Madagascan Discoverer

Exodus can't be reached for basic information about trip--multiple weeks trying, and complete silence

I haven’t gotten to go on my trip yet, and at this point I’m starting to doubt I ever will. Exodus was contacting me regularly with updates when I had an outstanding balance, and they did promptly notify me when payment was complete, but I’ve been trying to get in touch with them to sort out a couple basic details about the trip for more than three weeks now and have gotten nothing in terms of a response. I’ve tried their customer service address, the supposedly ‘direct’ address of the person assigned to be my specific contact, and as a reply to *their* request for flight information (automated, of course). Not once have I received a follow up email or any attempt to provide the information I’ve asked for, it’s complete radio silence to the point where I’m wondering if I’m actually going to be going on a trip or if I need to contact my credit card company about possible fraud. I’ve worked with other travel agencies before, and “Answer your customer’s emails” is a pretty minimum level of service to expect and yet Exodus isn’t meeting even that.

A Real Adventure with Fabulous Wildlife

Madagascar is a truly special place and this trip is a real adventure. I have heard Madagascar described as one for the “seasoned traveller” and this is pretty accurate – certainly it is somewhere that you should go with your eyes and mind open and prepare for the rugged terrain and slightly uncomfortable journeys. That said, I would not trade a thing as the experiences are all part of its charm and more than made up for by the beautiful scenery and amazing wildlife.

I loved the entire trip and thoroughly enjoyed the variety of experiences, from the slightly chaotic capital Tana, to the jagged UNESCO site of the Grand Tsingy, to the peace and tranquillity of Ifaty, all interspersed with amazing national parks and wildlife including lemurs, chameleons, fossa and owls.

We were incredibly lucky with our wildlife viewings, with red-fronted brown lemurs, greater bamboo lemur, Goodman’s mouse lemur, dwarf lemur, grey mouse lemur, sportive lemur, ring-tailed lemur, indri, diademed sifaka, Verreaux’s sifaka, Milne-Edwards sifaka and many many more. We went in October and the babies were out in force – so many incredibly playful young lemur could be seen and photographed, all apparently quite indifferent to our presence. The day and night walks were all very well organised and provided plenty of opportunity to just stand back and observe these creatures in their natural habitat. We were rarely rushed on the walks (only when the guides had heard tell of something else exciting up ahead) and the local guides were expert at finding the best angles and lighting for some great photographs, even in challenging conditions.

I found the hotels to be of a general good standard and, as a solo traveller, did not feel as though I was in any way penalised by room size or quality. In fact, by luck of the draw, in one location I ended up with the suite! We had at least warm water most of the time and the food was generally good if a little repetitive after a while. Breakfast was generally fruit, breads, jams, and eggs cooked to order. Where there was nowhere appropriate to stop for lunch, we were able to order sandwiches to go so we never went hungry on the long drive days.

Wonderful wildlife

Hotels
The hotels were clean and the staff were friendly. Some of the hotels were run on solar power or generators which were turned off around 22:00/23:00. Turned back on about 5:00, remember to take a torch with you. All the rooms were a good size. Some hotels did not have hot water, although a bucket of hot water could be provided. The hotels provided bars of soap, some of which had been used by the previous occupants. Net curtains were provided in some of the hotels. I would recommend always wearing mozzie spray at all times, and taking sufficient toiletries for the duration of your trip.

The roads are awful, making all journeys long and uncomfortable. Arriving at the hotel after an early start, given our room keys and told we needed to order dinner. I understand the need for ordering as they needed to freshly cook the food. There was no time to wind down before eating.

Food
Breakfasts were simple, bread, jam, fruit, and eggs. There was enough food provided to start your day.

Lunch was non-existent on many days. Several days we had chips and cereal bars
On the occasions we did stop for lunch then it was a tourist type restaurant where the food was more like a main meal. There were no light lunches and we ended up with a plate of chips (French fries). For the majority of our journey there are no places to buy snacks. At least 4 of our journeys resulted in a picnic lunch of the bus. One hotel offered us a packed lunch of omelette or sardine sandwiches which are not to everyone’s taste.

Dinner. All bar one was taken in the hotel as there are very few restaurants around, and none outside the main towns. There was a limited choice of food in the hotels and most people on our group had upset stomachs. The food was overcooked and the meat/fish was tough.

Roads
Are terrible, potholes that you could fit a car in. The journeys on the 4×4 and the bus were very uncomfortable and the proposed journey time in the trips notes were under estimated. We had three journeys of 12 hours. The state of the roads means that after your early start to the day that you are unable to have a ‘nap’.

Transport
The bus and 4×4 were in a good condition, albeit that our bus needed to change a tyre and to fix a slow puncture. The tread on the tyres would not pass a MOT.

