Reviews

Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers

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112 Reviews

4.6 out of 5

Joe Scarborough

Reviewed February 2023

One of a Kind Cycle Tour Kerala India

My wife and I had a fabulous trip on the Cycle Kerala & Tropical India tour. I think with any cycling trips the key thing is the trip leader and accompanying maintenance staff and co leader. Safi the trip leader did a fantastic job along with Frank and Shaker who helped Safi with all the various jobs required to make things run smoothly. Safi was extremely organized and dealt efficiently with anything that came up. The food and excursions were all very good and very interesting with great cultural involvement . I think this trip was absolutely a “bucket list ” scenario for myself and my wife. The trip stands above many that I have done.

Most Inspirational Moment

I wouldn't pin it down to one moment as the interaction with many local people on the trip and interesting conversations was a highlight . The people are very friendly and open to many topics of conversation. I enjoyed the climb to Ooty with all the hair pin turns.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I would give Safi 10 out of 10. Great guy, smart, organized, fit, and calmly dealt with any issues that came up. Can't say enough positives about him.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I would suggest that someone best suited for this would be flexible with any issues that come up, a decent cyclist (only moderate fitness is required as only 1 day requiring a higher fitness state) , likes riding in warm weather, and does a bit of homework before trip on what to expect in India as far as traffic, culture, food , etc...

Jennie Mc

Reviewed January 2023

Wonderful, well organised trip

This was such a memorable trip, there was such a variety of experiences. From cities and temples, to rainforest and jungle safari to the tea plantations and stations in the hills. Cycling allowed us to get close to it all and be properly off the beaten track. The group all got on well and the organisation from Safi and Franklin was amazing, nothing was too much trouble or hadn’t been planned for. The food was amazing too.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many, but i just loved cycling through the countryside and seeing the amazing wildlife.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Safi was fantastic, everything that you would want in a leader. Incredibly organised, friendly, insightful, with a wealth of knowledge. Franklin, our driver, was also lovely and couldn't be more helpful.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't take too much, you can get washing done relatively cheaply. There is no issue with wearing normal lycra cycling kit. Take uk sterling-it is easy to change, we had real problems finding working ATMs that accepted our cards and had cash still left, having said that you will need relatively little money, it is cheap by our standards. The climb to Ooty was much steeper than I had imagined but there was no shame in putting your bike on the bus and walking up-still a massive sense of achievement. Be prepared for lots of selfies, we were a relative novelty and saw no other European tourist for the first week-lots of people wanted photos!

steve wakely

Reviewed November 2022

cycle kerala and tropical india

This was our first Exodus holiday and overall we had a great time. The cycling was varied, with great scenery and opportunities to get off the beaten track and see the real India. Safi, the tour leader, was good company and very informative and knowledgeable. He also helped us to cope with the intricacies of cycling on the roads in India, supported by our able driver, Franklin. We were hoping for a wonderful experience and overall we had a great time, marred by just 2 aspects: Firstly, the incident which resulted in our group being detained against our will for 5 hours by the wildlife park rangers/ police in Bandipur National Park, Tamil Nadu. This was for a minor infringement (walking just 5 metres off the highway into the forest), whilst being led on a walk to a local farmhouse. Whilst we accept that it is sometimes difficult to combat the apparent corrupt tendencies of certain local officials, who tried to extort money from us for such a minor infringement, the local guide (not Safi, I hasten to add) should really have known better. As a result, the most challenging cycling day, the ride up to Ooty, was rather spoiled: we were not allowed to cycle the bottom half of the ride and only 2 of us eventually climbed the top half, in the midday sun and with no warm up possible. We also missed out on what would have surely been a very interesting home visit. Such things happen! (Oh, and Exodus never actually called us back, after we phoned to explain our predicament; it was left to the local team of Safi and the hotel owner to secure our release from effective custody, with the support of local dignitaries, who travelled up the hillside to help us). The second thing was that the quality of the hotels was rather disappointing: some were shabby and very basic, to say the least, and half of the swimming pools were not fit for purpose eg the infinity pool at Cherai beach, that we were all really looking forward to (especially compared with the much better quality we found in Rajasthan on the second half of our holiday), We were so looking forward to this being the first of many potential cycling holidays with Exodus, but are left wondering if we should perhaps look elsewhere in future, given the quality of the accommodation provided.

