Reviews

Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers

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14245 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Diederik Terlaak Poot

Reviewed June 2023

Participant

Based on a truly outstanding experience walking the paths along the coast of Amalfi, Italy, organized by Exodus, we decided to book another Exodus adventure bicycling Normandy. Although we were a tad hesitant about the projected daily mileage, it turned out to be very doable. Each day we cycled on country roads through fields of lavender, poppies, and wheat. Past farms, chateaus, and breath-taking bucolic views. Reaching our destination: the beaches of the Normandy D-Day invasion.

Most Inspirational Moment

The numerous times that the locals showed their gratitude for being liberated by the Allies. Each day we experienced an act(s) of kindness from everyone we encountered. From offering help with directions to offering water and food. And, seeing first-hand the acres and acres of white crosses of the Allied cemeteries was certainly inspiring, however, seeing so many groups of school children going through the D-Day museums was very inspirational indeed.

Thoughts on Group Leader

It was a self-guided tour. We started whenever we wanted and stopped whenever we wanted. However, we must give a 'tip of the hat' to Ingrid who gave us the first day's orientation about the tour, helped us with getting the bicycles properly fitted, and making sure we had all the necessary accessories.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It would be helpful to practice using the BikeGPX app, or similar navigational tool, prior to the tour. The step-by-step directions provided were very good, however, we found that the cell phone navigation app helped a lot.

Mikala Nash

Reviewed June 2023

Highlights of Turkey tour

I have recently gotten back from a 15 day tour of Turkey. It was an amazing trip but was busy to include everything on the itinerary. I’m glad it included as much as it did which is why I booked with exodus but it would have been good for the trip to be longer so that could see what was on the itinerary in more of a leisurely pace and other attractions Turkey has to offer.

Most Inspirational Moment

The whole trip was great but the highlights for me were seeing Ephesus, visiting Pamukkale and swimming in Cleopatras pool, the hot air balloon ride over the fairy chimneys in Cappadocia and seeing the whirling dervishes.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our tour leader Ahmet was brilliant. He was very knowledgeable about all the areas we visited and so passionate when explaining everything to us. He was able to answer all the questions anyone in the group had and engaged well with everyone. The trip ran very smoothly thanks his expertise.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This trip is perfect for anyone who wants to cram as much of the main tourist sites Turkey has to offer in one trip. Some days can be quite long and there is a lot of walking around the historical sites with a lot of uneven paths so ensure you take good walking shoes with you.

Anne Johnstone

Reviewed June 2023

Absolutely wonderful trip!

I can’t recommend this trip highly enough. The scenery was fantastic and varied and our guide Michaela, was exemplary in every way, as he was when he guided our Tuscany cycling trip. His energy, enthusiasm and passion for his job and country shone through, permeating everything he did for us. His knowledge about the places we visited and generally about his country was imparted in an entertaining, humerous and highly effective way. The day he facilitated for us in Venice was wonderful beyond words and will remain in our memories forever. The cut price boat taxi ride along the Grand Canal when we discovered there was a water taxi strike is testament to his ability to quickly find a way over obstacles and perfectly deployed negotiation skills. He’s a STAR! We will be signing up for his Sardinia trip next year.

Most Inspirational Moment

The day in Venice!

Thoughts on Group Leader

See above

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go!

Clive Smith

Reviewed June 2023

Wonderful and varied experience

This was a thoroughly enjoyable and varied experience from start to end. From seeing all sorts of animals and birds in many different settings (Okavango delta, Chobe riverfront, and the national parks are all quite different) to the vast nothingness of the salt-pans and the excitement of Victoria falls it’s still amazing how we managed to pack so much in.

Most Inspirational Moment

Really you almost need one per day! To generalise it was seeing nature in action: a lion stalking her prey, wild dogs chasing theirs and hippo's fighting

Thoughts on Group Leader

Brian was supremely knowledgeable and passionate and explained all sorts of things about what we were seeing very well getting just the right balance of information without overload. With him chef (and also very knowledgeable about wildlife) Mello produced amazing food on camp fires. Both, with the 2 support crew, were very efficient and all ran pretty smoothly and any hiccup was quickly resolved. The focus is certainly on the traveler

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't hesitate: go for it!

