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My husband and I did this tour for our anniversary and it was better than expected. We experienced local markets, local food and adorable little towns each day. Each hike had very difference scenery too. It’s was surprising. Our guide Isabelle was amazing as well. We called her Mary Poppins because every day she pulled something new out of her nap sac for us to try and it was always local. It was wonderful. She even baked us a cake for our anniversary. The hikes themselves were rated well. There were some inclines that put you slightly out of breath and declines on rocks so you just have to be careful and take your time. But I wouldn’t call this strenuous. We loved it and can’t wait for our next one!
When Isabelle pulled a home baked cake from her nap sac for our anniversary
Isabelle was outstanding. She was very kind and patient and knowledgable about the area.
Follow the trip notes and bring everything it recommends. Don’t leave anything out. They are all listed for a reason and we needed it all
Portugal is a beautiful country and cycling along its coast felt like I experienced all it’s best parts.
Cycling: This is rated correctly at “moderate” because of the hills. However it is a comfortable “easy” ride for the average fit person. I don’t ride a bike at home and felt this was very doable. I really enjoyed how the cycling increased in time on the bike and pace as the trip progressed. From the first day where we took it easy, stayed together as a group and didn’t go too far a distance, to the last day of rolling hills, go at your own pace (fast or slow) and longer distances. Since you are travelling as a group it is to be expected that sometimes you will be waiting for the last person. But it is nice since, you can have yourself a little snack and coffee while you wait a lot of the time. Plenty of opportunity to take your time or even ride in the support vehicle if you aren’t up for the hill that day. I took advantage once myself of the ‘free’ ride.
The ride is on mostly flat, or rolling, paved bike paths, through forest and coastal towns. We spent little time on roads and if we did they weren’t busy. Since it is a cycling trip the majority of your day is spent on the bike or ‘in transit’. Sightseeing in the towns you stay in is limited but a part of the consistent paced itinerary.
We really enjoyed the other travellers in our group. I enjoyed conversations both during the ride and at meals with other travellers from around the world. Highlight: Picnic lunches!
Alex was an excellent guide, skilled at maintaining a group pace and had great knowledge of Portugal. He gave great directions and appreciated when we wanted to pick up the pace.
Book to stay an extra night in Porto on arrival to see the sites of this beautiful city.
I was using this as a bit of a practise for my trip to Everest Base Camp, it provided the practise I was looking for and so much more.
The walking was a good steady pace that suited the group, with meals almost magically appearing from nowhere. Considering all the food had be transported on the mules, the food was good, even a few welcome surprise snacks.
The scenery was stunning , with some part surprisingly green.
The time spent in Marrakesh was a complete contrast to the solitude of the mountains, but still great fun. The sights and sound on markets will stay with me for ever
Getting to the top of Toubkal was more emotional than I expected, but so worth the effort
Take plenty of wet wipes, you will go a few days with out proper washing facilities. Take plenty of layers , temperature in Marrakesh was in the mid 30, and we camped on zero degrees. Don t forget sun hat and a warm hat and gloves. You can leave some clean clothes in the start hotel so you have some clean clothes when you get back to Marrakesh Keep a pen handy to fill out forms at the airport.
A great holiday with plenty of superb sites and stunning scenery. One reason for calling this the Silk Road was that silk was used to pay people. It started with the Chinese needing horses to fight the nomads from the north. By 53BC, Rome was spending half its silver production on silk and other products from the Silk Roads. Rome also had to introduce modesty legislation because of the number of people wearing only silk.
Whilst Julius Caesar was invading Britain in 53BC, his friend Marcus Crassus was leading another Roman army to defeat by Persia, in an empire that stretched from modern day Iran to Afghanistan and north to Merv. 10,000 Roman captives were sold at the Merv slave market to the Chinese, to fight on their northern border against marauding nomadic tribes.
The ruins of three cities can be seen at Merv, in southern modern day Turkmenistan. The first was built by Cyrus the Great when he created the first Persian Empire. Next to it is the remains of the city built by Alexander the Great and next to that the remains of the city built after the Arab invasion, which was destroyed by the armies of Genghis Khan 1221 AD, with up to a million people being massacred.
Alexander is a hero in Turkmen, after he freed them from Persian rule. In Uzbekistan, Timor is the hero, as he rose from hired sword to ruler of a vast empire, stretching from the Chinese border to Egypt, destroying many armies on the way. He made Samarqand his capital and made it one of the greatest cities.
In Tajikistan, it is Cyrus the Great who is remembered, partly because he was murdered there.
