Most Inspirational Moment
There wasn’t one single outstanding moment for me. The highlights were all of the wildlife viewings.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Pedro was a great leader, full of fun and there to help out in any way.
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.
Simply use the selector below to search our trip reviews and start reading real feedback from real Exodus travellers who have ‘been there and done that’!
Lots of our clients also like to post handy tips and advice about their travels. It’s great to know what to expect on an Exodus adventure before you go, so make the most of their experience and you’ll make the most of yours!
Haven’t posted your review yet? Here’s how to do it…
Once you return from your Exodus adventure holiday, you will be emailed a link to add your review. Any feedback collected is posted onto our website, totally unedited.
Alternatively you can navigate to the relevant trip page and add your review via the Reviews tab.
Select a trip specific review:
Reviews
Lots of wildlife and great places
Enjoyed the trip very much. All of the destinations in the itinerary were interesting and beautiful. The only downside is the amount of travelling needed to get from place to place. It would be good if one or two journeys could have been made by air instead of road.
Vietnam Cycling
Good overall.
Most Inspirational Moment
Managing traffic in some busy spots through towns!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Positive: Good. Very friendly. Very frank and sensible about describing the country. Areas for improvement: Good give more choice about eating out in some places. For example, Dalat was fabulous but the hotel was a 10 min taxi ride. He said eat in the hotel or go out to eat with group. Tour around Hoi An should be less shopping and more history. Fine to show the shops but not dwell to allow people to buy.
Advice for Potential Travellers
No
Vietnam Cycling 12th January 2019
The wonderful thing about being on an exodus trip is the feeling of being completely “looked after”. Vietnam is a fascinating, beautiful, busy, crazy place – seeing the country and finding all the best bits is all taken care of and the stress of travelling is completely taken away. We had a fantastic group of people and amazingly all got on really well even though we were different ages and from different parts of the world. The combination of exercising, getting out on the bikes, getting to see this beautiful country, eating amazing food, coming into contact with the local people, made a perfect holiday. The cycling was very well planned so that for the dull bits / heavy traffic we were transported on the comfortable air conditioned bus, leaving the fun / interesting bits for the cycling. The support team were always one step ahead, manning every junction so we couldn’t get lost and setting up the drinks / snacks table at regular intervals (including the best fresh tropical fruit you’ve ever tasted!). We packed in an amazing number of things, including exploring the cities, countryside, snorkelling, kayaking, finding out about the history and culture, and lots of eating and drinking, A truly wonderful trip!
Most Inspirational Moment
Doing things you wouldn't normally do - e.g. meeting a woman who had worked in the rice paddy fields for over 45 years, and her showing me how to plant rice - getting shoes off and wading out feeling my feet sinking into the mud!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our leader "LD" was the most wonderful person, we all agreed he made the holiday for all of us - he was constantly smiling, so enthusiastic and his love of his country came across as he fed us bits of information about Vietnam, the people, customs, language and history. He was very knowledgable, and got the balance right re: amount of information. Nothing was too much trouble, he really looked after us and had a great sense of humour. He kept us safe, translated for us and took us on walking tours of the cities to show us around
Advice for Potential Travellers
Take a padded seat cover for bike, some travel wash and be prepared for lots of packing and un-packing. There is lots of moving around, it is not a relaxing holiday but an amazing experience
Great trip
Fantastic group holiday. Excellent group leader and supporting team of 3. Pleasantly surprised by the quality of the hotels and very good breakfasts. Lunch stops in a variety of town and country settings. Interesting excursions aside from the cycling. Good quality bikes with suspension and disk brakes.
Most Inspirational Moment
Enjoyed the 10k climb up to the Hai Vann pass summit despite getting drenched on the way up and down. Also the Cu Chi tunnels, Whale Island and Halong Bay Cruise.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Tung was an excellent host and looked after the group well. He worked exceptionally hard and was usually successful in resolving any minor difficulties. Particular mention is necessary for his efforts when our overnight train broke down shortly after leaving Ho Chi Min City. Alternative arrangements had to be made quickly and he successfully guided the group to Hanoi so we were on time for our Halong Bay visit.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Didn’t need my travel kettle as every hotel had a kettle in the room but if you like real tea take some teabags. Lipton tea normally available at breakfast occasionally hot but always very weak but not always in the rooms. It was usually possible to request a jug of fresh milk from reception. In Hoian 9 of the group visited the Hioanian Wine Bar and Restaurant in the top 20 restaurants on Trip-advisor. Ambience, staff and food all excellent. We were offered a complimentary glass of Prosecco and a small appetiser. Great menu of local dishes but I chose an Australian rib-eye steak which was divine. Cost for the main course including a beer and tip was less than £15. Generally cycled on quieter country roads but occasionally in heavy traffic. I would describe the driving as predictably chaotic. Traffic manoeuvres around other cars, motor cycles and scooters and pedestrians regardless of which direction they are going in. Motor cycles and scooters sometimes ignore the rules of the road and frequently go through red lights. Fascinating to watch.
A brilliant trip
Our first visit to Vietnam; what an amazing trip. We had a fantastic tour leader (Phuong Le). It was clear from our introduction that she was determined to take good care of us, make sure that we had a great time, and she was going to
Introduce us to the unique life and culture of Vietnam. The trip broke down to a number of very different elements. We loved it all, and would recommend this trip without hesitation
Most Inspirational Moment
Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and the estate where he lived and worked. A great feeling of serenity and peace in this place; the respect which is afforded to this towering figure of the twentieth century
Thoughts on Group Leader
Fantastic, and key to making this trip so good. Great empathy with the group. Clearly loved her country and culture. Gave us great insights into life in modern day Vietnam
Advice for Potential Travellers
Go for it!!
