Reviews

Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers

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Excellent

4K reviews on

180 Reviews

4.6 out of 5

Jonathan Thirlwell

Reviewed April 2015

Trip: Cycle Southeast Asia

Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam - three wonderful contrasts

From the beginning, this trip kept you surprised, engaged and immersed. Everyday was an adventure and thoroughly enjoyable. The guides had carefully chosen cycles routes which were fun and fascinating giving you a peek into the lives of real people and at times getting off the beaten track. It was action packed as expected, but still well paced, allowing the occasional afternoon to “chillax”. The cycling support teams were exceptional. It was hot, but I adapted quickly and cycling actually had a cooling effect.
The enjoyable cycling routes, wonderful scenery, delicious food and memorable sights delivered beyond my expectations.

Most Inspirational Moment

Cycling around Angkor was inspirational. The beautiful templates draped in vines, framed by jungle and set to the atmospheric chirping of cicadas was wonderfully visceral and dreamlike.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rit was an excellent leader. He was calm, collected and professional. He has a gentle style which was never bossy, but always had everyone organised. He was always approachable and did everything he could to help anyone. And always with a large smile.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Buy a small cycling bag that you can strap to the bike to keep you camera, sun cream and some cash in. I wish I has done this. Others on the tour brought one along and it made carrying a few small belongings with you on the bike much easier.

Margaret Pisaneschi

Reviewed April 2015

Trip: Cycle Southeast Asia

Cycle Indochina

Very good cycling trip especially for “non climbers”. Too much on first 3 days especially 90km on first day after long flight no time to acclimatise

Most Inspirational Moment

Angkor wat and contrast as we crossed from Cambodia to Vietnam

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very good always helpful lovely person worked really hard. Didn't always make arrangements clear to everybody resulted in confusion especially at Thai Cambodia border

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring dollars not sterling. Read notes carefully especially tipping

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Margaret for her review, although we are very sorry that she was disappointed with the hotel used in Siem Reap; regrettably the original hotel was overbooked and our local manager believed that the alternative hotel offered a similar standard of accommodation. We are confident that the hotel we usually use in Siem Reap offers a suitable standard of accommodation for our groups.

Megan Devenish – Trip Manager for South East Asia

Satu Hietanen

Reviewed March 2015

Trip: Cycle Southeast Asia

Thailand, Cambodia & Vietnam

Great way to explore three Asian countries in two weeks. It was my first time in the region and the trip definitely inspired me to return.

Most Inspirational Moment

The Angkor Temples - despite seeing lots of documentaries/films/etc about them, the size of the complex still takes your breath away. Best cycling days - The cycle from Siem Riep to Banteay Srei with lots of interesting villages on the way. And the winding narrow paths in the Mekong delta on the last day of Vietnam cycling.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rit never stopped smiling :-) He had a very good knowledge of all three countries, was always helpful & very enthusiastic about cycling. The local cycling teams were great too. Tiet in Vietnam deserves a special comment for his very interesting overview of his country's history.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you haven't been to Bangkok before, book an extra day to explore the city. Unless you have special dietary requests, no need to bring own snacks - these were plenty in all three countries. Do bring a "temple dress" though - needs to cover your shoulders and knees - for the day you're cycling in the Angkor. Pack some cycling gear in your hand luggage. Some of us lost our luggage on the way there and didn't get it until the evening of the day 2 cycling.

Kathleen Sheridan

Reviewed March 2015

Trip: Cycle Southeast Asia

Cycle Indochina & Angkor

A trip of a life time a great opportunity to see 3 countries from a local perspective. The scenery and the bikes were fabulous even the transition from one country to another was seamless with the support teams really taking care of us all. The snacks on the way provided by them were lovely especially the home made lemonade in Cambodia. We really got to know the support teams as they made us all feel safe and their sense of humour was brilliant. As a group we all got on so well and as I had not paid for a single room our guide arranged that us 3 ladies rotated the rooms so we all had at least 3 nights on our own.

