New notification 1300 131 564
1300 131 564
hero-image

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.

Excellent
4K reviews on

Select a trip specific review:

36 Reviews

4.9 out of 5

Reviews

Bucket list trip

Lovely trip; I felt very well looked after. Seeing gorillas up close will stay with me for a long time, and such good sightings were unbelievable. You do need to be reasonably fit to do this trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing gorillas up close and also seeing pangolins, the world's most trafficked animal.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Umar and Sam were great, professional and caring. Also extremely knowledgeable and went above and beyond to make sure we had a brilliant trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take walking poles and good walking shoes or boots. Take gaiters. Book the extra activities in advance, especially the extra gorilla day. Hire a porter for the walk. Be prepared for long drives and lots of walking. Be prepared for a full-on trip. Unfortunately, we arrived at the first hotel at midnight and left early the next day. I think it would be advisable for Exodus to look at this – maybe organise an earlier flight and then do a tour of the city. Also, as a lone female traveller, I found some of the lodges quite isolated, especially the last one, which was about a 10-minute walk from my lodge and had no phone signal. Although I did love the view and had a warthog sitting on my doorstep. Thankfully, the lovely group I was with made sure I got back safely. To their credit, Sam did offer to move me to a lodge closer; however, I only had one night left by this point. That being said, it's an amazing trip, definitely once in a lifetime.

Chimps & Gorillas of Uganda

The local organisation was great. Our driver was very friendly and engaging. We were allocated excellent gorilla treks based on the needs of the group.

Most Inspirational Moment

The two chimp and gorilla experiences were excellent. Day 2 of each was so different from Day 1 and for us, Day 2 of each were the highlights.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had a main leader (Sam) and a 2nd driver (Beki). The trip was well organised and Sam got us allocated to appropriate gorilla treks for the particpants on each day. Easy on Day 1 and Medium on Day 2.

Chimps & Gorillas of Uganda

A once in a lifetime experience to see and be so close to wild mountain gorillas – just amazing. Every day was an adventure including the Chimp treks, brilliant bird life and wide range of other wildlife. Guides were great in guiding us through all of this.

Most Inspirational Moment

Gorillas, gorillas, gorillas! An experience we will never forget. The chimpanzee experience was also memorable, as was the different primates we saw and such a vast array of birds and other wildlife.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Sam was a very experienced leader who gave us confidence in everything we done. He was great at passing on information about what we were about to do, hints about how to get the best from the different experiences, and lots of local knowledge. A first class leader for this trip. A true ambassador for Uganda and its wildlife.

Chimps & Gorillas of Uganda

All activities as described, excellent guides, good accommodations.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the gorillas, extremely hard work to reach them but can't describe the feeling of being a few feet away. Ambition of a lifetime. The views from the Haven hotel of the rainforest and the peace of the area. Seeing real Ugandan life and meeting the people.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Beki was a polite, cheerful, helpful person. His local and wildlife knowledge was immense. He played such a big part in making the trip enjoyable.

Uganda is definitely the Pearl of Africa

By far the most emotional wildlife experience ever and a true bucket list adventure. The abundant wildlife took my breath away. From being entertained by the Chimpanzees in Kibale Forest to Gorilla trekking, even spotted 2 leopards on our night safari and a python swallowing an impala on our safari walk optional excursion. There are a few long drives but see it as free “African massage”. This tour is also highly recommended for bird watchers and had to chance to see African Grey’s, Shoebills, Turacos, Malachite’s and Kingfishers. The Lodges on this trip will maximise your animal-watching experience and all the rooms are spacious. Haven Lodge staff even treats you with warm water bottles in your bed at turndown service. The food was delicious with a huge variety to choose from. Overall, the best experience ever.

Most Inspirational Moment

Being touching distance away from the Gorilla family in their natural habitat in Bwindi Forest and seeing the small ones frolicking and playing. The trackers and porters went above and beyond to make this a magical experience for everyone to reach the family of gorillas mo matter your level of fitness.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Umar was incredible. Great guide and amazing driver with hey focus being our safety. His general knowledge was out of this world and he was extremely patient it all the questions.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a warm jumper and a poncho for Bwindi Forest, it does get cold in the evenings and we experienced rain every afternoon. Don't wear bold colours like red, orange or yellow on your Chimp trek, bring gaiters for all walks and don't drink the tap water. Visit the Ride for a Woman Foundation, its an excellent well-thought charity that gives back to the local communities.

Chimps & Gorillas of Uganda

The wildlife-viewing surpassed my expectations. Apart from one hotel, all of the accommodations were excellent. The itinerary was very good.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the gorilla babies playing, on the second day of gorilla-trekking. Watching chimpanzees in Kibale Park. Meeting the local women employed by Ride 4 a Woman Community Initiative. Boat trip on Lake Mburo.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Umar was a wonderful guide and driver. He imparted a lot of information about Ugandan culture and customs. He was knowledgeable about wildlife and ecology.

