Most Inspirational Moment
Angkor Wat Hoi An markets & tailoring
Thoughts on Group Leader
fantastic group leader in Vietnam
Advice for Potential Travellers
check age group you are travelling with, may affect which trip you will attend.
Reviews
Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers
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Reviews
Classic Vietnam & Angkor
Great Trip, some fantastic sights. A lot of early mornings, which means that you will probably feel more tired by the end of this trip, but you see a lot. Local guides were fantastic and very knowledgeable, and food absolutely fantastic both in Vietnam and Cambodia – of which we had plenty of. I was with a much older age group on this trip and it would have been nice to have had some people of similar age group on the trip as well. Perhaps something that Exodus can consider as a suggestion.
Over all this was a well worth fantastic trip with the highlights of Vietnam and Cambodia, some more time in Cambodia would have been great however, as only 1 day spent at Angkor Wat in reality.
Perfect!
We were lucky enough to have Johnny Villlobos as our guide and he made the whole trip special! His knowledge of eveything to do with Costa Rica was outstanding. Everything ran smoothly from pick up at San Jose to the sad return to the airport at the end of the trip. The quality of the hotels was excellent (I am quite fussy!), Henry our driver was excellent and the bus was always waiting for us. Apart from the hanging bridges at Monteverde everything was included with Exodus, which was not the case with other tour groups. Although of course we must have paid that in the overal trip cost it was so much better not to keep paying extra along the way. Many entrance costs were between $16 and $26 so it would have really added up. The only other thing extra I did was the hot springs at La Fortuna which was a fantastic experience – I would thoroughly recommend that one. Johnny took us on many extra walks that were not on the trip notes but were all fantastic. Nothing was too much trouble.
Most Inspirational Moment
Seeing all the wildlife - from the turtles hatching at Tortuguero, the monkeys, agoutis, coaties, raccoons, sloths, iguanas, humming birds in other places and very special for me was seeing the scarlet macaws in a little fishing village on the Pacific coast. We saw a wide variety of other birds everywhere - it was amazing! Those members of our group that got up for the 5.00am Quetzal were rewarded with a sighting of 2 birds.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Exceptional! He knew all the places to go to see wildlife - places you would never think of on your own.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Temperatures vary so just make sure you have some warm clothes for Monteverde and Savegre. We went from about 35C to about 15C in 4 hours!
Indian challenging adventure
From dipping our rear wheels in the Bay of Bengal, travelling through the largely tourist free Tamil Nadu, over the mountains of tea plantations, through fabulous scenery, down into Kerala, and dipping our from wheels into the Arabian Sea, Abi our guide and his team looked after us with cheerfulness and a sense of humour. We ate amazing food often off banana leaves in places you would never venture into as an unaccompanied tourist, and experienced true Indian live at very close quarters. Some demanding cycling, especially on the roads of the crazily busy towns, and some extraordinary sights made an exciting experience. The Indian cookery class and the heritage home stays made the trip even more special.
Most Inspirational Moment
Seeing how people struggle to scrape a living together but at the same time are happy, smiling and welcoming to visitors, it is very humbling.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Abi was so lovely caring and happy in his work, he seemed to genuinely enjoy meeting new people interacting and helping them experience his country, and was always happy to adapt to our needs.
Advice for Potential Travellers
We suffered no ill effects but we were careful about using regular hand wash and avoiding drinking the water. We ate largely Indian style food avoiding western style meals and ate brilliantly.
Cycling, wine and Food!
This was a wine and culinary cycling adventure. The landscapes were breathtaking and our guides informative and attentive.
Most Inspirational Moment
Reaching the Cape summit. Those views!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our group leader was an excellent cyclist who saw to everyone’s needs. He was knowledgeable and taught us about the communities we were visiting.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Read the trip notes... some on our trip were surprised by the number of winery stops, cycling distances and meals included (but there were no surprises...)
