Reviews

Most amazing trip to the Isle of Serendipity

I am so glad I decided to book this tour to Sri Lanka, I had the most amazing holiday! What a beautiful, wonderful, welcoming country this is, I cannot recommend it enough. I usually travel along, but decided to join a group for the first time so I didn’t have to organise everything myself, and the trip exceeded expectations.

Exceeded all expectations

I booked this trip very last minute as the travel restrictions lifted slightly. Booking team were excellent. Jordan is a beautiful, friendly and very safe country.

Don't expect a lie in!

This trip has lots of early starts, in fact most days and long days on the road. Reasonable quality hotels are used throughout, excluding the overnight train which was basic first class. It was disappointing that the best hotels had the shortest stays. Trip content was good but often intense, sometimes it felt like too much was being crammed in, but I would argue that the time devoted to the Cairo food tour was excessive, in fact I used it to get a better look at Misra St. Maybe there is room for some rescheduling here, particularly given that the day leads up to the overnight train journey.
After the train journey, although the long days continued the intensity relaxed a bit enabling the highlights of the Valley of the Kings and Abu Simbel to be enjoyed. Although the Nile cruise was relaxing, I was not prepared for the convoy of cruise boats, although I understand that this is to enable better security for this stretch of the Nile, it does detract from ‘cruise’ element.

Excellent trip

Excellent trip. Well organised and great itinerary. The scenery was better than expected. I went in late November in off peak season and it was the right temperature and busyness. I can imagine in peak season the experience might be different – Wadi Rum has lots of cars using the same tracks as us and Petra was busy in places. The trip notes say tipping is voluntary, it’s not, it is mandatory and you will be told to pay more if you don’t give enough which can be awkward. Overall an excellent trip and one of the best I have been on.

A fantastic trip full of beauty and enjoyment

Sierra de Aitana is a beautiful part of Spain that is full of majestic hills and mountains; delicious local food and drink; charming towns and villages; and welcoming locals who will go the extra mile to make sure you have a great time. I have been hiking in many different countries and this trip stands out for me. The guide, Jose, is very friendly and approachable, and looked after the group with care and attention. He is from the area so knows it like the back of his hand. The accommodation was comfortable and set in a charming and peaceful location. I got to enjoy the sunrise over the valley from my bedroom window each morning. The food is delicious! Jose made amazing sandwiches and there was plenty of food to eat at dinner in order to fuel up for the next day’s activities. The elderly lady who does all the cooking is incredible and a sweetheart. During the rest day I got to visit a chocolate factory (my bag was a bit heavier coming back!) and the picturesque coastal towns of Villajoyosa and Altea.

Wonderful walking in Spain

Have just returned from a hugely successful trip to Sierra de Aitana and can thoroughly recommend it! The trip had all the ingredients of an Exodus holiday that will live long in the memory: a knowledgeable, organised and thoughtful guide in Jose who grew up in the area and knows the hills and mountains like the back of his hand; a charming hotel with welcoming staff and delicious home-cooked food; a beautiful and varied landscape with eye-popping scenery and, in my case, a really friendly group who were great company throughout the week. The trip was a real antidote to the onset of Winter in the UK being mild even at this time of the year. I would imagine that it is equally attractive in the Spring and Summer.

Bonhomie, gelato and beautiful towns

The trip is full of spectacular scenery. The towns in particular, Amalfi, Positano, Capri, and Ravello are lovely, and great to photograph. The walks usually have a view of the dramatic coastline, and include the Path of the Gods, worthy of a T-shirt.

The group was really friendly, which really made the holiday for a single traveller.

Great Overview of Iceland

As with all Exodus holidays – read the detailed itinerary carefully and you should not be disappointed if you choose to go. We had yet another superb Exodus guide in Kristian (I have probably mis-spelled that!) who was also the bus driver for the 16 in the group which I think is the maximum. Inevitably you spend a good deal of time on the bus but no surprises there, that’s why I stress to read the itinerary. The views are constantly excellent and Kristian would stop regular to stretch legs and admire the view. This holiday gives a good overview of the entire island. Although a good deal of the driving is on gravel roads do not expect to be taken deep into the interior where the really rough roads are that need specialised transport. Just one night in each place but all the hotels were fine with the possible exception of the one in Akureyri. Our room was adequate but some had tiny rooms with poor showers. Some of the more remote places offer very limited menus, if you like lamb and fish you’ll be okay! We had a vegan in the group who had very limited options at one place. Highlight was undoubtedly the last day when Kristian rejigged the itinerary (with our permission) so that we could trek to the Fagradalsfjall volcano, which Kristian had heard was ramping up activity. Wow! We were treated to specular displays of erupting lava and Kristian told us that in 25 years of guiding we were the first group of his to witness such a thing. Weather was mixed as you would expect in early September. Two very wet days – one with a gale – and 4 days of blue skies and flat calm, the other days being between those extremes.

Project de-stress!

Relaxing walking in a relatively undiscovered part of Portugal – beautiful coastal scenery, great food (lots of fish!), great company. Our little group was SO happy to get away post-pandemic!
The walking was highly enjoyable, and relatively undemanding for an Exodus trip – though some of the sand dunes can be good for the thighs!
The first two hotels were fine, but the Sagres place is a REAL treat – a fabulous place to end the trip. I really did not want to come home.

Very Special Holiday With Great Leader and Hotel

This holiday had all the ingredients that you could wish for, for a great holiday. Amazing olive-growing countryside; a lovely friendly hotel; wonderful food; a chatty group of other guests; and a superb, knowledgeable, caring leader.