Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Spending a day in Riga, seeing a wild beaver in the city park, the amazing architecture and the site of the very first Christmas tree. Witches Hill was also impressive.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very friendly, knowledgeable, sociable and eager to please and support the group.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Apparently Lithuania translates as Land of the Rain and it certainly lived up to its name, perhaps we were unfortunate with the weather but definitely bring your wet weather gear. Also the currency in Latvia is the Euro and not the Latvian Lat as the trip notes state (Estonia and Latvia have the Euro and Lithuania still has Litas - though they too are scheduled to move to the Euro in 2015)

Most Inspirational Moment

The walking in the mountains  helps put things into perspective, and the hospitality of the people give's a sense of being truely welcome.We were really fortunate to have an amazing group on this trip and we all got on famously. Thanks guys!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader was caring, attentive and made sure we all were well looked after by encouraging us to carry enough water, drink and keep covered up during the hot part of the day.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't pay too much attention to the negative vibes about the food. Ok it may not be the Ritz but given the facilities the food is great and there is plenty of it. Don't forget that pair of walking boots, as you WILL need them. Double layer socks are also a worthwhile investment.You may need walking polls to help you get up and down the steep bits. And a Camelbak might be sensible to keep your water cool, I'm glad I purchased  mine.Also remember you will normally need a sleeping bag.....but remember the time of year you are going and take the clothes to keep warm if the advice suggests them.Finally the trip is maked as moderate for a reason....altitude sickness can kick in at less than 3000m and this trip will take you to not much below this.The altitude will make even the fit find it tough at times especially on the 10hour trek.

Most Inspirational Moment

One of the most inspitrational moments was getting to the top of the hill on the 3rd cycling day. Our group of 16 varied quite widely in cycling ability. Even the best cyclist set himself his own challenge to get up the 8km rise as fast as possible without putting a foot down. I just wanted to get to the top without having to give up and when I achieved this, the rest of the group gave me a round of applause - awesome !!!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Dani was a complete star !! This mountaneer had only led one Camino cycling trip before and was now presented with the responsibility of guiding 16 cycalists of varying ability. He was consistently enthusiastic and encouraging while maintaining a sense of humour. As we struggled to find those elusive yellow arrows he took all our ribbing about his map reading skills with good humour !!

Advice for Potential Travellers

My advice is really about the conflict between the grading and the written description of the trip.In my opinion the trip is correctly graded moderate to challenging.However the trip notes also state "the riding is generally undemanding" Not sure what planet this author is on !! Even the most experienced cyclists on the trip found  demanding sections on most days.A later sentence reads "This trip is ideal for the occassional cyclists who exercise regularly" It was on the basis of this statement that my husband and I signed up. In reality it was FAR more challenging than this would indicate. We are SO delighted to have experienced the trip but as "occasional" cyclists we had to dig very deep into our reserves of "regular exercise" to get up those hills !!! My point is that less motivated and stubborn people might be disappointed and demotivated to find themselves on a trip that was too difficult for them.

Most Inspirational Moment

arriving at MP from above

Thoughts on Group Leader

Marvellous

Advice for Potential Travellers

Get trained !

Most Inspirational Moment

The view from the hotel rooftop bar in Riga.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Out of his depth.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Expect to eat lots of potatoes and ham.

Most Inspirational Moment

I loved the stay in the desert, watching the sunset and sunrise from the dunes, and the camel ride to the Bedouin camp.  The views in the Altas mountains and the relaxed atmosphere in Essaouira were also highlights in a trip full of interesting experiences.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Mustapha was great.  Friendly, relaxed and knowledgeable.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is a great trip around Morocco covering a huge amount of ground and I would thoroughly recommend it.  In order to cover this amount of the country you do have to spend a fair amount of time travelling in the mini bus however we had quite frequent stops to break it up.