Amazing trip - Discover Costa Rica
Just got back from Costa Rica and I can honestly say as a regular Exodus traveller that this is one of the best trips I have been on. Our guide Johnny was amazing and a real credit to his Country – and no surprise that he has won guide of the year twice. My one wish was to see baby turtles and boy did we see baby turtles – pouring out of the nest and making their way down to the sea. I never appreciated the different climates available in Costa Rica and spending two nights in each place gave us the chance to experience them all. The wildlife was amazing and everywhere. I can highly recommend this trip to anyone that loves seeing birds, animals, flora and fauna.
Most Inspirational Moment
Seeing baby turtles pouring out of their nest
Thoughts on Group Leader
Amazing - incredibly knowledgeable about all the wildlife we saw - gave us guidance on how and what to look for - and generally went above and beyond. Very willing to share his knowledge and also told us how Costa Rica as a Country works which gave us a real sense of the whole Country and not just the bits tourists get to see.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Just enjoy the experiences - even the rain - as it is part of this amazing Country.
A road trip with a difference
An easily manageable cycling holiday for most moderately fit people full of variety. Through careful, informative and expert guiding we cycled away from main roads through rural Vietnam and into cities. There was time to admire the view and quietly pedal along, past traditional Vietnamese ways of life of rice paddies, children waving, people conveying ambitiously towering loads of produce and shorelines of fishing practices.
In contrast the cities were hectic, bustling with motorbikes negotiating around each other, of clothing stalls and fishmarkets, ancient ruins of rich colour and splendour and of people hard at work in an attempt to make a living away from the land.
Halong Bay was the northernmost attraction which was spectacular though possiblly too over developed with torusim for my liking.
Our group of 15 seemed like minded and we worked well as a team with much supporting of each other.
Most Inspirational Moment
Cycling through rural villages of tradtional housing with children excitedly waving and calling hello - it felt like we were on a Vietnamese sysle Tour de France. This felt humbling, our lives being full of consumerism and clutter. My inspirational moment lasted a long time!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Any review of Linh would find it hard to do him justice. He worked incredibly hard every minute of the time in order to make sure that we enjoyed the trip. I felt pampered by the bikes being maintained to a high standard and snacks laid out after a sensible stretches. Instructions and itineraries for the day were carefully metered out to us - otherwise we forgot! In the evenings Linh found us fabulous places to eat and I think we all loved the food. I felt educated on many aspects of Vietnamese history and life which Linh would entertain us with on some of the longer bus sections. I am new to trips like these so asked others who weren't if they had met any guide who bettered Linh's very high standard but they found it difficult to think of anyone. So I feel incredibly lucky to have booked the week that Linh was on duty. Linh is a cyclist at heart, like us and this made a difference too. His management of his support team was impressive. A guy worth his weight in gold - I hope you reward him well!
Advice for Potential Travellers
Carry a lightweight rainjacket for cycling in rain. Keep a diary of where you took what photos as a minimium, it is amazing how rapidly you forget as all the cycling days begin to merge into one. There is quite a bit of time spent on the bus in order to travel through the country so make sure you have enough to occupy yourself with during these times if you are not happy to gaze out of the window.
Fantastic experience
This trip is fantastic! So well organised by the amazing guide, amazing wildlife and scenery and great cycling. Be prepared for the heat and the humidity, but the terrain is not too difficult. Accommodation was mostly very good or excellent, one not so good hotel. This is an experience to remember.
Most Inspirational Moment
Wild elelphants at the side of the road!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Couldn’t fault Suresh. Best leader I have met. Lovely person. Well organised. Very high standards. A credit to his country and Exodus.
Advice for Potential Travellers
enjoy every moment. Take anti bacterial gel, as toilet facilities can be basic out with hotels. Don’t need US dollars, Sri Lankan Rupee is best. Food is mostly rice and curry.
