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!

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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.

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Reviews

Reviewed October 2013

THE TROPICAL SOUTH

A remarkable trip. So much to see and do.After each day my head was buzzing from all the experiences I had encountered. There was also many contrasts of landscape, from the coast at Fort Kochi, the mountains of Munnar to the plains of Madurai.

Most Inspirational Moment

The Sri Meenakshi Temple was incredible. A huge edifice buzzing with people. The guide was superb informing us about the many aspects of their religion.The houseboat on the  backwaters starting from Allepey provided a contrast to all the bustle beforehand. Hugely relaxing but still a lot to absorb with all the vessels etc on the rivers.Watching the sunset at Kanyakumari after a busy day. So peaceful. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Thoufeek was incredible. His local knowledge was superb and he offered lots of hidden extras. He was determined we were all going to have a good time and didn't let us down. He helped us with all the different dishes and even arranged a join in cookery session where we had to cook our own meals.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go with a sense of humour. India is quirky but take it as it comes.

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Reviewed October 2013

THE TROPICAL SOUTH

A wonderful colourful crazy frenzy of a trip. A good introduction to India if you’ve never been.

Most Inspirational Moment

The highlights were the giant Hindu temple at Madurai, especially the elephant blessing! the magnificent scenery driving through the tea plantations, the house boat, and the cottages on the back waters, and also the optional trip to the Southern tip where the 3 seas meet, absolutely amazing, fun and a bit crazy. It was all made perfect by our tour leader who was very welcoming and hospitable and organised many great optional activities for us. It was sad to go home at the end, I would have loved to have stayed on for 2 more weeks!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader really made the trip special with great optional activities, helpfulness with difficulties such as communicating food allergies, obtaining medication etc, his patience and also being funny and entertaining. He really became part of the group which is really important for group camaraderie. Thoufeeq is an excellent tour leader who really goes out of his way for his groups, has a great sense of humour and is a lot of fun :-)

Advice for Potential Travellers

Prepare to be overwhelmed!

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Reviewed September 2013

THE TROPICAL SOUTH

A great trip exploring the culture, landscapes, wildlife and food of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. 

Most Inspirational Moment

There are so many, it's difficult to pick one! The highlights were the experience we weren't expecting and which were off the beaten track. Trekking through tea plantations and spotting a wild elephant, meeting tea pickers, exploring Fort Cochin washing ghats, fishing nets, fish market, Jew Town and finding the best chai of the trip, experiencing monsoon downpours in Munnar, sampling local food in Madurai, cookery class in a traditional Keralan home in Thekkady, being in Allepey for the annual Snake Race and partying with the locals, chill time at the end of the trip at Varkala and Kovalam. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Charls could not have done more to make our trip the best possible experience. He checked out our interests at the start of the trip and taiolred the experiences accordingly. He was positive, fun, informative, managed our expectations and ensured that we had a truly local experience, especially in his home town of Madurai. Charls is a great ambassador for India and for Exodus. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

Keep your camera charged as there are so many photo opportunities, don't forget mosquito spray, waterproof jacket if you're there during monsoon, hand gel and loo roll!

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Reviewed September 2013

THE TROPICAL SOUTH

This was a wonderful trip. The tour included a wide range of experiences and the group really jelled well. Our leader Charls wanted us to love Kerala and Tamil Nadu and added all sorts of little touches to the advertised programme. Who’d have thought how much we’d love visiting a laundry, for example. The food was wonderful particularly if you like vegetables and fish! 

