Reviews

Better than I imagined

The tour is full of variety and the expert guiding from trip leader Suresh made the experience fun, informative, seamless and well paced for the entire group. Highly recommend! We (Dad, brother and myself) feel like we experienced a great variety of the highlights and friendly hospitality Sri Lanka has to offer – great food, kind and welcoming culture, ancient and rich history, abundant and exciting wildlife, and dramatic and unique landscapes. Suresh and his team of 4 were absolutely brilliant.

Sri Lanka December 2022

Fabulous cycling trip, filled with amazing activities.

Career in ruins

As with all Exodus trips that I have been on, prepare yourself for early starts and long days. It is not a holiday but more of an adventure so be prepared to immerse yourself in a feast of archaeology and  anthropology in order to gain some understanding of the cultures and history of one of the cradles of civilisation. You will explore the diverse geographical regions from coastal deserts, islands, high altitude lakes, the Altiplanos, the famous sacred valley from Cusco, the spectacular Machu Picchu and the depths of the Amazon rainforest. There are an endless numbers of churches, museums, archaeological sites to admire and inform your thirst for knowledge. The Incas, although significant, were not the only civilisation to occupy Peru.

If you are as lucky as we were, Exodus managed to make the earth move for us (4.3 on the Richter scale at Arequipa} and a nearby volcano even elected a new Pope! Later on, they conversed with the gods to allow us to experience a 24-hour rainstorm in the forest- it easily beat the 5inch days I used to see in Wales.

Our driver, Alex, successfully managed the frenetic driving conditions in the cities, Pan American Highway and our ascent into the Andes- I could not work out whether a Highway Code actually exists. At the end of each day, he was also skilled in Acupressure and massage- enough to release any tensions.

Our guide had the unique knack of managing and leading our group to maximise their understanding of not only his proud identity as one of the ‘locals’ but also to find other passionate guides at different intervals to further our understanding of the history of his country. Despite the farmers’ protests towards the end, he still managed to get us to the pinnacle of the trip- Machu Picchu.

Truly an adventure in which you have to immerse yourself.

Egypt Tour

The trip is really interesting and we definitely learnt a great deal about Egypt’s history. Starting in Cairo my disappoint came from the choice of hotel. We stayed right on the outskirts opposite the new museum (not open yet) with a great view of a Pyramid opposite. The hotel was of an acceptable standard, but overall, the lowest of our trip, but so far from the city it was difficult to venture out for sightseeing or dinner.
The group all agreed that our trip to the museum was too short and as we arrived back at our hotel quite early, we could have stayed longer as there is so much to see. We travelled to Alexandria from Cairo via El Alamein and visited the war museum which is not particularly good.
The old colonial hotel in Alexandria is a great spot with a superb rooftop terrace & restaurant. The local fish restaurant was poor quality although it had a great view, so a different venue would have been better.
The following morning, we visited the castle which was good, but then on the road again to Cairo for our sleeper train. The round trip took over 9 hours by bus for a one-night stay and although I wanted to visit Alexandria 2 nights would have made the round trip more worthwhile.
The sleeper train to Aswan went without hitch and better than I expected for a developing country. Aswan was great and the activities were good with one small issue in that we had a really great meal on our Felucca trip and in the evening a Barbeque on a Nile Island which was much too soon after.
The cruise to Luxor was very good quality and my only comment would be lack of language training of the waiters which I think may be due to Covid disruption, although our guide ate with us and was always there to help.
The temples were incredible and certainly lived up to or were better than their reputation. The engineering fete of moving 22 ancient monuments is almost as incredible as the original build and Abu Simbel really shows this.
A word to would be travellers, this trip is full on and with many early starts to beat the crowds or comply with the Tourist polices schedules. The tourist police are very apparent throughout the trip and in fact on our trip to Alexandria with had an armed guard on the bus who was I have to say was pleasant guy.
All in All, the trip was well organised and ran smoothly.

Cradle of civilisation

An extensive tour, taking in the most historic ancient and modern cities in Turkey. Countless UNESCO world heritage sites, wonderful cuisine, friendly people, fabulous weather, and every day was a school day. Educational and entertaining, I’d recommend this tour to any traveler.

Life in the freezer

This was a great week of learning skills – cross country skiing, snowshoeing, igloo building – and enjoying the quietness of the Finnish wilderness. The food and social side were great too!

Wonderful and varied trip

This is really varied trip, which allows you to see different regions and terrains of Peru , from coastal islands to deserts, to the Andes mountains and Machu Picchu, to the islands and communities of Lake Titicaca. A fantastic choice if you want to see more of the country than just Cusco and Machu Picchu.

Indochina 19th Nov-3rd Dec

This was an excellent tour with so many happy memories. I still rate as excellent even though there was an issue with the e-bikes. Having said that, I have contacted Exodus about this problem and they have dealt with my complaint promptly and have a made a full refund for the extra cost of booking an e-bike for this trip which unfortunately didn’t work. If you are tempted by this tour please do book it. It is a long time time since I have toured abroad and now, at the youthful age of 55, I knew it was time to get out there again. I’m so glad I did. The group were fantastic company, all the trip guides were delightful and our overall tour guide, Rit, was someone you could put your trust in so you didn’t worry as you cycled along the roads an visited so may amazing places. You always felt safe as you explored these three different cultures.

Culturally rich and great variety of accommodation

I always find that Exodus trips deliver more than I expect and this was no different. I booked the trip focused on Petra and the UFO camp but have found the country to be so culturally rich and interesting. Our guide – Abdullah was ridiculously knowledgeable about Jordan and it’s history and it was a pleasure to learn so much about the country.

Great way to experience

This is a fantastic way to experience and compare the cuisine, landscape and culture of 3 different countries in South East Asia. Angkor Wat is the undoubted hightlight of the trip. Cycling round the complex is a great way to view these amazing temples. Additionally the Cambodian guides provide a really good insight into the history of Cambodia. Conversely, by covering 3 different countries this trip does involve more big cities (so less “off the beaten track” cycling), transfers and bike swapping compared to some of the other Exodus trips. The cycling is pretty easy as it was 100% flat, just the heat can make it a little more tiring.