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.

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14331 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Steven John Haigh

Reviewed March 2024

Historical wonders at every turn

This was overall very good, with so many wonderful historic sites to explore and gaze in awe at the immense pyramids/temples and intricately decorated tombs. For me, the Cairo part of the trip should be redesigned, and the number of optional trips greatly reduced (there are too many half/not full -even if described as such- days, with optional extras) with more incorporated into the trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

It is hard to pick just one. My favourites were probably the tomb of Seti in the Valley of the Kings and going inside the pyramid of Cheops (note that these were both optional extras but there were many inspiring moments in the standard itinerary)

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ahmed/Saleem was very good and clearly passionate about Egypt and it's wonderful history. He took very good care of the group overall . Despite his best efforts, I sometimes found it difficult to follow his explanations, and it is hard to know whether it was more him or the itinerary to blame for an issue at some sites when he would rush us around too quickly to take everything in, discouraging many photo's at that point, and then give free time to go back over a large area with insufficient time to take as many photo's as we might wish. He was not very well for several days but tried to ensure that this did not detract from our enjoyment, and he went out of his way to help when anyone had a problem.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Despite the likelihood that you might find some parts of the trip exasperating/exhausting, do not miss it! There are a lot of additional extras - optional extra trips, tips, meals which are not included etc came to around £400 each for us. Abu Simbel is well worth the effort - though there is no reason we could see for it to require the very early morning set off - we think the itinerary could be changed to allow an afternoon visit Despite the group leader (thankfully) dealing with most tips, there is still a need for tips virtually every time you go to the toilet and some difficulty keeping enough small change for this.

Catherine Perry

Reviewed March 2024

Not quite as expected

A good trip overall but NOT if you are expecting to see the ‘beauty of Vietnam’. Far too much time based in major cities with long bus trips in and out of them to try to get to some more rural areas. Lots of air pollution in cities and plastic rubbish in waterways even in Ha Long Bay.

Most Inspirational Moment

Kayaking on Da Bac reservoir ( an optional extra)

Thoughts on Group Leader

Duy was excellent. Felt very safe and cared for and he remained positive and keen despite having had no time off since his last trip and some early starts.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do NOT book this trip if you are keen to do trekking, cycling or kayaking as there is very little of this and lots of sitting on buses in traffic. If you do book the trip take padded cycling shorts and gel seat covers for the bikes- we did and they were very helpful.

Lucy Smith

Reviewed March 2024

India

Fantastic trip

Most Inspirational Moment

Tai Mahal

Thoughts on Group Leader

Absolutely superb. Knowledgeable, loved and so proud of his country and nothing was too much trouble.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Look at Activity Level very carefully

Susan Maclennan

Reviewed March 2024

Cycle back roads of Sri Lanka

Very varied 2 weeks cycling lush backroads through rice fields , visiting temples and tea plantations , afternoon safari and swimming in the Indian Ocean . Beautiful country , great food and lovely people

Most Inspirational Moment

So many- mostly the interactions with the Sri Lankan people. Waving , smiling children and always friendly staff in hotels , shops , everywhere

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent leader - everything well organised, nothing was a problem- even getting rabies vaccinations organised after monkey scratch! All the team were excellent.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If possible arrive a day before trip starts - our flight was delayed and so 6.30 am start and big days were quite exhausting

Alison Parkinson

Reviewed March 2024

Fascinating but exhausting

Trip was good but not leisurely as described a lot of sitting on bus driving no leisure time unless took time out of the schedule

Most Inspirational Moment

Taj Mahal

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent took lots of care could not have been better

Advice for Potential Travellers

Study details to make sure not too much involved

Reply from Exodus

Thank you for your review Alison, although we’re sorry you didn’t find the trip to be as leisurely as you had expected While we do mention in our trip notes that this is a busy itinerary, mainly because this region of India offers so much to see and experience in the time frame, we generally note our customers find the pace to be appropriate as shown in the very positive feedback we receive, but do appreciate some customers may prefer more guidance on this aspect of our trips. Should you wish to travel with us again, please don’t hesitate to ask our sales team if you have any specific questions about the tour that are not covered in the trip notes, and we will be more than happy to help.

