Reviews

Challenging off-season walking on the Costa Blanca

A wonderful week of challenging walking in stunning limestone scenery. The November weather was perfect for walking, and we were not troubled by high winds on the summits and so were able to enjoy leisurely late lunches and take in the magnificent views. We stayed in the comfortable family-run El Trestallador Pension which had splendid views from the terrace down to the coast. The evening meals were more than adequate for a group of hungry and tired walkers and consisted of a variety of regional specialities. There were very few other walkers out on the hills during the week and it all felt very remote, despite the proximity to Benidorm.

Annapurna circuit

I have just returned from a very exciting three week trip to Annapurna circuit. Every day was different and full of adventure. With excellent guide in Gum, we all managed theTharong La pass without any altitude problem. The people of Nepal and all the staff including porters are really happy to help and always smiling. Just make sure you take enough clothes for the cold weather. If you forget there is plenty of opportunity to buy anything you need.

Mike

To be honest its a bit of a task to sum up everything that we experienced on this one. We did and saw so much. And there really were no dull moments.
We were told that we were the first group to try out the all new “Trekking Borneo & Beyond” trip and I reckon that none of it really needs any tweaking for future trips. It was all good. In fact better than good at moments.

Hike, Eat, Sleep, Repeat

A varied and challenging week of mountain waking that was a perfect escape from cold and wet weather in the winter months in a beautiful corner of Spain that couldn’t be more different than nearby Benidorm. The accommodation up in the hills was very comfortable and the food was outstanding and plentiful.

The holiday of a lifetime

If you’re looking forward a holiday with a nice mixture of everything then I can’t recommend this trip highly enough. We enjoyed the best part of two days and nights in the bustling and lively capital Kuala Lumpur where we sampled lots and I mean LOTS of different food and drink, Opium restaurant was delicious and the Sky Bar contained stunning views of the city at night. Elsewhere on the peninsula we explored the Cameron Highlands with its nearby tea plantations, even calling in for Tea and Scones, the weather was much cooler in the Highlands and nice and refreshing after the heat of Kuala Lumpur. We also spent 3 nights in Taman Negara in the jungle, the treks here were fun, especially the swinging canopy walkway one.

Our second week was spent on the Island of Borneo, which contained the two highlights of the holiday for me. The Orangutan sanctuary at Sepilok was a fantastic experience, so much so I went twice in one day, it was just so fantastic to see these apes in their natural habitats. Towards the end of the trip the trek up Mt Kinabulu is a demanding one but a thoroughly rewarding one, we were lucky enough to see a glorious sunset at Laban Rata hut the night before and got the all important sunrise at the summit of Mt Kinabulu, ending the holiday at a beach resort for two days is the perfect tonic, beach, pool, sunshine and RELAX.
The perfect holiday.

A Wonderful Introduction to South Africa

We have just returned from Cape Town and the Garden Route and what a reluctant return it was. We are both “Senior Citizens”, had never been in Africa before and had few pre- conceived ideas of what to expect.
The whole trip was amazing from being met at Port Elizabeth by our guide JP and then our mini bus driver Jerome. They both did everything they could to ensure that we were enjoying ourselves, JP was full of suggestions as to any extra excursions, and then booked them for us. We were very glad that we had budgeted for such trips as the extra game Drive ( a truly wonderful experience), the Tsitsikamma Zip Lining and the boat based whale watching at Hermanus.
The accommodation was all clean and comfortable if somewhat basic in a couple of places, the jewel of accommodation was Housemartin Guest Lodge in De Rust. Most of the accommodation had views to die for.
JP was full of knowledge about history, the animals, birds, flora and fauna etc and was happy to talk about it all. At Storms River cabins he took some of us on a walk along part of the Otter Trail, strenuous it was and not for the unfit, but the waterfall we ended up at was worth it. It was things like this that we would have missed out on if it wasn’t for him.
On our final night in Cape Town JP suggested that we all go to Marcos African Restaurant with him and he would make the booking. If you like African music and dance don’t miss this place. To us it was simply the very ultimate in special nights out and a superb ending to a superb trip. By the way, we are vegetarians and we ate very well indeed everywhere on the trip.

The highlight was Provence

Excellent hikes in beautiful countryside and scenic villages, lovely food, and a great group of like-minded and good humoured travellers made this trip special. But it was our joyful and good humoured guide Isabelle who ensured our journey flowed everyday, offering generous food and restaurant tips, extensive knowledge of each village, combined with a generosity of spirit which enabled us to immerse ourselves in the gems around every corner that Provence has to offer.

A fabulous trip!

We enjoyed the variety of the trip – completely different, magnificent scenery every day, comfortable hotels, good food (we’re veggies and it can be a bit of a struggle in some countries), a really lovely group of fellow cyclists, a great leader, some challenging hills and lots of amazing descents. The bikes were excellent, safety was always stressed and the back-up team were great. There are always interesting situations in a developing country and these were solved efficiently – the most serious one on our trip was crossing a bridge that had collapsed five days before….. it all came well in the end.
We’ve already booked our next Exodus trip!

Inexperienced travellers review

I have no idea who to summarise something that had so many unique experiences and so much variety.
It’s like being asked to summarise a kaleidoscope.
Firstly, if you enjoy trekking then yes. Book it.
The street food in KL was great, Chuck – the guide for the day – was enthusiastic to share knowledge of the area and as much food as we could eat. Jeremy our guide for the peninsula was also a big foodie and food is definitely an abiding memory.
So to is Jason our guide in the Cameron Highlands, a lovely and interesting guy and the Highlands are picturesque rolling hills and the sports bar there is were team bonding started.
The rainforest was tiring hiking and challenging but in a way that left you feeling all the richer for the experience and the fact you step out of your lodge and there’s monkeys in your face… was rather fun.
In Borneo the urang utan and sun bears sanctuary was incredible. As was the probiscus monkey visit.
This is one of Those experiences. One that you’ll take away with you.
The trek to the mangrove is a pleasant easy stroll before the big one.
Kinabalu.
Wow, stairs.
Relentless, but take a steady pace and you’ll survive. And it is worth it.
But wow. Stairs.
The ending is a wonderful beech hotel and totally worth it.
It’s a holiday that was epic.

An Excellent Adventure

Myself aged 61 and my husband aged 58 decided to tick this item off our bucket list. We trained reasonably hard for the trip giventhe lack of mountains in Dorset. We set off for Nepal with a degree of trepidation. After surviving the chaos of Kathmandu airport we were met by Nirmal our tour guide from that point we were so well looked after all our fears were allayed. We met our fellow travellers And the next morning set of for Lukla to begin our trek. After a 24 hour delay we arrived in Lukla where we met our guides. The trek was very hard in places but the excellent advice given to us my Nirmal “outside suicide” and the guides together with the pace that was set meant that we never felt out of our depth if frequently out of breath. The standard of accommodation food and plumbing exceeded expectations while at the same time being basic. It was an amazing adventure tough at times but so worth it for the spectacular scenery the wonderful Nepalese people and the sense of accomplishment when we reached base camp.