Reviews

Trip of a lifetime!

Wow… where to begin. The most amazing trip i have ever been on. Being one of the few to say i have visited Antarctica is something i will never get used to. The trip was breathtaking from start to end. I couldn’t reccomend it enough.

Simply Fabulous

Cycling is a wonderful way to experience the sights and sounds of a beautiful and vibrant destination like Sri Lanka. We were up-close with the luscious countryside, buzzing towns, friendly people, gorgeous wildlife and rich history. The tour encompassed much of the island but still gave plenty of leisure time and time to explore on foot. Our fantastic guide Suresh and his terrific team were always on-hand to ensure we were well-supplied with drinks and snacks and to make sure we didn’t get lost! I’m already planning my next Exodus cycling holiday.

Spectacular wildflowers, coastal views and seafood

This was our fourth walking trip with Exodus (all graded Leisurely/Moderate) and the first occasion on which Exodus had run this particular holiday. Exodus and their local partner had arranged five days of walking based in the small coastal village of Scopello and the busy town of Trapani, plus a free day in Trapani. We had a full week of glorious weather and the walks (sometimes involving steep and quite sustained ascents and descents on quite rough tracks) showcased spectacular displays of wild flowers and rugged Sicilian coastal scenery to great effect. Our knowledgeable guide Benoit and Giorgia from Exodus’ local partner made some minor adjustments to the itinerary and timetable to take account of the (not unusual) range of walking speeds in the group and spared no effort to make the trip a real success. Benoit arranged two great picnics and Giorgia and Benoit selected excellent restaurants for the party every evening (super Sicilian seafood), making for a very convivial holiday. The hotel in Scopello was well located and very welcoming; the location of the hotel in Trapani was less satisfactory and had no refreshment facilities other than at breakfast. This was the only blemish on an otherwise excellent and memorable trip. Thoroughly recommended!

Impressive Egypt

This trip gives you the opportunity to see many of the key sights of Egypt with the exception of Abu Simble and is well organised with responsible guides to help you navigate a new culture when travelling with children. Egypt itself is a fascinating country full of history and culture and we had a brilliant experience of Egypt. There are some things that you should consider to ensure that this is the right tour for you. The trip does promise a first class sleeper train and 4 or 5 star hotels throughout but that is a local distinction and most were more a European 2 or 3 star hotel at best. This isn’t a luxury tour. Many of the tours are optional rather than included and as such you need to allow plenty of extra dollars if you want to have the full experience. This makes you feel somewhat like you’re being exploited because the extra trips are significantly overpriced compared to the face value of the entry tickets to the sites visited, but you can’t easily then organise on your own. This trip gives you the opportunity to see many of the key sights of Egypt with the exception of Abu Simble and is well organised with responsible guides to help you navigate a new culture when travelling with children. Egypt itself is a fascinating country full of history and culture and we had a brilliant experience of Egypt. There are some things that you should consider to ensure that this is the right tour for you. The trip does promise a first class sleeper train and 4 or 5 star hotels throughout but that is a local distinction and most were more a European 2 or 3 star hotel at best. This isn’t a luxury tour. Many of the tours are optional rather than included and as such you need to allow plenty of extra dollars if you want to have the full experience. This makes you feel somewhat like you’re being chased for more money all the time and the extra trips are somewhat overpriced compared to the face value of the entry tickets to the sites visited, but you can’t easily then organise on your own. We noticed our 13 year old went in as a child ticket but we were charged a full adult price for the tour by exodus because he was over 12. The brochure said group tips paid in advance are optional but recommended but we were chased for the exact amount ‘recommended’ which I suspect is a profit source for the local tour provider. The coach journey was advised as 4 hours but actually took 7 hours due to using back roads rather than toll roads. There can be delays and you need to be prepared to sit for long periods.

Most Inspirational Moment

Visiting Saqqara (optional trip) was very special and we loved swimming with Dolphins ( optional trip). The temple at Philae was impressive and the whole holiday was a positive adventure and great fun, with lots of new memories made.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Responsible and accessible throughout the trip. He was well connected and although you suspect he only took you to restaurants and shops etc that were owned by friends, we went to some interesting places and felt safe.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring dollars as they don’t really want you spending Egyptian pounds for many trips etc. Be prepared to sit for long periods Don’t expect 1st class sleeper train or 4/5 star hotels. This is not a luxury trip. Buy a sim at the airport when you arrive. It’s inexpensive and wifi at hotels was unreliable or chargeable as an expensive extra. Be prepared to tip for everything, even things that you didn’t want someone to do for you. It’s customary and expected.