Most Inspirational Moment

There are several contenders: watching the ceremony at sunset at the Sri Meenakshi Temple in Madurai;  the houseboat cruise; all aspects of the Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race at Alappuzha (Alleppey) and sunrise at Kanyakumari - plus sunset at Varkala and the wild seas at Kovalam! I knew we were going to see the Sri Meenakshi Temple, but returning at sunset was memorable. Similarly I'd not realised we'd go to Kanyakumari to see sunrise over the end point of India. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Charls Gnanaraj was absolutely brilliant. He was unfailingly cheerful and helpful (even when monsoon conditions attempted to undermine the schedule). At the beginning of the holiday he checked out everyone's interests and found we shared a lot of things (eg photography, animals and birds, sights of interest, local culture, food, gin) - and also that we weren't interested in (eg gold jewellry). He was very sociable and also mindful of individual needs and preferences. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

The day walk in the tea plantations and jungle walk at Periyar Sanctuary require you to wear leech socks. They are necessary: there are lots of leeches. If you've got swollen feet due to the heat to start with, you'll never get leech socks AND normal socks into your boots. However leech socks and walking sandles (provided you don't mind getting them wet and muddy) are fine. I'd suggest not bothering to take walking shoes at all: stick with sandles.   

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Deb Wragg

Reviewed September 2013

Needs more time in Western Ghats.

Having spoken to people who have previously been on this trip, we were left feeling disappointed for most of this experience. I think the review recently submitted by David is spot on and to write a diatribe would be just revisiting his content. With the exception of birds the only wildlife we saw was an elephant working and walking down a duel carriageway.

Most Inspirational Moment

Going over the Western Ghats with terrific views.

Thoughts on Group Leader

OK, but not at the top of the exodus pile. the information about the country, culture and history requested by different member of the group through the holiday was crammed into a 10 minute talk on the last day.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The food budget is well over estimate on the trip noted, so change up money as you go along. The optional boat trip on the last day, get a firm price from the group leader BEFORE you go. we were told it would be 300/400R each, on the day after a 30 min bus journey the boat hire chap told us it was 750R each, not an extortionate amount of money but it left many of the group feeling backed into a corner. Once on the 2 hour trip the driver wanted to stop at a cafe boat after 20 mins (which with the service times would have took an hour), it was only the group refusing to do this that meant we carried on with the trip allowing us to see numerous interesting water birds.

Reply from Exodus

We were very disappointed to read that Deb and David (review below) were left underwhelmed by their trip. Deb and David’s tour leader has explained that due to high demand there was no availability in the early morning walk in Periyar National Park, but further to their experience our local operator will be booking tickets for this walk further in advance to help avoid disappointment going forward. We have taken feedback from this group on board and will now be giving this leader further training on the level of information we expect our clients to be provided with during the course of a trip and we have arranged for packed breakfasts to be provided so we can get to the houseboats earlier in order to help maximize the time on the Keralan backwaters.

Katherine Tory – Trip Manager for India

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David Swatton

Reviewed September 2013

Tropical South - ok but could be better

This two-week trip is certainly one of two halves with the highlights in the first week and the second being rather disappointing. The time in the tea plantation area around Munnar was exceptional, the walk being wonderful. The cycle rickshaw ride we had in Madurai and the subsequent temple visit were also excellent. But then the trip went downhill with the two-day stay in Periyar being a miserable and pointless diversion – two nights in damp beds in a dark and depressing hotel and a wildlife walk in the nature reserve that was nothing more than an awful tramp through a leech-infested quagmire with no wildlife. The stay on the backwaters houseboat was good but too brief, essentially being three hours on one afternoon (the boats have to moor for the night at 5.30pm) and an hour the following morning. The last three days at Kovalum are mainly free and this is too much downtime at the end; this essentially became just time to kill with little to do while waiting for the flight home.

Most Inspirational Moment

The walk in the tea plantations and hills around Munnar was exceptional.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Mixed - the group leader was unclear in terms if explanations and in a number of cases seemed deliberately misleading - for example, the trip notes referred to the wildlife walk in Periyar being before breakfast (which is what I would have expected to see animals), however the guide changed the time to late morning and when I challenged this he told me and the rest if the group there were no early walks. When we arrived at the park we met people returning from early walks. This led me to doubt the veracity of everything he told us thereafter.

Advice for Potential Travellers

For the walk in Munnar be prepared for an excellent but surprisingly strenuous walk. In Periyar take waterproof boots as the trail is very muddy and leech-infested - two of our group were bitten by leeches, one badly who was bleeding profusely. Be prepared for VERY slow service in restaurants and hotels - in Periyar we waited over half an hour just for a coffee at breakfast.

