Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The sunrises over Everest and Kanchenjunga - spectacular and well worth getting up at 5h30 for.A fabulous sunset at Kalapokhari.Watching the steam locos prepare to pull the Toy Train from Darjeeling to Ghoom. From seeing the coal unloaded by hand through to making the journey itself.The chance to see Sikkim and its capital, Gangtok, the most unIndian place we've been to in India.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Dilip was an outstanding leader, he was sensitive to the mood and desires of the group; he was a constant source of information and was very clear in setting out what each day held for us.On the trek, he had assembled an excellent support team from cook through local guide to porters and his deputy. How the cook, Mani Lal, turned out such high quality food at an altitude of >12,000 feet while using only 2 Primus stoves remains a mystery. If he comes to the UK , he can cook at our daughters' weddings next year. On the touring part of the holiday, he was flexible and understood when we wanted to spend more time at a Site or monastery but always made sure we made our important connections.He added a valuable, extra element to our appreciation of India and our enjoyment of the whole holiday.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It gets very cold at night on the trek, particularly so in the period between finishing walking and eating dinner ( 5-7pm). You really need a 4 season sleeping bag and plenty of layers to keep warm. The hot water bottles were a lifesaver.Take a case as well as the Trek Bag. You will leave it in the Darjeeling Hotel and will have plenty of clean, fresh clothes to use in the second part.

Advice for Potential Travellers

A Buff is essential equipment as a number of days are spent walking on dusty paths, without it you'll quickly develop a cough and sore throat. Be prepared to walk up and down 65 deg slopes of many hours on rough, stepped paths. Diamox is recommended by the Himalayan Rescue Association - do your research, but do consider taking it. 

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the sun rise on the glacial logoonWatching the northern lights in freezing temperatures dance above our headsTaking photos of the sea breaking over ice-bergs on the beeach and getting thoroughly soaked by seawater because Paul showed us how to capture the waves at their optimum!     

Thoughts on Group Leader

Paul and Christian worked hard to ensure we found the best locations to see the northern lights. We are indebted to them.Paul was a 'no nonsense' leader and a highly capable photographer - just the man to lead this trip 

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take plenty of spare, warm clothing!

Most Inspirational Moment

Watching Paul get wet?  Walking on ice behind a waterfall (using crampons)?  Seeing the Northern Lights? Admiring the colours of the icebergs? Too many to mention!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Paul and the local guide Kristian worked hard studying weather and light acivity reports to make sure that whatever the weather conditions were we were doing the best activity. Paul was tireless in ensuring that all were getting what they wanted from the trip, whether that was good pictures, walking, sighseeing or just plain fun. he managed it.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take warm waterproof clothes and shoes, a good camera and don't forget your tripod!  Also be prepared to wait for the Lights - they are not like Oxford Street and come on with a switch but they are so much better!

Most Inspirational Moment

The group I was travelling with was awesome as was our guide Rene Calancha.  Between them the made the whole trip into an extraordinary experience. There are so many inspirational moments, from visiting a cemetaty on All Soul's day and celebrating with a local family to walking the Inca Trail.  It's impossible to pick one highlight.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had the best. Rene has a great sense of humour (an absolute necessity considering the group) and was able to competently deal with some difficult situations that came up. His knowledge of the Inca culture, history and Peru itself was astounding.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you walk the Inca Trail, inform yourself. It is a difficult walk, especially the second day and you should be prepared both physically and mentally for the long steep  climbs on uneven stone steps that  you will encounter. Wear good trail shoes or boots and bring layers of clothes. The weather can vary from hot to wet and cold in a metter of hours.

Most Inspirational Moment

This was the first evening in the initial hour or so with the view of the Northern Lights over the Jokusarlon Lagoon to the glacier 2 kms away. Initially, we thought it was low lying mist but when the camera took an extended time exposure, the lights came out in glorious colour with amazing reflections on the lagoon. The second night was even better with 3 hours of viewing over a famous and beautiful waterfall. This was the night to remember with the lights in many configurations over the night sky. The camera captured it all in glorious colour. Brilliant!!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Paul Goldstein has a brilliant personality, is very enthusiatic and a professional leader. The trip was arranged purely for the photographer to capture amazing images that make Iceland a beautifal country to visit. He had several followers in the group who had previously travelled with him to Africa and Antarica. We are photographically challenged but we learnt a volume of information from Paul and the rest of the group who helped us with camera settings to move away from our usual 'auto' settings.  Also should be mentioned is Kristian, who is the local Icelandic organiser. His photographic input and organisation of transport, accommodation and amazing meals was invaluable.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This trip was all about the Northern Lights and capturing professional images that Iceland presented to us. Travel light with a good to reasonable camera and accessories and you will not be dissapointed with your results. I only had a Canon G12 and a tripod and captured great images, the more 'professional' girls and guys in the group took brilliant shots..... 

