Reviews

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

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57 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Laura Waters

Reviewed March 2024

Wild and Wonderful

A whistle stop tour through the extremes of Iceland’s landscape and weather! The itinerary is essentially waterfalls on day one, glaciers on day two and the ‘golden circle’ on day three. We had atrocious weather (lashing rain and 100mph winds) on day one so perhaps visiting three waterfalls wasn’t the best idea. They were very crowded and the weather made it impossible to really appreciate them. The glacier walk on the second day had to be abandoned due to high winds but not until after about an hour in the weather putting all the kit on and probably another hour attempting to get up the path. The northern lights are elusive and I found them disappointing – you can’t really see them with the naked eye, only through a camera lens set to the right exposure. We saw them on a separate bus tour on our last night in Reykjavik, not on the tour itself. Thankfully we had sunshine and calm for the last day. The landscape is beautiful and the food was delicious, if not all that varied. The long drives were broken up well with rest stops and road side sights.

Most Inspirational Moment

The huge icebergs in the glacial lagoon and on the nearby black sand beach. And our guide making us Icelandic gin and tonics by smashing up a piece of glacial ice from the beach with his ice pick when we were back at the hotel!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oskar was great. He organised everything well, was really informative about Icelandic history and current events, and coped with some challenging weather and driving conditions with a great sense of humour.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Allow a lot of time to transfer from/to the airport via Flybus. It doesn't go direct to hotels but involves changing at a bus terminal in Reykjavik (my flight arrived at 7.45pm and I got to the hotel at 10pm.) Make sure your waterproofs are definitely waterproof, take thermal tips and bottoms, and hats, scarves, gloves and snoods - the wind is ferocious and very chilly. You don't need cash except to tip the guide at the end of the trip. Make sure you bring an adapter and a usb a cable - my usb c didn't work in any of the usb points in the hotels or airport and charging via the adapter was slow.

Suggestions

I would fly with Icelandair not a budget airline. Exodus booked me on easyJet flights (as I didn't want to fly from London) but it made checking in and everything else so difficult that I would book my own flights in future. (easyJet don't pay for airport services online check in was pointless and had to queue through the airport desks). Make sure you have a day or two in Reykjavik before or after the tour and try to get to one of the spas or swimming pools too.

Adam Fouracre

Reviewed March 2024

First time with Exodus and wow!

Great tour guide, nice small and friendly group, great locations to explore and lucky enough to see the lights.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the lights! They were phenomenal.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Really knowledgeable, friendly, funny and chilled.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don’t delay! Want to try or do something then just do it. If it’s Iceland just remember the more layers you can get on the better! Never underestimate how cold and windy it can be. And definitely don’t forget good waterproofs! Even the top quality ones are often rubbish when it comes to waterfall spray!

Suggestions

First time solo traveling and with exodus. So pleased I got up the courage to go. First hotel could do with an update and was a little tired but other than that, cannot fault it.

sarah hodgkins

Reviewed March 2024

Iceland

Great trip. Except the information re the fly is was incorrect. You have to change at the bus terminal to get to the hotel. It doesn’t go straight to the airport as I was told prior to going.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the northern lights.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Brilliant.

Gareth B

Reviewed March 2024

The best of Iceland in 3 days

The trip crams a lot into 3 full days, but doesn’t feel rushed. There’s plenty of amazing sights to see, including stunning waterfalls, black beaches, geysers and the highlight was walking on the glacier – we had perfect weather with blue skies! The tour is well thought-out, and despite there being a fair amount of driving, it doesn’t feel like there is due to the amazing scenery and comfortable transportation (plus everywhere we went in Iceland had 4G/5G phone signal).

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't assume that you're going to see the Northern Lights, you're reliant on the weather playing ball, and it coinciding with solar activity. Unfortunately I didn't see them on this trip, however some of my fellow travellers who went out 1 day before had an amazing view - typical! I visited in mid-Feb, so there was a decent amount of daylight and darkness. Even without seeing them, it was a great trip with great people and included a wonderful landscape. Other than that, Iceland itself is pretty expensive, so factor that into your budgeting.

Kara Brown

Reviewed February 2024

Don’t just go to see the Northern Lights.

Despite some clear skies the solar activity was low so we did not managed to see the Northern Lights on our tour in Feb 2024. Despite this there is lots packed into this short tour including seeing the sights of the so called Golden Circle (Gullfoss Waterfall; Geysir & Pingvellir) as well as the stunning glacier lagoon and black sand beaches. The highlight however was the walk on the glacier. The weather was perfect so we also managed to get into the ice cave.

Most Inspirational Moment

One truly unique sight on this tour was on the first morning, as we were leaving Reykjavik, the latest volcanic eruption had just started on the Reykjanes peninsula, so our guide took us to a vantage point on the outskirts of Reykjavik so we got a view of it ! Of the scheduled items on the itinerary the glacier walk was the highlight!

