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!
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331 Reviews
4.8 out of
5
Reviews
Lucy Wheatley
Reviewed March 2023
A delightful and easy, relaxed adventure in Costa Rica
I had not been on an Exodus trip before but have been on small group tours with JLA and G Adventures, probably 6-8 trips in total. Discover Costa Rica did what it says on the packet. There was no significant deviation from the trip as described at booking and on departure. We visited different habitats and ecosystems in different regions of Costa Rica with excellent guide plus superb driver. The accommodation was as I expected: adequate to good but nothing luxurious. Activities were well spaced and well explained. overall the trip was physically easier than I have experienced before, but as I am getting older I am not sorry about that! I particularly valued no ‘single night’ stops. All stays were 2 nights which is far more relaxing. The standard of service and food in all hotels was good. Access to coffee and tea was not good at every venue
Most Inspirational Moment
Being able to experience the country, flora and fauna with such a well informed and passionate guide.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Pablo was excellent. His English was fluent. His knowledge of topics relevant to 'Discover Costa Rica' and of managing small tour groups were brilliant. He was professional and friendly and unfailingly pleasant and polite to all, including one couple who were always ready to complain and want different rooms etc. (There is always one!). My only criticism is that maybe he could have tried more to ensure that those of us who wanted to see the wild-life and take poor holiday photos had more opportunity to get the long lenses out of the way. Having said that I think they would just have been rude and made things unpleasant. He went the extra mile when I left my iPad in one hotel. I was successfully reunited with it before the end of the trip thanks to his actions. He was also excellent at managing the situation when some of our group tested positive for Covid. I would also like to comment on the superb driving skills of Jose who was our driver for most of the trip.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Do read about the sort of place you are going to and that it is a 'Group' trip. You are going to rural Cost Rica, not Eastbourne. You are staying 2 nights in each venue with several hours driving in-between venues. Rural roads in Costa Rica are hilly, windy and not always paved. If you are a long lens enthusiast please remember that everyone has paid the same for the same opportunities to view wild life and some people wan the opportunity to do that without long lenses always pushing to the front and staying there.
jackie spiby
Reviewed February 2023
pity about the trip notes
Great holiday Costa Rica is great fun and lots of birds. just a few points: there are lots of additional activities so take plenty of dollars. if you don’t take them up you lose a lot of the experience and may have to stay on the bus. at least a couple of the hotels are not as stated in the trip notes and not really equivalent. The San Jose hotel is way out of town so you miss doing the city tour and there isn’t much to do there. take a camera. take the best camera you can get or be lucky and have some great photographers in the group. enjoy.
Most Inspirational Moment
Tortuguero
Thoughts on Group Leader
a great birder
Digby HOLMAN
Reviewed February 2023
Discover Costa Rica Feb 2023
Excellent trip in every way. 6 locations 2 nights at each. Was wondering how Exodus worked it out. Including both coasts and high ground. Our trip was focussed on birds in particular and are group of 16 had a cohesiveness as a result – we were all considerate to one another, the wildlife, and ‘the moment out in the field’. Good value. we saw more than we could have expected I feel. The country of Costa Rica delivers on a number of levels and so does Exodus!
Most Inspirational Moment
How we all got on! With the help of our guide Armando. and then seeing an Osprey grab a fish and fly away in Tortuguero Then there were the Toucan's, Tanager's and a Tayra - and that's just the letter T! Most of us had Tortuguero down as our favourite spot. The inland waterway on one side -the roaring surf (like noisy air con at night) on the other - truly inspirational.
Thoughts on Group Leader
First class. Friendly. Caring. Funny. With knowledge and intelligence to bring the best out of the surroundings and the group.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Yes The trip is one big journey in a suitcase. Take time out at the end to relax before heading home.
Amy Freeman
Reviewed February 2023
Busy cramped bus holiday
Costa Rica is lovely. The guides and drivers are amazing! As for the booking of the holiday, the bus being too small by at least 2/3 people (I was an extra) meant on long journeys it was not pleasant and caused problems. Some accommodation needed a little more thought (was the booking fit for the occupants, this could have been local).
Most Inspirational Moment
Seeing the ocean, seeing the quetzal bird, loved the boat trips through the rainforest.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Mayer was simply amazing!!! He was group leader/ cater/ problem solver, that man deserves a medal.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Pack more warmer clothes, it wasn’t warm very often and you can get a frost in some locations. Use the laundrettes at the beginning of the journey, the end part is super expensive. Pack snacks for long journeys. Have an amazing camera. Be prepared for long journeys.
