Most Inspirational Moment
Going up 60km down....Great fun !
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our crew were excellent
Advice for Potential Travellers
Book it !
Reviews
Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers
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Reviews
KERALA & TROPICAL INDIA
Loved it…I am a sunday cyclist so a bit nervous i wasn’t sure if i would manage…Not a problem, challenging at time but really enjoyed it.
KERALA & TROPICAL INDIA
Beautiful and very varied scenery; great cycling, great food and always something to see. The traffic is not as daunting as it first seems.
Most Inspirational Moment
Reaching hairpin bend 1 on the Ooty climb and finding out the road still goes up!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Safi was good; could have asked a little more what we wanted eg. getting to the beach and then we had to wait and eat hot chips before we could go for a swim!
Advice for Potential Travellers
From reading some of the other reviews...it's a Moderate-Challenging cycling trip; that means you should be able to ride a bike, some distance, change gears, ride in traffic and, hopefully, not fall off. The traffic was daunting at first (day 1 returning into Mysore in the dark) but you soon learn that it works, they merge and give way when they need to.
KERALA & TROPICAL INDIA
An amazing holiday – full of wonderful experiences.
Most Inspirational Moment
How can I pick? Every day was different... cycling through busy towns full of rickshaws and cows - to quiet villages where happy, smiling children rushed to say hello; through tea plantations in the hilly areas to beautiful stretches along side sandy beaches fringed with palm trees; from a long, challenging climb up a very big hill to a wonderful relaxing day drifting down the Keralan backwaters in our own luxury boat. Curries of every description - sadly an Indian take away will never be the same again!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our leader was excellent: very knowledgeable, informative and helpful - as was our cycling leader ( a great character) and our brilliant van driver who sorted out all our problems with a smile on his face.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Distances were quite long compared to other Exodus trips we've been on - but this suited us well and the van was there should you have wanted to use it.
KERALA & TROPICAL INDIA
Continually suprising, interesting, totally absorbing.
Most Inspirational Moment
The scenery, the food, the people........ the whole experience.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Friendly, quietly in control of everything so the whole experience flowed.
Advice for Potential Travellers
If you are reasonably fit go for it!
KERALA & TROPICAL INDIA
An absolutely classic trip. If you only do one cycle trip then this should be the one. The cycling is fantastic with very relaxed quiet roads (mostly), the scenery is stunning, and the food excellent. Add to this the lack of transfers, the houseboat experience and the variation in terrain and it has everything you could ask for.
Most Inspirational Moment
In no specific order:the scenery is just outstanding. Great variation and amazingly exotic.food fantasticall the locals so friendly and welcomingthe hill climb to Ootythe beautiful houseboat trip
Thoughts on Group Leader
Really top class. Totally organised, incredibly helpful and ensured a completely relaxing trip. These guys really make the difference between a good trip and an outstanding trip. Orchestrating 16 Europeans through all the logistical challenges is a big ask (!), and our team were fantastic.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Getting cash from ATM's is a pain as most won't work. So best take Sterling and just exchange it at hotels. The rate they give is as good as the airport (or credit card) and everything is so cheap out there anyway it doesn't matter if you lose a few rupees in the process.
KERALA & TROPICAL INDIA
Enjoyed cycling the back roads which were mostly quiet and in good repair. The kids in the villages were happy to see us, waving and calling our ‘How are you?’.
Most Inspirational Moment
I loved the challenge of the 7km hill with all the steep switchbacks and the wonderful cup of tea and cake at the top of the climb...I earnt it!...the downhill was lots of fun too.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Well organised and helpful, but we did get tired of having the same dishes night after night.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Be careful with the pot holes and gravel bits. A few people fell off. No real damage, just scrapes and embarrassment.Keep your line when riding, maintain your speed and use hand signals and you will be ok. I felt safer riding in India than riding in Australia.
KERALA & TROPICAL INDIA
This was ‘Biking through Southern India’, NOT ‘Southern India by Bike’ – a small semantic difference, but a real one, on the ground. If, like me, you are only a leisure cyclist, not a cyclosportive/triathlon/serious mountain-biker, no matter how fit you think you are – you may well find this tour more ‘Challenging’ than ‘Moderate’.
Most Inspirational Moment
I didn't find any moments "inspirational" (in the true sense of the word).
Thoughts on Group Leader
We had two group leaders: Peter was with us for the first week, then handed over to Joseph, a local leader.Peter was an excellent leader; experienced and professional. I can say only good things about his work.Joseph did his best but, from the moment he took over, he allowed the speed-merchants to force the pace and was always well ahead of the increasingly strung-out group, leading from the front and therefore inevitably unaware of how far behind some of the group was falling. This was particularly noticeable on the main-road, traffic-heavy sections when I, for one, didn't see him or the head of the peloton for miles. He also seemed not to know that, at catch-up points, the last few people to arrive were entitled to the same amount of breathing space as those who'd arrived first had had; as soon as all were reassembled - he (and the front runners) were OFF. I think he would benefit from some further training, in particular with regard to the likelihood that members of the group will have widely differing levels of biking fitness and different expectations of the tour.