Thoughts on Group Leader

David was excellent. As well as doing all the driving he provided lots of insight into the Icelandic culture and commentary on the unique features of this amazing country. He went out of his way to show us the volcanic eruption on the first day of the tour as well as making sure we still fitted in everything on the scheduled itinerary!

Advice for Potential Travellers

I would say don’t go on this tour if your only reason is to see the Northern Lights. It is a natural phenomenon and can be quite difficult to see. However do go if you want to see all the other things on the itinerary. For me I would say that the glacier walk was the highlight.

Suggestions

Go for it !

Carol Fagg

Reviewed February 2024

Trip name is a misnomer

Had a brilliant holiday, saw so much, but the trip title is a misnomer.
Not sure what the odds are of seeing the northern lights in 4 nights, but unlikely to be more than 50:50

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking on a glacier

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very good

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go expecting to see lots, - but not necessarily the Northern lights. If you get them it's a bonus.

Nelly Walton

Reviewed February 2023

Feb 2023

Blizzard bombs, waterfalls and geological features

Most Inspirational Moment

The Glacial Walking was amazing. Such a brilliantt experience being able to walk on blue ice! The Blue Lagoon was also the highlight, though not included on the tour.It was snowy conditions and blizzard bombs, so white out's on the roads, and hit in the face with sleet in the lagoon. Some people wore bobble hats, but I kept putting my head under the water to warm up! the silica is not good for your hair though. We saw the Northern Lights from Lake in the East, but they were not green nor coloured, just very weak like whisky white clouds - it showed green on some people's phones and cameras. So a disappointment really.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Spot on. He was tops, knew in-depth interesting information about his country and was fun, energetic and charismatic. A great tour guide.

Advice for Potential Travellers

February is a dicey month to go. We landed after three attempts, the landings were a touch and go attempt and re-take off - given he incredibly strong blizzards, on arrival. The air stewardess said the previous week the aircraft doors could not be opened for 10 hours due to the winds, so something to bear in mind when you choose to go. It is amazing, but I was left disappointed to be honest. It's a lot of money for a bus tour manly of waterfalls. I asked the leader if it was possible to remove one of the three waterfalls and replace it with the Lava tunnels - to give more variety and he agreed it would be possible. So this is my suggestion.

Suggestions

Overall, weighing up the benefits of doing a tour or our own car rental was why we did the tour. It was much better to have an educated and interesting guide to see many different geological wonders and learn immense detail about the country, which we would not have had doing our own travels. It was more of a holiday having someone else driving too and changing locations.

Sally Ward

Reviewed February 2023

Northern Highlights

You certainly pack a lot into this 5 day trip which delivered despite the ever changing winter weather. Our guide Oskar as flexible with the itinerary which meant that we were able to get the most out of each day. The highlight was the glacier walk and we even got a glimpse of the northern lights one night.

Jon Russell

Reviewed March 2022

Northern Lights

A great trip to a fascinating country. The highlight was seeing the Northern lights outside the Hotel Laki (and briefly back in Reykjavik). The weather meant that there was clear skies and sunshine, so the views with the snow were excellent. (Which was a good job as there are some long road journeys).

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the Northern lights.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jon was great, knew what he was doing, had an encyclopaedic knowledge of his country, and his Icelandic folk stories never ended!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Dont take any cash - Iceland is pretty much cashless now (and expensive). Do take lots of layers - it was minus 17 at Thingvellir after sunset. Be prepared to be in the vehicle quite a lot. Do go to the Blue lagoon on the way to the airport. Most flights are afternoon which gives time. (The taxi from Blue lagoon to Keflavik was 9000 kr, which we shared with someone else. There is a phone with direct line to a taxi firm in the blue lagoon) Consider adding a day or two in Reykjavik before or after the trip.

Suggestions

1. The glacier walk is described as "We head to Svinafellsjokull...where we go for a short walk.". What it doesn't say is that there is more than an hour's walk to & from the glacier...making this a 3-4 hour trek!! My wife and a fellow traveller found it too much and I accompanied them back - spoiling one of the highlights of the trip. 2. The preparation for the glacier walk (crampons, helmets etc) could be done in the warmth of the hotel, not standing still in a cold car park for 45 minutes. 3. The drive back on "day 4" is about 5 hours - meaning the visits to Gulfoss, Geyser and Thingvellir are far too rushed. These are the major reasons people come to Iceland and do not need to be rushed. (By the time we got to Thingvellir it was after sunset, so the temperature meant no-one wanted to stand outside for long listening to the guide). Doing this first on the first day with the long drive at the end of the day would have been better. 4. The trip notes also mention a refund on the Flybus return ticket if it is not used. This is great as some people want to visit the Blue lagoon on the way to the airport. However the guide was un-aware of this and had to spend ages wandering round Reykjavik finding an ATM to give people refunds. (Giving an option for a one way Flybus ticket when booking would help).

Stuart Picton

Reviewed February 2022