Most Inspirational Moment

The visit to the killing fields was awe inspiring and the visit to the war museum in Saigon equally memorable however I think getting up at 04.00 to go and watch the sun rise over Ankor Watt ......I will never forget

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was so kind and thoughtful to the needs of all the group. He had the patience of a saint as we had one, and there is always one, who would test anyone, yet he treated him with respect and patience where as I and others would have sent him in the opposite direction several times!!!!!! His local knowledge was fascinating and he really loved his job which was evident throughout the trip. Therefore we were so sad to say goodbye when the trip was over. Other guides form other countries when meeting him you could see their respect for him. Rik is a gem if you get him you will have a fab time.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Advice for others considering this trip I would say go for it. I am 3 months off 60 with little or no training done for this trip however I can cycle a road bike so the transition to mountain bike was no problem. Just check the size of your frame before you set off as I was given a large frame I am 5ft 3ins!!! It took me 2 days to realise I had the wrong size of bike!!!! The food you will enjoy is outstanding as your guide will bring you to local restaurants. The local knowledge each guide has and their enthusiam is 10 out of 10. You feel safe and privileged to see the local villages and people. Bring american dollars rather than the local currency.

Barry Price

Reviewed March 2015

Trip: Cycle Southeast Asia

excelent introdution to asia

the trip was a introduction to the region , leaving you wanting to return and explore further

Most Inspirational Moment

I it difficult to identify one moment as each of the three countries were so different , it was more like 3 holidays in one.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rit was a very good leader and his relaxed Thai style made him very popular with the group

Advice for Potential Travellers

add a few days on to each end of the trip so you can see more

Celia Harrison

Reviewed January 2015

Trip: Cycle Southeast Asia

Cycling three countries

Cycling trip starting in Thailand via Cambodia to Vietnam. Culture stops at Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh and Saigon. The cycling was back to front with long distances at the start of the trip when I (this was only me, I think!) was struggling to adjust to the high (37 degree) temperatures. It was always possible to stop riding and take the bus, but I didn’t feel good about it. I did enjoy the trip immensely once I’d acclimatised and loved the stops at Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh and Saigon. The quality of hotels in these places was really good, too. Would do this trip again in a heartbeat.

Most Inspirational Moment

Affecting, rather than inspirational, were the Killing Fields and S21 Prison in Phnom Penh. I'm still thinking about it and reading what I can to make sense of the senselessmess of it. I was very proud of myself the day I managed all the cycling and completed a distance of 82km. This was the best group I've travelled with on Exodus: everyone was so nice.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Chai was the most organised group leader I've come across on an Exodus trip (I've been on more than ten). His belief in communication as the most important aspect of managing a group describes the essence of his approach. He engaged with all 18 of us, was professional, knowledgeable and a pleasure to spend time with.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do this trip. I used Tahi Baht in Thailand and US dollars in Cambodia and Vietnam: this worked well. The hire bikes have drink holders, so bring a flask rather than a backpack bladder (less hot to carry). A loose shirt to wear over the top of a cycling vest/shirt is very useful (sun, modesty, etc). As a diabetic and vegetarian, I needed to avoid the rehydration salts and brought Marmite and V8 to compensate. There are very good veggie restaurants in Siem Reap and Saigon.

Andrew Hewitt

Reviewed January 2015

Trip: Cycle Southeast Asia

Sightseeing and cycling with few hills

This trip provides good balance between cycling and sightseeing. The cycling is mostly on the flat, with no real hills to speak of, and at manageable distances with regular snack breaks, at least every 10 to 20km or so – if you are averagely fit it won’t be highly challenging, though there are a couple of longish days towards the start. The sights are really worth seeing though – Angkor Wat being the obvious highlight. Ho Chi Minh City is also a great place to visit – it is changing so fast!