As we were a small group (8) then we could spread ourselves around. It did however make slow progress due to the road conditions

We had sufficient room in the 4x’s however we were thrown around due the road surface, which was mainly mud. The drivers were very mechanically minded and could fix problems on the cars and quickly change tyres.

The very long days did detract from the overall experience of the trip

Wildlife
There is abundant wildlife which our guides managed to find for us. We were able to take many, many photographs. The wildlife and in particular seeing lemurs in the wild was the main reason to go to Madagascar. There were a lot of them and we saw many different types. The mouse lemur is the cutest.

Walking
There is a lot of walking on uneven ground as the animals are living in their natural habitat. Be prepared to scramble through the undergrowth to get ‘that’ picture.

Begging
Madagascar is a poor country and not set up for mass tourism. Be prepared to see a lot of children begging for sweets and money as you travel through the countryside.

Incredible Adventure

Incredible adventure through Madagascar. While there is a lot of travel, it allows you to see all the different cultures and landscapes of the country – from the highlands to the western coast, cities and rural villages, national parks etc. There were plenty of stops along the way for toilet breaks, and culture stops. We were never uncomfortable but you do have to go with an open mind and just go with the flow. We went for the wildlife and this didn’t disappoint – we saw so many different lemurs up close and all of the guides were fantastic to point out all the different animals Our tour guide, Claudia, was amazing and so helpful throughout the entire tour. Our group was very enjoyable and we all had a similar mindset.

Madagascan Discoverer 16 day tour

In general the trip was good. I enjoyed the scenery. We had a small group, only 7 people which was good. If there had been the full 16 guests, the bus would have been far too small. I loved seeing the Lemurs and the various treks that we did, especially the Tsingy. The hotels were very basic, quite disappointing in many places. The hotel at Ifaty Beach (La Plage) was the worst that we experienced. It is neglected, dirty, very poor quality beds, my room was musty, the fans didn’t work, the bedside lights didn’t work, we were there for two days and had no hot water. There was a smelly dog in the public area. The covers on the sun loungers were dirty. As a solo traveller, as usual with Exodus, I got the worst room, that is compared to what the couples in the group get. One hotel we stayed in, (Les chambers du Voyageur) the room was so small, I couldn’t open my suitcase inside the room, unless I put it right up to the entrance door of the room! There was no wardrobe, no place to put anything, so I had to put my rucksack on the bed beside me, I didn’t want to put it on the floor. The breakfasts were also very poor, quite often stale bread and an omelette made with just one egg! There was no toiletries in any of these hotels, just soap! The other big negative for me, was the extremely long drives on such poor roads. We had breakfast each morning and within minutes of eating, we were on these really bumpy roads. As a result, we all had stomach problems throughout the trip. One day we were on the bus for 13 hours and for the final five hours, we never stopped, neither to stretch our legs nor for a comfort stop! If the bus was full with 16 people, it would have been close to torture!

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the lemurs up close and doing the Tsingy walk.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Claudia was great, quite inspirational and with a great personality. She too had some medical issues during the trip but she kept going and behaved very professionally. She also had a personal tragedy to deal with, but we never suffered because of the things that were going on in her personal life. She was wonderful, we loved her.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be very aware of the long journeys on such poor roads. For me this was a daily torture.. I hated the long bus journeys..! I think that the level of activity rating for this trip it not correct. The Tsingy walk was not for the faint hearted. I was well able for it, but it was tough for others. If I were to go again, I would take old clothes with me and donate them to the locals at the end of the trip. My clothes got really dirty on this trip! I would also take some goodies for the many children that we encountered along the way (Pens, pencils, note pads, yoyo's for hair, anything that would be light to carry!). I can't recommend this trip to any of my friends, because any of my friends wouldn't be able to cope with the long days and the long journeys. I appreciate that it is a big country and if you want to see it you have to travel. It was quite exhausting. One day we left our hotel at 05:30...!

