Thoughts on Group Leader
Safi was pretty much faultless. He gave very clear instructions, was remarkably knowledable on items we passes from mud bricks to plants. He was impressively patient with even the dumbest questions.
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:
Reviews
Kerala review
A great very well organised trip.
Wonderful trip
It was great. 3rd time lucky after 2 cancellations due to Pandemic. And no more visa hassles now evisa up and running again. Excellent trip. Cycling was an easy level 4 especially with Ooty climb truncated. Roads are nuts but actually pretty safe. Didn’t see any accidents. A lot of variety, cities, rural villages, beach, stunning Nilgiri hills, wildlife. Food was excellent. Hotels good. Very well led by Safi and his team. People were lovely. One of the best exodus trips I have done.
Most Inspirational Moment
Ride down from Ooty. Varkala is a surprisingly beautiful and calm beach resort Hotel at Cherai between lake and sea Houseboat - birdwatching Dolphins
Thoughts on Group Leader
Terrific. Safi has done this trip over 100 times. Makes it flow beautifully
Advice for Potential Travellers
Watch your waistline You might want to take a jar of good instant coffee Stay a few days at Varkala end of trip
Great trip!
This was a really well organised trip, full of great cycling, good food, interesting sights, and plenty of adventure. The trip packs a lot into 14 days–cycling, visits to tourist sites, bus rides, meals, etc; sometimes it felt rushed, meaning that we did not have sufficient time to explore the places we visited, particularly Da Lat. Time could be saved by cutting out some of the sometimes interminable cycling through traffic-clogged commercial streets–particularly the first stretch north of Mui Ne.
Most Inspirational Moment
Cycling up the mountain pass from Hue.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Son was excellent. He was competent, friendly, cheerful, and effective at managing the group. Everything was well organised, and he gave us relevant information throughout. The only room for improvement is that he could have told us more: he could have introduced us to some basic Vietnamese vocabulary (hello, goodbye, please, thank you, key words for food and drink), and he could have given us more information about the architecture and history of places like Da Lat. and Hoi An. The information given was basic, and when one pressed for more details, little was forthcoming.
Advice for Potential Travellers
The trip is packed with activities (and not just cycling), and with the exception of the off days in Hoi An and Whale Island, you are always on the move. That's fine if you want to make the most out of a two-week trip to Vietnam, but it can be a little tiring. Also, while many meals (dinners) are not included, in fact group meals are planned for most of them (though they are optional), and you have to pay for them. This is fine: the food was good, the prices were reasonable, and it was very convenient. Finally, virtually everything is done as a group, so your enjoyment of the experience will depend somewhat on the group dynamics (ours were fine).
Classic Patagonia treks
Fabulous holiday with a good balance of trekking and rest days. Not too many travel days for a big country either.
Most Inspirational Moment
The W trek in Chile was exceptional - stunning scenery, fun Refugios and outstanding guides.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Xavier was fabulous, very personable. The perfect balance of being totally organised/aware of the group and what everyone’s travel priorities are but also relaxed and really fun.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Approx a 35litre rucksack is more than enough to carry what you need in Chile. For the rest of the time a smaller day pack is perfect just to carry waterproof layers, water etc.
Fabulous
Great trip amazing landscapes and wildlife
Most Inspirational Moment
The wildlife
Thoughts on Group Leader
Petro was amazing-so knowledgeable and professional, but kind and thoughtful and always went the xtra mile to help us
Advice for Potential Travellers
Take a head torch, dont forget a waterproof
Cape Town to Johannesburg
Lots of laughs. Fantastic landscapes & wildlife. The trip started in Cape Town which is a beautiful city with many attractions and things to do. I would suggest having a few extra days in Cape Town to ensure you see all that is on offer.
There is a lot of driving and van time, but the scenery is stunning and we had a fantastic group & tour leader, so there were many laughs and chats along the way and wildlife spotting for the bird enthusiasts. Accommodation was varied, from hotels in Cape Town and Hermanus to chalets and cabins in the National Parks. All were clean, comfortable with ensuite facilities and most had wifi connections. Our tour leader, Warren prepared many delicious dinners and was able to cater to non-meat eaters.
There were a few long driving days over some very rough roads (especially driving to Lesotho), but our driver, Brilliant, was brilliant and did an amazing job getting us to Malealea in one piece. The peace & serenity of Malealea made the drive worth while.
We did encounter heavy rainfall in the second half of the trip which seemed to follow us from the Drakensburg, into St Lucia, Eswatini and Kruger N.P. It didn’t dampen our spirits, but did mean that roads in Kruger N.P were closed and we managed to leave St Lucia before the road out of St Lucia collapsed. The road to our accommodation in Kruger N.P (Skukuza) was flooded forcing road closures 10kms out. Warren & Brilliant, our tour guide and driver had everything under control, making sure that our safety was paramount. The highlight was the unscheduled night drive, coming close to elephants and giraffes as we drove to our alternate accommodation.
Kruger N.P did not disappoint where we were able to see 4/5 Big Five (unfortunately we missed the leopards, who were busy trying to keep dry). The highlight was seeing a group of juvenile male lions chilling under some trees & shrubs trying to keep dry. There are also a lot of bird sightings, elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, zebra, monkeys, antelope, Kudu, Waterbuck.
