Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The White City. Ostuni.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Agata was a great guide and we all regarded her as a friend, very kind to me and a lovely sense of humour.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This really is a full on holiday, full of interest and each of the four places we visited were so interesting May is a good month to visit this area the wild flowers were really lovely.

Suggestions

I have been travelling with Exodus since 1996 (Petra and Palmyra) travelling by expedition truck. Now aged 80 years I still love Exodus holidays and the people who use Exodus. Keep up the excellent standard Exodus it has been a pleasure using your company.

Most Inspirational Moment

Castellana limestone cave; stay on Trulli in Alberobello

Thoughts on Group Leader

very efficient, responsible, comprehensive as well as detailed in taking care of needs, requests, meeting expectations, providing and obtaining information for all participants, very knowledgeable on all areas and aspects covered by the tour, full of energy and initiatives in guiding, offering help to and motivating participants.. recommending very good restaurants and regional food

Advice for Potential Travellers

will base on or along my above comments

Suggestions

more information on the duration as possibly required , type and terrain of walking path surfaces, e.g. rocky, stony, pebbled, gradient and varying degrees of difficulties for age group of over 60s

Most Inspirational Moment

Caves at Castellana

Thoughts on Group Leader

Really knowledgeable and well organised. Took everyone's wishes into account.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just go!

Most Inspirational Moment

"Inspirational" is a difficult word! I greatly enjoyed seeing the trullis in Alberobella, the ancient olive groves and the very nice towns and villages we passed through.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent knowledge and communication ability. Very patient and accommodating. She arranged for us to eat excellent dinners though some of these were more expensive than I would have planned for. I suggest that she should advise participants about the options available for dinner before proceeding to make bookings on her own.

Advice for Potential Travellers

a) August is very hot! and the tour in this month should be avoided, if possible. b) The distance from Matera station to the hotel is significant and your suitcase will need to be carried most of the way - so travel light! c) Fresh orange juice is widely available and can be an inexpensive and refreshing pick-me-up.

Most Inspirational Moment

I'm unable to pinpoint a "moment". I thought the whole week was inspirational. But if I'm forced on pain of death, then sitting by the roadside in Alberobello licking ice-cream made me appreciate life after serious health issues.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Marcella was lovely. Very knowledgeable, chatty and welcoming. Excellent command of English. Catered to people's individual tastes. On the free day in Alberobello everyone went elsewhere. But I wanted to savour this Unesco World Heritage town, so I stayed put. I have an urge to swim everywhere I visit and Marcella pointed me in the direction of a hotel where I could use their pool for 5 Euros. The staff were lovely and didn't ask for anything.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Although a solo traveller I thought this trip and the region of Puglia and Basilicata would be ideal for young families. There is the usual tacky souvenir stuff but I found locals friendly and helpful, particular in local restaurants. No pestering anywhere from touts. The Peroni beer is outstanding, particularly the Tradizione (red label) and the Gran Riserva (quite strong at 6.6%) which is difficult to find in this country (Scotland).

Suggestions

Try and visit before we end up out of the EU. The pound seems to losing its value quicker than expected.

Most Inspirational Moment

Matera is an exceptional place. The story behind the sassi with their troglodyte dwellings and the subsequent displacement of the inhabitants was fascinating. We were lucky also to experience the Festa della Bruna.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was fantastic. As an experienced small group traveler I have had many different leaders. I can say without doubt our leader was better than of all previous ones.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Puglia was hot. I would advise travelers planning to go there in July to be prepared for this possibility.

Suggestions

A beautiful region with wonderful food, wine and olive oil. Also the swimming was great.

Most Inspirational Moment

We have done eleven previous group trips with companies like Intrepid and Explore and Marinella was way better than any previous leader. Whether it's through local knowledge or willingness to do lots of preparation I don't know, but we were inspired by the way Marinella was able to make places come alive when she introduced us to them.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Marinella was a wonderful leader - full of enthusiasm, patience, good humour and energy. Her goal was to ensure that every guest had the best possible time. She mixed easily and confidently with all guests and always helped out if there was a problem.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you find extreme heat difficult, travel before June.

Suggestions

Temperatures were in the mid to high 30s, which is much hotter than we are used to. These temperatures are foreshadowed on the Exodus website and they're OK as long as the accommodation has fully functioning air conditioning. Air con was fine in Lecce, Ostuni and Matera, but poor at Alberobello where we had hot nights and not much sleep.

Most Inspirational Moment

I was very excited to see Alberobello, which I had long wanted to visit. And Matera was a great revelation - I knew nothing of its history, and found it fascinating

Thoughts on Group Leader

Marinella was friendly, energetic and charming, and full of interesting information. She found some lovely places for us to eat at. She was concerned for and interested in everyone in the partyExpect

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you go in July, leave your woollies well behind. It was EXTREMELY hot when we were there.

Suggestions

You will feel well looked after by Exodus.

Most Inspirational Moment

Trying out the local cuisine was a highlight, especially all the amazing appetizers.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Marcella was great! She spent time with us even when she didn't have to and always made sure we were taken care of.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring good walking shoes. The walks are longer and a bit more challenging than they sound in the trip description, and take place in the heat of the day.

Suggestions

Suggest you change the physical activity rating from one star to two. I would have liked to learn more about the flora of the region.

Most Inspirational Moment

Spending time in Matera was a real highlight and also travelling on the local train to Lecce through the olive groves.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Marinella was an exceptional guide; nothing was too much trouble and she was very knowledgable about the area and interesting to listen to. We appreciated the effort she made to find good local places for the group to eat together in the evening, and accompanying us, which made a lot of difference to our holiday.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Some of the pavements were polished cobbles so a shoe with a good grip is essential. There were quite a lot of hills and steps to negotiate.

Suggestions

There were no early morning starts so in that sense it was leisurely, but we were on our feet most of the day so in our view we would classify this holiday as leisurely/moderate.