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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14414 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Janet Sully

Reviewed October 2019

An exceptionally interesting and varied trip

This trip exceeded my expectations in terms of the sheer variety of scenery and experiences. Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro are stunningly beautiful countries and, as yet, unspoilt by mass tourism. The Bay of Kotor, with the mountains rising up precipitously behind; the remote valleys and settlements; turquoise lakes and rivers; deep gorges and waterfalls; fascinating towns and cities like Cetinje, Sarajevo and Mostar; monasteries below sheer rock faces; isolated villages offering great hospitality; plentiful food portions; wine tastings; a superb guide who brought the incredible history to life: what more could one want? Although we saw and experienced a huge amount, there were no early starts, and the drives were punctuated by stops at places of interest. It was also good to spend at least two nights at each place apart from the last (Dubrovnik), so that we were not packing up and moving on every day. Our driver, Semir, also deserves a mention – he was always helpful and was a very steady driver, so we felt completely safe.

Most Inspirational Moment

Every day had several highlights and it would be impossible to single out one particularly inspirational moment, but unexpected sights such as a perfect rainbow over the river in Sarajevo, and shepherds with their sheepdogs and umbrellas up, herding huge flocks of sheep in most isolated terrain and unfavourable weather conditions, caused me to gasp in amazement.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I echo the other reviewers' comments about Sabina; she is simply outstanding and I feel very lucky to have had her as leader. Her knowledge of the history and culture of the region is phenomenal and her passion for the environment shone through, yet she never overloaded us with information at any one time. Her accounts of her family's experiences in World War II, under Tito and during the siege of Sarajevo brought the history to life. Sabina has a delightful personality; she was always cheerful, showed a good sense of humour and was very helpful and caring. Her organisational skills were excellent and the trip ran seamlessly.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We stayed on in Dubrovnik for three more days after the group trip ended and are very glad we did, as there would have been little time to do justice to it otherwise. Others in the group stayed in Cavtat, near Dubrovnik airport, for a night or two before the trip started, which seemed a good idea The centre of Dubrovnik is much more expensive than anywhere else, but outside the walled town we found prices reasonable. Bring mosquito repellent if you are prone to bites!

Anne Hughes

Reviewed October 2019

Mont Blanc Highlights Tour rocks !!

Super location; excellent walks; lovely accommodation with brilliant chalet hosts; first class food.
All in all a really great holiday which I would highly recommend!

Most Inspirational Moment

Don’t think I can pick one, but the whole Mont Blanc range was just awe inspiring, and it was great to have so many walks where we could view it from so many different vistas.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very experienced and a really lovely guy to walk with. His knowledge of both the general area and the local fauna made each walk most interesting.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I am generally not that good with heights but this series of walks were fine in that respect, so I would say not to worry about this issue to others who may have similar concerns.

Adventure Coordinators

Reviewed October 2019

Fantastic holiday

Loved this trip – it was my first self-guided trip and my first trip with Headwater. They have a great selection of hikes to choose from, right from easy rambles to tough hikes. I did pretty much all moderate and more difficult hikes and the directions and provided maps are excellent.
I stayed at Park Hotel Bellevue in Toblach (Dobbiaco) which is one of the best hotels I have ever stayed at.
Included transportation passes and time tables easily let you get around to all the trail heads and even to other towns in South Tyrol if you do not feel like hiking or if the weather is inclement.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many - I would say what will always stay with me are the momentous views. I have hiked in many different mountain ranges but the Dolomites are simply spectacular.

Thoughts on Group Leader

This was a self-guided hike so there wasn't one

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you travel solo, ask for an upgraded room. The standard singles are a tad small.

Linda Goodare

Reviewed October 2019

Walking the Amalfi coast

An excellent week’s walking along the Amalfi coast. There were some challenging steps down to the coast- over 2000 at one point but the views were spectacular. Staying in a village away from the hustle and bustle of the coastal towns was a bonus and the hotel was excellent. The food demonstrations were great fun and very interesting. The staff were very friendly and helpful even providing some rice to put our wet phone in! We paid for a room upgrade as it was a special occasion and we had a lovely balcony and beautiful bathroom. We found a walking pole was useful on some of the walks to give extra stability on descent and on the slightly rocky parts. The Walk of the Gods was stunning and we enjoyed the fruit drinks at the end!