Sarah Puttnam – Product Manager

Caroline Ritchie

Reviewed March 2024

Annapurna Extension

Although we did not get extensive views of the Annapurna Mountain range because of the permanent mist (it was February) the trek took me through beautiful places, old villages and farmlands which gave a fascinating glimpse into a past way of living. The actual walking was not hard, because of the excellent pacing of my guide, but I a not sure that I would have enjoyed the uphill days as much in the height of summer. For me coming from the moderate Highlights of Northern India and Nepal trip it was the right amount of exertion.

Most Inspirational Moment

The stone stair cases and paths cut into the foothills along which we traveled and the peace and serenity of the trek; some days we didn't see other westerners at all. On some days we stopped for tea with various locals which was always fascinating

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader (I was the only traveler) was called Sager. Although his English as not brilliant he was a very good porter and guide. He was able to pace the trek exactly to my speed and strength so that even though I knew that I had walked I was never overstretched. He also had some interesting stories about the places we passed through, his own family background and other cultural aspects

Advice for Potential Travellers

If Exodus wants to book you until the Australia Camp for the first night refuse. It is not a teahouse it is a full, very basic trekkers camp. It may potentially have excellent views, but when the mist is down as in February you can't see them. Instead there now appears to be a fashion for young Nepalese people to trek from Pokhara to this camp especially on Friday nights to party. I didn't go up into the Annapurna foothills to listen to a raucous drunken crowd, including camp staff, partying until 2 am especially as it only took an hour and a half to walk to the Australian Camp and 25 minutes further on there was the lovely, quiet village of Pothana. This is just inside the borders of the Annapurna National Park and tranquility is the norm here. You do need your own loo roll for this part of the trip. There is an abundance of water in this area so everything felt very clean, except once again at the Australian Camp, although I had taken hand sanatiser with me just in case. In all of the other places we stopped at, either just for food or drink or at the accommodation there was always somewhere to wash your hands after going to the loo, some of which were interestingly basic but fine, or shower etc. It was usually a single basin, with soap just outside whatever facility. In the Australian Camp there were no hand wash basins.

Caroline Ritchie

Reviewed March 2024

Highlights of Northern India and Nepal

A fascinating visit to very different cultures and the mix, interaction between the different religions as well as peoples sense of dress and self made it a very interesting and safe place to be in. The subtle differences between India and Nepal were also very interesting

Most Inspirational Moment

Probably the Taj Mahal from a distance in the early morning mists, very ethereal, but the Red Fort was also exceptional. The most unexpected and so equally fascinating place however was probably the Jaipur Observatory. It looks like a modern science park to start with but when you realise when it was built and how accurate the 'clocks' are it is incredible

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was Jatin Bamsal. He was very good, knew a lot about the places we visited, was extremely helpful with one guest who had her suitcase damaged on arrival, listened to the things we said we wanted to do and although a bit over cautious on some of the slightly harder activities ie the walk down from Sarangkot was very good at finding interesting artisans not listed on the trip notes. As our sleeper train was 6 hours late he was also able to suggest interesting things to do away from the rather bleak station during the waiting period.He was also very good at advising on what to eat to stay healthy and as I was doing the Annapurna Extension had some very good comments about that trip which are not available on your trip notes

Advice for Potential Travellers

If Exodus tries to book you into the Hotel Pooja Palace for your stay in Delhi, don't let them, a very sad start to an otherwise good holiday. Both Delhi and Kathmandu are quite polluted, If you have any respiratory issues take a good mask for both cities. Maybe wait until later in 2025 to do this trip as although the roads are improving there is still a massive amount of work going on so some of the more scenic routes are currently marred by the extensive road works.

June Orton

Reviewed March 2024

Amazing and full on trip

Brilliant trip to see as much as possible in 7 full days. Tiring because of very full days and early and very early starts.

Most Inspirational Moment

Valley of the the Kings as the tombs were awe inspiring and... there were too many !

Thoughts on Group Leader

Extremely informative, funny, caring, super efficient, got us everywhere at the best times.

Advice for Potential Travellers

There are many early and very early starts from 3.30am to 6.30am that means getting up very early then a day of 6 to 7 hours follows. There is a lot of walking on rough surfaces and in many places steps. On top of the walking the days get hot. This is not a relaxing holiday although there was time in the afternoons on the boat to rest.