Reply from Exodus

We’d like to thank you for your review, Mary, and we are heartened to receive your comments about your tour leader, Claudia, which have been passed on. On the other hand, we were sorry to hear that you were disappointed with several other aspects of your holiday, particularly the accommodation. Hotel standards in Madagascar are known to significantly contrast those in Europe and this, alongside our literature description of simple yet comfortable lodgings, usually sets our customers’ expectations accordingly. In order to keep the trip attractive, whilst still affordable, we use the best quality mid-range properties in the country, and, though they may not be everyone’s preference, we have not previously received feedback to suggest they are not meeting the mark. In fact, one of our staff members recently undertook this trip and relayed that even the most basic hotels featured clean rooms, reliable electricity and constant water, which is not always a given in this part of the world. We understand that the lack of toiletries is part of an effort to reduce plastic waste, which honours our commitment to travelling responsibly, but we are sorry if the soap you were provided was insufficient. Whilst paying a single supplement does not guarantee a superior room, rather one for sole occupancy, we were regretful to learn that yours were somewhat cramped. Our local manager has advised us that room types do not vary at any of the properties we use, other than between doubles and twins, and we’ve not received this type of feedback in the past, which we find reassuring. Nevertheless, we wouldn’t wish to downplay your disappointment and we’ll closely monitor the reviews we receive going forward to ensure that we are continuing to please our solo customers, who we greatly value. One of the selling points of this trip is that it covers many of Madagascar’s highlights such as the Alley of the Baobabs and Tsingy De Bemaraha National Park, although this does translate to some lengthy drives on underdeveloped roads, which we realise is not ideal. Tour leaders are encouraged to incorporate as many rest stops as possible, to break up the journeys, but it is not always safe to stop by the roadside, which means that long stretches are inevitable. Should your comments become more commonplace, we will certainly consider redesigning the itinerary to incorporate rest days, which we hope shows that we are willing to make changes to our tours to enhance our customers’ experiences. We sincerely hope that you retain some fond memories of Madagascar overall and that you continue choosing Exodus for your travel plans.

John Penge, Product Manager

Only in Madagascar, a real adventure!

I’ve wanted to visit Madagascar for some time, mainly to see the lemurs and to visit the giant baobab trees, but there is so much more to Madagascar, it has to be one of the most amazing and unique places I have ever travelled to! Everyday there was something new and exciting to experience. This is a fast-paced trip and you are always on the move, with quite a lot of long drives on poor roads, but I have to say it’s totally worth it, you just have to embrace it as part of the adventure. Even during the long drives the landscape is constantly changing, we travelled through cool rainforests, paddy fields, sandy beaches, canyons, deserts, spiny forests, rivers, and some really the fascinating towns and villages.

Madagascan Discoverer

A fantastic adventure holiday. Yes the days are long with a lot of travelling, but the rewards along the way more than make up for it. The spotters ability to find lemurs, chameleons, frogs, geckos, etc (even in the dark!) was unbelievable. Our guide, Claudia, was one of the best guides we’ve ever had. The landscapes are varied and the people are lovely.

Madagascan Discovery review

This trip fulfils its promise of seeing Limas in their natural environment. However the country is extremely poor. All the sealed roads are riddled with potholes and the dirt roads are rough. Electricity is hit and miss and there are no street lamps even in the cities. Piped water is a rarity, Meat is butchered locally and sold from wooden huts (no fridges). If you survive this trip without diarrhoea then you are extremely lucky

Madagascar

“Madagascan Discoverer” was a truly wonderful, very enjoyable, multi-faceted trip with a really excellent guide, Rija. I am writing this review to inform future customers about 1 less-than-good aspect because it might be a safety issue for some people booking this holiday. In addition, Exodus has failed to respond to the comments I made in my on-line post-holiday evaluation about this, so I do not know if Exodus has read the evaluation and is going to do anything to improve the situation. My criticism relates to the harnesses provided for the walk in the Grands Tsingy. Mine was too big for me, even when the smallest harness the company had was adjusted to the smallest possible size. This same problem also affected another person in the group. Both of us are slimmer than most other British adults. Fortunately, neither of us fell and came to any harm. If we had fallen and had had to rely on the harnesses to keep us safe, there would have been the potential for an accident or injury. If you are slim or if you have children who are intending to do the Via Ferrata in the Grands Tsingy, please consider bringing your or their own harness(es) that fits you/them. A harness that does not fit the wearer is of little use. I climb regularly and know how important this piece of equipment is and how a proper fit is necessary for safety. This deficiency on the part of Exodus is made worse because I had actually queried with Exodus BEFORE the trip whether I should bring my own harness to Madagascar. The reply that the Exodus rep gave me was that we would not be doing Via Ferrata and there was no need for the harness. This reveals that the Exodus representative does not know her product: we definitely did a Via Ferrata and we used climbing equipment. Other than this failing, and one or two things which were beyond the control of Exodus, the holiday was very good, hugely interesting and varied and I had a great time. I fully recommend this holiday and in particular, commend Rija for her excellent guiding.

Memorable Madagascar

This trip gives you a glimpse of an incredibly varied country rich with unique wildlife and landscapes. Yes the roads maybe a bit bumpy 🙂 but you soon forget that when every day you see so many endemic lemurs, sifakas, chameleons and, if you are lucky, a fossa. The tour leader Rija is the best that I have ever met on an Exodus trip. Her vast knowledge and infectious passion made the trip even more special and memorable.