Most Inspirational Moment

The walk of the Gods with the amazing views

Thoughts on Group Leader

Paul was excellent and very informative on the area. All the group completed all of the walks thanks to his encouragement and allowing us to pace the walks so everyone kept up.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a walking pole and a sun hat or cap as the sun reflects off the limestone. You need to have a reasonable level of fitness to enjoy the walks. The food is outstanding so don't snack too much during the day as the packed lunches are substantial

Liz Gaynor

Reviewed October 2019

Beautiful Amalfi

Fabulous part of the world, fabulous company, beautiful food. Well organised by Eduardo our guide, and well looked after by the staff at the Hotel Due Torri.

Most Inspirational Moment

The endless opportunities for picture taking as a result of encountering some of the most spectacular coastline in the world.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Eduardo was an absolute pleasure, clear, amusing, organised and his main focus was ensuring that or trip was the best it could be. Mille grazie Eduardo.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just enjoy :-)

Maureen Spinks

Reviewed October 2019

“When I’m 64 .....”

What a way to celebrate a birthday! Lunch at Palmwag Lodge then an evening round the campfire and a delicious meal at our remote campsite in the Palmwag Concession. We had looked at this trip in the Exodus brochure for some time and at last got round to booking it – it was brilliant! We have travelled extensively in Africa, but we now feel that we have been thoroughly spoilt by having the opportunity to travel and camp in this remote part of Namibia. Our enthusiastic leader, PJ, and the brilliant camp crew comprising Simson, Fritz and Asser, made this a memorable safari. Namibia, for its combination of desert scenery and wildlife, is unparalleled. It is a barren, beautiful country where, compared with other parts of Africa, wildlife can appear thin on the ground, but PJ, did an excellent job in imparting his knowledge on the flora and geology and increasing our knowledge of what makes this fragile environment so special and what makes it work. This is not a standard “big five” game-watching safari, but if you want a real safari in awesome scenery with quality sightings, this could be the trip for you.

Most Inspirational Moment

Tracking a desert lion for a couple of hours. A male lion has at last returned to the Hoanib River system. PJ spotted his tracks, but the lion kept disappearing into the scrub, and it was a case of trying to pick up the spoor again. At last we found him and had an excellent view of this majestic creature. A record number of black rhino sightings - the most exciting one being the one we tracked on foot. Lots of desert elephants with their huge feet. You can see large herds of elephants in other parts of Africa, but seeing these magnificent animals in the desert environment is a sight to behold. My husband, who went on an additional early afternoon ride with PJ and a few others, enjoyed a memorable hour or so tracking three giraffe across the plain. Seeing honey badgers in daylight in Etosha. The chance to experience wild camping in the Palmwag Concession - but with little luxuries like a bedside lantern, wash-basin outside the tent, a hot shower - oh, and wine goblets!

Thoughts on Group Leader

PJ was an excellent leader - his sheer exuberance and delight when he was on the scent of a creature was very infectious. He was keen for us to have the opportunity to track animals on foot. No, I definitely wasn’t going to track a rhino when PJ suggested it, but somehow I found myself joining the eight others in our group to get closer to a black rhino on the crest of the hill. I would have missed out if I hadn’t gone. And, thanks to PJ who helped me on the rougher sections, I was able to make it to the top of the Waterberg Plateau.

Advice for Potential Travellers

A tip whilst on safari - If there are two of you sharing a tent, try not to take too much luggage. If you have booked to go on the Swakopmund extension, this is the format. You will be dropped off at the Hilton Hotel in Windhoek and collected by the Weliwitschia Shuttle, a minibus used by many of the locals, arriving at the guesthouse 6-6.30. The Walvis Bay boat trip, which was originally advertised in the Trip Notes, was replaced a couple of weeks before we left for Namibia by a Living Desert Safari. Whilst it would have been nice to have had more notice of this change, the Living Desert Safari was brilliant, going out into the sand dunes behind Swakopmund and concentrating on “the little five”. We then carried on with a further self-organised trip to Sossusvlei.

Eleanor Mole

Reviewed October 2019

Cycling in Albania

This was a really great cycling holiday. The moutain scenery was amazing and hardly anyone around except the odd cattle and motorist here and there. Food and accommodation were all excellent and guides were very professional, friendly and helpful. Great bikes with front suspension. Road a little bit bumpy in places but on the whole fine for cycling. Great tour leader, trainee tour leader and driver.

