Thoughts on Group Leader
Self-guided.
Advice for Potential Travellers
The hotels were better than we expected. Not Exodusâs fault, but all our hotel rooms were unairconditioned, so it was hot (leaving the windows open in-town makes it quite loud). Exodus says their bikes are âhybridââŠthat might be a tour-industry term. The bikes are heavy upright rental bikes with a big bouncy seat and huge tiresâŠnot what US customers might consider to be a hybrid bike youâd use for distance riding. Consider bringing your own seat and clipless pedals (which the guy delivering the bikes said he canât install). We found you need to pay (in cash only) a daily tourist tax at hotels in Austria, not included in your tour price. Exodus added a wine tasting on our tour, which turned out to be very niceâŠpleasant tasting room, courteous service, excellent wine. The printed and app directions werenât as easy as other tour companyâs apps, but itâs not a huge deal since youâre just biking down-river. The provided navigation app crashed a few times a day, but when it worked, it took you to the town, but not the hotel. This is not also a big deal in a tiny townâŠbut one hotel required waiting for a van to take you 5 miles up into the hills, and our Vienna hotel was on the outskirts and without navigation it was a harrowing 90-minute experience trying to bike/walk through busy Vienna roads without English-language instructions. Some emailed questions we asked Exodus were never answered, and other answers were delayed a number of days before someone got back to us. After we paid, we were required to sign a document that literally says âExodus can cancel our trip for any reason whatsoeverâ. So, youâd be on the hook for international airfare you bought. Which raises the issue of travel insurance. In its documentation it sends after you pay, Exodus says, âPlease note to travel with Exodus, you must have adequate [insurance] coverage for the activities involvedâ. In other post-payment documentation, it says, âYou must carry proof of insurance with you on your tour: if you cannot provide this at the start of the trip, you will be required to take out a suitable policy at that time.â Both times, Exodus provides the link to their âpartnerâ, Redpoint Travel Protection. Judging oneâs tolerance for risk is obviously (and only) the consumerâs decision, but Exodusâs pretend-compulsory upsell was kind of a stain on what would have been a reasonable consumer experience.
Suggestions
Looking at all the emails from Exodus, Iâm still unclear who I was dealing with. One document said I bought a âguided trip with Exodus Travelsâ. But the letterhead says âZegrahm Expeditions Inc.â My invoice says I paid âTravelopia Holdings Limitedâ England & Wales. The person at Exodus I talked to said Exodus is the âUSA operation of âHeadwaterââ, and our emailed trip notes were from âHeadwaterâ. The printed trip notes (and the app) said my tour operator is âRadreise Freundeâ. The bikes werenât Exodusâs (or Headwaterâs or Radreise) but rentals from âEurobikeâ. My credit card bill says I paid my money to âAdventure US Motoâ. Confusing and strange, maybe we purchased a tour fairly far down the tour-company food-chain, but it didnât impact our experience, that I know of.