Reply from Exodus

We are very pleased to hear that Stephen had a brilliant experience of Egypt and want to thank him for travelling with Exodus. It is great to read that he found the trip to be well organised, and that the guides helped his family to make the most of their time in the country. We are sorry to hear, though, that Stephen was a little disappointed by the standard of accommodation. We use a first class sleeper train and the properties our groups stay at throughout the tour are 4 and 5 star, though we recognise that these ratings are based on Egyptian classifications and may not quite match up with the standards of similarly rated European hotels. However, we are very confident that they are of a good quality for a family trip.

We have purposely included optional tours so that families can choose how much they do, and how much relaxation time they want to build into their itinerary. The cost of these is based not just on entry ticket prices, but also the transport needed to get to the sites. Based on Stephen’s feedback, however, we will be doing a full review of the optional excursions offered on this tour and especially will investigate his comment regarding the prices of tickets for children.

The tipping kitty is a set amount which is managed by the leader to ensure all those assisting the tour, for example hotel porters, are recognised for their assistance. The leader is accountable to the group for this expenditure, and our customers should in no way feel ‘chased’ for the amount. We would apologise for Stephen’s experience of being asked to contribute to the kitty, as it should make things easier for families, rather than raise concerns.

Once again, we would like to thank Stephen for his review of the Egyptian Family Adventure and for sharing his experiences. We are very pleased that, for the most part, Egypt lived up to his expectations.

– Kashka Lantis, Exodus Product Manager

Stunning walk in Sicily

This trip was filled with beautiful coastal walks with stops on some of the most beautiful beaches I’ve seen. You visit several different spots around Sicily during the week and taste some great food along the way. One of the highlights was our Guide Benoît’s fabulous picnics that we had during our walks. We had a great group and were lucky to see lots of flora and fauna along the walks.

Rich in Nature - Pura Vida

Our guide Armando really brought the group together. He was excellent! Our safety was his number one concern. He was truly an expert when it came to wildlife, birds and Costa Rican culture. This was an adventure packed week and educational as well! We even learned some history about the indigenous culture. I would highly recommend this tour for anyone who wants a ‘well-rounded’ Costa Rica experience. You will experience the cloud forests, rainforests, dry forests, city and Pacific ocean. Make sure to pack your rain gear and swim suits.

Beautiful Ride

If you are a cyclist and have not cycled Portugal’s Atlantic coast or have cycled the interior only this trip is for you. Travelling from Porto to Lisbon you will have a chance to view the fabulous white golden beaches, the charming beach villages, pine scented forests, nature reserves and taste the wines of the region. Portugal has the most amazing cycling paths I have ever experienced- on this trip the road was moderately undulating capped by a major ascent at Serra da Boa Viagem . We had the opportunity to sample a wide variety of seafood and portuguese specialties thanks to the suggestions of our guides Armando and Ruben and their knowledge of the best places to dine. A nice touch was a guided walking tour of Porto and Lisbon pre and post cycling .

Galapagos is great - but not this tour

My two star rating doesn’t reflect the Galapagos Islands themselves, which are a potentially five star destination. Rather the rating is of this particular trip to see them. As you’d expect, the Galapagos are a wildlife lover’s dream, particularly if you like marine wildlife. Whilst the variety isn’t massive, the numbers are and the ease of seeing things is unmatched , and many creatures can’t be seen anywhere else. The snorkelling is outstanding with excellent visibility and huge numbers of fish etc. as well as lots of exciting bigger things like turtles and sealions that will happily swim right up to you.

Unfortunately this Exodus trip did not feel like the best way to see this incredible place, particularly not for the very high cost, and I was very glad to return home. The tour leader was poor, which greatly affected the quality of the experience. The first nights in Quito were on my own – there was no group – which is not what I expect from a ‘small group’ tour. I knew there wouldn’t be any trip leader accompanying us (me) but I did expect there to be other travellers.

The boat is very cramped and uncomfortable and if you are a solo traveller and have to share it is really difficult even if you get on well with your roommate (thankfully I did). For two nights the air conditioning wasn’t working meaning I was unable to sleep and ended up trying to sleep on deck in the rain. If you sleep in the top bunk it is a vastly inferior experience as it is very hot and cramped and hard to climb up. There were spare cabins on the boat but we were not given the option to use them, not even for an additional fee. There were also bigger cabins upstairs but those were allocated to others despite us being the only pair sharing with a stranger. There was a sense that Exodus passengers were second-class.

The trip is mis-graded as ‘leisurely’ when it is far tougher than the moderate trips I have taken with Exodus recently. The trip notes at the current time do not accurately describe the level of fitness required or that you need walking boots etc. I could have been much better prepared had I known. There is very little leisure time, which is fine if that’s what you are expecting but is not indicated by the trip notes at the time of writing.

