Reviews

Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It’s the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you’re interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.

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14318 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Mark Billington

Reviewed December 2019

Trying something new in S.E Asia

I’ve previously been on several exodus trips either hiking or sightseeing ones or a mixture of the two. I thought I’d give cycling a go, I’m not a cyclist at home but keep myself fit. The trip was amazing, the cycling tough in the heat, but you get looked after so well, the bike teams manage the traffic so well and look after your hydration and energy levels. This trip isn’t just about the cycling though, the combination of 3 different countries, with different cultures and foods and fantastic sights and cities you get to see, make this a very memorable holiday.

Most Inspirational Moment

You can’t fail to be amazed with the temples around Angkor, it’s staggering to think these masterpieces were put together centuries ago and to see them by bicycle is the perfect way to absorb them.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We couldn’t of asked for a better group leader than IS, so knowledgeable, so helpful, so approachable and within a very short time became one of us, part of the team, a friend to us all. In my experiences all Exodus leaders have been great but a couple have gone above and beyond to ensure your holiday is a memorable one, IS definitely went above and beyond and was much loved and respected by us all.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you build up your fitness, preferably with time on your bike, I did a couple of 40 mile cycles just prior to going on the trip, if possible cycle in some traffic as although the roads rarely get very busy, some of the towns have moderate traffic. Take a towel and swimwear, there’s plenty of opportunities to swim and if it’s as warm as it was when we visited you’ll be grateful of the cooling off in the pool. Definitely use the rooftop hot tub in the hotel in Phnom Penh.

Pamela Peers

Reviewed December 2019

Great walking in a beautiful island

This is a great week’s walking with a lot of variety in the walks covered. The hotels are generally of a good standard and the food was good and varied, with plenty of fresh fish and salads.

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching the summit of Pico Ruivo, and looking down through the clouds through which we had walked to reach the summit.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Andre was brilliant! A great guide and excellent company. He's clearly a very experienced guide and was diligent in ensuring that all members of our large group were comfortable with the walking pace, and provided supported when anyone needed it. He always found excellent places for us to eat and we were particularly grateful for his guidance on things to do in Funchal on our free day

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is a great trip ... book it!

Kevin Adrian Fingleton

Reviewed December 2019

An amazing, enthralling, full-on trip.

This trip is not for the faint-hearted. Despite various lengths being quoted, the traveler is effectively on the road in India for 8 days, and flies home on day 9. But in the 8 days you pack in an incredible number of beautiful, memorable sights. You will (hopefully, like we did) meet a smallish group of nice, decent, funny people that you are happy to travel, eat and drink with, and who look out for one another. Transport is effective and comfortable. You’ll struggle to take in the volume of sights, sounds and smells that India will provide. The food is wonderful, hotels are comfortable and all in all, it’s hard to avoid the ‘trip of a lifetime’ cliche.

Most Inspirational Moment

Varanasi - both the night-time 'blessing of the Ganges' ceremony, and about 7 hours later, the dawn boat ride on the Ganges to see the sun rise thru the mists and float past the cremation ghats (at a distance). And in between, the chaotic tuk tuk ride. There were many other highlights, but that one just took my breath away.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ajay was truly excellent. Easy company, informed, patient at explaining the culture, history, politics and so on. He was very organised, because this trip is a mini-military-operation. It has to be, to see that many amazing things in 8 days. And he added little touches to enhance the trip (eg flowers to scatter on the Ganges). I wanted to see a step well (If I could) so I asked early on, and we got to see one in Jaipur that was not a tourist sight, by making a short detour. That was another highlight for me.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared to get tired. But you can sleep on the bus, the hotel beds are comfortable. And you have the post-trip period back home to look forward to, looking at your (way too many) photographs. It really is full-on, but in a great way. And it seems to match the pace of the places you are seeing - it's not a place to dawdle. Finally, if you are into photography, you'll probably never be somewhere with so many photos 'waiting to be taken'. Bring less clothes - this is not a dressing up holiday - and more camera gear. Last thing, as I think of it. Pollution in Delhi is quite bad - it's just a fact of life. But you are only there for about 48 hours, and even if you get a short term sore throat you recover quickly once you exit the city. It's worth it, I think.

Sharon GRAHAM

Reviewed December 2019

Team Jordon 23 Nov-1 Dec

An amazing week with a fabulous group of people and great guide. The trip is planned to take you through that gentle build up of activity on the first and second day to the much more strenuous exertion of days 4,5 & to a lesser degree day 6, before bringing you back down to the more restful experience of swimming/snorkelling in the Red Sea then floating and mud bathing at the Dead Sea.