Most Inspirational Moment

Gosh, there were several! Yosemite is just so beautiful and idyllic - I had been before but I still found it stunning.I really hadn't been sure if I would be able to brace myself to make it to the top of Angel's Landing in Zion National Park, but I did, and the spectacular view at the top was a wonderful reward!Wading in the Narrows at Zion National Park was a very memorable experience - a beautiful setting and the water was lovely (after the initially quite bracing sensation of stepping into it!).Monument Valley is as amazing as you hope it will be, given what a familiar location it is from films and TV. The jeep tour followed by dinner with the Navajo is extremely enjoyable, inspiring and fun. How can you beat sitting outside under the stars eating dinner by a campfire in Monument Valley?!The Grand Canyon: even standing there in person, looking at it in the sunset, I still found it hard to truly get my head around the sheer scale and beauty of it. The true meaning of the adjective 'awesome' has been somewhat undermined as it used too lightly now, but in the case of The Grand Canyon, it truly is legitimate to describe it as 'awesome'. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Alex Yakshe was great fun, very organized, well informed and keen to ensure that we were all having the best-possible holiday experience. In a group you are always going to get varying tastes and interests, and he did everything that he could to accommodate different requests and/or suggestions.People on holiday tend to put their brains into a bit of a 'powered-down setting', and for my own part I appreciated that he seemed to be completely un-phased by having to explain things more than once (or twice, or three times...!).Alex has an infectious enthusiasm and energy, and I surprised myself by willingly waking very early to greet several sunrises. I'm not usually much of a morning person but it was undoubtedly worth it and in fact I would highly recommend it! It was pretty cool to get to attend a rodeo one evening, and also very educational.Importantly, he regularly emphasized safety considerations and taking the right kit with us, and we were well drilled in keeping ourselves properly hydrated - very important in the kinds of conditions that we were often hiking in.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take aqua shoes or water-proof sandals so that you do have the option to wade in the Narrows at Zion National Park. You couldn't do it without appropriate footwear and it is a lovely experience.Remember to take a spare camera battery or camera-battery charger, and a spare memory card (or a memory card with *a lot* of capacity) as you will want to take many, many photos! If you are considering whether or not to do this trip - DO IT!

Most Inspirational Moment

Hot air ballooning over the fairy chimneys and rock formations. It was incredible to be amongst 100 other balloons slowly flying over the magical world below. 5 of us did it and couldn't stop grinning and raving about it afterwards. Walking through the varied landscape, fertile valleys and fairy chimneys.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Omer was an excellent leader, very knowledgeable and informative and with a great sense of humour. He made sure all arrangements went smoothly

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take walking boots/trainers with GOOD grip - the paths are very slippery with small stones. At Istanbul on the outward journey, purchase your visa at the desks on the left heading for the domestic terminal, then go through passport control to get the flight to Keyseri. Don't buy water until you are through the 2nd security check. Take a plug for the rooms at the hotel and earplugs as there are a few animals in the hotel which awake early, also you can hear the balloons passing over most mornings. Though that is a sight worth waking up for.

Most Inspirational Moment

The last day in Dubrovnik was truly memorable, the weather was perfect and the city had so much to offer. My abiding memery was relaxing for an hour alone with coffee and cake watching the world go by, and contemplating what I had experienced over the previous few days. The cycling was hard but the views were amazing, lunch at the family restaurant and dinner at the farmhouse were extremely good but most of all I remember the group of people that helped to make this such wonderful holiday.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Krsto was very good company and fun to be with, spoke perfect english and had a wry sense of humour. He was very organised and capable, I had complete confidence in his ability to cope with any situation that may have arisen. Exodus are lucky to have him as their representative.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just for anyone who may be apprehensive about a cycling holiday. This was my first ever activity holiday and I only started cycling six months ago, so I was concerned that I may have been too old, unfit and inexperieced to enjoy it. Well I took longer that most to complete the hills but did manage without having to resort to the bus, and I felt under no pressure from the faster riders. So give it a try, no more beach holidays or cruises for me it's cycling from now on.

Most Inspirational Moment

Views on the walk day 3 at the centre of the Dolomites (Strudlekopf / Durrenstein hut)

Thoughts on Group Leader

From an organisation and sociable perspective Carl was good. From a walking perspective I found his pace slow.  Notes describe walking as 5 to 7 hrs but distances were very short  i.e. day 1: walked 10k in 5 hours on a very gentle incline / whole group had to stop 3 times in 5 minutes for plant/history update. Found walking frustrating. Don't believe pace was set for the slowest person in the group. Carl had knee problems so last 2 days of walking were with a local guide. Pace was faster, more fluid and felt less herded.