John Fielding

Reviewed March 2024

Exodus broke a duty of care

First of all, I would like to point out that we are great fans of Exodus and have enjoyed many trips with Exodus in the past:
Turkey, Leysian activity week, 2012
Morocco, Marrakesh mountains and coast, 2014
Italy, Puglia cycle the heel of Italy, 2015
Finland, Finish wilderness week, 2022
This year’s trip to Thailand was an unforgettable mistake … more of an ordeal and less of a holiday. Why was this? Too much time spent on a bus. Your response to this is probably that the trip notes warned us of the times to be spent on the bus, but I would argue that the times given were purely the Google drive times without allowances for short stops and heavy traffic. To put it plainly, if we had known how long we were going to spend on that bus, we would not of booked this tour. The bus travel times that you gave were misleading.
By now, you will be well aware of the bus driver’s mistake when he took us down a busy dual carriageway on the wrong side of the road. We were incredibly lucky to avoid a fatal accident. I believe that an accident enquiry would have led to “lessons to be learnt”. One of the lessons would have been that the driver was required to drive more hours than could be reasonably expected of anyone. You possibly weren’t breaking any local laws, but that’s not the point. The point is that our driver was being pushed to such an extent that he began making errors, thereby putting our lives at risk. In summary, the trust we placed in Exodus has been broken.

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking along Hellfire Pass whilst listening to a superbly produced electronic guide. Less than an hour to do this felt crazy.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Nai our group guide and leader was beyond amazing … an inspiration both as a human and as a client oriented organiser. He was ably supported by Kelly, an equally strong and caring individual.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It is currently not a safe trip due to the unreasonable demands placed on the tour’s bus driver.

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank you for your review, Mr Fielding, although we were regretful to learn that your latest Exodus adventure did not live up to your expectations. Our customers’ safety is of paramount importance to us, so we were particularly concerned to hear about an incident involving your driver and that you felt this was caused by the excessive distances you covered. We understand that he turned onto the wrong side of a dual carriageway, incorrectly believing it was one main highway with all lanes following the same direction, which must have been extremely worrying. We understand that concerns were raised by members of your group and that your tour leader reiterated our expectations regarding road safety with your driver. To provide some context as to how this driver was assigned to your group, we are advised that in Thailand our local operators source vehicles and drivers from third party suppliers, and we usually find on our trips to this part of the world that they are diligent, safe, and highly experienced. However, yours was of course the first departure of this new tour, which meant we needed to source a new supplier who could provide the service in this part of Thailand. We sourced the services of a company our local operator had worked with on non-Exodus tours for many years and always delivered an excellent service. We can also confirm that all the relevant documentation checks were done and that your driver had many years of experience behind the wheel. Whilst he did not complete disproportionate amounts of driving for this type of tour, the incident that occurred on your trip does not fill us with any confidence in this driver’s ability to safely transport our groups, and we have, therefore, replaced our supplier ahead of all future tours; we will closely monitor the feedback we receive to ensure that the next supplier meets our expectations. We realise this does not do anything to change the experience you had, but we do hope it shows that we have listened to your concerns and followed up appropriately in keeping with our commitment to customer safety. In terms of the driving times referenced in our literature, these are of course a guide and do not factor in traffic and rest breaks, as these are unpredictable and vary on every departure; nevertheless, we recognise that our trip notes could be clearer and we have updated them to include more realistic driving times, based on your group’s experience. We hope you feel heard, and that despite your clear disappointment you will give us a chance to restore your faith in Exodus on a future trip.

Catherine D

Reviewed March 2024

Winter wonderland

Going in winter one gets to see Iceland in all its Winter Wonderland glory. The frozen waterfalls, good chance of seeing the northern lights, once you’re away from the golden circle sights its much quieter. We were Very lucky with the weather until last couple of days when the strong winds and closed roads altered the itinerary, but there are other things to see. The tour covers a lot of ground, with a fair bit of driving, but there are lots of stops along the way and the scenery is lovely!

Most Inspirational Moment

I loved the glacier lagoon that went to the sea where the beach was covered in chunks of smooth ice, with seals popping up along the way. Frozen waterfalls were so picturesque. All the opportunities to soak in the thermal baths were well received. I could've spent all day at the natural springs near lake Myvatn, so relaxing.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jon was a brilliant leader, full of enthusiasm and energy and obviously has a great love of his country, entertaining us with his stories from trolls to eurovision! Always cheery and when weather stopped us visiting somewhere, he found something else for us to see.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If visiting in winter, be prepared for cold, biting wind, a glove you can use a phone without taking it off would be handy! I'm very glad I had a thermos flask. Some rooms don't have kettles, but hot water and tea/coffee are freely available in hotels restaurant. Cards taken everywhere, so no need to take spending money.

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