Most Inspirational Moment

Petra came high up on the list but there was something everywhere (don't do a trip with only one day at Petra if you can avoid you will miss so much). The most fun was had with the mud at the Dead Sea (an experience never to forget)!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Nidal is full of knowledge about his country that he is more than happy to share with all to enhance our understanding and help appreciate what we were seeing. He took care when needed and I am sure did more behind the scenes to keep the trip flowing smoothly but also gave us that bit of space. I am sure he knows everyone in Jordon personally and knows all of us in the group too after our week!

Advice for Potential Travellers

In late November it goes from comfortably warm during the day to quite cold at night, because of the sudden drop in temperature when the sun goes down (still warmer than UK!), so don't forget to bring warm clothes, for those who feel the cold, gloves, hat, maybe even a hot water bottle for Wadi Rum Camp (plus Jeep and camel ride).

Teresa Humphrey

Reviewed December 2019

Put this on your to-do list. Every day a winner.

This was an amazingly rich first experience of travelling in Japan. The trip offers an excellent balance with cycling in varied and impressive scenery, countless included visits along the way allowing insight into the history and heritage of the country, and full immersion into the culinary and lifestyle culture.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many highlights in a trip which offered lots of contrasts between city and landscape, a rich cultural heritage and gastronomic variety. Highlights of riding along the dramatic rugged western coastline of the Noto peninsular gave way to the delights of riding small lanes through fishing villages on the softer eastern coast. And then came the spectacular scenery of the mountains, clad in wonderful autumn colours. Entering the UNESCO village of Shirakawa-go exceeded all expectations, and the experience of total immersion in the traditional way of life when staying in a local farmhouse when the daytrippers had gone home was a real high spot. There were so many cultural highlights that the names tended to merge, but we particularly remember being bowled over by our visit to the Myojoji temple complex. The garden at Kenroku-en in Kanazawa, and the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto were memorable. Walks around Tokyo and Kyoto at night with the guides who knew where to go were an unexpected delight. And finally, there were some inspirational banquet-style meals, taken in the traditional way, kimono-clad, quite wonderful.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Tea was unfailingly enthusiastic, friendly and encouraging to the group with a healthy respect for cycling safety. He was readily available at all times of day and night to deal with any issues arising and was very an efficient organiser to ensure each day ran smoothly to plan. He was keen to help us understand many aspects of Japanese history and culture, and had put thought into places to visit en route, including ones not on the usual tourist agenda, which made interesting and unexpected diversions, often with opportunities to engage directly with local people. The co-team members, Akiko and Taichi were also fluent and engaging people who added much to the enjoyment of the holiday.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared to go with an open mind about eating in the Japanese way and expect to eat with your eyes as well as your mouth. Fish, raw and cooked is delicious, but non-pescatorians may have limited choices. You will develop a bread and cheese craving after 10 days or so but the odd bakery snack stop will crop up along the way. Several meals are taken wearing kimonos provided by the establishment, so you don't need a large off-bike wardrobe. You will need good rain gear 'in case' and flexibility of layered and warm !clothing to cope with variations of wind and temperature, although you won't need to carry this on the bikes as the support bus is regularly at hand to access day bag supplies.

Sharon Caton

Reviewed December 2019

Excellent

Great trip, only went to see Petra but Jordan is so much more.

Most Inspirational Moment

Wadi rum, the people are amazing. Sleeping under the stars and the sunrise and sunset are spectacular.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He made the whole week exciting, his enthusiasm and sence of humour made the holiday.

Advice for Potential Travellers

No need, guide took care of everything Thank you Ibrahim Isbitani.

Sue Altman

Reviewed December 2019

Great itinerary, excellent guides, shame about the bikes

The bikes are key to the enjoyment of a cycling holiday. I have enjoyed at least 12 previous cycling holidays with Exodus and the bikes provided for this trip were the worst I have ever had. It was difficult or impossible to change gears smoothly on both the front or rear gears. The chain frequently hopped 2 gears, no gears, or changed on a whim entirely by itself. Frequent adjustments were made by the guides, but any changes didn’t last more than 20km. I suspect the cables needed changing, but this wasn’t in their remit. The display on the handlebars were completely obscured so you had no idea what gear you were in unless you memorised the back and looked down at the front, making it easy to cross chain and exacerbate the problems. On first sight of the bikes at least 2 had new chains which were drooping almost to the ground.

