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.

Simply use the selector below to search our trip reviews and start reading real feedback from real Exodus travellers who have ‘been there and done that’!

Lots of our clients also like to post handy tips and advice about their travels. It’s great to know what to expect on an Exodus adventure before you go, so make the most of their experience and you’ll make the most of yours!

Haven’t posted your review yet? Here’s how to do it…

Once you return from your Exodus adventure holiday, you will be emailed a link to add your review. Any feedback collected is posted onto our website, totally unedited.

Alternatively you can navigate to the relevant trip page and add your review via the Reviews tab.

Select a trip specific review:

Select

234 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Bryan Mason

Reviewed August 2018

Fabulous variety and rich culture

A very broad tour of the principal cultural and wildlife sights. Fantastic sights ranging from Buddhist sculptures, tea plantations to leopards and elephants in their natural habitat. Great food, landscapes and experiences.

Most Inspirational Moment

The best moments include visiting the Buddha’s tooth relic in Kandy, spotting leopards in Yalla National Park and travelling on a packed train from the Hill country to the valley while viewing stunning scenery through the (open) train carriage door.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Neelaka was consistently upbeat, exceptionally informative about the country and always on hand to smooth out any issues and enable the tour to get on with enjoying the country.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for the rain and cold In Nuwara Eliya, to eating a lot of delicious food and to open your eyes to an extremely wide range of scenery, climate and wildlife.

sarah shorter

Reviewed August 2018

Sri Lanka Summer 2018

In 2 weeks we managed to see most of the main sights in Sri Lanka. It was going full tilt mostly staying one or two nights in each place. We really enjoyed all the places that we visited and found them very interesting (apart from the gem museum which was very dull and boring and high pressure sales). The accommodation was more luxurious than we expected, having been on tours with other companies. The nice thing about this was that almost all hotels had pools and very pleasant surroundings. The downside of this was that they were often outside the population centres so that you forced to eat there and had less scope for exploring local towns and villages and using their shops and restaurants. It also therefore added to the expense of the trip. The transport was comfortable (coach) and the driver did a really good job in such adverse and hectic driving conditions.

Most Inspirational Moment

Our favourite moment was watching the elephants splashing and playing at the waterhole at Kaudulla national park. This trip was optional but we all did it. It was actually a better trip than Yala which is included in the itinerary. We saw crocodiles there which don't move (no leopard) and loads of birds at both but there was more birdlife at Kaudulla. The most enjoyable activity was walking on Horton Plains, looking at plants, wildlife and the amazing view.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was excellent. He went out of his way to explain about the history and natural history of the island, using his own visual aids! Nothing was too much trouble and he was constantly looking out for our welfare, from health and safety to making sure that we were served the drinks we had ordered. He also helped us to organise our onward travel at the end of the Exodus trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Sri Lanka is an amazing place full of friendly people but in most places there are no pavements or streetlights so if you are out after dark, take a torch and/or flag down a tuk tuk (very cheap). Not all ATMs will give very much money - some restrict it to less than 40,000 rupees (£200). Hatton National Bank (HNB) will give you up to 200,000 rupees and charge 200.

Kathryn and Peter Murray

Reviewed August 2018

Experiencing this ‘pearl of the Indian Ocean’

In 15 days we enjoyed many varied experiences that enabled us to gain new insights into this exciting, challenging place.
Our accomodation was mostly very luxurious, the food tasty if somewhat predictable in hotels; eating food prepared and served by locals in villages was enjoyable as was playing some traditional village games. Cycling in the countryside and taking to the water gave us a different perspective again.
July was a great time to travel and we saw very little rain ; the temperatures on the west coast were high but the hill country pleasantly cooler – no need for jumpers or coats at all.
Although we missed seeing a leopard at Yala N.P. elephants, warthogs, water buffalo, spotted deer, monkeys, crocodiles and many different birds made up for that. We even saw a mongoose.

Most Inspirational Moment

Elephants coming right up to our hotel’s electric fence was a highlight. Walking on Horton’s Plains was special as was exploring the ancient sites of Polonnaruwa and Sigiriya and watching festivals and ceremonies.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had an excellent guide who gave us relevant detail about the country’s cultural, political, socio-economic and geographical situation. We felt we learned much about this fascinating country. However, the amount of plastic waste littering the country was a cause for concern.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go with an open mind but don’t expect to be able to do much walking in smaller towns or on beaches near Colombo, which are polluted and not always accessible. Tuk Tuks are the easiest form of transport. Check whether you need to worry about dengue fever when you travel. We didn’t in July so could have had more short sleeves and shorts.

