Reviews

Amazing adventure!

Something you can’t plan with any trip is your group or the wild animals. I’m happy to say that both were amazing. As lucky as we were to see up close and personal all the wonderful Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Lions, Leopards and so much more… Not forgetting the humble Warthog. This was greatly enhanced by fabulous tour leaders, drivers and chefs. We we’re always well looked after. Jacob our guide was knowledgeable, approachable and made absolutely sure we wouldn’t get eaten at night. Our chefs excelled themselves and turned out delicious food in interesting makeshift kitchens. Our driver was a stone cold legend, keeping us safe in long and challenging journeys. If I had one criticism it is simply that a final night in Nairobi prior to flying home would have been welcomed into the schedule. This would allow the group to settle and reorganise after a long camping trip as opposed to a long drive and flight straight out where goodbye’s were rushed.

Great hiking!

This trip to Albania provided hikes far beyond my expectations, the best of which was crossing the pass from Theth to Valbone. We each ascended/descended at our own pace that day, as the path was very clearly marked, and regrouped every so often at the cafes along the way – the perfect opportunity to really enjoy your own tempo. Dorian was a fantastic leader, really knowledgeable and keen to share. Good food and lovely hosts everywhere we went. I’m a vegetarian and didn’t struggle to find plenty of options – Dorian made sure I was always accommodated for. Take your swimmers for an icy cold dip in the blue pool. Definitely would recommend this trip to anyone who enjoys lively culture, good food and a nice hike.

EXCEPTIONAL TRIP

This was my 10th overseas cycling trip and none were better than this one-the scenery, food, accommodations ,the local people, the ride-all of exceptional quality. A top experience on these trips though depends on the cohesion and dynamics of the group and the interaction with the Exodus team-in this regard we were exceptionally fortunate as the entire group quickly bonded and we all clearly enjoyed each other’s company. The nationalities ( 10 Canadian and 6 British ) mixed perfectly- all good ,cheerful people intent on having a great holiday.

Such a great experience

An all around excellent tour

Great trip

Really enjoyed this trip, we got to see most of the island of Sicily whilst being able to taste some traditional dishes and wines.

TYR: Kilimanjaro Climb - Lemosho Route

The overall trip was a great success. The Kia Lodge was basic but clean. The initial transfer from Kia Lodge to the Moivaro hotel was smooth. The Moivaro Coffee plantation hotel was a good quality hotel with good facilities. The journey to Lemosho Gate was as expected. The 8 day hike was well led, well supported and the food was plentiful and of good quality. The chef did a superb job. The tents could do with an upgrade, and the groundsheets were a tad smaller than necessary. The support staff were magnificent and all played their parts in making this a memorable journey. The return to Moivaro was as expected although some of the admin could have been completed quicker to allow more time at the hotel after 8 days hiking. The private transfer back to Jaro airport was a mess! Transport did not arrive on time, after chaser call, Exodus admin staff member (who did her utmost) arrived to pick us up in private car about 20 mins later but ran out of petrol. Taxi was flagged and passenger ejected. Private taxi then tried to play catch-up and had to stop to fill up before rushing us to the airport exceeding limits, risky overtaking and honking horn. We got to the airport…..but not a particularly satisfactory end to the trip.

Magic in Matera

A trip filled with country side walks, fresh produce and wine. The highlights have to be seeing the Trulli’s in Alberobello and watching the stars in Matera

Hiking and Fantastic Scenery in northern Greece

This trip is highly recommended if you want to get away into wild unspoiled areas of northern Greece. Our guide, Danae, was very well organized and we always knew what to expect and what we needed for each day of hiking. Add to this an amazing group of people and it turned out to be the best group trip I have ever been on.

A great trek around Mont Blanc

The TMB is a fabulous tour & is thoroughly recommended. My insights would be:

Going clockwise really does work in terms of getting the hill-legs trained up as the steeper climbs then come later in the tour. Note that this does mean that you have to do some ladders on the first day but if you take your time they are fine.
The weather of course makes a huge difference & we were lucky enough to have mostly sunny days, with just a couple of days at the end which made us take alternative routes. The views are fantastic & there’s lots of wildlife about if you take a bit of time to look for it.
The campsites were generally very good. Just be prepared for toilets without seats, & even some that are the old-style hole in the ground (which we successfully avoided as the campsites weren’t busy when we were there).
The wild camps were lovely, particularly the one in Les Chapieux – this does require a wash in the nearby river, but the water is surprisingly ‘warm’
Most meals were in camp, but there were about 5 evening meals out which were very good.
For the swimmers there are opportunities to swim on the first day in the lake below Lac Blanc, & at Champex Lac.
I guess each leader/trip is different, but to give you a feel for it, a typical day is to wake up about 0630, get your kit sorted/bag packed, take your tent down, have breakfast, make your packed lunch so that you’re ready to go soon after 8. That is usually a ‘soft’ target as you’re generally just walking from the campsite, but one morning you do have to catch a bus. We were generally finished walking between 4 & 5pm.
Charging points for phones etc ! These were available at all campsites but Les Chapieux. I would recommend that you take a power pack & charge that up, rather than leaving your phone/watch on the charging point – only to be safe, we didn’t have anything stolen, but you are on a campsite & losing a power pack would be less distressing than a phone/watch.

Uganda is a must see

Just returned from this trip which was truly amazing. Great Lakes Safaris provided Sam and Paul as our guides and both were wonderful. We saw two gorilla families that had 4 silver backs as well as young ones at around 3-4 months old. Our hike to track the gorillas was labeled as “medium” difficulty but due to some fortunate travel movements by the gorilla family we only tracked them for around just under an hour in Bwindi before finding them. The chimps were a great experience as well and the trek was an easy trek through the forest. Watching both the Chimps and Gorillas was an amazing experience. The other game drives in the savanna areas/parks brought us leopard, elephants, giraffe, hippo, water buck and so much more. The trip did involve a number of 5-6 hour days of driving through the south west of Uganda which provided a great opportunity to view the diverse country-side and meet the wonderfully friendly Ugandan people.