Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Desert night at Wadi Rum. It was so amazing to pull out the beds and sleep under the stars.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was okay. I felt like we never knew what was going on it was always a surprise. It made it difficult to plan ahead and be prepared. There were a few times when I didn't pack correctly for the day because he never took the time to explain some of the small things. For example, our day at Petra. It was really hot so I didn't want to carry my backpack, so I used a spybelt and my pockets and carabiners to carry water, sunscreen and money. He had told us we'd be doing lots of walking so I made sure to wear the right shoes. However as we are unloading from the bus he hands us a bag which contains our lunch in it. He says to hide it when we go through security - well I didn't have a backpack to put it in! I wasn't the only one who didn't bring a backpack because we didn't know we were going to be carrying stuff. We made it in okay but then I spent the first 3 hours of my day carrying a plastic bag full of stuff and my sandwhich spend many hours in the sun before I tried to eat it. It is a small thing forsure, but his heads up the night before about the fact that we should bring a backpack because we would be carrying our lunch and would need to hid it would have gone a long way to make my day more comfortable. This is just one example of many days where similair things happened. There were other times when the water bottle was empty or he stored it somewhere in the hotel but didn't tell us where so I'd end up having to buy bottled water anyway. He told us that he is not the usual guide for this trip and had only guided 1 cycling trip before. I wonder how different my experience might have been with an experienced cycling guide. My friend who had done this same trip last year suggested that we ask the guide to organize Shisha for us for our night in the desert, which his guide had done for them. It sounded like a great experience to be under the stars, listening to bedoin music, drinking sweet tea and smoking shisha. I talked it up to a few people in the group and we were all excited for this opportunity. So I asked our guide if he could help us organize this and he said "we'll see". Needless to say, the desert night came and went and he never got us anything. Not only that but he didn't bother to tell me that he wasn't able to organize it. Communication was lacking with him. Perhaps if I had known he wasn't going to put in the effort, some of us could have maybe tried ourselves to organize it. I do feel like I missed out that night because I had gotten so excited about it and he let me down. Overall you could clearly tell he was knowledgable and passionate about Jordan and its history. I just felt he lacked good communication and going the extra mile for us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

There are no panier bags! So bring a bum bag.

Suggestions

Great trip overall! Thank you.

Most Inspirational Moment

To me there were a few inspirational moments on the tour. The mosaics and the whole interior of the “Church of the Map”at Madaba was very inspirational. Again,Petra and camping out in Wadi Rum was quite inspirational.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our tour leader Ab (Abdullah ) was excellent. He was always pleasant,had plenty of patience and hard working.

Advice for Potential Travellers

In winter months you need clothes for all types of weather. When walking to the water at the Dead Sea,I would recommend wearing sandals or some sort of rubber shoes because the layers of salt are quite sharp underfoot.

Suggestions

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour from start to finish. We had an excellent tour leader, bus driver and cycling guides. Whenever we were cycling we had a tourist police escort. The police were also quite friendly. We had more lunches than was advertised in the trip notes. Ab kept on feeding us with snacks. Beside the cycling, the tour was quite varied. There was a lot of walking, some quite strenuous at Petra,whilst it was quite relaxing at Aqaba..

Most Inspirational Moment

Cycling throughout Jordan was incredible. The views were spectacular, the cultural side of being able to see the Jordanians way of life and how they live was great.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader was a real let down and really ruined the trip for many of us. As someone with such an important role on a trip such as this you can really make or break it. He had obviously done this several times and seemed rather disinterested and unexcited, not giving much more than was necessary and didn't go out of his way at all. He rushed when there wasn't need to and took more time when wasn't necessary. We would be all standing waiting to cycle and he was either having a coffee chatting to his friends or having a smoke - a real annoyance. He didn't cater for any dietary requirements and the lunches that we received for shocking in comparison to the amount that we paid for meals.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are wanting to exercise and travel this is a good way to do it, we cycled and walked a lot. You meet extremely interesting people and learn a lot about yourself.

Most Inspirational Moment

Petra

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was friendly for much of the trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Avoid Aqaba if you can.