I would definitely not recommend the trip to solo travellers or even friends travelling (unless you are happy sharing a double bed). For solo travellers it might be better to look at land based itineraries. For couples it this trip might be worth it, provided you are fit and don’t mind short walks in difficult situations and if the tour leader was different from the one I had.

Not Recommended

I had heard a lot of great things about Exodus. However, the local company in Portugal did not live up to expectations. This was a fast-moving tour. We were in a different city (sometimes 2) each day and the guides did not give us the best of each city. Instead, we spent an hour (of the precious 3 hours we had each day) in a a cafe! One can assume this is because THEY needed a break. There was so much to see and we wandered aimlessly. It became a joke that when they would tell us how beautiful something was in a particular city, that meant we were not going to see it. I mean, who is going to be back to visit anytime soon. Also, their knowledge was not up to par. When we were visiting the Monastery in Batalha, there were these portraits on the wall and I asked who they were and the response I received were “they are not significant.” REALLY? I’ve been in enough churches in Europe to know that EVERYTHING has significance! The knowledge of these guides was so awful, it was almost comical. I realize new people have to be trained, but they should not be trained at our expense, as this was an expensive trip. They should pay their dues as local guides, giving local tours so they can learn how to be guides. These women were absolutely terrible. I felt like a friend had offered to show me Portugal and given their limited knowledge, that would have been exactly what I got – limited knowledge. But, I paid for this trip. And so did others. And we paid handsomely. Also, the nightly meetings were stupid. Just post an itinerary. No one wants to be in a meeting after a long day. The trip to Sintra was a disaster. They left us without coming up there with us. They should have been with us. We had no idea where to go or what we were looking at – we needed a guide! Plus, the whole issue with having to pay 12..50 more for the bus was really stupid. We all felt very nickled and dimed. That should have been handled much differently. Do not use Exodus for this particular tour in Portugal. You will regret it. It is far too expensive for what you get. You would be better off going on your own. You would see more and learn much more. They also weren’t very good about keeping tabs on the group. They didn’t wear logo’d clothing or have a flag or anything. We mostly kept track of each other to be sure no one was left behind – isn’t that their job?? And most of the restaurant recommendations were horrible. Very unimpressed.

Most Inspirational Moment

NONE

Thoughts on Group Leader

Terrible, uninformed, ditzy

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do not book this particular tour with Exodus. Perhaps other local companies are better, but this one is not worth your hard earned money

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Stacey for taking the time to leave a review, although we are very sorry to read of her disappointment with several aspects of her trip to Portugal. At Exodus we take the roles of our tour leaders very seriously and provide each one with comprehensive training before they are assigned to lead our tours; for this departure, Stacey’s group was led by our experienced leader Carlos, who receives very positive feedback from our clients, as well as Catarina, who has led alongside him on past trips with success. While they were accompanied by a trainee leader who was shadowing this trip to gain experience, we have not found on previous departures that similar arrangements have detracted from our clients’ experience, as our regular leaders guide these trips as normal.

We would note, having reviewed the feedback forms from clients on Stacey’s departure, that the majority of respondents rated both the itinerary of the tour and their overall trip experience as being either ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’. Further, the general feedback we received from the group about Carlos praised him as helpful and knowledgeable, and mentioned that Catarina was a personable and enthusiastic leader. We do, of course, continually monitor all our leaders’ performances to ensure they meet our high standards, but from the feedback we have received on this occasion we are confident that Carlos and Catarina led this trip effectively. However, we understand that this does not reflect Stacey’s experience, which we very much regret.

We are further apologetic that Stacey did not appreciate the free day in Sintra; we find from experience that our clients often like to explore this location at their own pace, and from previous feedback we have obtained about this tour we find that this excursion is generally very well received. However, we understand that some other group members from Stacey’s departure mention in feedback they have submitted that they would have preferred some guidance on-site in Sintra in addition to information provided by our leaders beforehand, and we are considering making a change in this regard to improve customer experience.

While we feel confident that this trip provides an enjoyable and insightful tour of Portugal for our customers based on the feedback we continue to receive from our groups, we would once again like to express our regret that Stacey was left disappointed, and will of course closely bear her comments in mind going forward.

– Emma Cambers, Exodus Product Manager

Introduction to highlights succinct; leisure abundant

The key words in the tour description, “highlights” and “leisurely”, are to be taken seriously: the introduction to various highlights is pretty succinct and the leisure time extensive. It is obvious, reading previous reviews (some going back a few years) that criticisms or disappointments have not been acted upon. There is still too much time spent travelling to “highlights”; the walk is not circular, too short, and the “rewarding” barbecue in a place of outstanding beauty still turns out to be a sad picnic eaten inside an uninspiring dining room. Only the trips to Capri and Herculaneum/Pompeii warrant a full day (in the event neither was actually that long). The actual activities do not follow the full description in the programme and fall rather short of it.