Mark Tudball
Reviewed February 2023
Amazing country and a great tour leader
I finally made it to Costa Rica after my initial booking was cancelled at the start of COVID. I am so glad I re-booked because it was an amazing trip. The country is beautiful and we moved between various stunning areas and micro climates with the aid of our great tour leader Johnny Villalobos and our driver Wilbour. We were also lucky that the group gelled really well and the tour Whats App group is still in full swing. We were also helped by amazing weather which cannot be guaranteed. The accommodation apart from the Sleep Inn in San Jose (which was noisy) was all very good and immersed us in the local environment. Esquinas Lodge was especially beautiful. Obviously the animal and specifically the bird life was spectacular and it will take me weeks to sort through the amazing photos. An amazing trip and one of the best I have done.
Most Inspirational Moment
Hard to say as there were many. It is between seeing Quetzals in Savegre and the beauty of Esquinas Lodge and the inspirational story of how it came about. Costa Rica has been lucky that it listened to some inspirational people. We also met several inspirational people who have created a life from what was a very hard environment. Real explorers.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Johnny Villalobos is an amazing person. You don't need a bird expert trip because he is one. He is also encyclopedic and very proud about the stories of Costa Rica. It is all put across in a very calm way and he always seems in control. Most mornings at 6am he would do an extra bird walk for those who wanted to attend and along with Wilbour our excellent driver added several extra activities at no cost. He is still answering questions on Whats App.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Book it. The country is very stable and beautiful and that cannot be said for many places these days. We were there in the dryer season and we found we didn't need walking boots. Good walking shoes were enough. If required as it was for the night walk rubber boots will be supplied and are compulsory. I was unlucky at the end so pack some immodium (I was the only one) and if it's bad visit a pharmacy. But don't let that put you off it can happen anywhere. Wash a few things everyday as you go along. I never needed to use a laundry.
Sue Bradshaw
Reviewed February 2023
Costa Rica
It was an amazing trip, even though we had quite a lot of rain, even in the dry season and it didn’t make the wildlife any harder to see.
Most Inspirational Moment
The wildlife in the Tortuguero river area was absolutely beautiful.
Thoughts on Group Leader
The group leader Glenda was outstanding. Her wildlife knowledge was second to none, and nothing was too much trouble.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Even if you go in what is classed as the dry season, take good waterproofs.
Andrew Walker
Reviewed February 2023
Tropical Paradise
A wonderful trip. Packed with things to see from the start. David was a fantastic guide. So knowledgable and enthusiastic.
Most Inspirational Moment
Seeing macaws flying in the wild.
Thoughts on Group Leader
As already said, he was brilliant. It takes something to get me out of bed before sunrise on holiday, but I did it several times. He also suggested very good extras and also when it appeared we might miss out on something, he got it sorted. Also, the driver, Victor worked well with David. A real dynamic duo.
Advice for Potential Travellers
When in Manuel Antonio grab a cold drink from the supermarket and sit on the beach with the locals to watch the sunset.
Rosie Walker
Reviewed February 2023
Wonderful bird life
Very enjoyable trip. Slightly disappointed in the accommodation at Manuel Antonio otherwise absolutely no complaints
Most Inspirational Moment
Really enjoyed Manuel Antonio Park and beach
Thoughts on Group Leader
Excellent. Very knowledgeable about birds and animals. Also very informative about Costa Rica generally
Advice for Potential Travellers
Go on every activity you can. It’s a varied and wonderful country
Mark Kushner
Reviewed February 2023
Enjoyable And Experiential Trip
Very good itinerary for discovering the many ecosystems in Costa Rica. Several good optional activities. Glenda wanted everyone to enjoy the trip and helped to make it enjoyable. Charlie, the bus driver, did an excellent job driving the back roads safely and was sensitive to those who needed to use the toilets regularly. Only 1 hotel was very good.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Glenda is very knowledgeable about wildlife and about birds in particular. And best of all she identified for me all the pictures of birds that I took. I will always be grateful to her for that. And she also wants to make it an enjoyable trip for everyone. However, her employer did not give her the tools needed to make her an effective guide. (1) Her company and herself was not able to give me information about the tour start and meeting point despite 2 days of calls to the company and trying to reach her. So the trip started with great frustration. (2) Glenda did not have an electronic communication device. Therefore when she spoke in the front of the bus or boat I could no hear her when I sat at the back. (3) She was not completely informed about all the optional activities that were contained in the Exodus travel guide. If I had not asked her about the kayaking option we would not have gone on that important part of our trip.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Only expect level 3 accommodations. At 2 rain forest hotels there was no temperature control in the rooms- only fans. So we were hot and sweating all the time. The only level 1 hotel was Sevegre Hotel.
Martin Killey
Reviewed January 2023
Costa Rica
Excellent trip
Most Inspirational Moment
Wildlife
Thoughts on Group Leader
Absolutely 1st class a credit to her country
Advice for Potential Travellers
Glenda our guide was extremely professional and had amazing knowledge of the wildlife and fauna she united our group and became a friend to all of us for life I would definitely like to go again if she was our guide,and a mention to Charlie our driver who was a very safe and accommodating driver they made a great team