Most Inspirational Moment

The very first day cycling: the sounds. smells and sights were just amazing, and unleashed a completely different world of experiences: from the carts pulled by oxen to the religious zealots bathing in the river, to the waving children as we passed by. A truly amazing circular ride that unleashed all the senses! The Keralan backwater experience was pretty amazing too!

Thoughts on Group Leader

As above, Safi was very friendly, helpful and the source of much information about India. He was always happy to answer our many questions and share his experience.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Yes, take necessary medical supplies, like dioralyte, energy tablets and immodium, but don't take too many clothes. We were only slightly cold on one occasion, the early morning ride out of Ooty. Also, you need to be reasonably fit to average 30 miles per day, even when it was flat, because the heat can sap your energy.

Sally James

Reviewed November 2022

Fantastic holiday

An amazing first trip to India. Great variety of scenery with a very challenging climb! Fantastic guide, Safi, and support team, Shibu and Franklin. We were a small group, 7 in total, that quickly jelled and were of a similar cycling ability. A fantastic holiday with a great bunch of people. Thank you.

Most Inspirational Moment

Hard to choose, thoroughly enjoyed the cycling, seeing a variety of Indian life and cuisine, however the unexpected bonus was the amazing wildlife we saw on the safari. Two leopards AND a tiger, plus an elephant in the wild on our jeep transfer. We were especially lucky as it wasn't the best time of year to see exclusive tiger. The house boat was also a great experience, very relaxing and tranquil.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Safi was fantastic, as were Shibu (mechanic) and Franklin (driver.) Even though this was the first trip since the pandemic Safi had everything so well arranged. He organised an amazing variety of dishes for us to try when meals were included and always had excellent recommendations when not included. He even quickly realised that "least spicy" in Tamil Nadu was still a little too hot for myself and another member of the group and even got a couple of places we were staying to adapt their usual menu to ensure there was tasty food for everyone. The food in Kerala is generally milder and I found this fantastic. He arranged numerous local tea/coffee/drinks stops where we could try local delicious snacks or Franklin provided fantastic fresh fruit and snacks. When leaving we arrived at the airport at 1am Safi( who had taken a couple earlier) miraculous appeared through the crowds the instant the driver dropped us off and quickly whisked us through door security. He even went back to the airport at 4am to rescue 2 of the group who had their flight rearranged.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I am a road cyclist and bought some half and half cleats and shoes with inset cleats. These made cycling in traffic much easier as I could cycle unclipped, but cycled clipped in the majority of the time, especially on the climb! The shoes meant I could easily walk around at stops and when looking round villages, temples etc during rides without my usual road cleats that would have been slippy and noisy. I was very glad I had done some training beforehand, it definitely paid off on the climb. I adapted the Exodus training plan, doing some cadence and interval training as well as hill sessions on the turbo trainer. It is only the climb that really makes this a four. The rest of the days felt like a three. I did a mixture of the level 1 and level 2 strength exercises too. Ensure you have paper and electronic copies of all documentation. Get your visa in plenty of time and remember to do the self declaration form a day or two before hand. You also need to fill in a paper form before you go through passport control when entering India. These weren't obvious, there are some booths at the back of the hall that you get them from. A card like, Chase, is also good as we found it was readily accepted. However it did sting us on the ATM fee, fortunately we had taken cash as well as the exchange rate at money exchange was much better. ATMs weren't that available and the one outside the airport had run out of cash when we arrived, perhaps we were just unlucky.

John Mitchell

Reviewed November 2022

An action-packed trip taking in culture, food and the environment

The standard of this trip is up there with the best Exodus trips I have experienced: great cycling, fantastic food, very few moments of down time and a terrific insight into the culture, environment and wildlife of the three states it encompasses. It is an added bonus that the local population is hugely welcoming and friendly.