In Osh, Kyrgyzstan, it is Babur, great great grandson of Timor and founder of the Indian Mughal dynasty who is remembered. Although it is Manus who is the local hero.
Too many. Merv, Bukhara, Samarqand to name three cities. The snow capped mountains, throwing snowballs and sweltering in the heat all on the same day, magnificent lakes, watching flocks of goats and sheep being moved to the high pastures and seeing the yurts of the shepherds. One surprise was the large number of roses and other plants we saw in the first three countries visited.
Very good. Unusually we had both a western leader for the whole trip, as well as local guides for each of the countries visited.
You may only spend one day in Kazakhstan, but a day time flight home, clouds permitting, gives you the opportunity to see the steppes and the salt pans of this vast country from the air, either through the window (book seat early) or as an alternative to a movie, using the plane's downward looking camera (which is an option in the My Flight screen). On arrival at Ashgabat airport, you have to take your invitation letter to the Visa desk before going to through passport control. The visa fee is also variable, partly depending on the exchange rate. We also found the fee charged to individuals varied from a low of $99 each to a high of about $130 each. Beware of each fresh fruit and salad, it is usually washed in local tap water, which can cause problems. Our costs per person were around: Turkmenistan - 200 Turkmen Manat for food and photo fees (June 2019 rate 4.42TMT = £1) Uzbekistan - 800,000 Uzbek Som for food and photo fees (10,700UZS = £1). Spending in the markets, pottery, silk and carpet shops is extra. Tajikistan - 380 Tajiki Somoni for food (11.93TJS = £1) Kyrgyzstan - 2,000 Kyrgyzi Som for food plus 500KGS for optional Arslanbob jeep tour (88.24KGS = £1) Kazakhstan - 15,000 Kazakh Tenge for food and market visit (481.79KZT =£1) Istanbul/other airport stop overs - don't forget this. Visa fees and tips are extra. Istanbul
A very comprehensive tour where you get to see many of the best places in Croatia on the coast and Islands.
Beautiful scenery with a picture around every corner.
Very busy itinerary both the cycling and the travelling with not much free time so make sure sure you are prepared for this one – both physically and mentally.
It was very hot when we were there so you have to factor in that you might be cycling big hill climbs in extreme heat and out in the heat all day, every day.
There is a support vehicle if you need it but ours did not have too much in the way of aircon.
Cycling the uphill climbs (up to 10km long) in extreme heat without getting in the support vehicle
Very good, calm and informative.
Get fit on your bike before you go - not really a tour for those who just cycle to the shops at home
A fantastic week. The accommodation was top notch as were the chalet caterers. The description of the weeks walk was accurate sadly the weather let us down a little.
Teaching the aiguillette des Houches. Alt 2285m
A fantastic weeks walking with our guide John Briggs. John proved to have in depth knowledge of the area. He was able to juggle the itinerary to suite the weather conditions. Our group was mixed ability and John set an appropriate pace and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time should anyone need advice, encouragement or just a little reassurance. His evening briefings were informative and gave us all the information we would need for the next days walk. Top quality guide.
No
Had a wonderful week walking in the Mont Blanc massif. Everything was fantastic – the walks were thoughtfully planned and well guided, chalet was comfortable with amazing views, food was delicious and varied, company was excellent……..and the weather was brilliant.
Being up high!
Egle was an excellent leader. She adapted the walks to the ability of the group, made sure the pace was appropriate for everyone, is knowledgeable about the area and has a wonderful sense of humour.
A memorable walking holiday. The walks were through forests, gorges and beautiful wildflower meadows. Lovely views! A very pastoral feel to the whole holiday – and very relaxing. Yagodina is a small friendly village in a peaceful location. The hotel was clean and comfortable. Food was good – lots of local produce was used.
Everyone mentions the lunch stops - but it was so lovely looking at the wildflowers, the birds and the views. There are not many places left in Europe that are so unspoilt. We rarely saw other people when we were out walking. Finding bear paw prints on a walk through some woods was unexpected!
Nelly was excellent. One of the best guides I have encountered on a holiday. She spoke English fluently and was a good communicator with the group. Her knowledge of the local flora and fauna was extensive. She gave us a lot of background on the history and culture of Bulgaria. She was very helpful and attentive to the needs of the group.
I spent an extra day in Sofia and I can recommend this. There is a lot to see in the city centre. The Metro system is easy to use and cheap. Be prepared for showers when out walking and take lots of sunscreen.