Suggestions

If it rains, the tour leader should have a plan B. This part of the Red See is definitely not one of the best diving sites in the world.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were many-floating in the Dead Sea, seeing the Treasury in Petra, snorkelling in the Red Sea, riding a camel in Wadi Rum. Every day had a highlight.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I have been on many Exodus trips and all the local group leaders have been excellent but Eddie in Jordan was outstanding! His organisation was faultless and he spent a lot of time informing us about Jordanian history and culture. It was also a pleasure to meet his wife at our farewell dinner. FIras ,who was our cycling leader, was also outstanding . He was very safety conscious, honest about the route ahead and very encouraging to the less able cyclists. We also had a Tourist Policeman with us all week and whenever we were cycling we had a police escort!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just bear in mind that cycling is not a major part of the trip but , if you want to see the best of Jordan, then this is the trip for you. A reasonable degree of fitness is needed for the cycling as there a few challenging hills.

Suggestions

This trip exceeded my expectations and I’m now an expert on Jordanian culture!!

Most Inspirational Moment

Meeting Mefle the last remaining inhabitant of Petra

Thoughts on Group Leader

Eddie was very knowledgeable and great fun too

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing Petra Treasury for the first time. Floating in the Dead Sea Walking on Mount Nebo

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Very passionate about sharing his love of Jordan.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a mix of clothing layers.

Most Inspirational Moment

2 days exploring Petra and a night in wadi rum. We cannot separate the 2 into a single moment. Floating in the Dead Sea and swimming in the Red Sea. Sleeping in the Red desert. !!!!

Thoughts on Group Leader

He quite simply, made the trip due to his knowledge of the locations, his historical knowhow and enthusiasm in providing it, to engage our interest. He is a real asset to exodus.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don’t be put off by concerns about Jordan as we felt safe under the guidance of our leader and the onboard tourist policeman. Weather can be a problem as there were unusual rain falls while we were there but that is not usual. Hotels were a little less quality than we expected (having experienced 4 or 5 star hotels when we did Vietnam trip with Exodus) but comfortable. But that is a personal opinion and others were happy enough. Overall, don’t be put off. This is a special trip due to the locations visited and cycling is a great way to combine them with adventure and hiking around Petra.

Suggestions

Just do it as Nike might say. You will not be disappointed.

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking Petra.... it was everything I expected and more. We walked from our hotel to the monastery and the viewing point behind it. It's a long walk but definitely worth it. I think the monastery was my favourite as the treasury building can be very busy with people, camels, donkeys and someone trying to sell you something or other !

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our guide was Sami. His mum was ill and I'm sure he was distracted by this. He didn't engage with us and I felt we were working to his time schedule. His food choices were expensive relative to the A la carte options in the same restaurants. There were some minor clashes with the group too. Overall he was satisfactory as we completed our trip successfully.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I found it very hot in June ... so bring an umbrella, it creates great shade when you are walking a site like Petra. Cycling sleeves are great for protection from the sun when cycling. Jordan is expensive - it's European prices .... so be prepared to pay 7-8€ for a beer. Our bank cards didn't work in all cash machines, so pre order currency at home before you arrive.

Most Inspirational Moment

Tough to pick one out. Walking down a Roman High street, floating in the Dead Sea, snorkelling in the Red Sea, the religious sites, Petra, staying in the desert, camel rides, they are all great!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent. Had everything sorted. Great attention to detail to ensure that all our needs and wishes were met. Put in a great deal of effort to arrange the activites for us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I didn't need my bicycle repair kit at all as, had my bike broken, the team have everything sorted. The bikes were flat bar Trek bikes, tyres must have been about 35mm wide, brand new. I've got lots of bikes of my own and I am glad I didn't take one as the ones provided were perfectly adequate to the job in hand. Same for pedals/saddle. Ensure you take a decent sun hat, sun screen and good shoes. To get the most from the Petra days there is lots of walking and you will spend a long time outside with the sun bouncing off the rocks! There was a lot of food and snacks! I found there to be absolutely no need for energy gels etc during the cycling.

Suggestions

Yes. Do it!