Alan Jordan

Reviewed June 2023

Full on

This trip is pretty full on, with long days on the road and often crowded visitor sites. (Ephesus and cruise ships = M1 only a holiday weekend) If the options are taken there is very little down time. Leisurely/moderate does not really describe it. Hotels used range from excellent to a compromise too far. On many occasions we arrived at the destination too late in the day to get local bearings, but in most cases it was worth it given what had been seen along the routes. Food was acceptable at all times although some breakfasts left something to be desired, such as drinkable coffee. Most hotels had water and kettles in the rooms, but water enroute did not follow the normal Exodus expectations. Turkey has an inflation problem, many of the costs noted in the trip notes were somewhat out of date, it also has a penchant fore closing roads at short notice forcing route changes. Overall this trip gives a very good overview of what Turkey has to offer away from the ‘sun and sand/all inclusive’ packages, be aware that there is very limited time in Istanbul. It is worth planning a few extra days.

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking on the pottery sherds that litter many of the sites and realizing how old they are likely to be.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader was excellent at explaining the history and giving extra information, however, some explanations could have been shorter to maintain interest. He was enthusiastic to show his country and helpful at including extra activities and visits.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for long days. Be prepared to go with the flow. Pack light, the internal flight has a baggage limit of 15kg. Avoid rooms ending in '16' if you use the Anzac Hotel (they are on the fire escape)

Jo Heath

Reviewed June 2023

Wonderful time in the beautiful mountains

We had a great group and superb leader. I echo everything that Susanne has written. Rodopi is just a magical place – it is lush and full of nature: insects, particularly butterflies, wild flowers, lichen and signs of bigger animals who were no doubt watching us. I felt extremely comfortable, more knowledgable and much more aware of my surroundings by the end of the week. The walks are varied and a good length; no rush in the morning and back in time to have a couple of quiet hours in the evening. Five days in a row is reasonably challenging, but it is also possible to miss the odd day; a couple of our group found plenty to do – maybe a short walk, glass of wine with lunch and then wander in the village. Yagodina Hotel is perfect for the trip – very friendly and comfortable, we had wonderful home cooked food – recipes local to the region, Maria could not do enough to help I have been on several Exodus Trips and this is my favourite so far.

Most Inspirational Moment

Loved the information about the bears - I felt very privileged to be able share their territory.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Julian is an excellent leader. He is friendly and unbelievably knowledgable, calm and organised with an enormous passion and respect for the Rodopi Mountains.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Book now if you love being immersed in nature.

Pedro Alvey

Reviewed June 2023

Wonderful Carpathians

Stayed in this beautiful guesthouse 1000m up in an alpine small village with amazing scenery. The walks amongst the wild flowered meadows, forests and limestone gorges was truly magic. The guesthouse owners, guide and staff were friendly, helpful and informative. Food was homemade, varied and delicious. The itinerary was also varied and interesting. There was nothing we didn’t enjoy. This guesthouse has been running successfully for 20 years. Well done Exodus.

Most Inspirational Moment

Just the whole week and everything in this part of Romania.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Thomas was friendly, kind , helpful and informative. On the walks he looked after the group to ensure their safety. He became a friend and wonderfull walking companion. His knowledge of the politics, economy, history and environment was superb. He treated our group with fairness and respect.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you enjoy good climbing walking, food, drinks, wildlife and alpine scenery don't miss this holiday but the walks are not gentle so be fit enough to climb some steep ascents for up to 10 miles.

Susanne Maden

Reviewed June 2023

Unspoilt beautiful mountains & meadows!

This trip far exceeded our expectations in many ways! The area is unspoilt & very quiet-we only saw one other group of hikers during our week in the mountains! Every day was filled with lovely walks through stunning scenery & we enjoyed discovering all of the flora & fauna in the area as well as spotting traces of bears! The Family Hotel Yagodina was spotlessly clean with decent size rooms & the food was amazing-all locally sourced & freshly made! Nothing was too much trouble for Maria & her team & we felt truly spoilt!

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking through the meadows seeing all of the varieties of wild flowers, including many orchids as well as moths & butterflies, many that we have not seen before!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Julian stepped in at the last minute to lead our group & he was just brilliant! He has lived & studied brown bears in the region for many years & was eager to pass his knowledge on to us! It's fair to say that his enthusiasm was infectious so by the 2nd day we were all spotting signs of bear activity including scat! He allowed people to take the walk at their own pace & was happy to educate us on the massive variety of flora & fauna we saw along the way! The weather was often rainy in the afternoons so Julian swapped walks around so that we remained safe & avoided most of the bad weather!

