Reviews

Fascinating experience!

You really couldn’t pack any more into 2 weeks! We walked round cities (lot of walking), visited temples, shrines, markets, gardens and castles and saw beautiful scenery from the trains. Our guide was very helpful and knowledgeable and always available for advice on what to do, where to go and where to eat in our free time.

An amazing adventure in Botswana

Our adventure in Botswana was the most incredible experience we have ever encountered. The guides were amazing. Their knowledge of all things growing or living in this beautiful country was boundless. They were all extremely helpful and nothing was too much trouble, always going the extra mile to ensure that we got the most out of our trip. Our cook produced the most delicious recipes and all on an open fire with a few pots and pans. Wild camping definitely gave us a flavour of actually being amongst the wildlife. We saw all the species of animals and birdlife that anyone could wish for. A trip across the border to Zimbabwe took us to the breath-taking Victoria Falls. So majestic yet so powerful. It would be remiss of me not to mention our two main guides, Ngande and Mello. They were incredibly caring and thoughtful towards our needs, always ensuring that our safari experience was the best that it could possibly be. Finally, we are so grateful to Exodus for arranging what proved to be the adventure of a lifetime and one which we will never forget.

Two full days in Petra

My decision to take the 12-day tour (really only 10 days since the first day was only “arrival” and the last day was only “departure”) with Exodus was the best decision of my trip planning. Most basic Jordan tours offer only two full nights (one full day). Three nights in Petra meant we had two full days morning to night. One full day really really is not enough for Petra. Three full days, one more than we had, would have been ideal.

Hectic awe-inspiring tour

A wonderful trip, more than full on. So many must-see sites packed into such a short time. Great organisation with an excellent expert guide. Hotels and cruise ship were very good. Be prepared for some incredibly early starts though.

Excellent trip - from beginning to end

I’ve been on a number of group holidays and this one rates as one of the most enjoyable to date. Great people, a fabulous leader in Serverio, who couldn’t do enough for us, great food and marvellous weather. Who could ask for more?

Fantastic!

This was an excellent tour of Jordan, covering the main sites and some that are more off the tourist trail. After 12 days we felt like we had really experienced the best that Jordan has to offer, fascinating culture, lovely people, amazing archaeology and great food!

I would do it again!

An unknown region of Italy, mountainous and craggy, with peaks still covered in snow at the end of April. Although the weather was predominantly grey and wet, we made the most of it, and it was a wonderful week. In fact, the last walk was enhanced by the fog that gave the forest a mysterious and mystical atmosphere.

Unbelievably beautiful Uzbekistan!

Fantastic trip to a wonderful country! So much beauty it hurts your eyes, and the people are incredibly warm & friendly. Each of the main cities has a totally different feel to it, & I loved them all! Khiva was my favourite though : be sure to wander around in the evening after the crowds have gone home – it’s a completely different vibe to during the day.
Some tips:
If you climb the minaret in Khiva you need a proper torch, strong knees & no fear!! The view is wonderful but coming down is terrifying!
Being Vegetarian isn’t too hard but it’s not very exciting- just check the soup has ‘no meat’ even if it is called a vegetable soup it will often still have meat in.Vegetable kebabs lack imagination – best option is the pasta based dishes.
Be willing to have your photo taken by the locals – it will lead to some wonderful interactions
Do bother to get up for sunrise in the desert (if the Vodka the night before doesn’t prevent!) – it’s worth it!
Do have comfortable shoes & some energy! This isn’t really a leisurely trip – the pace is quite full on, but totally worth it.

Disappointed

Overall this was not the trip I expected and I am disappointed. There were many pros but a lot of cons too. Starting with the good points:
Pros:
-the guide Michele Q was excellent. He guided us safely, was enthusiastic, knowledgeable about the places we visited, encouraging, funny, very supportive. He went above and beyond trying to find places for us to eat (more about that in the ‘cons’) and dealt with last minute problems smoothly. Even though he didn’t need to, he stayed out with the group and socialized. On a horribly rainy/thunderstorm/lightning day he called ahead to make sure our hotel rooms would be ready when we arrived soaking wet and freezing cold. I rate him 11/10.
– bikes: were very good for this type of terrain. The gearing was excellent, we could climb steep gravel hills easily. Comfortable. I liked having a waterproof pannier. The brakes were good.
– the agriturismo olive farm was the BEST day/night. It was luxurious (the pool, the terrace, our suite), the olive oil tasting and education was so interesting, the food was delicious. Very peaceful and elegant.
– the hotel in Osturia was also lovely.

Cons:
– we did the first trip of the 2019 season, beginning April 8, 2019. Now that I have done this, I think it is too early in the season to do this trip. It was sometimes a challenge to find cafés or restaurants open to eat at during the day. At a couple of hotels, we were the first guests of the season, and it was clear they were not really ready for us.
– dinner: It is the Italian custom to eat dinner(supper) at 9 pm at night. This is not the custom in North America or England, and as people who had been cycling all day and who needed to be awake fairly early the next day, this didn’t work. After two nights of eating very late, Michele would call ahead to the next town and try very hard to negotiate a fixed-price 2-choice menu, and tried to convince the restaurant to open at 7 pm for us to have dinner. Mostly he was successful, but it often meant we didn’t get food until around 8 pm at night. As well the afternoon siesta made finding food a bit challenging at times.
– picnics: many of my friends have taken this trip, and other trips with Exodus. Their experience was: a pot of money was collected from the guests and the van driver would purchase food for “a fabulous picnic” which would be waiting at the lunch stop. This was not offered, and it would have been a very nice option.
– my own problem: our Italian hotels didn’t have in-room coffee. I’m not a human until I have coffee. I did not like having to get dressed and wait for the breakfast to be served to have coffee. I admit, this is my problem.
– group riding. I found out that I really don’t like riding in a group. I felt that 90% of the time I was watching the bike in front of me, and making sure the bike behind me didn’t do something stupid. I didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy the scenery as much as I would have liked. I felt that if I stopped to take a photo (which had been a very important goal of mine – photography!) that I would be slowing down the group. Thus, not many photos taken to my disappointment.
– the van: the van was for luggage, and not a support van for injured or tired riders – that was made clear at the start – no problem. However, we were told by our guide that if we wanted to skip a day of riding, and take transit, just tell him in the morning. So we decided to skip day, told him at 0700H as required, and we were told we would have to pay for the bikes to be transported to the next town. We said “but can’t you put them in the van?” No, the van is full. “Can’t you put them on the roof racks of the van?” No, the roof racks are broken. In the end, the bikes WERE put on the “broken” roof racks, but I recall thinking ‘it’s not my problem that Exodus hired a van with inoperable roof racks. Fix this problem’.
– some of the hotels were quite basic, and one hotel had broken air conditioning, which made the night absolutely intolerable.
– on a day with horrific rain, I felt it was dangerous to continue riding. The water was inches deep on the road, we were riding in traffic for about 30 minutes, and we could not see the road under the water. One of us could have hit a pothole and been thrown off the bike into traffic. The traffic also made “tidal waves” as it passed us.
– automobiles: Near Matera and one other town it was very clear that the car and truck drivers HATE cyclists. Sometimes they would pass very close to us, dangerously so. What I thought were friendly waves were in fact the exact opposite.

Excellent trip!

The tour was well organised and interesting. The group dynamics worked well and we were given the opportunity to experience many aspects of Sicily including the delicious food, fascinating history, fantastic archaeology and beautiful scenery.