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking up to the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu in the morning before the hordes of other tourists arrived was really magical....and on the jungle walk, when our local guide dived into the undergrowth and appeared with a very, very long snake in his hands - amazing and beautiful.  I felt really privileged to be able to touch this gorgeous creature in its natural habitat. ... and Lake Titicaca - stunning, having read about it in Arthur Mee's Children's Encyclopaedia I had been wanting to go there for probably nearly sixty years! 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rene Calancha was excellent in every way - fun, knowledgeable, tireless and, most of all, extremely patient.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't lose your passport!  I did and it is not recommended.  Once again, Rene was brilliant and arranged everything for me to be able to return to Lima to get the yellow emergency one (now known as the "idiot's passport").

Most Inspirational Moment

There were many highlights for me on the trip but a few stand out to me: the vastness and beauty of the Serengeti - words can't describe how amazing it is.  I have done quite a few African safaris now but the Serengeti is the king of all the African NPs in my opinion.  Camping out in the bush as amazing - and the stars at night...simply wow!The drive from Kenya to Tanzania through the gorgeously lush and green tea plantations.  I was transfixed!Zanzibar - picture postcard beaches, amazing sunsets over the Indian Ocean.  Gorgeous place - everyone must go!all the different people you meet on the trip - from the amazing crew to the incredible African people.   

Thoughts on Group Leader

Moses was the best tour leader I have ever met on a trip like this.  He was faultless.  He did everything he could to make sure everyone enjoyed the trip, nothing was too much trouble.  He worked hard to ensure we all got something amaxing out of our time in Africa - from pointing out things to educating us on history of the places we visited and about all the wildlife we saw.  He is an absolute credit to Exodus.The crew overall was fantastic and took great care of us all - so special thanks to George and Kennedy too.  Thank you!  

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you read the trip notes and bring all the essential items!  Try and resist the temptation to upgrade to rooms - the camping is great fun!  There are long drives on a few days but there is lots to see so sit back and enjoy!  Mosquito repellant essential and also think about bringing spare camera batteries and lots of memory!

Most Inspirational Moment

I loved the temple at Madurai and the Hill station at Munnar.I wish the whole trip had not been quite as regimented, as an adult and a seasoned traveller the follow-my-leader approach without a chioce  did not really fulfill my expectations of an organisation as long standing as Exodus

Thoughts on Group Leader

I think that Ajay did what he had been trained to do - lead a group of people around various sights. However what I believe might have been missing from the training was - these are people who are having an experience they ahve paid handsomely for, who may appreciate a choice of places to eat, who may not wish to be led around following their leader's hand in the air, who may want to ask questions individually and may not find being told to wait to be told until the whole group is together altogether useful, who might appreciate some information about places to visit or eat on their free time, who might expect a certain level of enthusiasm from their leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Ask a lot of questions about how the trip is organised.

Most Inspirational Moment

I'd always wanted to visit the jungle since i was a small boy watching Tarzan on TV, so this was a big highlight for me. The fact i managed to get a picture of a Harpy Eagle was also a highlight, as our guide claimed these are very difficult to see. Walking through the Sun Gate & seeing Machu Pichu was an incredible moment after trekking for 4 days up & down the Andes (opening my Champagne which i carried for 4 days was very refreshing).

Thoughts on Group Leader

I thought our group leader was very knowledgable about a lot of subjects, especially his history of Peru & other cultures. i feel that he could have interacted with the group a bit more than he did.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for the humidity in the jungle. the heat wasn't a problem at all for me, but humidity was 85-95%. cold showers went down a treat after a few hours trekking ( no hot water). i feel that the website/brochure was a bit misleading regarding Inca Trail, when it claimed that moderate walkers would manage this quite easily. This is a lot harder than i imagined & i run 4-5 times a week, but it was worth every calorie & bead of sweat lost when you see Machu Pichu.