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Reviewed March 2013

THE TROPICAL SOUTH

A beautiful area, colourful, fascinating, noisy yet with times of peace and tranquility.

Reviewed March 2013

THE TROPICAL SOUTH

Kerala was everything I had hoped it would be. The trip was very well organised and our hotels and transport were all very good

Most Inspirational Moment

I persoanally loved out bus trip from Cochin to Munnar, to the Tea Plantations in the Hill Station. The bus trip, thoug lenghty, was relaxing, and gave me the opportunity of seeing stunning country side I wouuld have been nable to see otherwise.The tea plantations were so green and lush. To be able to see the sheer size of the plantations so high up the hillsides, and see how hard the wowmn worked at so diligently taking the leaves was a sight I shall never forget. Visiing the tea museum,and watching the whole process of how tea leaves are processed from picking the leaves to tea cup , wasreally interesting. I have the greatest respect for the humble cuppa now      

Thoughts on Group Leader

Santosh was a superb group leader. He was so warm and friendly , and a walking encyclopeadia of knowledge. He made the trip so interesting, and added his little suprises for us along the way..Nothing was a bother for him

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure that your clothing is as  light as possible. Kerala is extremely humid, there is little escape from it. Drink plenty water at all times, and have a hat. Take India as you find it. It is noisy and chaotic in some of he larger cities, but it all works

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Reviewed January 2013

THE TROPICAL SOUTH

Fabulous, relaxing trip in beautiful, tropical southern India.

Most Inspirational Moment

Enjoyed the contrasting experiences of floating around the backwaters in the houseboat and then manic Madurai and the beautiful Sri Meenakshi Temple.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Lukose Thomas was a most efficient and friendly tour leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It is very hot and humid with lots of mosquitoes - make sure you take plenty of repellent and a plug for your room.

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Reviewed January 2013

THE TROPICAL SOUTH

This trip takes you to cities, beaches, wildlife reserves – all in two weeks. 

Most Inspirational Moment

For me, the best bits weren't on the itinerary; they were the incidental adventures that inevitably happen when you leave the group behind and go and explore.  Having said that, the Munnar day walk is fabulous and a great contrast to the hustle and bustle of Cochin.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader, Jatin, was calm and professional. However, I did feel he took a very 'coach trip' approach, in that information was usually limited to how long toilet breaks where, directing us to shopping co-operatives and leading us to ok but very 'safe' restaurants for group meals.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The trip is billed as 'leisurely' - and I'd just say be mindful of the type of people this may attract.  If you want to look at India through a coach window, be shepherded around and not have to think for yourself, and complain about not getting biscuits with a cup of tea, you'll be in your element.If, like me, this is not your thing, use the trip as a means of having your  transport and accomodation arranged, then take yourself off on your own, open your ears and eyes and get set to have the most fabulous adventures.  A word about meals: while the group dinner arrangements are handy in places like Munnar and Madurai, there are MUCH more exciting places to eat (for a fraction of the price) - so I'd urge you to get a guide book, look at the local recommendations and venture out.  As the trip notes warn, the service in restaurants is painfully slow, so the group dinners actually made for quite a painful frustating experience with 14+ people ordering, fiddling with bills etc. I'd also suggest that if you want to make the most of your time in Periyar, book extra activities in advance. It's a fair old drive to get there, so it was desperately frustrating to find, on arrival, that all of the extra hikes/safari options (other than the boat) were booked up.  We did manage to book ourselves on to an extra day hike and a hight hike too after a lot of fluttering our eyelids, but it was quite a stressful doing so.  Skip the stress and book ahead. Oh - and the morning hike arranged with the group isn't much to write home about, so if another activity clashes with the times (like the all day river rafting option, for example) I'd skip the morning walk and get out on the water. Do explore in Kovalam too - there's a much nicer beach than the main one lined with all the shops past the LightHouse - it looks like it belongs to a hotel, but it doesn't. Get yourself up the lighthouse and you'll see the track leading you down there.  A great place for watching the sun go down.

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