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.

Reviews

Susan Coupe

Reviewed August 2014

Susan, Christchurch

A wonderful tour of a beautiful region, using quiet roads and enjoying authentic Italian cuisine

Most Inspirational Moment

meeting the challenge of some meaty climbs and longer cycle rides. The changing scenary, the fun and banter between the other members of the group.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Radu was a very professional leader and a real motivator. He was informative and able to cater for the wide range of abilities within the group. Somehow he found the energy to be sociable in the evenings and his local knowledge meant he could locate good restaurants.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Read carefully the experience and ability required for the cycling. This trip was rated moderate to challenging which is fair. Sometimes we cycled over 50 miles in some hilly sections. It is not appropriate for cyclists that have little understanding of gears and only cycle occasionally at a leisurely pace.

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Vicky Thompson

Reviewed August 2014

Trails of Vietnam

Vietnam is an amazing country. This trip’s itinerary enables you to see a lot of the country in a short space of time.

Most Inspirational Moment

We were lucky enough to be in Hoi An for the Full Moon Festival which showed a different side to the town. Having researched in advance, we took a trip to My Son.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Khoa was informative, passionate and proud of his country. He managed a very disparate group of people with more good grace and patience than was deserved!

Advice for Potential Travellers

This trip is not as active as the 'moderate/challenging' tag would suggest - it's quite leisurely. There is a lot of down time in the different locations so if you want to make the most of your trip and see as much as possible do plan in advance what you want to see in each of the locations. Khoa was excellent at helping to arrange optional activities. A lot more time is spent on the bus than is specified in the trip notes, so do bring something to occupy your time. Please also make sure you are fit and keen enough to complete the activities that are listed on the trip notes so that others on the trip are not disadvantaged.

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Vicky for her review. We have investigated the points that she has raised and we have responded to Vicky and her travel partner directly. We previously used a smaller vehicle for this trip, however clients indicated that they wanted more space so we are now using a larger vehicle which we feel offers more comfort. We have taken Vicky’s feedback on board and we are looking at ways of splitting groups into two for the cycling.

Megan Devenish – Trip Manager for Vietnam

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Helen Sparling

Reviewed August 2014

Wonderful week in Jordon

What a wonderful holiday! My dream of seeing Petra fulfilled and how! Plus many other great experiences along the way, such as floating in the Dead Sea, having a Dead Sea mud pack (great way to get to know your other group members on day 1!)

Most Inspirational Moment

Well where do you start ... Petra itself, of course, it is stunning what with the sheer size and beauty of the place. The desert landscape at Wadi Rum ... Amazing, as is the landscape of the Jordanian Grand Canyon along the Kings Highway.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Khaled was a brilliant guide, with his quirky sense of humour! He was very knowledgeable and had really good suggestions for restaurants for the group meals. He organised everything very efficiently and without fuss!

Advice for Potential Travellers

We went in August and I was a little concerned about how hot it would be. However, it was fine! Yes it was hot and sunny, but there was always a breeze. You need a good hat. For Petra you definitely need sturdy walking shoes ... Boots might be a bit warm inAugust. I wore 'all terrain' ATL sandals and was fine, but you really can't do it in flip flops or light sandals/shoes because you walk a long way in Petra (16km on the first day and around 12km on the second) and much of it is over rocky and stony ground, with quite a lot of climbing of rock cut steps and boulders. Take the boat trip with snorkelling in Aqaba ... It was great!

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Reviewed August 2014

Mont Blanc Circuit

An absolutely brilliant trip from start to finish. Fabulous scenery, a brilliant group of trekkers and great fun, despite some mixed weather and spectacular storms.

Most Inspirational Moment

It's hard to pinpoint one moment but I really enjoyed the extra 'optional' challenges that were set by our guide John. Huffing and puffing my way up the extremely steep 560m of the Col du Tricot faster than my target time felt like a massive achievement, as did completing the circuit after ten long days of hiking. It's a long way. 100% worth it but we definitely deserved a celebratory drink or two at the end.

Thoughts on Group Leader

John was an excellent leader. Very approachable and patient, with a good sense of humour and a truly wonderful singing voice?! Graham was equally excellent back in camp, always welcoming us when we came back to camp after our walks and providing delicious food (plenty of it) and a very welcome bar. I should also mention his 'jokes' and spooky ghost stories...

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do take an umbrella! It might sound crazy for the mountains, but you'll need it. Warm clothes are a must for evenings in camp. Also, if you're not sure about doing this trip due to worries about camping...don't worry! I had never camped for this long before but learnt to enjoy it!

