Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking through the Roman city in Jerash, seeing the Treasury at Petra for the first time, floating in the dead sea, sitting around a camp fire in the desert, too many things to mention ……...

Thoughts on Group Leader

Mohammed was friendly with a great sense of humour, he explained a lot about the modern way of life in Jordan which was interesting, but not as knowledgeable as perhaps we would have liked on the sites we visited – nothing a good guide book or Google couldn’t sort out though.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It does get very, very cold in the desert at night, pack more warm clothes than you think you'll need. Be aware if you have binoculars in your luggage as you will be stopped numerous times at the airport when leaving Jordan, they will be taken away to be checked, bizarrely by the same person but in different areas of the airport, in all I was waiting around for over an hour!

Most Inspirational Moment

Every day there was something different from animated sloths, ant-eater, racoons and the vivid colours of the birds through to an encounter with a turtle, humpback whale and a Sailfish. Expect to be woken early morning by Howler monkeys (you'll need to be up anyway). If you want to see the Quetzal expect to wait and wait and wait. You might get lucky and see one in five minutes but that wasn't our lucky. One day we waited for two hours, we saw the tail feathers of the male and nothing else. Another day we waited for another two hours. This time we were rewarded with a glimpse of the head and shoulders of a female Quetzal. The programme didn't schedule this much time but we just made the time after all not that many Costa Ricans have seen their National bird.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Brilliant! Any other comment would be superfluous.

Advice for Potential Travellers

As the Trip Notes mention you need to be prepared for all weathers. 30 minutes before a 6am departure to look for wildlife on the river the heavens opened and the rain was torrential. Just a few minutes before our departure it stopped. We were lucky, a few minutes either way and we'd have been soaked to the skin. Throughout the trip the humidity was high - bottom line, you will not completely dry any clothes. Savegre will come as a shock after many days at 28-30C because at night in the Rain forest you'll be looking for fleeces and trousers to wear (unless you're Canadian). On the journey to Drakes Bay you will spend around an hour in a high powered motorboat. Sitting mid-point in the boat the sound levels were consistently around 100dB. You might want to consider some ear plugs. Cold is not an issue at Irazu but the altitude could be. It effects different people in different ways but just remember that at 3,400m you'll be above the clouds and the air will be thin.

Most Inspirational Moment

There are a number of highlights in this trip, climbing the large sand dunes, feeding ostriches, seeing springboks bounding across the Etosha NP and other animals including Rhino, Zebra, Giraffe, Elephants, because of the rain in the park before we arrived we didn't see many animals around the water holes,

Thoughts on Group Leader

Shane was a great group leader, he was very informative, funny and well organised, he looked after us very well, nothing was to much trouble for for him, this was my 15th trip with exodus, and I think he was the best guide I have had, I would also like to thank Jonas, our cook for the week, he served up some great dishes during our trip, him and Shane worked well together, we had a big downpour of rain while they were packing up the tents, and they did it with a smile and a joke.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for some long drives and early starts, but it is worth it.

Most Inspirational Moment

Scenery in SE hills was especially good.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Brilliant, could not be faulted

Advice for Potential Travellers

Change your money on the street!

Most Inspirational Moment

There are too many: climbing the sand dunes, seeing Deadvlei, flight from Swakopmund, Dune explore and sand boarding, sky dive, getting up close to ostrich, cheetah, zebra, giraffe, rhino, warthog, dikdik and many more. I also had a great time chatting to the stall holders at the craft market.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Shane was fabulous. Tireless in keeping everything running smoothly and constantly cheerful. His knowledge of his country and of the flora and fauna is excellent.

Most Inspirational Moment

I have never skied of any type before but I gave it a go after Martti (our group leader) showed us how it was done. I was going down little hills without falling over by the end of the week. Watching the Northern Lights appear and move in the sky was fascinating.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Martti was a brilliant group leader. He was always around when we needed him. He has a great sense of humour and made us laugh throughout the week. Nothing is too much trouble.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Give everything a go. The quinzee building was great fun and people on our tour stayed in them all night- I wish I had now. You don't need much cash, as everywhere takes card. Take your own flash so you can fill up with tea or coffee to take on your outings.

