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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14342 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

John O'Connor

Reviewed April 2019

The tour was good, Exodus UK repsonse to critical incident was poor

i returned from Wild Sri Lanka, the tour was good. If your a birder you will love the trip but you will need to take binoculars. I did not take mine as prior the trip did another trip to the Ancient cities and Jaffna.
The accommodation is ok , although the last hotel was really hot and is the one that is not air conditioned. The heat made it quite uncomfortable.
The tour guide, driver and assistant were excellent. The naturalist seemed more interested in talking to people with big cameras, chatting to the two young women and at times taking pics for Instagram
On the trip you will see a great variety of birds and some mammals. On this trip we saw Blue Whale, Pilot Whale, Spinner Dolphin, Bottle nose Dolphin. Elephant, Mongoose, Purple faced Leaf Monkey, Macaque Giant Squirrel , another type of squirrel, water buffalo, Hare, Wild Pig. Alas no Leopard or Sloth Bear. I think it was the wrong time of year to see Leopard.

Unfortunately i was assaulted by another member of the tour group and it took Exodus UK more than 24 hours to remove the person. The guide and country rep have no power to take action. Exodus UK dealt with the issue during UK business hours. It was a very scary 24 hours having to be around the perpetrator for 3 meal and 2 activities. I chose not to do the extra safari and the perpetrator was going on it. After the removal of the person , no contact from Exodus UK about how i was.
IT is only on my return to Australia and after complaining in writing and then to my travel agent that a company representative did contact me. I found there response to my concerns not satisfactory, they were really defensive.
So if you do go on this tour , i really hope nothing bad happens and you wont get a prompt response.

Most Inspirational Moment

Perhaps seeing Blue whale

Thoughts on Group Leader

Thushan was excellent and we had many "Sri lanka" experiences. I really liked his style

Advice for Potential Travellers

Beware if a critical incident occurs, make sure you have a sri lankan sim and email. So you can contact Exodus UK directly and your own travel agent

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank both John and Robert (review above) for their reviews, although we remain sorry that their trips were impacted on by this unfortunate incident. It is incredibly unusual that there are any altercations or disagreements between group members, and we appreciate that group members can have different perspectives when an incident like this occurs. As a tour operator, Exodus has to have a zero tolerance towards any violence on our trips and we have been in touch with both clients about the very different concerns that they raise.

Lucy Crabb – Customer Services Manager

Karen Kaye

Reviewed April 2019

A week in Jordan

We had a brilliant time in Jordan with a nice group of people. Nidal, our guide, was friendly and informative and we loved exploring the country

Most Inspirational Moment

Petra and camping in the Bedouin camp were particular highlights.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Nidal was very good and always ready to answer questions.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take plenty of layers of clothing - the weather was very mixed.

Karen Kaye

Reviewed April 2019

A week in Jordan

We had a brilliant time in Jordan with a nice group of people. Nidal, our guide, was friendly and informative and we loved exploring the country

Most Inspirational Moment

Petra and camping in the Bedouin camp were particular highlights.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Nidal was very good and always ready to answer questions.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take plenty of layers of clothing - the weather was very mixed.

Hely Collie

Reviewed April 2019

Deers, monkeys, cherry blossoms and saunas in clean Japan with nicely behaved Japans.

Wild deers, snow monkeys, cherry blossoms, temple cats, bullet trains, metros, lovely and friendly Japans in clean Japan.

Most Inspirational Moment

Feeding wild deers at Nara Koen Park, seeing snow monkeys in the mountain, admiring cherry blossoms (due to cold weather these blossoms were late and lucky for us!), seeing wild temple cats, travelling in bullet trains (trains do not turn but seatings do!) - just few of many more...it was also interesting to see how Japans que for metros and how nicely their behave in them (phones on silent and no talking or eating) and how clean Tokyo is (no rubbish & no rubbish bins!).

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ayaka Tsukamoto had excellent admin skills (arranged all entrance / travel tickets for us in advance with no problems), was patient (answered all questions several times - even after just explaining them to us), was enthusiastic on all planned trips (transferring her enthusiasm to us), was responsible (managed all 18 of us through rush hour using various local transports), was caring (directed one in our group, who used walking sticks, to escalators / lift when ever these were available) always explained our daily plans and associated timings in advance (organisation skills) and told us relevant informations regarding the destinations (excellent historical knowledge!).

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared to walk briskly and be always on time to avoid delays - and have sauna every evening (as I did).

Jackey Phillips

Reviewed April 2019

It wasn't all about the tigers

A well organised and interesting trip but we had disappointing tiger sightings. All the hotels and lodges were of a very good standard for India and the staff helpful and pleasant. The food was good and not too spicy, though a bit repetetive. The lodge at Bandhavgarh was very good with an excellent swimming pool and beautiful gardens.

Most Inspirational Moment

Giving my bananas to the elephants. Seeing the Taj Mahal Seeing the 2 tiger cubs

Thoughts on Group Leader

Vijay organised everything very well and ensured we were all at the right place at the right time, though at times it was not easy to understand all he said. He took care of all the tipping, which made life much easier.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Plastic is not allowed in the parks, so take something else to protect your camera from the dust, which is worst in Bandhavgarh. You need the smaller 3 round pin plugs, but the European 2 round pin works everywhere. The lunches were all served buffet style at 500 rupees and were very similar to the evening meals. It was possible at Pench to order from the a la carte menu but the order took a long time, at Kanha it was buffet only, but at Bandhavgarh it was possible to get omelette and delicious chips. Take mosquito spray and anti histamine and hairdryer if needed.

