Reviews

An experience like no other

This was my first visit to India and hopefully it’s not my last. Certainly it was a different experience from my trips to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand but not in any way negative and with Manu’s guidance and Sunny’s support the minor challenges were all manageable. Cycling in the larger cities and towns required one to be alert at all times and the constant blowing of horns from motor bikes, tuc tucs, cars and buses took some getting used to. The Indian way clearly!! But as with any change one does adapt and we even managed to have some fun on a few tuc tuc journeys. One was never too far away from the many shallow and ‘without warning’ speed bumps which will keep you on your toes.
We crammed a lot into the 2 weeks but it was all very worthwhile and our time in Agra where we visited the stunning Taj Mahal in the late afternoon, and even though crowded due to the holiday period this was still an amazing experience. Then a visit to the Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was quite impressive. We had also spent a few hours the previous day visiting the beautiful bird sanctuary in the company of a wonderful guide.

If I had boxes this trip would tick all of them

Exceptionally well organised trip with a good standard of accomodation throughout. The focus on maximising the chance of seeing tigers in three different parks meant there was a good balance between spending time wildlife viewing, seeing a variety of habitats and having a cultural experience of India. There was a much higher density/abundance of other wildlife than I had expected which was also a real pleasure to see.

Good description

The week is a mixture of activities, snowshoeing, dog sledding, reindeer’s and forest skiing through the amazing arctic wilderness. You stay in a chalet and eat and have talks in a main building. The hosts are all amazing as is the food.

Stunning Landscapes

This trip was a great way to see the top highlights while leaving you wanting to explore more! Perfect ‘Discovery’ trip! There are a lot of flights and the airline can move around the timings so you have to be flexible and open to late nights/early starts. There really is no other way to cover so much distance in just 2 weeks. Its well worth the travel as you get to see 2 completely different sides of Chile, the Desert and Salt flats of the North and the Lakes and Mountains of the South, both equally beautiful but very different. The food wasn’t as expensive as I thought, similar pricing to London restaurants so by no means cheap but not unaffordable and if you take some snacks with you its easy to skip lunches as dinner portions in every restaurant we went to are very generous. The hotels were clean, spacious and comfortable. The only pool in use (we were early in the season) was in San Pedro. Both optional excursions are well worth doing but I would recommend doing a little research into star constellations before going to help things make more sense as its a lot of information to take in. Our guide Miguel was very knowledgeable and clearly loves his country and the outdoors we were in good hands especially in the National parks as he knows the area well. He is also a keen photographer so we were going to great photo locations and he was always willing to stop the bus whenever wildlife or a good photo angle was spotted! There are long drives, but the scenery was so beautiful that the drives were just as special as the walks and plenty of stops to stretch our legs or take a photo or toilet stop.

Like a Fairytale!

This whole week felt like being in a fairytale! The scenery was absolutely breathtaking – the snowshoe hikes and cross-country skiing routes took us through the forests of Oulanka National Park with beautiful snow-covered trees, picturesque spots along the Oulanka river/rapids like a frozen waterfall, and vast frozen lakes covered in snow! We were lucky to be there during a week with very clear skies which meant lots of pink, purple and orange colours which made it feel extra magical. Because of the clear skies, we were also able to see the Northern lights on most evenings! All the activities, such as husky sledding and snowmobiling were extremely fun and took us through even more beautiful places.

We were there during the coldest week of the season (most days were between -30 and -35 degrees C) but we did not feel the cold at all (and I am someone who always suffers the cold back in the UK) because the clothes provided by Basecamp were extremely warm! I even felt too hot at some points! The accommodation was lovely, cozy and warm – there was underfloor heating which warmed up the whole room and made drying clothes very easy. There is a sauna and hot tub available for the whole group to use each afternoon/early evening which was a perfect way to wind down every evening after a day full of activities. The food was also delicious!!!! We ate very well during the whole trip and we could eat as much as we wanted which was great! All of the staff at basecamp were very friendly and helpful!

Fab tour

Highly recommend this tour, so many different highlights to mention them all but cycling the backroads through the rice fields, seeing the wonderful wildlife, felt like i was on the set of Madagascar on several occasions, even saw wild elephants. The tour guide, Suresh, and his team are great. Making sure everyone is well looked after, with regular breaks with great snacks, sampling some of the local dishes..the pancake with dessicated coconut being one highlight. 😋 The food was great, suresh organising some great lunch stops and also an evening meal demonstration from one of the local chefs was great, so good to get some curry tips and it tasted delicious.. This cycling tour is a great way to see the country, especially with suresh providing great commentary, good insights and passing on his knowledge and passion for his country.