Coast to Coast
This is a great holiday covering 2 distinct regions of Southern India, Tamil Nadu and Kerala
The cycling was excellent, flat rides for the first week in Tamil Nadu and hilly the second week in Kerala
The accommodation was generally very good. The food was excellent, enjoyed by all on the trip. There were only 6 of us on the trip(all friends), on previous tips there were 16. However it worked out really well. We all enjoyed the cycling, potholes and all. Some busy towns but enjoyable to cycle through.
Most Inspirational Moment
We stayed at a Plantation House in Vagamon, Kerala which was a special moment for all. Such a beautiful house and the family looked after us very well, cooking a magnificent meal in the evening. Were also driven to a rock pool in a Jeep for a swim. All of us would have loved another day here The night on the houseboat in the backwaters of Kerala was also great fun, a nice touch near the end of the holiday
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our group leader, Abhilash (Abi) was wonderful. He was kind and caring, looked after us very well. Abi was always there to make our holiday enjoyable. The rest of the team, Kurian, Santos, Vipin also worked very hard and we enjoyed their company. This was a truly excellent team
Advice for Potential Travellers
The food was so good, likely to put a few pounds on!
Exhilarating
‘Discover Chile’ was a fantastic holiday and certainly in my top three tours over the last 20+years. The main reason it was fantastic was that we had brilliant weather throughout and considering this holiday was to principally look at the natural landscapes within the country this was essential. Although it was a certainty that we would have clear weather in the desert which was confirmed, the bonus of views of the snow capped Mt Osorno and others in the Lake District, and also the fantastic Torres del Paine against cloudless backdrops was the icing on the cake.
Most Inspirational Moment
There were many highlights on the tour but these are my top three: 3. Mt Osorno in the Lake District 2. Antiplano Lakes and Mountain Scenery in the Atacama 1. Torres del Paine Mountain Scenery in Patagonia I could never get sick of the view of Torres del Paine from outside my room in Patagonia.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Ignacio was both competent and very pleasant.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Be prepared to spend a considerable time on planes (5 off internal flights) and the associated waiting time in airports, also early get ups (2 before 5am) and a late finish (11pm). Flight schedules can change at short notice but none of ours were seriously affected.
An experience of a lifetime!
This was simply one of the best experiences of my life! We were very fortunate that all 12 members of our team got on really well and we had a brilliant leader with a ‘dream team’ supporting him. The trek itself is hard work, but I never felt that we wouldn’t make it to Base Camp. Our leader and the guides did everything to encourage us to “reach our destiny” and did so with professionalism and a great sense of humour. However, at no time was our safety compromised and the pace of the walk was judged to perfection. Some days are very long, with early starts; but well worth it. The scenery is breathtaking. This is definitely a holiday that is worthy of being on any bucket list.
Most Inspirational Moment
This has to be the arrival at Base Camp after 9 days of trekking. Everyone felt a real sense of achievement and really bonded the group. We were also extremely lucky to have Kaji on our team as one of the Guides. Kaji has summited Everest 8 times and his insight and knowledge was inspirational, which was matched by his modesty, humility and kindness.
Thoughts on Group Leader
I can't speak highly enough of our leader, Ajay. He took the trouble to get to know every member of the team and put our health and safety above everything. Ajay has a great sense of humour and is extremely knowledgable, providing answers to our many many questions! If there was a problem with a room or the toilets, for example, he made sure it was resolved. Ajay had great support in Kaji, Cami and Nowoan, who led the yaks, so the success of our trek was really never in doubt. Just to add also (having seen some of the other reviews) that there was no mention of tips until the very end of the trip and, even then, it was only a suggestion, not a demand. We decided among ourselves what we should give to Ajay, as his tip wasn't mentioned at all.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Read the itinerary carefully and make sure you bring everything you need to protect yourself against the cold (especially in the evening) and the dust! You don't have to be super fit to do the trek itself, but it is worth doing some interval training before you go. Don't expect luxury accommodation: it's a bonus if you get an ensuite toilet - sometimes you just have to 'go with it'!