Overall it was a fantastic trip, showing off the best of South Africa, with many special moments and highlights and I would recommend this trip.
Most Inspirational Moment
The safaris and seeing the lions were my highlight, especially the unplanned 'night safari' in Kruger N.P. St Lucia and the hippos and the hiking in Drakensburg were also highlights. An impromptu visit to a local kindergarten in Lesotho is another highlight. The group and our tour guide really gelled providing many fond memories of this trip.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Warren our tour guide was fantastic. He was very professional, but easy going, very knowledgeable, friendly, patient and went out of his way to ensure our safety in Kruger N.P when the road to our accommodation was closed forcing us to find another exit to get to our alternate accommodation. He and our driver, Brilliant, were both great fun to travel with and very helpful arranging alternate safari drives and activities due to the wet weather.
Advice for Potential Travellers
The trip involves some long travel days on some rough roads so be opened minded and enjoy the experience, remembering that not everyone has the same opportunities to travel abroad.
Fantastic trip
This trip has it all. A wonderful variety of adventure, challenges, culture, stunning scenery, friendship, busyness and relaxation. South India is stunning.
Most Inspirational Moment
There’s too many to limit it to one. Climbing Mount Meesapulimala, House boat in the backwaters of Alleppey Madurai, Cooking class, Beach
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our group leader was excellent. He had so much knowledge it was unbelievable. I felt very looked-after. Santosh Kumar arranged extra cultural visits to break up the journeys. And pointed out interesting features which we would have missed otherwise. He clearly had a lot of experience and prevented problems by anticipating and advising ahead. He had the right balance of authority needed to make it run like clockwork but perfect sense of fun to make it enjoyable. Nothing was too much trouble.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Read the itinerary, kit list and trip notes. Take a flannel- it really helps with the camping 🏕️ and washing. It’s a bit chilly in the tents overnight so make sure you have a thick enough sleeping bag. I felt cold in a two seasons one. Embrace it all, accept the differences!
An all encompassing trip
A great way to see the different parts of Malaysia, from the wildlife in Borneo to the different cultures found throughout Malaysia and finishing the tour on the beach in Langkawi. A memorable experience throughout, assisted by the knowledgeable guides on both parts of the tour and a great group.
Most Inspirational Moment
After seeing the Orangutans in the sanctuary, spotting some in the wild whilst on the river cruise was memorable.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Both group leaders were knowledgeable, I think in particular Wan on the second part of the tour excelled in helping everyone with there questions. With a full group of 16 it is nearly impossible to satisfy everyone but Wan ensured that, I believe, everyone was sad to see by the end of the tour.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Just relax and enjoy the different cultures and try everything!
Exhausting, exhilarating, challenging, fulfilling
What an incredible trip! Even though we had been lucky enough to visit Petra some ten years ago, we wanted to come back to explore the country further. Everything we did was very well organised and planned. The hotels were great as was the food. The evenings spent in local restaurants with our guide were brilliant, especially loved the evening walk round Aqaba. Jordan is a lovely country facing challenges, but with so much history!
Most Inspirational Moment
Seeing The Monastery. I never thought I'd be able to do the steps but I challenged myself and I'm so glad I did. The day doing thr High Place of Sacrifice was also staggering!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Ayyad was lovely!!! So knowledgeable but he felt like such a safe pair of hands. He said something to me when we were walking which I'll keep with me forever. Shout out too to our driver Anas....drivers often don't get a mention and he was very skilled and professional.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Warm clothes, layers, lots of socks and comfortable shoes. Some days walking boots will be good but there's some scrambling over rocks so I found my Sketchers we're better for that. But do it - you won't regret it!
A varied trip
Excellent varied trip , very few early starts which is unusual for exodus but it is quite tiring given you are only staying 1 or 2 nights in places. Trekking was the highlight and it very integral to the trip so don’t underestimate it . If you are a regular walker you will be fine but it isn’t flat and can be quite challenging underfoot. The mileage in the trip notes is also not correct , we walked 5km in Munnar then 11km, 16km, 14km, 10km and. 4 km. what makes the walking so special is that there is very few others around….yiu get the place to yourself! People are so friendly, a very easy country to get around as most speak English. You feel very safe
Most Inspirational Moment
The trekking.
Thoughts on Group Leader
San was exceptional, exodus are very lucky to have him. His English was very good as was his local knowledge He ensured everybody was happy as our group had a very wide age range 35 to 76. He never stopped, in all the hotels he was there in breakfast ensuring we got what we wanted and ensuring the waiters delivered. He even ensured we had porridge!
Advice for Potential Travellers
No need to get money out at kochi airport as commission rates are high. There is a prepaid taxi service in the airport which is open 24 hours and takes credit card. It will cost about 1,200 rupees to get to the Grand Hotel. There are plenty to AT!’s near the hotel. I used SBI and HSBC both of which didn’t charge me any ATM fees. I have a barclaycard rewards card which is worth having as they don’t charge for ATM withdrawals or ex fees on transactions. Ladies - carry loo roll and bags to put used loo roll in as there isn’t always a bin and yiu shouldn’t put it down some of the more remote toilets