Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing a sloth moving (slowly of course) through the trees was a sight to behold. Also, red eyed tree frogs - both so iconic for Costa Rica.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Johnny was a great group leader - with 27 years experience of leading tours. He shared his knowledge and knew exactly when the group needed information - size of lodges we would be visiting, what we were doing the next day, when the next rest stop would be etc. etc.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for some early starts. Weather in March (although dry season) did include both hot and wet days - bring clothing for both. Take insect repellent - although not a malaria zone there were insects aplenty! Be ready with your camera to capture those fleeting glimpses of wildlife - practice bird shots so that you can get photos of those fast moving hummingbirds! The Pacific ocean was like a warm bath to swim in.

Most Inspirational Moment

I loved the beach trip - crystal clear turquoise water, white sand, blue sky, no crowds and a tasty barbecued sandwich.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Could not fault Alexis. Very friendly and knowledgeable, felt very safe in his hands.

Most Inspirational Moment

I'll never forget Tortuguero - all the birds and animals that we saw on the boat trip to the island, the montezuma oropendola building their nests, the toucans visiting their nest, the tree frogs, the leafcutter ants, standing on the beach where the turtles lay their eggs (though not in March) - the variety of humming birds, and seeing a pair of quetzals checking up on their nest at Savegre. I also enjoyed paddling in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I will be nominating Andres for the Exodus tour leader award. He is SO knowledgeable about Costa Rica and was always happy to answer our (numerous) questions. He was very patient, always professional, and took excellent care of the group, making sure we knew where we were going and what to expect. On the day of our departure, when our fight was delayed by 24 hours, I was particularly impressed that he made contact with British Airways staff and made sure we were in good hands before taking his leave (much later than planned).

Advice for Potential Travellers

1. Read the other reviews - I found them really helpful. 2. If you pack light, you can expect to use the laundry service and/or got into the habit of washing clothes as soon as you arrive at the new destination. I sometimes wore 3 different tops in a day due to the humidity. I'm glad I bought quick drying clothes in the Rohan sale! 3. Bring a camera with a good zoom lens and a good pair of binoculars or a monocular. I have enjoyed looking at the short videos that I took which capture the sounds as well as the sights. 4. You might want to bring earplugs if you're a light sleeper - the frogs are quite loud at night.

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking among the ruins in Selunite. The beautiful coastal walk. The archaeology Park in Syracuse. A fantastic local guide around the Valley of the Temples in Aggriento who was a working forensic archaeologist who brought the site to life.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Veronica was fantastic. She was enthusiastic friendly and ensured every day was well organised and that we got the most out of each location. Great communication skills and ensured that we all kept to time with the lightest touch. A very talented tour leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Prices have increased a bit over recent months but great food and wine is still reasonably priced. Bring a kettle and tea/coffee as this is not provided in the rooms. Travel in April was a good decision as it wasn't too hot and not overly busy in most locations.

Most Inspirational Moment

The walk in Santorini. The wild flowers gallore in our walks in Naxos & Paros.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Cecile was lovely and very helpful. She even got me a book of wild flowers of Greece to refer to because I loved wild flowers. She was also a good laugh and we loved listening from her about her pet donkey!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Check with Exodus about the accommodation in Paros.

Most Inspirational Moment

The wildlife and the friendliness of the Sri Lankan people, especially on the local small restaurants and bars.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Superb

Advice for Potential Travellers

The whole day was very tightly structured, including where the group were to eat in the evening (e.g. at the hotel or a ride to local restaurant). If like me, you want to be independent in the evenings, make sure read in advance what's around your hotel, so you can have evenings to yourself as it's not always obvious as to what you can do and there were no alternative options given by the leader for most evenings. Tuk Tuks are available everywhere and inexpensive, I used them a few times to get around locally when not with the group. The monsoon weather is heavy vertical rain. My 'expensive' breathable shower proof jackets were insufficient. Take a brolly and a cheap all body waterproof poncho with you... you will be glad you did. Day 4 at the Countryside Hotel was not so great, in my view, with a poor breakfast and 'rundown' chalets. Hopefully you have a better experience, but maybe you want to buy some fruit for breakfast and have some insect repellent available for that night, just in case. All other hotels/guesthouses were fabulous.

