Reviews

A varied and enjoyable trip along the Garden Route from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town

An enjoyable and interesting insight into South Africa with varied landscapes and experiences. Three game drives at the start with lots of wildlife – elephants, lions and many other animals to see in beautiful locations. We enjoyed stunning mountain and semi-desert scenery, the wild cape coast and the city life and scenery of Cape Town.

Accommodation was good throughout the trip– clean, good facilities and well located in each location. The accommodation and food at House Martin Lodge was excellent. We used a large minibus which was spacious enough for our needs and was safely driven by our guide. Our couple of long drives but the scenery helped and regular stops were arranged.

Meals and food were varied and good throughout the trip and we were able to experience different types of South African food.

Botswana safari

Fantastic trip, camping most of the time allowed us to be on the heart of the wilderness. The tents are put up for you and have a camp bed and mattress . When we were at wild camps with no bathroom, a long drop was dug and a shower hung over a branch where possible. The camp food was simply excellent and the whole team looked after the group well!

Cycle Indochina

Mostly flat, although the long days are very hot and you feel the undulations! 3 different bikes, countries and cultures! Covering a lot of distance both in the van and cycling!

Cycling in Vietnam

Excellent trip with a good amount of cycling and touring. Loc was amazing, kept us fully informed. The whole team looked after us and the bikes.

Shame about the tour leader

Full on trip,in massive heat and humidity. Unfortunately our tour leader was very abrupt and rude. Fellow travellers were scared to say anything to him…basically unapproachable

Most Inspirational Moment

Birds

Thoughts on Group Leader

Awful.grumpy

Advice for Potential Travellers

Check whose leading the tour

Reply from Exodus

Thank you for taking the time to review your Exodus trip to Costa Rica, Siobhan, although we regret that the leadership did not live up to your expectations. We acknowledge that one of the major reasons our customers choose Exodus is because we provide expert tour guides who can deliver our planned itineraries to a high standard, and ideally elevate a group’s experience in their destination. We are well aware of the impact that our leaders have on our clients’ overall enjoyment of the trip, and it is therefore a matter of great disappointment that you found your leader to be rude and unapproachable. He is a valued member of our Costa Rican cohort and has proven in the time he has led for us that he is adept at leading tours that meet ours and our customers’ expectations; we are reassured to observe that he scored an average of 4.94* across the two previous tours he oversaw this season and that he performed similarly strongly on your departure. We hope this shows why we were confident in his ability to successfully lead your tour, although we are sorry that your experience was not as positive as you had expected.

 

Emma Cambers, Product Manager

Fantastic wildlife experience

Busy,inspiring and possibly unique experiences

Walking the Island of Madeira

Varied terrain and spectacular scenery. This trip surpassed my already high expectations!

A brilliant adventure

The trip was very enjoyable. The only blip was our stay at the hotel in Monteverde…amazing views but the rooms left a lot to be desired, would not recommend. We had good food everywhere, but perhaps felt that rather than have the same menu every evening at the all inclusive hotels (except at Tortuguero) we could have gone somewhere different for dinner. All the other hotels were lovely.
excellent, we shall certainly travel again with Exodus.

Fantastic holiday and a great country

From the initial enquiry and booking process through to the trip itself the whole experience was easy, efficient and generally in line with the high standard I have experienced on my two previous Exodus trips. The hotels and eating places were generally of a good standard, clean and comfortable. Our guide/trip leader went above and beyond to ensure the trip went to plan and all arrangements worked as expected. He made sure we all had the best possible experience and was enthusiastic and keen to show us the best of his country. He dealt calmly and efficiently with any unforeseen events, kept us safe and was always available to help and support us all with anything we needed. The four support staff were also excellent, always smiling and ensured we never wanted for anything, including bike support, water and snacks at every stop. A slight black mark was that several of the ebikes seemed quite old and a bit unreliable and a few broke down a few times which made extra work for the leader and bike support guys, who were already working incredibly hard. They dealt with the problems well though and it didn’t really detract from the overall experience due to their efforts. I would highly recommend this trip (but if you intend to rely on an ebike be prepared for a few issues).

So much to absorb,fulfilled expectations and mores

This 15 day trip is described as easy/moderate however it is quite full on with so much packed into the time. Sri Lanka is a diverse and interesting country and we were very lucky to have such a knowledgeable and interesting guide, Roshan who brought not only the presenting experience but the history to life. All eyes and ears on him from everyone when we were discussing the day to come. I would add he had the patience of a Saint and witty and entertaining flow to keep us all engaged. The variety of walking, wildlife, history, belief systems, culture, flora, fauna, whale watching and even cycling which I sucked at gave perspective .so lovely to mix with local families on occasion and have such a variety of places and settings with something amazing around each corner. Our driver was remarkable, treating any road challenge like a confident puzzler and kept us safe in some interesting situations.for me the natural beauty of Sri Lanka left me in awe with such a variety of landscapes to explore. There were a couple of very early starts but totally reasonable to catch the hidden gems and avoid the worst of the heat. Dont underestimate the humidity. Hotels were all well placed for what we were visiting each day though if you like to shop or visit a village or town every day that’s not an option. There are days where the shoppers can get their fix along the way. Alot of food is buffet style but with great variety and always fresh fruit. Wonderful tea but no real milk to go with it, not alot of dairy produce at all and powdered creamer offered instead. Lovely to have a swimming pool or ocean opportunity to swim and chill out on the days with more free time or after a long day. All the hotels were of a reasonable standard, some more quirky than others but not your generic corporate cloned/squeeze everyone into soul less spaces , mostly fitting the environment they were in. Be prepared to take a variety of clothing, flip flops to walking shoes, vest tops to sweat shirts,shorts to walking trousers. I used my umbrella once. Options to get laundry done along the way. Read the brochure carefully so you know your likely daily spend and added trip costs. Roshan kindly worked costings out in local currency, dollars and sterling which helped on days away from atms.