Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

So many but the desert is up there along with that first sight of The Treasury at Petra. Also looking over at the lights of Jerusalem and Jericho from the terrace of our Dead Sea hotel.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Muayad was fantastic - went the extra mile to show us Jordan and why he loves his country so much. So many little things like giving us Turkish delight, arranging a picnic with amazing foods such as eggplants stuffed with walnuts. Took us to local stalls to buy our lunch so, instead of spending several dinars on a wrap we were paying half a dinar in places. Thank you Muayad - and I still don’t want a camel my dear!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just go and immerse yourself in what this lovely country has. There is a lot to cover and you may well be shattered at the end of the day but I wouldn’t have missed a thing!

Most Inspirational Moment

Valley of the temples

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent Knowledgable Organise Friendly A people person

Advice for Potential Travellers

Prepare for all weathers

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching Annapurna Base Camp was definitely a high moment

Thoughts on Group Leader

Phurba Sherpa was the perfect leader. He took great care of every aspect of our trip and made us feel very safe and secure in his company. He also shared his knowledge on all things Nepal during our evening briefings and his sense of humour came across, which made things all the more enjoyable.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just to prepare well in terms of fitness and kit.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Roul was great. He was organised, kept us motivated and focussed and ensured we had a wonderful time!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go light on clothes and your daypack. Minimise everything but layers are so important especially on that 3rd night. Don’t carry too many snacks as you will be fed so well they are rarely needed - I have mine to the porters!

Most Inspirational Moment

Matera: seeing the kestrels swooping in the mornings, views all over the town, esp from the gorge walk. Staying in a trullo The visit to the olive farm. Lecce's wonderful cathedrals and rooftop terrace of hotel.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Fabrizio was very enthusiastic and helpful, with lots of suggestions for restaurants etc. He did a lovely welcome/orientation session. Always joined us for meals, was very good at dietary requirements etc. His instructions/timings etc were always very clear. He was always very sociable with the group and happy to chat. As previously mentioned some of his information was out of date eg opening times for cathedral, restaurants but this was probably due to post Covid changes.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Good shoes. Waterproof and jacket for the April departures. Solo travellers should be aware that there are quite a few free afternoons.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Outstanding. Our previous trips with Exodus have been with leaders who are native to the country. This has many advantages. Although she is english, Sara has led this trip for over 15 years and is pretty much accepted as a native by the locals. Furthermore, her professionalism and dedication to making the trip safe and enjoyable for the group was beyond question. Shortcomings in equipment were overcome using spare kit that she has accumulated over the years, minor injuries werer attended to, advice on how to use walking poles was dispensed, rail tickets were acquired on our behalf etc etc - both the expected and unexpected were more than adequately addressed. She even baked buns to welcome us back from our walk on her day off

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you have the appropriate clothing and equipment for a day out in the mountains.

Most Inspirational Moment

Too many to mention, but street food in Palermo markets, lunch in Piazza Armerina, and all the incidentals associated with visits to local producers (meeting water buffalo herd, cookery lesson near Trapani). Visits to cultural sites were a good contrast: it was interesting to see how they had developed and changed since we visited over 15 years ago. The fact that, despite its being the first tour for over 2 years, it all seemed to run smoothly.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rosario was really enthusiastic about the history and culture of his home island, and ready to transmit this in his good English; he also has a good sense of humour, which may have been tested at times. He managed to deal with the varying requirements of the group, and was always ready with recommendations of ways to spend any spare time, or places to eat. Our driver, Maurizio, was excellent, both at negotiating some of the roads and dealing with slight changes to the route, in particular being led through Piazza Armerina by a police car, rather than having to wait for an hour while the Giro di Sicilia passed through.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't expect a restful holiday! Apart from at the beginning and end, with 2 nights each in Palermo and Catania, we stayed somewhere different every night; that provides a challenge for sensible packing. if you're going in early April as we did, you may need some warmer clothes to deal with the time in Ragusa, Noto and Mt. Etna: while the UK was having a heatwave, we were all scrabbling for extra layers to cope with the cold winds!

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the range of produce in local markets, and tasting regional products in their locality.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rosarios was great fun, but well organised, and took account of the various requirements (particularly dietary) of our varied group. His English was pretty good, and he was extremely knowledgeable about the history and culture of Sicily - and eager to share it. He was also helpful in suggesting where to go in the limited spare time, and on places to eat (though there were some evenings when we didn't need to, after the tastings of the day). Maurizio, our driver, was extremely good, and very patient with us and the odd hiccup with traffic conditions. He did a wonderful job on some intersting roads.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't expect this to be a restful holiday! There's a lot of travelling, even with stops for tastings or cultural sites, and it's only at the beginning and end that there are 2 nights in the same place. Palermo airport seemed very well organised; Catania not so much. Be prepared for much waiting around in between check-in and boarding. Gatwick was extremely well run on our departure, but earned a few black marks on our return: no staff to move a stairway to the plane for disembarcation, and long waits before baggage arrived.

Most Inspirational Moment

being in wadi rum during the day climbing sand dunes and exploring in the jeeps, but then at night after our amazing dinner cooked in the ground we sat outside around the fire and had tea watching the stars till early morning with our guide. seeing the treasury for the first time was an emotional experience and one not to forget. visiting the baptism site was very special as was Mount Nebo and the church there as a service was underway. I would say everything we did was amazing. Dinner with a local family in wadi musa was amazing and the food all home cooked was incredible and seeing how the whole family interacted with each other was beautiful

Thoughts on Group Leader

our guide Ayyad was knowledgeable about all we asked and made everything fun and was always looking out for us as we had some older ladies in our group, always there with an outstretched hand in case we should need it. he immediately was making jokes and got the sense of humour that we had and we all became a little family. it was especially special as it was Ramadan and he was fasting and we experienced normal people out breaking the fast and shopping. he gave us time to shop and take pictures and was always explaining what was in the food we were eating. defiantly made lifelong friends with everyone in our group.

Advice for Potential Travellers

defiantly book this trip even during Ramadan as you get to see many different things that you wouldn't otherwise and don't be scared to go out and explore the locations that you stay in at night

Most Inspirational Moment

I loved the quality and quantity of fruit and veg in the different food markets we visited in Palermo (and watching the non-veggies attempting to eat certain local delicacies).

Thoughts on Group Leader

As before - he was excellent. Not only was he knowledgeable but also his spoken English was really good. Maurizio the driver deserves praise too for safely negotiating spaces scarcely wider than his vehicle.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't think that holidays are restful in any way! If you fancy a rest, I'd recommend extending the holiday by a few days. Arriving a day or two early ensures you start the holiday well-rested rather than tired from rising very early for the group flight. Plus add a day or two at the end if you'd like to see Taormina which sadly isn't included in the current tour.