suresh is a nice guy and obviously knows organisation stuff, and delivered a lovely two weeks. If I had to find a criticism of him it is that he didn't give us much in the way of general talks on the culture/history of Sri Lanka. Maybe he was a bit jaded with it all after 157 previous trips, but I felt he could have said more about the places we visited, not only in the evening before's talk but on the bus and bikes when we went somewhere. We didn't seem to know why we were looking at something or going somewhere a lot of the time. I only knew about places because of reading the trip notes, but as a local, I wanted him to tell me more, and really sell Sri Lanka to us. I've been on a number of these trips, and usually a lot more is told to you.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Pack light and maybe read up about the country before you go. I didn't have time, but feel that having been there, I don't really know much more about it than before I went.

Susan Maclennan

Reviewed March 2024

Cycle back roads of Sri Lanka

Very varied 2 weeks cycling lush backroads through rice fields , visiting temples and tea plantations , afternoon safari and swimming in the Indian Ocean . Beautiful country , great food and lovely people

Most Inspirational Moment

So many- mostly the interactions with the Sri Lankan people. Waving , smiling children and always friendly staff in hotels , shops , everywhere

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent leader - everything well organised, nothing was a problem- even getting rabies vaccinations organised after monkey scratch! All the team were excellent.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If possible arrive a day before trip starts - our flight was delayed and so 6.30 am start and big days were quite exhausting

Geoff Deans

Reviewed February 2024

Cycling back roads of Sri Lanka

Excellent trip, great guide (Ruwan) and back-up team

Most Inspirational Moment

Cycling up 2000m in one day!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent

Advice for Potential Travellers

It’s hot!

Lisa Wilkinson

Reviewed February 2024

A good trip, but some things to be aware of.

The trip was great, but some of the roads are very busy with scary traffic which sometimes feels quite aggressive.
Most evening meals were at hotel buffets, as the hotels used were a way outside towns. The food quality was good, but it got a bit repetitive.
There was a lot more riding on unpaved rough roads than the trip notes says.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader, Ruwan, was excellent and very knowedgeable about wildlife, plants and history of the country.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are not used to busy roads, or riding off-road, get some practice in.

helen davies

Reviewed January 2024

Fab tour

Highly recommend this tour, so many different highlights to mention them all but cycling the backroads through the rice fields, seeing the wonderful wildlife, felt like i was on the set of Madagascar on several occasions, even saw wild elephants. The tour guide, Suresh, and his team are great. Making sure everyone is well looked after, with regular breaks with great snacks, sampling some of the local dishes..the pancake with dessicated coconut being one highlight. 😋 The food was great, suresh organising some great lunch stops and also an evening meal demonstration from one of the local chefs was great, so good to get some curry tips and it tasted delicious.. This cycling tour is a great way to see the country, especially with suresh providing great commentary, good insights and passing on his knowledge and passion for his country.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the wild elephants. Cycling along the backroads and seeing all the wildlife. The descent down from ella was grt fun.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Suresh was great. Can see why he has been tour guide of the year twice. Very attentive, made sure everyone was happy. Gave some great insight into his country which he talked about with great passion and humour.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do it. You won't regret it. Fab country. Maybe take a few days after to enjoy the beaches on the south coast near galle. They were fab.

C Knights

Reviewed January 2024

Do this trip if you want a sense of adventure and don’t mind testing yourself on the hills

Our group had a fantastic 2 weeks cycling through the back roads (and a couple of busy roads) of Sri Lanka. There scenic views of course come with some hills and harder days but the bus was always available for those in need of a rest. Food was varied and safe (no real GI issues despite consuming salads and ice) and excellent especially if you love curry and usually consisted of a varied buffet at each meal which often included western options as well. I can’t eat gluten and there was no problem with options on this trip. Vegetarians also seemed to be well catered for. We saw endless monkeys, lizards, birds, fruit bats and much more and explored temples, coastlines, went in safari in search of leopards and elephants and stopped frequently for tea and local snacks. You’ll never go hungry on an exodus trip and this was no exception! While Sri Lanka has had some tough times in recent years, don’t let that out you off. The locals are friendly, the areas visited felt safe and Ruwan our guide was exceptional in his knowledge and leadership

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ruwan was excellent all round

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just do it!

Juliet Robey

Reviewed November 2023

Wonderful holiday - stunning scenery, delicious food

I highly recommend this trip. The cycling routes were superb, only a couple of days on main routes. Stunning vistas and a wonderful experience in a very unspoilt country of rural beauty. Standard of hotels was very high. The food was delicious. Buffets in all hotels for breakfast but one and likewise for dinner so a very wide range available. People very friendly. Our guide Ruwan was delightful and very knowledgeable. The other activities besides the cycling were also great. Really enjoyed the safari and whale watching. There can be heavy rain in the afternoons so waterproofs essential….

Most Inspirational Moment

From a cycling perspective, making it to the end of the really hard hill climb was very inspirational from a personal perspective! I loved the view from the hotel in Lake Girithale, breathtaking view. The final beach hotel was wonderful. Standing on the sand looking out at the ocean at the surfers was wonderful and the final poolside BBQ was very special. The pools at that hotel were fab as well as the one at Chaarya hotel Seeing elephant and leopard on safari and a fin whale while whalewatching also very special.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ruwan was a wonderful group leader. He was incredibly patient, knowledgeable, flexible, attentive, great wildlife knowledge too.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring your own loo roll and hand sanitiser. Bring cycling shoes and trainers because one will get wet. Bring high quality camera. Bring a sarong for easily going into temples to tie round your waist

Andrew Putland

Reviewed November 2023

Wonderful Sri Lanka

Absolutely wonderful trip. The country offers so much in the way of beautiful scenery and wildlife and so much better to be able to see it at your own pace on a bicycle. The standard of our accommodation was well above what we were expecting and the choice of food was exceptional – there was a great mix of both Sri Lankan and western food available most days, often via an an all-you-can-eat buffet. The entire trip was made so enjoyable because of the exceptional organisation and knowledge of our group leader Suresh helped by a great local support team.

Most Inspirational Moment

Too hard to pinpoint a single moment. Climbing Lion Rock at Sigiriya, the ascent to Nuwara Eliya, visiting Yala National Park, swimming in the warm Indian Ocean, having a cooking demonstration in a family home followed by delicious meal cooked in banana leaves...it was all good.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Could there ever be a better group leader then Suresh? He said at the beginning that we just needed to enjoy ourselves and to leave everything else up to him. True to his word, we barely had to think. He organised everything and any additional request or service, big or small, was no hardship at all. Always available, friendly and funny and always having everything under control to ensure we had a great time.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just do it! The cycling was rated moderate and there were a couple of very hard uphill days, however, although I had done next to no training due to illness, I opted for an e-bike and everything was doable with the option of an air-conditioned mini-bus always available!

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