Most Inspirational Moment

So many to choose from. I loved cycling through the villages stopping for coconut water ( I didn’t even know I liked it!) and then having a delicious home cooked lunch at a family home. Seeing lots of healthy wild elephants roaming the Nature reserves with their young and having a leopard cross the track in front of our jeep at Yala. The white water river rafting was such fun and I definitely recommend doing that option.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Roshan provided us with great commentary throughout the tour especially on the bus. He had fabulous organisational skills and made sure our tour continued to plan despite the civil unrest and diesel shortage. He didn’t let those troubles get in the way of our holiday. By the second week we had all bonded into a lovely group which he was very much part of.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take socks for the temple visits- you could fry an egg on the ground. UK sockets are in all the hotels we stayed in so no need to bring adaptors. It’s colder in the tea plantations area so take long Pajama bottoms if you feel the cold ( or just put the heater on!) and a fleece for evening. Definitely take a waterproof! I took a small over body bag when cycling that fitted my phone so I could take photos. You can pay optional trips in £ so I’d take extra for that other than the £150 to change into SR at the airport. I paid hotel bills with credit cards. On your free day in Nuwara Eliya I recommend afternoon tea at “The Grand” at 2.30pm . It’s about £6. Also beforehand go for a tour of “The Hill Club” . It’s 200SR to be a member for the day ( 50p) and have drinks on the lawn. Take insect repellent and a torch and a plastic bag to put your wet clothes in after rafting ( you will get wet) Good idea to wear the clothes you went cycling in with swimwear underneath and change after. Swim in the Indian Ocean at the beach resort. The water is warm and the swimming pool is like a hot bath. The group kitty idea is much easier and it’s one less thing to think about!

Most Inspirational Moment

I loved the Botanical Gardens and the wonderful accommodation there Swimming in the Caribbean and Pacific was a treat as was our visit to Tortgero

Thoughts on Group Leader

Roberto was brilliant Excellent leadership . Really well informed and great communicator

Advice for Potential Travellers

Relax and enjoy The group leader and his colleagues will support you if any of the cycling gets tough and the organisation allows you to let go of any stress Plenty of sun cream is needed !!

Most Inspirational Moment

At the start of the week we were losing hope of seeing the Northern Lights as our leader expressed he hadn't seen them for about 3 weeks. On our 'Oulanka by night' we snowshoed through the woods and onto the frozen lake where, in other times the Northern Lights would be shining bright above us.... But this was not the case. As we were heading back to Basecamp we spotting what looked to be the start of the Lights ... so we all stayed for 15 minutes longer but they did not really develop. We all decided we would go back to Basecamp and then head back down to the Lake in about an hours time and hopefully they would be brighter. As soon as we were back in the cabins and starting to take off our gear, we got THE KNOCK. The staff offer to knock on your cabin door if the Lights appear so we all opted in for this. This was definitely the most exciting part of the trip for me as it has been one of my bucket list dreams to see the Northern Lights. It was really funny because everyone - including myself, was so excited and rushing around trying to get their kit back on so we could go down to the lake as quickly as possible. Luckily our leader told me to change the settings on my phone so that the camera would pick up the night sky and i managed to get some amazing photos that I will treasure forever.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oh Martii! Martii was our leader for the week and he was awesome. He was full of knowledge and had numerous stories to tell. He knew how to persuade us to do things we didn't even know we wanted to do. He was relaxed, friendly and worked every single day of our trip. All of the staff were really lovely, Bar Staff, Kitchen Staff and anyone else who was helping out.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I took too many clothes!! You really do only need a couple of warm base layers and everything else is provided. I ended up wearing the same few items of clothing pretty much all week. I did take my own snow boots and coat which came in handy for when we handed back our equipment but still wanted to stand out in -11°C watching the Northern Lights on the last night. We didn't need too much cash as you can pay the room bill via card. We took cash mainly to tip the staff at the end of the trip - If i had more cash on me I would've definitely tipped more as they all deserved it!