Reviews

Cycling the Cape and Winelands

This was an excellent tour taking in breathtaking views, lovely scenery, hills and valleys, wine and beer-tasting, varied accommodation, ocean-swimming, penguin and whale-watching, history, geography, nature studies and excellent food at exceptionally low cost.

Walking in Andalucia

I really enjoyed this, my first walking holiday in quite a while. It was very well planned, starting with a short amble to the nearby village and building up to a longer, slightly more challenging route later in the week. None of the walking was particularly arduous, although there are some hills – including the short steep one up to the finca where we stayed – but our leader Alexis always made sure we were all happy with the pace, which was leisurely, and we took frequent rests to admire the countryside. The area is very peaceful and unspoilt, and the days when we were taken further afield and into the mountains in the minibus gave us a chance to see more of it. The day in Seville was a good contrast to the rural walks, and there is a lot to see there. The beautiful Alcazar is pretty unmissable if people haven’t seen it before. At the finca the accommodation was comfortable and nothing was too much trouble for the staff; the owners came to say hello and were also charming and helpful. The food was good and plentiful too. Having wondered beforehand how I would cope after a long break from walking, I had a really great week, and am now planning my next week away.

Atlas Panorama

This holiday is a good combination of the hustle and bustle of Marrakech and the peace and tranquility of the High Atlas Mountains.

We did so much!!!

A fabulous introduction to Vietnam. I feel blessed to have been!

Vietnam Adventure

We were getting together as a family on this trip and it proved perfect – a really great group of people of all ages, and such a wide range of activities and visits. We really enjoyed cookery school and street food, we loved meeting the very friendly people, and appreciated starting to understand the complex history of the country and seeing its dynamic growth now. The traffic is a nightmare, we kept getting lost in Hanoi and the language baffled us, but the country is fascinating.

Annapurna Sanctuary

Publicised as one of Nepal’s best and i imagine that few could beat it for the range of experiences on offer. The daybreak on the top of Poon Hill was fantastic. Although don’t go there to be alone! Walking up the valley of the Modi Khola was hard work due to the numerous stone staircases – hundreds of steps down a side valley followed by more steps to go back to the same elevation. The situation of ABC in the Sanctuary is very special indeed.

Highlights of Turkey

Absolutely the worst tour I have experienced in many years of travel. But the major bone of contention lies squarely on the unprofessionalism exhibited by our tour director, Zafer.
Destinations were interesting as Turkey is a fascinating country with ancient sites I consider as jewels. Overall, too many hours were spent on the bus as distances between highlights are vast. However little foresight by the tour guide exacerbated the situation. Toilet stops were infrequent; too long spend in food service centres; most days were conducted in a helter-skelter atmosphere causing some major highlights to be rushed or missed entirely. Hotels mostly were below standard/basic; some should be condemned.

Most Inspirational Moment

Cappodocia and the ancient sites

Thoughts on Group Leader

Whilst Zafer's knowledge of archaeology and general energy probably got him this job, his attitude lacked skill, responsibility and competence in caring for his group . He openly displayed an unbalanced and unprofessional approach towards a tour group of 17 persons....98% of effort directed on a romantic interest, whilst everyone else scrambled to gather crumbs. During the last 10 days, I felt we were an annoying nuisance tagging along on a honeymoon. It was absolutely pathetic watching exclusive "selfies" being taken, quite alienated from the group.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't use Exodus tours as they obviously do not instruct tour guides to behave in a professional manner, to remain unbiased, and to be discreet. They also obviously lack training in skills of crowd management. There also appears no protocols are in place when dealing with medical situations, as we experienced with one guest who required hospital attention. Exodus is also far too expensive as hotels are woeful and well below expectations.

Reply from Exodus

We were very sorry to learn that Helene was so disappointed with her tour leader. On the back of client feedback our local manager will be providing Zafer with further training before he leads any other Exodus tours. We would like to assure our clients that we are confident that the vast majority of our leaders are very popular and we regularly receive fantastic comments from clients about the value their tour leader has added to their enjoyment of their trip. Of clients who completed their holiday evaluation forms last year, 93% of our travellers said our leaders met or exceeded their expectations and in the online reviews posted by clients who have travelled with us all over the world, there are numerous commendations for their tour leaders which we feel is reassuring, but we sincerely regret that Helene’s experience in Turkey was not as positive.

Carpathians Walking & Bears holiday

All excellent: accommodation, food, hosts, itinerary and weather.

Cycle Nicaragua, Costa Rica & Panama

The guides are fantastic, the wildlife too,
It’s like riding along in a giant zoo,
You see toucans and sloths from your perch in the saddle
Iguanas and crocs when you go for a paddle

Some days you’ll be filthy and covered in sweat
Sat on a bus next to folks you just met
But you’ll still have a ball every day of this ride
These beautiful lands make you smile inside.

Ok, sorry about the atrocious poetry, I blame it on too much sunshine and cycling….it’s a brilliant trip and we’ve written a few tips to help you enjoy it as much as we did….

Walking in Mallorca

I thoroughly enjoyed this tour. I had only chosen it as the dates fitted in with subsequent travel in Spain and Morocco. I knew little about Mallorca apart from the trip notes but was keen to do some hiking. We had a really cohesive group which definitely helped with enjoyment each day. Although I had 3 weeks of further travel after this hike, I could have easily returned to Australia after the 8 days totally satisfied. I would highly recommend this trip!