Most Inspirational Moment

We saw the most astonishing range of animals, including a cheetah, a leopard and 4 baby lions in The Kruger National Park and quite a few outside. The view of the porcupine moving at speed 2 night running on the same route between the toilet blocks in the campsite at dusk was just amazing. I loved the tours of the Rourkes Drift and the Cave paintings

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader Adomi was brilliant; well organised, very well informed . His team consisting of Rio as support and Innocent as the driver worked well and they were friendly and, chatty and mixed in with all of us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't book this trip until you have assurance that the bikes have been replaced or all the key components changed

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Sue for her review; we were pleased to read that she enjoyed the itinerary and found her tour leader, Adomi, and his team to be friendly and helpful, but we were very sorry that she was disappointed with the quality of the bikes provided for the trip. All of the bikes used on our South Africa trips are fully serviced at the end of each season with new components fitted, and our local trained mechanic carries out checks on each in between each tour. Should mechanical issues occur during the trip, at least one member of the team working on the trip, who carries spare parts and a toolkit, is trained to address them. Our head mechanic in South Africa has explained that in this instance, the bike had been fitted with a new derailleur cable before the trip, which we understand led to Sue having some difficulties with the gears. Whilst we sincerely regret it was felt this was due to issues with the bike, we feel it is worth mentioning that we generally receive positive feedback regarding the bikes on this tour, and we genuinely hope that this helps reassure that the condition of the bikes is closely monitored. John Penge – Product Manager.

John Burrows

Reviewed December 2019

Brilliant introduction to Sri Lankan wildlife

I’m writing this from my Sri Lankan poolside as just about to embark on a more cultural highlights tour but having completed the Wild Sri Lanka trip I’m even more excited about what’s in store, this is a wonderful country.
If you arrive with realistic expectations of hotels, food and especially wildlife sightings, you will not be disappointed.
All accommodation has been clean, tidy and comfortable. Kithala resort was idyllic and a real treat, whilst at the other extreme Talalla retreat was eclectic and not my cup of tea but an experience none the less. It was fun watching the monkeys in the trees while I showered in the open roofed area but I did wonder if they may come and grab my shower gel!
The game drives were varied and generous, each being at least 3 hours giving as much opportunity as possible to view the animals on offer. Being “Wild”, nothing can be guaranteed, but our trip did see a Leopard, Sloth bear, multiple close encounters of Elephant, several wild boar, hares, mouse deer, ever present displaying peacock a Civet cat and, for the bird lovers, in excess of 140 different species.
Food has been plentiful, of an acceptable standard. Not surprisingly, curry has been a staple, but be prepared for them to be spicier than their Indian counterpart. There are some long days of travel (as identified in some earlier reviews) but this is clearly stated in the itinerary and………Sri Lanka is a big country and this trip sees a lot of it.
For a real taste of wildlife from the Tropical rainforest to a coastal game reserve this trip offers it all.

Most Inspirational Moment

Being in close proximity, as in 1 metre, to a male Tusker elephant who was completely at home in his natural environment and so much better than “Woburn”.

Thoughts on Group Leader

An excellent leader, endlessly patient, organised and knowledgeable.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Arrive with realistic expectations, prepare to be hot (if used to UK conditions) and treat long journeys as an opportunity to relax and soak in the wonderful varied scenery.

Anne Ferguson

Reviewed November 2019

Deep South - the story of the Blues and music of America

If you’re into music (especially The Blues) and want to understand where it all started and developed, this is the trip for you. Starting with the background of the Civil Rights movement and visiting iconic sites such as the bridge at Selma and the museums in Atlanta and Birmingham, we followed the development of the Blues from New Orleans through Clarksdale, Memphis and finally Nashville. We experienced a wide range of live music – gospel, blues, jazz, country, rockabilly, bluegrass etc and saw the places where it all began. It was a truly entertaining and memorable trip from the beginning to the end made even more special by our awesome guide, Jay.

Most Inspirational Moment

Historically - walking over the bridge at Selma, which although not on the original itinary, was made possible by our guide. Musically - listening to great Blues band at a Juke Joint called 'Reds' in Clarksdale.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Top bloke. On a scale of 1-10 we would score him 12 Jay Burleson knew his music, knew the history and did all he could to make the trip special for us. (eg he found out one of the worlds best blues guitarists was playing in a cafe on the outskirts of Nashville and helped us get to see him play!)

Advice for Potential Travellers

Embrace it all - every day and every night - you can always rest when you get home!

Andrea James

Reviewed November 2019

Annapurna sanctuary

This was an amazing trip with Poon hill sunrise and Annapurna base camp sunrise , both of which we were spoilt on clear skies and lovely weather, The guides and porters were all amazing, trying to communicate with their broken english, our main guide Milan was fantastic , with his knowledge of mountains and other areas in nepal.
I would highly recommend this trip, just be sure that you love steps and that you love mountains and breathtaking views!!

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting to Poon hill toview sunrise and Annapurna bbase camp sunrise! Mindblowingly beautiful, to the point of tears!

Thoughts on Group Leader

MILAN was amazing his knowledge of the area was fabulous and then organising meals out in Pokoraha and Kathmandu also arranging our missed flights, done all with a smile!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just make sure your fit enough to deal with all the steps, and always look back from where ever your going or been as the views from all angles are just so beautiful

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