Most Inspirational Moment

This trip was so good I had four! Without a doubt the first and foremost was seeing both a leopard and a tiger on our jeep trip in the Bandipur National Park; we were able to watch each of them for over 15 minutes and whilst the leopard was close, the tiger was only a few metres away. The second was - with apologies to anyone yet to attempt it - reaching the top of the Kalhatty Killer (the climb up to Otacamund) which was definitely the hardest bit of cycling I have ever done since I first sat on a bike 60 years ago. The third was eating a Sadhya - a traditional Keralan meal served on a banana leaf - and learning from Shibu, one of the team members, how to eat politely and neatly with my fingers. Finally - swimming in the Arabian Sea at Cherai Beach: huge waves in what felt like bath water with an air temperature to match.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Safi was outstanding. As he has so many qualities, it's difficult to know where to start, but let's kick off with the fact that he is a really nice, friendly, modest person. Then, he couples a great sense of fun with an even greater sense of safety, something which is essential on Indian roads. His attitude was, "Let's really enjoy the cycling, but let's also all get to the end in one piece", an attitude which he backed up with, when necessary, lengthy but clear explanations of the risks associated with each upcoming stretch of road and how to mitigate them, whilst not losing the adrenaline hit of, for example, the descent from Ootacamund. He would deny this next attribute (as he frequently did on the trip), but he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Southern India, its economy, politics, customs and religions. He has been working on this trip for well over a decade and in that time has accumulated a huge red book of places to eat, drink and shop (even down to each of the morning tea shops), matched only by his relationships with the proprietors of these establishments. Finally, he knows and loves the food of his homeland: it was entirely due to him that we ate so well.

Advice for Potential Travellers

1. Do the recommended training programme. I am a regular and energetic road cyclist and, living in the South Downs, I am used to hill climbing, but I seriously doubt that I would have managed Kalhatty if I had not done the training. 2. If you are a road cyclist, take a pair of half-and-half pedals (one side platform, the other cleated). Cycling in Indian traffic cleated-in would be a nightmare, but on the open road and up climbs you can have the riding action you are used to. If you are an off-roader like most of the people on our trip though, you won't understand what the fuss is about! 3. Take a bike rucksack or handlebar bag, as panniers are not provided on this trip but it is useful to carry a waterproof on days when rain is threatened: although the van is right behind, the ferocity of some of the rain showers means you could get very wet very quickly. 4. Do the cookery class in Fort Kochi if you are offered it. Whilst I have been cooking Indian-style food for decades, this introduced me to the theory of using spices in cookery and was a real eye-opener.

Simon Llewelyn

Reviewed October 2022

Cycle Kerala & Tropical India - Oct 2022

Great trip, well organised, lovey tasty food and very friendly staff and locals. Bike were appropriate to the trip and mostly trouble free. Houseboat stay was a wonderfully peaceful and restful period after busy actioned packed first week. Weather was better than forecast, not too hot for cycling and only used rain jacket one day.

Most Inspirational Moment

Probably the boat journey as I had time to contemplate and take in everything that had already past.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent, Safi was really experienced and confident in his role and clearly had overcome any issues in the past so was relaxed and knowledgeable and allowed us all to enjoy the holiday.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a waterproof and consider waterproof cycling shorts for the days it might rain as bikes don't have mudguards. A pair of binoculars really help on the Safari - which was great. The climb to Ooty is a long one, take it slow and preferable spend a couple of weeks getting fit beforehand. Most importantly are the bureaucratic pre-reqs for getting out there in the first place. India seems to revel in making it difficult getting there (fine once there). 1. Getting a Visa can take weeks/mths and requires a visits to Embassy so do it well in advance (5 guests never got out due to not doing this!) . 1a. Visa application needs attention to detail - When it says nationality do not select British from drop down menu as this will get thrown out, they want United Kingdom which is a country not a Nationality - but that's India. 1b. Photos - they say they want a two inch version - For me they wanted two, fortunately I'd taken all four (from a station machine) 2. What really tripped up 5 of us was the need to have filled in and ideally printed was a form called an Air Suvidha - A self declaration form which has to be done around 72 hours departure. Three of us were panicking and completing it at the check-in desk on our phones and two others missed their flights because they didn't have it. I was asked for the printed form at Dubai (fortunately I had roaming and could refresh my email and find it. - So make a big diary date to do this the day before you leave and print this and your travel details which you will need to enter the airport on return. 3. I had bought and Lebara sim for my phone (vodafone network at home) checking roaming details and unexpectedly found that you can use all your allowances at no cost in India (They may be an Indian company) so could be worth getting one - they are very cheap.

Eddie Irlam

Reviewed February 2020

A trip for your bucket list.