Melanie Clark

Reviewed July 2018

Ups and Downs

I wasn’t bothered about only having breakfasts included as assumed there would be places to explore and eat out most nights. Very wrong to assume!! However nice the food in the hotels is, for me I can eat hotel food in the UK. For me Sri Lanka lacks something that I have experienced in other places and that is SOUL. I’m still not sure what Sri Lanka is all about on a day to day basis. I was quite disappointed with the rubbish all over the beaches, it is not the ‘Paradise Island’ Sri Lanka states it is. The trip itself is fine (somewhat underwhelming) but for me too many temples and too many hotel restaurants. Most of the group seemed happy with the hotel in the evenings but for me the holiday could have been way richer with more of the ‘real Sri Lanka’ being shown. Elephant and normal Safari are fine if you like lining up with MASSES of other trucks to see one illusive Leopard or family of elephants. Personally I like one off experiences with limited people… More of a bespoke feel…which is exactly what I got when I did Namibia with Exodus. For me the trip felt commercialised and over crowded which is not for me.

Most Inspirational Moment

I do not feel inspired by Sri Lanka....maybe the views on the way to the tea plantations.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very good, what a hard job!!

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are a seasoned traveller this trip will seem a bit too 'organised' and not free flowing enough for you. Very bland in comparison to other places, its a 'nice' trip...not awesome or exciting.

Mike Brooks

Reviewed July 2018

Sri Lanka

We had a great holiday and were very well looked after by our tour Guide: Ruwan Balasuriya

Most Inspirational Moment

When the elephants swam across the lake and came ashore. They were within a few metres of the hotel. Absolutely wonderful!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Fantastic. He took great care of us and was a wonderful source of information about all aspects of Sri Lanka

Sonia Rios

Reviewed May 2018

Amazing Sri Lanka

It was amazing to discover this beautiful country. The locals, temples, scenery, nature, smells… loved it loved it loved it!!

Most Inspirational Moment

Climbing Adams Peak, elephant safari.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Roshan was THE BEST! So helpful, knowledgeable, kind, funny. It was a pleasure to spend two weeks with him and his team. Thank you Gamini, Nisha and Roshan for such an enjoyable trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just enjoy and be open minded.

Julie Hohmann

Reviewed May 2018

AIL 180415

Amazing trip around Sri Lanka

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing all the wild animals in the Yala National Park. We even saw a Lepard with her babies having lunch. It was just amazing!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Sujan was a great tour guide. He knows his county by heart, is sharing all his knowledge (he was even teaching us some local words). He has great humour and was always there to help if needed.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring a lot of sunscreen and insect repellant :) The best is to change your cash at the airport. There are not that many ATM possibilities during the trip

Michele Greene

Reviewed April 2018

discover sri lanka

We had an amazing and enchanting tri to Sri Lanka everything was wonderful. The hotels, the guide, the food and most of all the beautiful scenery.

Most Inspirational Moment

Going on the elephant safari it was just magical

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ruwan was a knowledgeable and patient guide and very proud of his country and was delighted to show us around

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be a Sri Lankan and enjoy yourself as if you were local dont look for western stuff and you will enjoy yourself. Just muck in!

Pauline Molloy

Reviewed April 2018

Smiling Sri Lanka

Smiling people, beautiful scenery, wildlife, culture, history, delicious food and great company; our trip to Sri Lanka ticked so many boxes and we absolutely loved it.

Most Inspirational Moment

We elected to climb Adam’s Peak. This was a highlight for me. It was physically challenging, with beautiful views from the top, but to see all of the pilgrims making their way up and down, many of them quite elderly and infirm, was so inspiring.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Roshan was the perfect guide. He was friendly, knowledgeable, informative, patient, helpful, funny and entertaining, He really added enormously to our trip and we were very grateful for his services.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Travellers need to know that even more expensive items need to be paid for in rupees. I had expected to be able to pay for these items (eg rafting and whale watching) by credit card but this was not the case. Had we known this in advance we would have changed a lot more money at the airport.

David Cowle

Reviewed April 2018

Discover Sri lanka

This was a wonderful holiday experience
Beautiful lush country
Abundant wildelife
The locals were very kind and helpful- never felt unsafe
Sights and scenes were so varied and the itinerary so diverse each day something new and exciting to experience
Cycle on local tracks to sample a village lunch – very tasty
Safari – elephants, leopards
Whale watching
Temples
Tea plantation
Train journey
Sandy beaches
The warm Indian Ocean
The food/ delicious
I could go on…
Our tour guide – neelaka – fabulous so knowledgeable and enthusiastic with humour
This is a must holiday who loves to explore and sample new cultures and environments
Can’t enthuse enough about it
Thank you exodus!!

Most Inspirational Moment

Experiencing a new cultural experience

Prev 1 … 6 7 8 9 10 … 24 Next