Most Inspirational Moment

Hard to pick out a defining part but I do have a little bit of love for whales and seeing humpbacks and drakes bay will stay with me forever. Tortoguero and Drakes Bay are by far the highlights of the trip. Everyday there was a chance to see new wildlife that you hadn't seen before.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Both Jorge (our guide) and Carlos (our driver) were exceptional throughout the entirety of the trip. Jorge was always on the lookout with his eagle eyes for anything moving in the bushes. His passion to make sure we got to see the best Costa Rica had to offer was only outshon by his helpfulness and that everyone in the group was well looked after. Carlos was always there with a smile on his face to greet us in the morning and to make sure all our luggage was safe and secure on the minibus. Again, always going that extra mile to make sure the experience you had was 5+.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Although most reviews say to take dollars I actually had no issues with mainly using the local currency, and you will always get them in change so why bother taking multipe currancies. Drake's Bay is very hot! In the jungle its a constant sweatbox, occasionally we stepped outside onto the beach and whilst the humidity went the sun was just unrelentless. Also with Drakes Bay the "wilderness" is non exisntant. Mulitple boats doing the same thing all wanting to get the best for their customers - just somthing to be wary about. Most hotels had AC, those that didn't had ceiling fans which most of the time did the job, one hotel the fan wasn't working, but we were only their for one night. On previous trips there were optional extras suggested for free time - but I found I had to arrange some of this myself. Double check trip notes with those of the guide as the "optional (included) second boat ride at Tortuguero" was not an option.

Most Inspirational Moment

We had a fantastic final days walk up to Pico Serella with views for miles up and down the coast. We stopped to eat our lunch in the sun -incredible sandwiches made by our guide Jose, full of fresh local ingredients - before descending through a hidden valley. We finished in a small village square at a bar in the sun - perfect!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose was an excellent leader. He knows the area and it's history very well. He constantly changed the itinerary to fit the weather conditions and make the most of the sunnier days. He looked after the whole group whilst we were walking, providing extra kit if needed, but also in the evening taking us out for a group meal or driving us back from a local bar at the end of the walk. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble, we felt very well looked after.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You may not have heard of Sierra de Aitana before but this is a great area with stunning views, an interesting history and quiet way of life. The walking is challenging in places - there are some long descents, the paths are narrow or occasionally just scree slopes - so you need to be a confident walker. But Jose is a good guide and will help if needed -so book it!

Most Inspirational Moment

Being in Matera , going down the canyon across the suspension bridge to the other side of the valley.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Just brilliant , he had such a pride in his work. Loved the tea and coffee breaks.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just enjoy this is a wonderful trip. Nice mix of walking , information, delicious food.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the pyramids for the first time. The amazing carvings in so many of the temples. Nice group.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ahmet was pretty much always an enthusiastic, knowledgeable leader, even when things weren’t going quite right (for example when the sleeper train arrived significantly late). Nothing was generally too much trouble, and he made the tour much more than it would have been without him. By the end of the trip he was still the same as at the start, ready to explain how great Egypt is, and how ‘everything started in Egypt’! Only issues I noticed were a couple of times where we could have used time better (once we did a 40 min coach trip, that Google maps confirmed was actually only to drive less than 2 miles - I think we were killing time without being told, which annoyed me - we just drove one way and then the other through Luxor town!), and a delay in getting alternative flight info that caused me issues and cost on the return flight.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don’t expect to do everything in depth, and consider adding more time after the trip - I spent an extra day in Luxor, and 2 days in Cairo, and would recommend that. I went back to Karnak temple and spent another half day on my own, in addition to the quick trip with the group. I also hired a taxi in Cairo and went to the ‘other’ pyramids at Darshur/Saqqarah - which I felt was one of the best days of the whole trip, less tourists, more time to see, and almost better than the Giza pyramids in my view. The sunrise at Abu Simbel wasn’t really worth it - we didn’t really see anything additional - though going to Abu Simbel is worth it. The sound & light show at Karnak (which I did independently) wasn’t really worth it).