I have done many cycling trips with Exodus and without doubt, this is the best of the lot. If you want a good mix of cycling with plenty of time for afternoons by the poolside, this is the trip for you. The climb to Ooty is exactly as described on the tin and it’s tough. The rest of the tour is all within the average cyclists capabilities. Only one 4 hour bus transfer during the trip, the rest pretty much involved finishing the days ride at your destination hotel. The whole trip ran like clockwork and that’s no accident all thanks to our first class tour guide Joseph, Maneesh and Kam, our excellent bike team. We were a mixed group of 13 like minded people and it worked perfectly.

Most Inspirational Moment

For me, cycling through the villages in Karnataka where sometimes time seems to simply stand still and the rice barge trip on the backwaters of Kerala.

Thoughts on Group Leader

There is simply no better guide than Joseph. Absolutely faultless and a truly nice bloke.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you only ever do one cycling tour in Asia, do this one.

Will Hamilton

Reviewed January 2020

Wonderful experience

This was a fantastic couple of weeks. Joseph and his team are absolutely first class. The cycling is easy apart from that climb up to Ooty! Lots of magical memories.

Most Inspirational Moment

The visit to the temple at Guruvayoor. Farm walk and chai at the farmhouse. Seeing elephants in the wild. Home stay lunch. Houseboat.

Thoughts on Group Leader

First class.

Lynda Branch

Reviewed January 2020

Simply sensational

My husband and I had an amazing time on this cycling trip. From the start in Mysorevisiting stunning temples and cycling through manic traffic to the backwaters of Kerala and the tranquil pace to the national parks and tiger and elephant sightings it was a wonderful experience.
Safi and his team were first class guides – there to help in every way they could and to enhance each experience and always with a smile on their faces. Nothing was too much trouble and the added extra of being impromptu guests at an Indian wedding was an experience we’ll never forget.
The cycling was accessible to us as occasional cyclists and sometimes challenging. Climbing the hill to Ooty was certainly physically demanding but we had plenty of time and support on route and the midway tea point provided some much needed respite. The roads are, as described in the trip notes, mostly good but with some rough patches but taking our time we all navigated these without too much difficulty.
It’s hard to pick out the top highlights because there were so many varied and different experiences but for us the night on the houseboat (where we all dressed in traditional outfits) and seeing a tiger at close range were two. The food was also exquisite.
However, it’ll be the smiles of everybody we met and the hospitality of people who couldn’t do enough for us that we’ll remember.
We can’t recommend this trip highly enough,

Most Inspirational Moment

Having lunch in a family home where we tasted a huge range of local delicacies all served by every member of a lovely family. We loved it so much that we went back for a cookery class.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Safi was incredible. From start to finish nothing was too much trouble - he anticipated our needs even before they were apparent to us. His local knowledge added hugely to the trip and he knew every local place to stop at, the best places to eat, where to shop, local craftsmen who demonstrated their skills. If anybody needed anything - e g medication, insect cream - he took care of it all. He gently guided us on the cycles - always around if we needed him but happy for us to go at our own pace as well. A big shout out should also go to this two assistants - Vypin and Santhosh - who were also fantastic. As a team of three they couldn’t have been better and added hugely to our trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be aware that there’s some cycling in traffic so practice this before going. Pretty much everybody had a bit of a funny tummy - not enough to stop us cycling - so hand gel essential and supplies of Imodium.

David Wilford

Reviewed April 2019

Wow!

This really was a holiday of heightened senses: the most brilliant colours, the noisiest roads, the most intense flavours, the brightest smiles, the biggest views – and everything experienced in the thick of it, either from a bike or on foot. Vehicle transfers are few and far between, meaning there’s nothing between you and your environment (including a tiger, if you’re lucky enough to see one – which sadly we weren’t).

The great thing about Exodus at their best is that they can organise things we could never do on our own: not just carefully picked hotels and restaurants, but also temple and palace tours, a safari, a houseboat trip, a bespoke lunch in a bay of the Indian Ocean – and much more. That not only makes this trip great value – it also makes a lifetime memory.

And then, of course, there are the guides. The unfailing cheerfulness and knowledge of Joseph and our support driver Maneesh were a constant bonus that contributed to this being not only our best Exodus trip to date (it was our fourth) but one of the best holidays of our lives. Cycling aside, in fact, a highlight was a lesson in Bollywood dancing from Joseph – who is incredible at it!

Most Inspirational Moment

One of two: getting up Ooti hill without passing out, and Joseph's Bollywood lesson - see above!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Joseph and Maneesh were both fantastic - anybody who gets this team in future is very lucky.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just book it...

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