Highlands of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a very beatiful island with loads of natural and cultural highlights,
The tour is descrfibed as walking and treking. If you read the detailed notes it’s fair to say that, yes there are walks, but nothing that I would describe as treking. The walks are comparatively gentle; the jungle walks a bit like Lakeland walks underfoot – but in forest. The climb up Adam’s Peak certainly got the heart pumping, although with the crowds of pilgrims all around there were plkenty of enforced spots where you rested.
There was a lot of travel time in vehicles. All as described in the trip details –
Most Inspirational Moment
Sigiriya was magnificent, beautiful, and unique in my experience. Well worth the well-protected stairs up the rock face to the top. The Adam's Peak pilgrimage to see the Buddha's footprint and sunrise from the summit was a great experience, being a fierce stairway climb shared with grannies who could scarcely move from one step to another, and younger aduklts carrying their babes in arms. Not your usual climb to a summit.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Neelaka, our group leader was excellent, as were his team. Neelaka had a great knowledge, particularly re wildlife. H ekpetr us well informed always with great charm and humour.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Look carefully at the details. But I'm glad we didn't. Coach tours are not usually our thing - but this one was excellent.
A fabulous triñ
An excellent, very well-balanced tour around Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It provided a good insight into the life, culture and landscapes of these two states.
Most Inspirational Moment
The day spent walking through beautifully green tea plantations in the Kannan Devan Hills from our base in Munnar, and then up up up!! The views were stunning, and actually attaining a summit that at first appeared to be way too high provided a fantastic sense of personal achievement.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our group leader, Philip Rojan, was excellent. He was very knowledgeable about the history of the region, its culture, its people, architecture, geography and food! He did a great job, which made for a wonderful holiday.
Advice for Potential Travellers
A highly recommendable and thoroughly enjoyable tour. You will not be disappointed. However, you should be prepared for rather poor English by some hotel employees, and the occasional lack of hot water in some accommodation.
Wonderful wildlife
We had an excellent opportunity to sample Costa Rica’s varied and unusual wildlife and habitats in a tour led by a knowledgeable and inspiring tour leader. The accommodation was well chosen and the itinerary carefully enabled us to experience the Caribbean and Pacific coasts as well as highlands and intermediate areas. Having such an excellent guide really did make a difference. I don’t think we would have spotted half of the birds we saw without his keen eyes and ears!
Most Inspirational Moment
Seeing around 150 different bird species.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our tour was led by a knowledgeable and inspiring tour leader, Andres. He went out of his way to be helpful and provided additional opportunities to enhance our tour by visiting private gardens which were attractive to birds, and also by providing 4WD transport at the second Savegre lodge to save us what would have been a strenuous uphill walk , so that we could enjoy and spend more time on the descent through the cloud forest. He also gave up a couple of hours of his time to go through in detail the 170 or so species of birds we had seen on the tour. I don't think we would have spotted half of the birds we saw without his keen eyes and ears! He were well informed about each step of our tour and our guide was also very clear about options. Andres has great people skills as well and was responsive to the needs of different people in the group, including the organisation of an impromptu birthday celebration for one of our group members.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Good binoculars and a decent camera are a must.
A fabulous trip
This trip was fast paced and full of variety. We stayed in seven different locations during the two weeks which meant we were packing up and moving on every two days. The scenery we saw in between locations was incredibly beautiful and the bus rides were always interesting as our guide made sure we stopped for coffee, lunch or a surprise! …..a sloth and baby in a tree or crocodiles basking in the river!
The lodges were all full of character and of a high quality. Meals were typical Costa Rican with amazing variety and choice. The fruit was outstanding.
Most Inspirational Moment
There were so many magical moments. Quetzel hunting with dozens of other crazy people at 5 30 am. We had almost given up hope when Glenda made the first sighting and we all captured the flash of green tail.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our leader was called Glenda and she was a marvel, transmitting her love of Costa Rica to all of us through her constant stream of information. As we travelled we learnt about the history, culture and wildlife of this wonderful place. We were amazed at her ability to spot the smallest bird or animal hidden in the undergrowth. Nothing was too much trouble for her and she was brilliantly organised. We felt we were in very capable hands with Glenda and our driver Carlos.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Be prepared for a variety of weather conditions. A warm jumper and trousers were needed in two mountain locations whilst thin clothes were needed in low lying areas. Be prepared to get up early to see wildlife!
Snowshoeing in the Catalan Pyrenees
An enjoyable and interesting trip that gave us an insight into the local landscape and culture. Snow only truly arrived 2 days into the week and our leader Miguel adapted well, staying true to the themes of the itinerary and giving us good walks without snow and then in fresh snow of depths up to 3 feet. Note – some stamina is needed, especially in the deep snow! Local villages, remote valleys in a national park and peak summits were all sampled, together with insights into local history and culture such as the Freedom Trail escape route, and Catalan wine and cheese tastings. A very enjoyable week.
Most Inspirational Moment
Seeing the unspoilt beauty and power of the Catalan Pyrenees.
Thoughts on Group Leader
A dedicated guide able to make decisions at short notice as the weather conditions necessitated a change of plan.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Read the Trip Notes, they give a good guide as to the walking level required.