Most Inspirational Moment

Cycling upto the trout farm. A long steep climb but all in the shade and amazing smell of the pine cones. The exhilarating downhills on the bike. We had a great group and we all got on really well. Scenery every day was amazing and very tranquil. Thermal spring visit was great - water was lovely and warm. The coffee on some of our stops was amazing. Lovely food including fish, grilled vegetables, greek yoghurt, sea food risotto, seafood linguine and chips. Wine very nice in some places and very cheap too.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Brillant - organised everything and gave us maps, told us what was coming up next on each cycling day. Took care of all the coffee stops and restaurant ordering and everything else. Really friendly and gave us history lesson. Our leader Erlis was really well supported by Ouni (trainee leader) and Tani (driver) so we were really lucky. They also both did a great job.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Have a bit of fitness behind you as the climbs are steep and long in places. Take some aqua shoes as beaches and theral spring have a fair amout of pebbles. Take care on the downhills as they are very steep and windy in places.

Gillian Forbes

Reviewed October 2019

Beguiled by Bosnia

This holiday gave a great taste of 3 Balkan countries, breath-taking scenery, attractive towns and villages and sobering insights into the past suffered there, particularly Bosnia. A variety of sites, history and experiences were included which made the trip really interesting. The only downside was the over-popularity of Dubrovnik at the end of the trip

Most Inspirational Moment

The resourcefulness of the people of Sarajevo during the siege of the city was illustrated in the tunnel museum, also added to by our guide who, with her family lived through it. The city of Mostar was also particularly beautiful, the fallen bridge having been rebuilt exactly how it was before the war

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader Sabena was really good, full of information, caring, sociable and organised

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bear in mind Dubrovnik is really expensive, pay in restaurants in the local currency not euros

Julia Larsson

Reviewed October 2019

A varied tour of beautiful buildings and scenery.

A very busy, varied tour. Most of the hotels were of a good standard with one or two not so good. The Hotel Asia Mountains 1 has been mentioned in a review already – take ear plugs so that you drown out the trains.

Most Inspirational Moment

The beautiful mosques and madrassas in Uzbekistan and the stunning scenery in Kyrgyzstan, the golden eagle demonstration, Issyk Kul lake and the boat ride. The two 'family' meals were absolutely outstanding with delicious food and LOTS of it.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Both leaders were excellent in different ways. Takhir Sadullaev in Uzbekistan has many years experience as a tour guide and was very informative with a sense of humour. He was most conscientious about 'guarding' our belongings on the sleeper train when we went to the restaurant car. Aziz Umetaliev who joined us in Kazakhstan and guided us in Kyrgyzstan was also knowledgeable (with one or two gaps in his knowledge) but made up for it with his very likeable personality. Aziz and Uri (not the right spelling) our driver decorated the bus with balloons for the first travellers birthday and left them up for my birthday a few days later. Uri was a very careful, helpful and friendly driver even though he had very limited English.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be patient in restaurants as the service can be slow and erratic with (for example) rice to accompany a meal coming out a long time before the main dish and wine being served when some people had already eaten their meal. Meals tend to come in dribs and drabs again with some people having finished as others were just being served. As this was the last trip this year places had run down their stocks and often we couldn't get the wine or drinks that we wanted. Take a torch for the yurt and something warm to wear as it was cold in the morning. I found the trip notes a bit confusing about which currency to take, you only need to take US dollars. Both guides advised how much to change as we arrived in a new country which was very helpful.

Natasha Challoner

Reviewed October 2019

A vegan in Romania

A great trip that was as described in the trip notes, I felt the most relaxed I have felt on holiday. September is a good time to go as there is still some sun during the day & the leaves are starting to change. A great trip with a variety of walks and activities. The long hike through Coja & Pestara is particularly nice. The beech and pine forests were beautiful.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing wild bears from the bear hide. It is great that the forests are being kept wild and are protected. Every thing else was also great. The visit to the bear sanctuary was very emotional.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Thomas had a great love for the area and he was able to share this with us. He was well organised.

Advice for Potential Travellers

There is no need to take any local currency as the hotel keeps a drinks list. There is no shops nearby. You then change money in Brasov you don't need much, less than £100. May be useful to take Euros and to borrow a small amount if you want to buy some souvenirs in Bran. Take some snack bars etc for the walks. You make up a good lunch from the breakfast table. A walking pole is useful for some steep down hills.

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