Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

There were a number of moments on this trip. The time spent at Kinabatangan, Danum Valley and Mulu NP were the highlights for me. The variety of wildlife and the settings were fantastic, despite the heat and humidity!! I have taken away a lot of memories from this trip especially from the river journeys at Kanabatangan (seeing pygmy elephants, hornbills, proboscus monkeys and Orang Utans at close quarters etc.) and the cave systems at Mulu NP - awesome. There were too many birds, lizards, primates etc to mention. They've been covered in previous reviews anyway. The walking is easy if your relatively fit.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Zahari tried his best to get us all involved but 16 people on this type of "adventure" is too many to deal with comfortably. He was very well organised in the logistics of buses, planes, 4 wheel drives etc. and as a restauranteur. He was a good bird spotter and is passionate about his region, Sabah and it's people.Zahari is a really nice guy and I'd like to do another trip with him when he wasn't so stressed out !!!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for the heat and humidity!!! We were lucky in that we had little rain over the holiday but the conditions are sapping and three showers a day are almost compulsary. Pack light and don't bring things like jeans as they will not dry in the humidity. There's ample opportunities to get your laundry done at ridiculously low prices outside the hotel.

Most Inspirational Moment

Close encounters with the animals.Camping in the wilderness under the night sky.Cocktails on the beach in Zanzibar 

Thoughts on Group Leader

All the crew were first rate at their jobs. Many thanks to Ben the driver, Ken the cook and Lelei the guide.Local guides were used from time to time and these were all professional quality 

Advice for Potential Travellers

There were relatively few mosquitoes  during early March. No one was badly bitten.Pay the single supplement. 2 people in a tent would be a squeeze. Contrary to Exodus paperwork ,you don't need a photo for a Tanzanian visa. It costs $50 and they don't take other currencies.Apart from that ,you could take your cash in Sterling. That saves changing your money twice,  into dollars and then into Kenyan and Tanzanian currency.  An ATM card would be handy for when exchange places aren't available. - e.g sundays or where there's a huge queue in the only bank in town.The beach hotel in Zanzibar gave a poor exchange rate. Change your money in Stone Town before you leave for the beach. There are opportunities to do a bit of handwashing, now and again. Give clothes away as you go. They'll be gratefully received.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the desert in bloom. (the recently ended rainy season meant that there were carpets of flowers across the desert sands).Climbing to the rock arch on Jebel Burdah. Best views of the trip and a bit of an adrenalin kick if like me you haven't got the best head for heights!The first candle lit views  of the Treasury at Petra on the (optional) night visit.Seeing President Obama, though I expect Exodus won't be able to repeat this experience on future trips! 

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader (Salah) and support staff were all very friendly and efficient at their jobs, and ensured the trip ran like clockwork.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't wear a new pair of trousers on the climb up Jebel Burdah - over a third of our group ended up with rips in their trousers from the rock.The scramble up Jebel Burdah is  probably at the upper end of the challenging grade, but is only a few hours duration, and is well worth the effort.The wild camping described in the trip notes isn't as wild as we thought - a Portaloo followed us around for the week, and there were always comfy cushions to sit on for breakfast and dinner. 

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting up early on the last morning in Wadi Rum. Sitting on a huge boulder just outside the camp. Watching the rising sun ligfht up the rocky hills on the other side of the valley. A hot air balloon rising into the cloudless sky farther down the valley.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Salah did a very professional job. Always helpful with a good sense of humour.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The descent from the Burdah rock arch involved interesting scrambling which was extremely destructive of several pairs of trousers!!A good hat is also vital to ward off the ever present sun. 

Most Inspirational Moment

It is a fascinating time to visit Cuba and you are very aware that this is a country in transition.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent leader.

Most Inspirational Moment

Close encounters with the animals.Camping in the wilderness under the night sky.Cocktails on the beach in Zanzibar 

Thoughts on Group Leader

All the crew were first rate at their jobs. Many thanks to Ben the driver, Ken the cook and Lelei the guide.Local guides were used from time to time and these were all professional quality 

Advice for Potential Travellers

There were relatively few mosquitoes  during early March. No one was badly bitten.Pay the single supplement. 2 people in a tent would be a squeeze. Contrary to Exodus paperwork ,you don't need a photo for a Tanzanian visa. It costs $50 and they don't take other currencies. Apart from that ,you could take your cash in Sterling. That saves changing your money twice,  into dollars and then into Kenyan and Tanzanian currency.  An ATM card would be handy for when exchange places aren't available. - e.g sundays or where there's a huge queue in the only bank in town.The beach hotel in Zanzibar gave a poor exchange rate. Change your money in Stone Town before you leave for the beach. There are opportunities to do a bit of handwashing, now and again. Give clothes away as you go. They'll be gratefully received.