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Sophie Dean

Reviewed August 2014

Highlights of Morocco

A really busy but welll planned trip – I was very impressed with the support and organinsation

Most Inspirational Moment

high Atlas Mountains and sleeping in the Sahara desert under the stars - totally amazing

Thoughts on Group Leader

A really fabulous leader, interesting, informative and full of excellent information. I learnt alot about the country, culture and history. Brilliant at trouble-shooting and dealing with any issues that evolved. I couldn't rate him more highly

Advice for Potential Travellers

do the Hammam in the High Atlas mountains

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Djamila Stachowski

Reviewed August 2014

Amazon Rainforest - Lake Titikaka - Inca Trail - dep 25 July

It was a fabulous trip, great adventure and fantastic experience. I was glad I booked the combination of rainforest/ inca trail and lake Titicaca, as the inca trail only would not have been enough. Fantastic landscape and scenery, very lovely people throughout. Our tour leader, Luis Gonzales, was fabulous. Very knowledgeable, good fun, full of advise and tips. I can only highly recommend this trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

All three parts of the trip were so special, and very different. I would find it very hard to pick one exceptional moment. But seeing Machu Picchu was special.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was Luis Gonzales. He does a fantastic job! He is very knowledgeable, good fun, full of advise and tips. We felt very 'safe' with him and could be sure to not miss out on any attraction. The other guides (rainforest: Franck, inca trail: Marcia, lake Titicaca: Alex) were great too, and added the extra bit of knowledge and spirit to each of the parts of the trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Travel light. Take functional clothes. I was very glad I took my sleeping bag liner, which I used everywhere (even when we had beds).

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Susan Duncombe

Reviewed August 2014

Tour du Mont Blanc

Beautiful views, great camaraderie within the group and with Exodus guide and cook. A fantastic 2 weeks!

Most Inspirational Moment

Lunch stop with view of Mont Dolent. Beautiful!

Thoughts on Group Leader

I had confidence that in a crisis situation we'd be ok with him. Thankfully we never had a crisis situation. He paces the walks well, had local knowledge and also knowledge of flora and fauna

Advice for Potential Travellers

I was a bit worries about the camping as I hasn't been in a tent for 30 years. However, I'm sooooo glad I didn't do the hotel version of the trip. So much fun camping and the group were a hardier and more fun lot than the hotel group

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Susan Drake

Reviewed August 2014

Uzbekistan uncovered

This trip has an excellent itinerary – an absolutely perfect mix of guided sight-seeing, individual time to explore & little extras, like the camel ride and lake-side swim. (Again, this was just the right amount of time as we met other groups who had two nights at the yurt camp & we felt that the timing for us was perfect after after the desert castles).

Most Inspirational Moment

With so many amazing sights, it is hard to pick one. I loved Khiva, probably because it was so compact and the first glimpse of the city really took my breath away. There so many beautiful buildings and sights and the Uzbek people offer a warm welcome wherever you go. I loved the fact that there were more Uzbek tourists at all the key sites than foreigners and we ended up starring in many of the locals' photos as a 'holiday oddity' for them.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Dilshod is an extremely knowledgeable and patient guide. He is able to answer any question and is extremely thoughtful, asking discreetly after health and able to make allowances as required. Not only did he book taxis for individuals to see whatever they desired in free moments, but he also put them into the taxi and helped to negotiate the fare.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We travelled at the start of August. It is hot (35-42 degrees) but the advantage of this is that it is 'off-season' so the sites are not crowded. If you can take the heat, it is a good time to go. Drink lots of water and wear long sleeves - cover up! You will quickly get used to dealing with the stacks of notes - but never as adept at flicking through them to add up as the locals! Some of the journeys are sometimes long because the roads surfaces are not always good, but the infrastructure is gradually improving and it is just one aspect of the trip.

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eric winstone

Reviewed August 2014

tour du Mont Blanc

This trip lived up to all the expectations. The weather was mixed with heavy rain and sleet and three days of sunshine. Two things make a trip like this successful, the leader and the way in which the group gel together and interact. Both of these ingredients were very much in evidence and this made the trip an even better experience. The trekking was at the right pace and there was good support of each other throughout the 8 days. the accommodation and food were excellent.

Most Inspirational Moment

by far the most inspirational moments of the trip were the magnificent alpine views of glaciers and soaring peaks. the snow level was very low and this added to the majestic landscape we saw. Also the fact that there were many other groups and individuals along the route and the friendships made were excellent.

Thoughts on Group Leader

First class. She had done her homework on the group and planned her day around supporting each individuals needs - quite difficult on a trip like this. She was informative about local issues and confident and clear with her directions and instructions. She also had a sense of humour!

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is a tough walk and dont underestimate the fact that you will be walking over 70 miles with 6500m of ascent over 6 days. Travel as light as possible - about 9k max.

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Chris Knaack

Reviewed August 2014

Cycling Cuba

Definitely going back to Cuba.

Most Inspirational Moment

The experience of immersive tourism. This trip was completely unlike going to a tourists-only beach resort. On several occasions (Caleta Buena, Bayamo, Gibara), we ate, drank, and could chat and dance with vacationing and partying Cubans. Our group leader also created many opportunities for us to meet ordinary Cubans, by having us stop at their houses for coffee, dine at family-run restaurants, etc ...

Thoughts on Group Leader

I found out via Google that our leader Freddy Camara has been nominated for "best Exodus guide worldwide", and I can see why. His love of Cuba is apparent, as is his desire to communicate it to the members of the group. He made looking after 18 people's needs all at once look easy.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you absolutely must do this trip in the July-August timeframe, be aware that the heat and humidity make this more of a 4 out of 9, rather than the rating of 3 posted on the Exodus website. Even Freddy said of doing this trip in summer "this is crazy". Unless you are already an avid cyclist, put in the hours in the saddle before the trip. Someone in our group suggested 100km per week for several weeks prior to departure. This sounds about right. Buy a camel pack, rehydration salts, even a gel seat.

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