Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The optional trip to Mljet - very relaxing and peaceful once you get there (getting on the ferry with the bike is a bit of a mad scramble). The optional dinner in Korcula at the agrotourism was fabulous - amazing setting and great food.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Marin was a brilliant tour leader - knowledgeable, safe, friendly and great fun. He made sure everyone was included. Our driver was a nice guy but pretty useless - he did very little apart from drive the minibus so Marin ended up doing everything else. He worked exceptional hard the whole week. Unfortunately one of our group had an accident on day 5 but Marin handled the whole situation extremely well and very professionally.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I wish I'd been able to have a extra day or two to explore Split. We had a 1 hour whistlestop tour and then had to get straight on the ferry. Buy or take food for the ferry as there isn't time to sit and eat a meal in Split.

Most Inspirational Moment

Perhaps not inspirational in the normal sense, but the ride on the first day around the northerly peninsula to Vinistu and Peripea brought home how oppressive the Soviet occupation had been. Subsequently we were able to appreciate just how much all three states valued the fact that they had been able to re-establish their independence and re-assert their own cultures.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our Group leader, Lina, was extremely knowledgeable about the geography, history, culture and cuisine of the three Baltic states and she shared that knowledge in a most engaging manner. She coped admirably with a group of cyclists with widely different levels of experience, four, and sometimes five of whom were using e-bikes. She chose meal stops where we enjoyed lovely local food during the rides and very good restaurants for our evening meals. Her organisational skills were excellent and she was unfailingly good humoured throughout the trip

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a plug for the washbasins - the hotels don't provide them.

Most Inspirational Moment

The views and the hikes are amazing

Thoughts on Group Leader

Sean was fantastic and very knowledgeable. Was always up for a chat

Most Inspirational Moment

Riding camels in desert, walking in Atlas Mountains, souks in Fez, visiting local families, local hamman in mountains.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very good, but could have given more information on long drives even about the country.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Even though it is a Premium trip, places to stay where not special but ok for our needs. Minibus for 15/16 people far too small and on the very long journeys it was pretty uncomfortable but we survived!

Most Inspirational Moment

I found the whole trip inspirational I didn’t know what to expect and felt that I know much more now Glad I added on the extension to Azerbaijan as it was totally unexpected with wonderful buildings and not Just the old town

Thoughts on Group Leader

Guides were superb. Rafik in Armenia was excellent with unsurpassed knowledge. We all loved his humor and sense of fun Nino in Georgia was very knowledgeable and gave us a really good insight to the country Aida in Azerbaijan was also excellent with knowledge and even if she didn’t eat with us came to the restaurants to help us select Can honestly say three of the best guides ever

Advice for Potential Travellers

A really good trip and super I sight into the three countries. Do add on Azerbaijan as well worth the visit

Most Inspirational Moment

Climbing up the sand dune and a busy water hole

Thoughts on Group Leader

Superb. Very knowledgeable and trip ran like clockwork.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Prices for options and tips in the trip notes are out of date, so allow a bit more cash. Pretty much all the restaurants and shops take cards. Note that some EU passport holders will need a visa.

Most Inspirational Moment

The orchids that bloomed in dark pine forest- birds nest orchid and sword leaved white helleborine; and pyramidal orchid and bee orchid that grew on open limestone pasture.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very warm and professional.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for hot walking. When you are away from shady woodland it can be exposed take water and sunscreen and a hat.

Most Inspirational Moment

Sarajevo - walking its streets, visiting its museums and mosques, taking views from its hills and remembering what they were used for, sampling its food and its vibrancy. But there were other highlights such as the view over Kotor Bay, the pleasure of seeing Mostar's restored old bridge from various angles including the top of a minaret and the traversing of a spectacular mountain road only just made passable through snowdrifts.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I can only echo the plaudits given to Sabina in other reviews. She just makes you happy to be in her country/region.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The group hotel in Dubrovnik is on the outskirts of the new town and a bus (approximately hourly) is needed to get to the old town. Don't know about taxis but reception seemed to want several hours notice for a taxi to the airport. The old town is small and almost overwhelmed by visitors. Seasoned walkers may find the walks undemanding (can't speak for the walk outside Sarajevo - truncated because of the weather)

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many highlights it is hard to pick just one. However, the tour of the Cold War Museum is memorable. Memorable not inspirational, as that was such a frightening time in recent history and frightening to think we have not learnt from it.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader had an excellent knowledge and love of the history and culture of the Baltics. Vaida was very well organised, friendly, helpful and nothing was too much trouble for her

Advice for Potential Travellers

The free time to explore further in different cities after having done a walking tour with the group is very valuable as each of us has different interests

Most Inspirational Moment

Very difficult to single out one, but probably getting to the top of Dead Woman’s Pass, followed very closely by arriving as a group at the Sun Gate. Also, in the rainforest, we were incredibly fortunate to see a young male jaguar for 15-20 minutes as we travelled by boat early one morning.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Adolfo (AD) was brilliant: very personable and extremely knowledgeable and experienced. He was also exceptionally well-organised without us feeling pressured in any way. He instilled us with confidence in our capabilities and it was reassuring to learn that he was going to be with us for the whole 2 weeks. This meant that transfers, hotel check-ins, internal flights etc were seamless as AD did all the legwork and made it extremely easy for us. In addition, in his capacity as our guide on the Trail, he supervised us in a way that enabled us to walk at our own pace in small groups within our group. He also had a great knowledge of and a passion for wild flowers, particularly orchids, so our Trail experience was punctuated with much-welcomed breaks to take photos. In addition, when in Lima, Cusco and Puno, he knew exactly which restaurants to take us to for the very best and authentic experiences and never seemed to struggle to get us in, even at the last minute. AD even managed to get hold of a bottle of wine on our last night of the Trail - goodness knows from where, as we were camping at just under 4000 metres!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Read all the reviews of the Trail and you will get a pretty good idea of what it’s like. Yes, it is tough, especially the second day, but it was what we expected - certainly not worse. Do spend time working on your fitness levels, especially walking uphill, as this will help you enjoy the experience more. We were fortunate to be part of a fantastic group of people who worked well together and supported each other: don’t underestimate how important it is to want to complete the Trail as a Team, as this certainly spurs you on. Travel light! Most of us just took one change of clothes on the Trail and changed into them at night to sleep in, not the least to be better prepared for the early start next day. Don’t forget spare batteries for cameras and use wet wipes for washing. The rainforest was very hot so make sure you have light clothing but you do need to cover arms and legs to protect yourself from insect bites. We were all loaned duffle bags (different from the Exodus kit bag that you’re sent for the Trail), and this was for packing stuff for the rainforest. You are not limited by weight and there’s plenty of space for the gear you need for this part of the trip. On arrival in Cusco, we all used the laundry service organised by AD as our stuff was damp and smelly! This was very speedy and very cheap! We took some Peruvian Sol but also UD dollars. We had no problem finding ATMs or changing money. Do be prepared to spend more than you planned for, as we probably all spent twice the amount on tips compared to the Exodus guidelines in the Trip Notes.