Most Inspirational Moment

The night walk and hanging bridges at Monteverde were both atmosphericThe hot springs at La Fortuna were heaven after an afternoons walk back from the waterfallThe sunset cruise looking for dolphins at Manuel Antonio was very memorable. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Gustavo was a great leader, he was extremely knowledgeable about both the flora and fauna and Costa Rica in general. Nothing was too much trouble for him and he often went the extra mile for us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You don't need a separate bag for Tortuguero.A poncho/waterproof was essential wear in a number of the locations. 

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing a tiger for the first time and the adrenalin rush it gives.  It comes out of the blue and you are so focussed on what the tiger is doing that taking photos is the last thing on your mind and then when you do you are shaking so much it takes time to focus.  As seeing tigers was the main reason for booking this trip, visiting the Taj Mahal and Red Fort at Agra was like a separate weekend break!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Krishna had been dropped on us at the last minute as the original leader was taken ill two days before we arrived in India.  He was passionate and dealt with the disappointment of not being able to join us on the game drives with true professionalism.  As his name and details was not on the original booking he was not allowed to accompany us even though an official letter giving the details for the change was not accepted.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Money - unless you arrive in India before joining the trip there is nowhere to change your money other than at Mumbai airport where the exchange rate is not very good.  It would pay you to arrange to change your money back at a bank in Delhi on the last day - keeping enough of course for your last meal out that evening.Take a sink plug - in all of the accommodation there are signs saying save water, but none of the sinks has plugs, so while washing/shaving, etc the water just goes down the drain.Sightings - don't be too disappointed if you don't see a tiger.  On the 14 game drives the maximum number of sightings overall by our group were four, some only had 2 and it is very hard to keep going out, not seeing any and then coming back at the end of the drive to find that others in your group had wonderful sightings.  Of course there is plenty of other wild ife to see including spotted deer, monkeys, peacocks, bird life, etc and by your last game drive you'll say to yourself "and another spotted deer"!Food - enjoy the indian food because it's better than any you will get at home.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Absolutely exemplary.  Christine managed to combine fantastic leadership skills whilst somehow, very cleverly, making everyone feel that she was very much part of the group!  She was very in tune with each individual, extremely informative and well prepared and great fun.  I have nothing but praise for her.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you're not used to walking with poles and are fit and healthy, then don't bother to bring any.  You can borrow one from the hotel, if you change your mind.  I didn't think that any of the walks warranted the use of poles apart from for those participants with knee or hip problems.I wore walking boots for each of our 6 days and that worked out fine!The evening meals are enormous and you never know how many courses will be served so resist the temptation to fill up on bread with the first course!No need to take anything 'dressy, as the whole holiday is very casual and relaxed.Since so many parts of Pompeii are currently closed, we had about 3 hours there, then visited Herculaneum which was really good to help us to see how different the 2 Roman sites were.  On our 'day off', we ascended Vesuvius and then some of us packed in Ravello too, just to make sure we'd seen everything on our lists! If you're looking for a bit of early spring weather and greenery at the end of February, you may be disappointed!  For our trip, the landscape was every bit as brown as the UK and we had snow flurries on our first day! 

Most Inspirational Moment

Husky sledding up on a high fell.. surreal snowy blobs that are trees, fantastic golden light and sky, what a place to get to. and the only control needed for the dogs was to stand on the brake.Also really pleased I tried Ice climbing- excellent equipment, brilliant instruction, and i got to the top of all 3 routes! lovely to have reliable ice and snow to try all these things. And Not be cold!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Different activities led by different staff members- consistently good teaching in use of equipment, techniques, humour and patience shown at all times-and by us!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Give it a go- it`s easier than you think Leave your everyday life behind- go out to play in the snow-the right gear and the right teaching-  and a truly fabulous environment- you can achieve anything if you try