Solo Travel Holidays

Itinerary was jam-packed with great sights and activities that gave us a taste of both ancient and modern China, while still leaving some free time to explore on our own; excellent value. All the hotels were very good (luxurious for Exodus), with the Tianfu Sunshine in Chengdu being stand-out for room facilities and decor, the Bell Tower in Xi’an for location and generous room size, and the Dong Fang in Beijing for the most extensive and best quality breakfast buffet (and period charm in the historic coffee shop, courtyard, and public areas); Golden Tulip in Shanghai was also very glamorous and well-located for the Bund. Transport (bullet trains x 2, internal flight, private minibuses, and public buses) was all excellent – punctual, efficient and clean, and our trip leader, Sunny, got us to all the attractions before the busiest crowds, and marshalled us well on public transport. (There were only seven of us on my departure – five solos and one couple – which was a good number; I can imagine a full cohort of 16 would be much more challenging to manage in the busiest locations.) Food was amazingly cheap and generally good (you can eat well for a fiver, and feast for under £10; large beers cost around £1), although some of us might have liked an option once or twice to have a more upmarket and relaxed dining experience. This trip takes in all the main tourist attractions (Tian’anmen Square, Forbidden City, a section of the Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, panda breeding centre), and they were all well worth seeing, but what I enjoyed most was having some time to explore the lesser known cities, Xi’an, and Chengdu. Xi’an was my favourite, for its historic centre, and lively night-time vibe. I would have liked some more time in Shanghai (not least because I was on a quest for family history); a day and a half on the official trip itinerary is not enough for such a vibrant city, specially as we lost half a day (the group trip to Yuyuan Garden) due to heavy rain the day we arrived. Luckily, some of us had late flights on departure day, effectively giving us another post-trip day in which we were able to visit the Yu Garden independently, but it would be good if this extra day could be factored into future trip itineraries. (Personally, I’d trade Beijing for more time in Chengdu and Shanghai. I’m planning to return to Shanghai independently.) As a solo traveller, this was my first long-haul trip, and it was brilliant. Just go!

Ming Ho Essential China

I’m writing this two months after coming back. I’ve just finished my photobook of the trip and completing this made me realise how much fantastic stuff we saw. And how it’s like two trips in one. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are based on mountains, open spaces and some walks. Uzbekistan is cultural, four interesting cities and fantastic Islamic architecture. It’s great to have experienced both and enjoyed three new countries in one adventure.

Nigel Turner The Silk Road

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.

Sarah Kay Madagascan Discoverer