Brilliant from start to finish.
This trip excelled my expections as I have never done an Exodus trip before. I am a keen fell walker but have never seen a such diverse beautiful countryside. From river valleys to rugged mountain tops. The second day was quite steep up dead womans path but well worth it. We always got plenty of encouragement from our guides Edwind and Anthony. They were very knowledgeable about all the history and flora and fauna. But the highlight is the Sun gate and your first veiw og Macchu Pichu.
Looking down from the Sun gate.
Edwind was able to help and advise us of all the trip entailed. He was a really nice guy.
Make sure you are fit.
I have had to give this trip a 2 star because of the guide, although I take no pleasure in doing this. He was inexperienced and quite unfriendly at times. This was my 6th Exodus trip and this was my worst ever guide by a long way. See group leader section.
I absolutely loved swimming in Aidarkul Lake and the desert scenery on the way to and from the yurt. I also loved Samarkand and particularly Shah-i-Zinda.
Our group leader Shakh appeared to be inexperienced, he lacked friendliness at times and he showed a complete lack of interest in the fact that I was very badly ill twice. I had arrived a few days earlier (as a solo female traveller) and the day before I met the group I suffered sickness and diarhoea. On first meeting Shakh at the group meeting I mentioned this to him and I could not believe the almost complete lack of interest. In fact, I thought this so unusual, that I repeated myself in case he had not heard. We later went on our tour of Tashkent and I very nearly fainted (as I had not eaten due to the bug). Again Shakh was barely interested, pointed to a door where I could reach the outside and left me to it. Only when the other members of the group asked me if I was OK did Shakh very briefly check on me. A few days after that the bug returned and I was up all night with the worst illness I have ever encountered. The next day I again mentioned this to the guide and he was still uninterested (and no offers of pharmacy stops were made). Other problems with Shakh were:- not having sufficient water for our group in the first few days of the trip (at the desert fortresses we had run out of water completely in the heat and we also run out of water in the morning at Khiva). In fact, at the desert fortresses, I asked Shakh where the water was and he snapped back that he had not picked up the 10 litre bottle yet. As we had driven from the airport at Nukus there had been plenty of opportunity to pick up water. After that I no longer trusted Shakh to provide water and just bought my own to make sure I always had a supply. I have been on 5 other Exodus trips and on all those trips the guide has eaten with the group and the guides have been good/fantastic. This guide did not eat with us on the first night in Tashkent nor the first night in Samarkand and on around 4 or 5 other occasions. He was not always very friendly or smiley, which I think is the requirement of a guide. In fact one time we passed him in the street during our free time and he did not even smile or acknowledge us. The restaurant chosen for our final lunch in Samarkand was appalling in terms of service and again Shakh sat at a neighbouring table. Some of our food took an hour and a quarter or more to arrive and no complaints were made by him, to my knowledge. Then when the bill came the prices had changed markedly, for example the soup price had increased by over 50% and all the other prices had changed. This situation was awful and was handled very badly by the guide. The coach was not always asked to collect us, e.g from right outside the airport, so we were left with quite long distances to drag our cases. This was not really a problem for me as I had a rucksack (albeit a heavy one) but some of the other travellers were in their 70's and I am sure they would have benefited from being picked up. Shakh gave out his mobile number in case of emergency, with instructions NOT to ring him at night. Whilst I am sure most people would not ring the guide at night, emergencies can of course happen at night. On a more positive note Shakh was very knowledgeable about the history and geography of Uzbekistan and I very much enjoyed his commentaries, especially when he told us about his wedding. He also improved as the 11 days progressed (except for the final lunch incident). However I think being completely uninterested in the health of your travellers is completely unacceptable.
Sadly a number of people in our group were ill. Take plenty of rehydration salts. The bread is at least delicious, so you can survive on that! Do get out for a walk in the area around the yurt. I had a couple of little walks and it was so peaceful and the wildlife great.
We would like to thank Ann for her review; we were pleased to read she enjoyed the itinerary and found it to have a good combination of nature and cities, as we feel this is something that makes Uzbekistan such a special country to visit. We were, however, very sorry to read that she was disappointed with her tour leader, Shahrukh. Having discussed this with a member of the Exodus team who has also travelled with Shahrukh, who is an experienced guide, we feel that he has potential to be a great tour leader for us, so we have asked the local team to carry out some additional training regarding what is expected by Exodus and our clients. While we are sorry that this cannot alter Ann’s experience, we hope that this shows we have taken her review on board. Jennifer Cox – Product Manager