Interesting adventure

The itinerary was full with some downtime. Many early mornings which is to be expected to see animals stirring in the cool of day. I spent a lot more on gratuities than listed as during trekking there are trackers, protectors, etc. Everyone had their hands out. The porters are Not happy with payment of 20USD plus 5 tip as listed in the notes. They were expecting almost double and became very unhappy. There is not really a guide but a driver, so don’t expect to get any information/details about the country, etc. They manly drive and keep everyone on schedule. Overall is was a worthwhile trip to see the chimps and gorillas. What an amaxong opportunity to see them within 6 ft of you.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing animals on this side of bars Where they should be.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader wad nice but not very outspoken nor outgoing. They need headsets and speakers while driving as you cannot hear them.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't disclose to US customs that we were around chimps nor gorillas. Agriculture will pull you over for inspiration.

Face to face with Mountain Gorillas!

This trip was abundant with wildlife from tracking chimpanzees through the forest, to spotting leopards on a game drive. Uganda has so much to offer as you get to immerse yourself into the culture as you travel through the rolling hills, forests and lakes.

Most Inspirational Moment

It's hard to choose just 1! My top 3 highlights would be: 1. Seeing the baby Gorillas playing and falling over each other, all the families had babies in lock down so you are bound to see some if you visit soon! 2. The optional night game drive in Lake Mburo National Park, even if you don’t manage to spot as many animals at night the stars were the highlight! We all had our heads tilt back in the 4x4 looking at the milky way 3. Watching a thunder storm over the misty mountains in the Bwindi lodge bar

Thoughts on Group Leader

Robert and Sam were incredible! They were both so knowledgeable and really went out of the way to make the trip special.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring some gaters for the swamp walk! Although wellies were provided

Uganda is a must see

Just returned from this trip which was truly amazing. Great Lakes Safaris provided Sam and Paul as our guides and both were wonderful. We saw two gorilla families that had 4 silver backs as well as young ones at around 3-4 months old. Our hike to track the gorillas was labeled as “medium” difficulty but due to some fortunate travel movements by the gorilla family we only tracked them for around just under an hour in Bwindi before finding them. The chimps were a great experience as well and the trek was an easy trek through the forest. Watching both the Chimps and Gorillas was an amazing experience. The other game drives in the savanna areas/parks brought us leopard, elephants, giraffe, hippo, water buck and so much more. The trip did involve a number of 5-6 hour days of driving through the south west of Uganda which provided a great opportunity to view the diverse country-side and meet the wonderfully friendly Ugandan people.

Most Inspirational Moment

Tracking and seeing the Gorillas. Viewing their family interaction at such close quarters was wonderful.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leaders were Sam and Paul who were both fabulous. They were extremely helpful and clearly experts in their field. Could not ask for anyone better and highly recommend them.

An total immersion into the culture and wildlife of Uganda - epic!!

We have been on several holidays with Exodus and this trip was up with the best! We were astounded by the amount of wildlife we saw on the 10 day trip. The gorillas were the obvious highlight for us but we didn’t expect to get so close. There were two silverbacks, one blackback, four females and two babies, some of which came within touching distance of us. The trackers and trekkers couldn’t do enough to make our encounter special and we felt privilidged to be in this beautiful and remote part of the country. No matter what your level of fitness, the guides made it possible for everyone to reach a family of gorillas and sightings were just about 100 % guaranteed. The chimps encounter was also amazing and again so close up. Aa well as these two days, the rest of the holiday did not disappoint as we embarked upon safaris in the Queen Elizabeth National Park and Kibale forest spotting hippos, buffalos,elephants, lions, giraffes and we were lucky enough to see two leopards and a tree climbing lion. We embarked on two cultural tours in the community and saw how the villages lived and worked and were overwhelmed by their friendliness towards us. The whole trip was an immersion into culture and wildlife and it was hard to believe what we saw and experienced in less than two weeks. Our guides, Robert and Sam were excellent and worked so hard on our behalf and everyone in the hotels were very accommodating, looking after our every need. There were some superb hotels on this trip and only one didn’t come up to the mark. There were some long transfers during the holiday but the scenery and culture seen along the way helped pass the journey and Robert and Sam were great at stopping frequently for breaks and leg stretching!! If you want to experience the culture and wildlife of this vast and beautiful country, don’t hesitate to book. You will not be disappointed!!

Most Inspirational Moment

Coming face to face with a family of gorillas after a lengthy hike into the depths of the forest following our trekkers who were cutting down undergrowth with machetes ahead of us.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Robert and Sam were amazing and bent over backwards to give us this wonderful experience. They managed to spot wildlife whilst driving along and their knowledge of animals and birds was second to none. They were great ambassadors for their country.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take toys eg balls and primary school equipment so that they can be given to the local schools that you might visit as they genuinely have no resources at all.