Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The Terracota Warriors and the history behind them was amazing.  Well worth a visit.  The Great Wall is an amazing unbelievable sight aswell and walking along it for 6 days did it justice and showed how variable it is especially the non rebuilt bits which were better than the main stream tourist parts.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Made the trip "without sparkle" from your previous options.  Slow to impart information and normally the group leader with Exodus is amazing and you learn loads about the country, unfortunately John gave little information out.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take wet wipes as our 1st homestay had no running water and take snacks as food a little unreliable!!Take a good camera as sites worth a picture!!If you go in October it's really cold at night in homestays, take warm clothes or layers as we were all very chilly, there was frost one night!

Most Inspirational Moment

Every day was inspirational for me, i've always wanted to go Great Wall when i first saw it on telly as a kid, can't believe i've done it. The view is so breath taking, everyday was a different section of the wall and different scenery. The people/family running the guest house are lovely and friendly. Food is great out there, so many choices.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Group leader Danny was brill, always smiling and joking around, very approachable, deserves a big raise!!!A trip well planned out and not just a group leader but was apart of our team.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a plastic knife with you for when you stay in guest house, spreading peanut butter on toast with a chopstick was another experience  but a great laugh.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was diligent, thoughtful and well-meaning.  It was a shame that his spoken English wasn't stronger, as on a trip such as this, in such a different culture with such a rich history, it would have been great to have someone who understood our questions fully and even better, could explain things more spontaneously.  Nevertheless, our leader worked hard to cater for everyone and was very entertaining, and we think he liked us!

Advice for Potential Travellers

 Definitely take: - sleeping bag liner - walking polesDon't forget:  - a towel - good socks, blister plasters etc. - biscuits / emergency snacks! - insect repellent etc.

Most Inspirational Moment

Every day was special-but the walk from Gubeiko to Jinshangling along an airy ridge was the best walking day for me.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Danny Mao is a great tour leader. Always cheerful, helpful and knowledgable. Never intrusive but always there when you need him to be. Told us all about Chinese history to pass the time on the bus. Worth giving him a hefty bonus Exodus!

Advice for Potential Travellers

The accomodation is pretty good even out in the country-obviously upgraded from some earler reviews. The food is excellent and there is lots of it. Practice with chopsticks before you go. The Wall is amazing, climbing over mountains  and snaking away into the distance. Returning to see the sights of Beijing and then on to Xi'an and the Terracotta Army are pretty special experiences too, so increase your "wow" factor and do the extension.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring trekking poles: while the trip notes listed them as "optional," I was very glad I'd brought mine, and used them every day.  Both strict vegetarians and die-hard carnivores would do well to bring along some extra nibbles-- for, while we were served relatively little meat, the village cooks tended to be skilled at making a little go a long way (and so the same bits and bobs tended to show up in a variety of dishes).   

Most Inspirational Moment

Climbing to a height that really challenged me and my fear - then having support from previously strangers. Really reminds you how many lovely people in the world. The many laughsUsing public toilets

Thoughts on Group Leader

got better as time went on had a good sence of humour - very supportive

Advice for Potential Travellers

universal packing list not that helpful, get fit, think about independant flights to say long travelling times - that don't help that first day of walking.2 walking poleson, , take every oppotunity on offerTry c 

Most Inspirational Moment

Meeting such a diverse group of people and seeing how each of us coped with our particular challenges; then witnessing the support from within the group... Couldn't have been better!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent! Really nice guy, very knowlegable, very helpful... and somehow managed to understand our strange sense of humour.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This was a moderate to challenging trip, you can challenge yourself and make it more difficult if you like, however, what I would suggest is that people enjoy the downtime and also to look around and enjoy the countryside. For the first day of the climb, with the heat and the terrain etc. I missed some spectacular views because I had my head down trying to get somewhere fast.

Most Inspirational Moment

seeing the sunrise at jinshanling part of the wall-what a profound experience and calmness

Thoughts on Group Leader

the best one

Advice for Potential Travellers

just enjoy the experience

Most Inspirational Moment

The Simitai section of the wall. Sadly the last part was closed for refurb, but even just viewing it was amazing.Most unexpected/amusing: having walked all morning in the heat in the middle of no-where without seeing another person we spotted an elderly Chinese man toiling up the slope ahead of us carrying a large box. When we caught up with him, he had walked up there to sell us ice-cream and beer. We all bought ice-cream, he made a fortune and deserved to!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent! Flexible, positive, always smiling and his lack of perfect English was not particularly an issue.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Great trip for anyone who likes walking off the beaten track. Take a towel and sleeping bag liner!!!