Advice for Potential Travellers

The weather in the mountains can change very quickly so defiantly take waterproof jackets & leggings that you can put on easily! Be flexible! Again, the weather means that walks were changed or moved days but this is to ensure that you are safe & can enjoy spectacular views on the higher walks on the better days!

Judy Smith

Reviewed June 2023

Jordan Exceeded Expectations

An incredible trip, would highly recommend. So many highlights it’s difficult to list them all!

Most Inspirational Moment

Petra and Wadi Rum exceeded high expectations, with the right amount of time spent in both places. Jerash was an unexpected hidden treasure. The day in the desert of watching the sunset, having a traditional ground cooked meal and sitting by the campfire under the stars was unforgettable. Our group was great fun and this really enhanced the experience. Spending an evening in the home of a local family in Petra was a unique experience.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We learnt so much from Mikhled about the culture, history, education and politics of Jordan. We left with a far better understanding of the country. We travelled during the end of Ramadan, and really appreciated Mikhled having to spend Eid with us when I'm sure he would have rather been with his family. He dealt with a medical emergency very efficiently and also went the extra mile to make my birthday special.

Advice for Potential Travellers

In terms of clothing, normal cycling gear was perfectly acceptable (including female cycling shorts and tshirts) just have a wrap and some trousers ready on the bus for when you visit any towns. Using wraps as head coverings wasn't essential from a religious perspective, but was a very good way of protecting from the sun and heat. I wouldn't bother with the Hamman in Petra, it was okay but nothing special.

Andrea Franzel

Reviewed June 2023

Overall great experience but I struggled to see the value of the Premium

We covered all the highlights but the planning wasn’t great. Everything was rushed with many early starts (like 4am in the morning!). This is probably a 10 nights trip instead of 8. The highlight was certainly Valley of the Kings but we left the site at 9am after only a bit more than an hour. The two hotels were an excellent pick. The cruise was not, although the personnel provided excellent services and the rooms were good. Some of us struggled to see the benefit of having booked the Premium trip with an overcharge of £138 per night on top of the non-premium. The Marriott was amazing but they reserved possibly the noisiest room in the hotel (next to 3 lift shafts and on a third floor on a busy road) and they didn’t get me another room despite asking four times (they have 440 rooms!). I was expecting Exodus to support me on that. The cruise facilities were basic. The pool was small compared to the other cruises that we have seen. The food was decent at days and not so great on other days and they only served buffet. Unclear why we had to spend an extra night docked next to the Movenpick Resort Aswan on which we moved for the last day and where we only spent less than 12h (including sleep).

Most Inspirational Moment

Valley of the Kings but as said we should have definitely spent more time there. I appreciate we can only spend 15 minutes in each tomb but we could easily have spent another hour to visit other tombs included or just to relax and have a coffee in such an iconic place. The cruise on the Nile was probably the only real moment of relaxation. Great experience. Movenpick Resort Aswan was great but we only spent one night there. We should have moved there the night before.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The tour was very well executed by Andrew. He is very articulated and with an excellent English. His knowledge and ability to explain was excellent. His timing was perfect and helped creating a picture of Ancient Egyptian culture.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Things you need to bring: 1) cash. Any currency GBP, USD, EUR. It's the same. They accept any currency at any shop and they will provide the change in local currency. You can show them the exchange on XE.com app and they will trust you. This is because from local ITMs or banks you can only withdraw in EGP. But this way you don't need to withdraw at all. Bring your currency and once you start buying and receiving change in local currency you'll have EGP that may be needed in some occasions. They also accept credit cards (for instance at the Valley of the Kings) but the tour operator charges 3% commissions for the optional tours. So my advice is bring at least £250 in cash. 2) a good selfie stick if you are travelling alone; 3) ear plugs and eye cover; 4) water bottle; 5) proteins bars (food is not always great; it's not exactly Lebanon or Morocco unfortunately). Things you don't need: 1) a torch (there's enough light in all sites); 2) mosquito repellent (it was needed only in one occasion but could do without it); 3) Snorkel Mask (Red sea is not included in the tour).

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