Advice for Potential Travellers
When you've phoned your bank/credit-card provider (in advance) to alert them to the fact that you'll be travelling through India - double-check that they've actually done something about putting alerts on your cards. And if you bank with HxxxxxX - triple check. From the second day, none of my cards were accepted anywhere (except, finally, an M&S credit card): be warned. It's a bit ignominious to be having to borrow cash from fellow-travellers!
KERALA & TROPICAL INDIA
This holiday was one of the best experiences of my life, it was well organised throughout and at no time did I feel unsafe or unsure about what was going to happen next. It was described as challenging and it certainly wasn’t for the faint hearted, but truthfully anyone with a good level of fitness and a positive attitude towards traffic cycling and a strong desire to experience travel with a capital T would love it.
Most Inspirational Moment
Oh my word I absolutely loved every single moment, I saw so much, felt so much, enjoyed so much being on the bike and right there in the life of India, the hussle and bussle of the cities, the quiet of the countryside, the children calling out to us, the people all wishing us well along our way, the temples, the wildlife, the sun, the rain, the ocean, the food....I had come alone and so many times I wished my family there just to see what I was seeing, to hear what I was hearing, to smell what I was smelling....it was all awe inspiring....fantastic.
Thoughts on Group Leader
He was brilliant, he seemed very knowledgeable about all the places he took us to, he was also very interested in us as a group and what our life was like at home. He always seemed concerned about our well being and making sure we had everything that we needed, nothing seemed like too much trouble.
Advice for Potential Travellers
If you want to do this trip, you will need a certain level of fitness, do some hill work for sure, and not be timid in busy traffic situations. It's going to be hot most of the time but not unbearable and you do acclimatise. I didn't take my own saddle and pedals but if I was to do it again I would bring my own saddle for sure, as for the clip on pedals, I advise leave them at home, you will spend your entire trip clipping in and out especially in the towns, and even way out in the villages as you do have to have your wits about you at all times. Don't worry about money, cashpoints readily available, but do inform your bank about where you are going.Take insect repellent you will need it, and don't forget your camera because this is one trip you will never want to forget.
CYCLE KERALA & TROPICAL INDIA
Wild elephants… riots… peaceful backwaters and crawling up the Western Ghats – this trip has it all! Definitely to be recommended.
Most Inspirational Moment
Really enjoyed cycling through the national parks and seeing wild elephants - a magical experience. Getting to the top of the hill near Ooty was a rewarding moment. Believe me, you feel every one of those 36 hairpin bends. And realising on the last day as we reached Varkhala that it was all over was surprisingly sad. None of us actually wanted to stop riding.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our team of Joseph, Vishnu and Shibu were fantastic. Joseph was a patient and encouraging cycling guide, while Vishnu was a fountain of knowledge. Shibu made sure that all our stuff was always safe in the van (no mean feat when he had demonstrators outside smashing it one day!).
Advice for Potential Travellers
Training helps of course, but generally the ride felt a lot easier than I expected it to. Don't come expecting to lose weight like I was hoping I would; Indian food is awesome and your lunches and dinners will be a constant feast that you will find impossible not to sample.
CYCLE KERALA & TROPICAL INDIA
An amazing trip which exposed me to the local people, culture, flora, fauna, towns and countryside. To experience all these things in 2 weeks was fantastic!
Most Inspirational Moment
To echo my friends review. It had to be the ascent and decent of Ooty. The cycle ride up the 36 hairpins was the most challenging thing I've ever done. I was very emotional when I got to the summit. You can also see why the British decided to live up Ooty. It has very much a European climate and in places you would be hard pushed not to think you were cycling through UK countryside, with only eucalyptus trees giving the game away. There are also traces of European architecture which was interesting to see in exotic surroundings. If I thought the ascent was challenging and emotional, the descent from Ooty was truely amazing! Vishnu wasn't wrong when he said we would be cycling through different climate zones. I tended to think of it as starting in a UK climate, then Southern European and through the tropics. I struggled to decide whether to keep stopping and taking pictures or enjoy the ride down. After a few pictures I decided to concentrate on the ride - it seemed to go on forever! Fantastic! I must also mention to cultural differences and the general friendliness of the people and if you've ever wondered what it's like to be famous, you're certain to get a glimpse of it in India. On occasion, mutual fascination developed into posing in pictures taken by ourselves and the local people alike. I also enjoyed the boat trip through the backwaters and the Safaris. As well as the previous evening bus Safari, I went on the early morning Safari. I would reccommend this for the sunrise, the would through the bush and the fact that we saw ant hills up close and a lone elephant in the distance. More importantly, we saw a stick insect, which looked out of this world!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Vishnu, Joseph and Abbie where brilliant!The trip ran like clockwork. It was very well organsied and I felt completly at ease with everything and total confidence in our guides.We couldn't have asked for a better group leader in Vishnu, lead cyclist in Joseph and support vehicle driver in Abbie. You could rely on them all.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Just be careful regarding eating food and never drink the local water. Firsty I'd like to say the food was brilliant, but I was aware that the pre-trip advice was not to eat un-cooked food or drink the local water. For the first week, I stuck to this advice. For the second week, I relaxed my rule after watching the other trip members eating salad and fruit and not getting ill. Its possible that this caused me to fall ill with a bad tummy! I should have known better as I am susceptible to this sort of thing, whether it be in India or Southern Europe. I was the only one though!Always make sure you apply DEET or other insect repellant to exposed areas of skin!