Most Inspirational Moment

I am not sure about "inspirational", but for me the most fun cycling was in Vietnam where the route passes alongside a river marking the Cambodian border, and where the people - young and old - seem so genuinely happy to see the group passing through the village. The War Remnants museum in Ho Chi Minh City and the Killing Fields & S21 jail in Phnom Penh are disturbing but essential to visit to start to try to understand the recent violent past. In both places, they have made a real effort to document and explain exactly what went on in the hope that it won't happen again.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Chai was superb. Nothing was too much trouble for him, and he did a great job of keeping the group together, managing three different teams, handling all of the paperwork and border-crossing formalities, and explaining everything that we were about to do (often multiple times over). He really cares about and takes pride in doing his job well and he is incredibly patient. He's also a really nice guy. I managed to mislay a couple of personal items on one of the buses and he has made it his mission to get the returned to me in the UK. I have to also mention the Thai team, in particular Mr Black and his two sons - lovely people with a real passion for cycling (and, in Mr Black's case, photography - he took loads of photos and videos and loaded them up on to memory sticks for us just for fun, in addition to driving the support vehicle and keeping everyone topped up with water).

Advice for Potential Travellers

Siem Reap is busy so if you are not confident cycling in traffic, jump on the bus for the first and last stretches of the cycling days in Siem Reap. There is a great big Tesco superstore (yes, really!) just across the road from the hotel on the second night, where you can stock up on all kinds of things you might have forgotten, and food. They have an in-store pharmacy and electrical goods section. The hotel on the second night isn't great but it is clean and does the job. We found that the water tended to be lukewarm in all of the Thai hotels, much better in Cambodia and Vietnam. We still haven't worked out why the hotel in Siem Reap played nursery rhymes as background music in the communal areas the whole time were there. We took the option to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat - which is fine, but don't be under the illusion that you will have the place to yourself - there were hundreds, possibly thousands, of people doing exactly the same thing!

Jane Arlow

Reviewed January 2015

Trip: Cycle Southeast Asia

Cycle Indonchina and Angkor

A great way to see the three countries visited – up close and personal. Cycling off the beaten track in Thailand takes you to places other visitors don’t usually see and allowed for everyone to cycle at their own pace (be that racer or not). Cycling in Cambodia on the other hand is somewhat of a different nature, particularly in Siem Reap. We really enjoyed the exhilaration of dodging the traffic including mopeds riding the wrong way up your side of the road. Viet Nam was different again with endless over excited children running out to wave and say hello..makes you feel like royalty with all that waving 🙂

Most Inspirational Moment

Realising how lucky we are to be born in Europe and not experiencing the many hardships that continue to this day in Cambodia even twenty years after the end of the Khmer Rouge era. How do they keep smiling? We were also very impressed by just how much you can load into the trailer of a moped and still ride it!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our tour leader, Is, was really great - no one in our group has enough good things to say about her good grace and smiles and organizational skills keeping 18 cats herded in the same direction for two weeks. Also, not really a group leader, but the local cycle team in Thailand were also really great - the set up of all the rest stops was superb with lots of fresh fruit and cold drinks and all sorts of nibbles.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Echoing some of the other feedback, padded shorts and a gel saddle are a must! Be prepared for the hideously long travel day from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. They dug up the road two years ago, all of it, by the look of it, and apart from a couple of 500 metre stretches, have not remade it. So, that day, it took us over 9 hours and not the 5-6 it says in the trip notes. Don't indulge too much in snacking at rest stops as you always have a big lunch too and it feels really bad leaving food on your plate because you weren't hungry any more!

Thomas McNally

Reviewed January 2015

Trip: Cycle Southeast Asia

cảm ơn bạn

A very well organised trip, with good accommodation and food and great guides.

Most Inspirational Moment

Staying in the homestay on the Mekong Delta was great, especially the cooking and the singalong with our Vietnamese guide.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was very knowledgeable, funny, extremely helpful and great at anticipating potential problems and resolving them before they occurred.