Peter Gornall

Reviewed April 2019

A very happy traveller

Although on paper it might look as if we were in a bus a lot, every moment was worth it for the variety of terrain and wildlife we saw, and the people we met. The wildlife was stunning, made more so through the expertise of our guide, the Tortuguera boat pilot, and the bus driver too. The accommodation was invariably clean and well looked after.
The only concern was Manuel Antonio park, which is highly commercialised. We queued for a hour from just after 7 am to get in, and there was (in contrast to all the other parks) close to mayhem inside. I suspect that mangrove wildlife is not as happy as it should be there.
The coffee farm and the over-canopy walkways were well worth the money. The visit to a dairy farm was very good too, and the farming ladies did so much to make us welcome.
The National Museum in San Jose is excellent.

Most Inspirational Moment

Swallow-tail Kite starting out and rising on a thermal. Being watched by a caiman The spider monkey adventuring in the dining hall in Tortuguera

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent guy - (Meyer Jiminez). He was very considerate and helpful; he knew how to rearrange a timetable when we had been held up by first road works and then an accident, and we still fulfilled the programme for the day. He is a considerable bird expert, and has a good knowledge of trees, geology, economics, ecology, farming and all sorts. I'd say we were very lucky to have him.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Enjoy!! Be aware of the range of temperatures from coastal heat to mountain cool Someone on our party was able to get Colons from a Travelex office in a large Tesco. Colons work a bit better than dollars, though you are not going to be badly out-of-pocket with them.

Alexandra Denby

Reviewed April 2019

A whistlestop tour of Vietnam

This is a busy tour taking in the main sights of Vietnam. Be prepared for planes, trains and automobiles (and boats!).

Most Inspirational Moment

There are a few: The Mekong Delta - sailing on the Mekong, walking in the coconut/banana plantation and going along on a sampan boat. Getting back to nature is just magical after being in the cities. Hoi An - Phat rearrange the walking tour so that we had a whole day free. I spent it with some others seeing the main sites, shopping and visiting coffee shops, finishing the day with a cooking class making our dinner for that night. Vinh Moc tunnels and the War Remnants museum - these really bring to life the atrocities of the Vietnam war. The museum has a lot of upsetting images, I needed some quiet time afterwards to wipe away tears and get my head around everything.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Phat is a fantastic leader. He is knowledgeable and has a great sense of humour. He would rearrange days to make sure we used the short time we had really well, even giving up some free time to take us on a tour of Hanoi. He was on top of the various dietary needs of some of us. Phat reminded us constantly about responsible tourism - he is a gem!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a good pair of walking sandals and do laundry in Hoi An. If you have the time, go to Hanoi a day early to do some sightseeing (or just recover from the jetlag), and go and see the water puppets. The overnight train starts in Hanoi, so the sheets and cabins will be clean - but take a sleeping bag liner and pillowcase just in case. If you are on a top bunk, it can get cold from the air conditioning. Order takeaway food for the train. There are 2 western toilets for each carriage, which are topped up with toilet paper during the journey. It is noisy and jerky so be prepared for little sleep. Walk along the Perfume River in Hue - there is a dedicated walkway away from the traffic. And go to the embroidery art museum. The cookery class in Hoi An is fun, you learn about Vietnamese cookery and you eat what you make. Buy lanterns in the night market in Hoi An if you want one - the best and biggest choice is there. On the last day the group flight leaves Ho Chi Minh City after midnight - book an extra day in the last hotel so that you can do sight seeing in HCMC and then freshen up afterwards. In HCMC on the last day, go to the cafe on level 50 of the Bitexco building (this is free - the observation deck is ~$10 - although the drinks can be pricey). And check out the street food market and the rooftop bars of the Majestic Hotel, Caravelle Hotel and Rex Hotel. The jade emperor pagoda is mentioned in the guide books but I found it a bit disappointing.

Jennifer Cox

Reviewed April 2019

Fantastic Oman holiday

This holiday was a fantastic mix of ancient sites (castles, forts, ruined mud brick villages) and natural wonders – The Grand Canyon of Arabia (Jebel Shams), the endless sand dunes of Wahiba Sands, swimming in wadis etc.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were many highlights - watching a turtle nest and lay its eggs, watching the sunset over the sand dunes, the hustle and bustle of the morning cattle auction at Nizwa, Muscat's Grand Mosque with it's incredible dome and chandelier, sampling countless dates and drinking Omani coffee. The camp in Wahiba Sands was also very luxurious considering its location.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader (Qais) was very experienced and had a great sense of humour - the Omani people in general were incredibly welcoming everywhere we went.

Bob Adams

Reviewed April 2019

Cycling Vietnam

This was a brilliant holiday which exceeded all my expectations. So well looked after by our leader, Toan Dao, this was a chance to see the real Vietnam. There were so many other activities included in the trip as well as the cycling and the accommodation was faultless.
Great group of fellow travellers who felt like old friends by the end of the trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

Cycling the Hai Van pass

Thoughts on Group Leader

Brilliant !

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just book it. You won't be disappointed.

sue lockley

Reviewed April 2019

Highlight of Morocco

I enjoyed most of the holiday but would have like to have stayed in a Essaouira another night and one less night in Marrakesh at the end of the trip as it was lovely by the beach and very relaxing after a lot of driving.
The mountains were great, Fes and many other places were great, very interesting trip.
I did not like long hours in the mini bus but it was part of the trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking in the Mountains and gorges, Fes was also very interesting in the old and new part of the city.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very good group leader, very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful when I was not well.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Great holiday to see Morocco, but if you do not like travelling hours in a bus it could be too much especially when you feel rough!!!

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