Disappointing

This was a trip that is advertised as a culture trip but is most definately is not. There is little emphasis on culture and it should be more accurrately advertised as a nature and photographic trip. While i enjoyed the contrasts bwteeen different parts it was not the trip i thought i was getting.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the majiestic Patagonia mountains and the Lake Grey Glacier

Thoughts on Group Leader

My opinion of the Group leader was very mixed. He did a fantastic job when my luggage got lost on an internal flight, and dealt admirably when our flight got cancelled, but equally continually changed the advertised itinerary and delivered what he had been told to deliver by the local office. There were too many many stops and attempts to add more to an already packed timetable, meant that at times the basic and advertised trip was not delivered. His delivery of the trip was aimed at photographic opportunities directed at the fauna and Flora, rather than delivering a cultural trip, whic may have suited some members of the group, but did not deal with the cultural aspect of theis trip

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are going on this trip to learn more about the culture of Chile, its history and its people, then this trip is not for you. If you want amazing photographic opportunities of the contrasts between the Atacama desert of the north and the panaramic south of Patagonia then do it. But be prepared for an awful lot of travelling, waiting at airports and the subsequent risk of flights being cancelled or delayed, that does eat into the itinerary. Be prepared to deal with changes in the weather from the +30 degree heat of the northern deserts to the minus tempertures of Patagonia, high altitude excursions and very little downtime. The food is amazing and everything is geared around fish, Lamb and wine.

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Paul for his review and were pleased to learn that he enjoyed Patagonia and the Lake Grey Glacier. On the other hand, we were disappointed that he felt there was not enough emphasis on Chilean culture and too much on nature and photography. Chile is of course known for its varied wildlife and stunning scenery and many of our customers appreciate the opportunity to capture this on film. That said, any photography stops should be incorporated into a group’s schedule and should certainly not impact the delivery of the main itinerary. Upon reviewing the feedback submitted by Paul’s group, we are satisfied that this trip was delivered in keeping with our expectations, despite the unfortunate travel disruption they encountered, however our customer services team are in direct contact with Paul to try to address his concerns.

Troy Glennon, Product Manager

Namibia camping

An interesting trip with fantastic landscapes and good wildlife viewing.

Most Inspirational Moment

Watching a Kudo at night following a Cheetah and sending out warning signals to other animals. This was on an optional extra charge game drive

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was professional and friendly. With good knowledge of animals. Some more information on the rock formations etc would have been good. He did not accompany us if we had a specialist guide when at times it would have been useful. He had a difficult time with the other 2 men who were the driver and cook however he tried to keep this from the group.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take good hiking shoes and be fairly fit for this trip

Reply from Exodus

We appreciate your review for this trip, Angela. We are encouraged to view your comments of your tour leader’s professionalism, which has been shared, and that you found the overall trip to be interesting with good wildlife viewing. However, we were regretful to read that you were displeased with some aspects of your trip, especially your arrival transfer. Regrettably, your transfer details were incorrectly added via our system on your Final Joining Instructions, but pulled through correctly on the information sent to our local team, and they, therefore, attempted to meet you upon arrival to provide the service you will have expected. Unfortunately, no one in the Exodus team picked up on this error, meaning that the transfer driver was not aware you were making your own way to the start hotel, and while this is a very rare error, we sincerely apologise that it happened.

As you have mentioned, this is a full-service camping trip, and we are very sorry if you felt pressured in erecting and taking down your tent. Having looked into this, your tour leader advised that the general procedure occurred where groundsheets are opened and all that is required of guests, is to place their bags and mattresses on the ground cover and the local team do the rest. On these trips, it is not uncommon for customers to choose to participate in the camp set up, but this is never expected.

Pertaining to accommodation used in Etosha National Park which is run by the local government; we generally receive better reviews regarding these sites but have recently noticed a trend on more negative feedback regarding the upkeep during the busy month of December. We choose to stay inside the park as it provides better access to the waterholes and, unfortunately, the government have a monopoly over accommodation within the national parks in Namibia. Our local manager has raised this with the park management, though, as I am sure you can appreciate, we have limited influence on government run establishments. That said, we do find that customers enjoy staying in these sites despite the slightly lower standard compared to other accommodation on the tour, given their unique setting.

We were regretful to learn that you found the food to be subpar, the truck to be too cramped and the cook and the driver to be unhelpful; this was naturally concerning, so we asked our local manager to look more closely into it. They have confirmed that the feedback they received from your departure was particularly positive regarding meals and dietary options provided and that further positive comments were made, in general, regarding the driver and that it was a 14 seater truck for a group of 12, which we find reassuring.

We are sorry that you felt some parts of the tour could have been improved, but please be assured your comments have been shared with the local team. Moving forward, we will closely monitor future feedback, and should we receive comments of a similar nature to yours please be assured these will be followed up on accordingly, as it is always our aim for our customer to have the best experience on their trips with us.

– John Penge, Exodus Product Manager

Once in a Lifetime Trip

This trip combines the history and archaeology of Egypt with a stunning boat trip down the Nile. Learning more about the history of the Egyptian Pharaohs and seeing the relics was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed the Nile cruise. The boat was fantastic. We were well fed and it was great to sit on the roof top deck and watch activity along the Nile.

Beautiful country

Loved this trip it had a fabulous mix of places to visit and activities. From visiting serene temples to racing down the rapids in a raft everything was well organised and reasonably priced. A wonderful tour guide who attended to everyone’s needs efficiently and with fun, a great group of people and stunning countryside. I would recommend this trip to everyone.