Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

We went a day early to see Matera properly. This is an extraordinary and attractive place that has been transformed from being Italy's national disgrace in the 1960s to be named as the European City of Culture for 2019 while we were on the trip. Not to be missed.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was Michaele. He was professional, knowledgable, organised, hard working and personable while also being great fun and spontaneous at the same time. He made sure that everyone had a fantastic holiday. It's hard to imagine anyone doing the job as well as him.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The trip was a combination of interesting medieval towns and villages, great climate and a taste of of Italy far away from the usual tourist sites. The cycling was through countryside and by the coast, but not always beautiful - we understand that the route is to be 'tuned' in the near future. Some days were quite tiring but really shouldn't be a problem for anyone who has prepared for the holiday. The opportunity for a dip in the turquoise sea during October is not to be missed.

Most Inspirational Moment

Definitely the trek and the mountain scenery. It really gave you an idea of the vastness of the Himalayas and why those over 8,00 metres are referred to as "Himalayan giants".

Thoughts on Group Leader

Dilip was excellent. Experienced, knowledgeable and able to keep us together as a group. Great leadership skills. We couldn't have done it without him! His back up team on the trek were also faultless - the food on the trek was the best of the whole trip!

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are not used to camping - there is a bit of free time at camp (especially on the two short days), and it gets dark at half past five, so don't forget to take a book or some cards to keep you occupied before dinner. And it may get colder than you think!

Most Inspirational Moment

The sunrise over Puig Campana seen from our accommodation in Sella. The view from Puig Campana to Mallorca on our last day

Thoughts on Group Leader

José Miguel García Fraile went the extra mile and a half to ensure we had an excellent walking holiday. He has excellent local knowledge on walks, climbs, history, culture etc and obviously loves the area and is keen to encourage others to do the same. I was really impressed that he had done footpath clearance work and is keeping open some old routes that could fall out of use. We had poor weather forecast on one day and he found a good alternative to the advertised route, he clearly has a lot of walks up his sleeve

Advice for Potential Travellers

You need to understand that while some of the walking was on 4x4 tracks and pleasant little footpaths there was a lot of walking on steep rough ground over scree and rocks and you should come equipped with reasonably stiff mountain boots with good ankle support.You will find poles come in handy and bring bottles etc for at least 3 litres of water, it can be hot even in October. If you want to send post cards buy them and stamps that at Guadalest, the supply of stamps at Sella is not great. If you like to follow where you are going on the trip get there is an excellent 1:20000 map that covers most of what we did.

Most Inspirational Moment

The sense of history walking in the steps of travelers from centuries past, along the tracks and mountain passes. The peace and solitude in the area as there were very few other walkers around - some days we saw none.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had Jose Miguel as our leader, who lives in Sella and is passionate about the area and its history and ecology. He has lead much of the restoration of the old tracks and paths and is knowledgeable about them and their history. On the walks he was supportive and encouraging, whilst quickly able to assess individual strengths and weaknesses and make decisions as to ability to tackle the more demanding walks - just what you want from someone leading you in a mountainous area. He was pleasant and amusing, made triple-decker sandwiches to keep you going all day, and was all we could have hoped for as a leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We had warm/hot weather (October 2014) but we would suggest going fully equipped for mountain weather with good walking boots with ankle support as many of the tracks are rough and stony. The trip is graded Moderate/Challenging and this is realist - imagine a longish day in the Lake District with sunshine. Ensure you carry plenty of water - on some walks there is no opportunity to resupply and we drank 2 to 3 litres.

Most Inspirational Moment

Several: 1. The Peace Park in Hiroshima, and in particular the 'Atomic Dome'. Very moving. 2. A quite-unexpected visit to Tokyo Zoo, and time to see the giant pandas munching through loads of bamboo. 3. A garden of azaleas in full bloom - very colourful. And cherry and plum blossom. 4. Mount Fuji in all its glory, from the air on flight out of Tokyo. 5. The cleanliness, the politeness, the hi-tech toilets.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Good, though whilst he didn't lose any of us in the crowded streets and stations, etc., I felt he should have checked more often that we were all together.

Advice for Potential Travellers

1. Public conveniences are plentiful, but most did not have any means of drying hands after washing - so I recommend taking a small hand-towel for such purposes. 2. During the holiday we stayed at 3 different ryokans, which varied in standard from OK down to very, very basic. 3. Take some ear-plugs to shut out noise of snoring sleeping companions!

Most Inspirational Moment

Sunrise from the top

Advice for Potential Travellers

Only do this if you want a challenge where the satisfaction comes after the event. Judging by the comments of my group, this isn't one you'll enjoy while you're doing it. If you aren't used to sleeping in tents, I'd suggest you practice before this trip - you need to be as refreshed as possible, and that means lots of sleep.

Most Inspirational Moment

We had a small group of 10 and we soon became a great team, I think the highlight for most people was the 2000 metre climb, hard work but very rewarding.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Suresh, what a gentleman, he will go out of his way to make sure everyone is having a good time and he on call 24/7 making sure everything is in place, he even insisted I used his personal mobile phone during the two weeks after mine stopped working on the 3rd day. Fantastic Leader and very good company.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you train before hand as it is quite challenging on some days or will spend some time in the back up bus. This is the best way to see the real Sri Lanka.

Most Inspirational Moment

Climbing the pass in the middle of the second week was certainly an achievement for everyone on the trip, even the hardened cyclists.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The leader on our trip, Long Le, was fantastic and probably the best leader of the four Exodus trips I've done. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble and he was equally attentive to all in the group. His walking tours around the food markets were excellent and allowed us all an opportunity to try food we'd never get back in the UK - duck brain and tongue anyone? He was incredibly organised and efficient in checking us in and out of the hotels and getting us moving in the morning.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is a pretty full on trip with early starts almost every day. Breakfast was usually at 6am with cycling or coach journeys starting an hour later. A few of the days include quite long bus journeys, either getting to the start of the cycling or at the end to get to the hotel, so take an iPod or a book to read. There were a couple of opportunities to get laundry done so don't over pack; it's very cheap - about $1USD per kilo of washing. Just embrace everything that there is to see and do and you won't go wrong on this trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

The unscheduled bonuses. The celebration of the feast of St Cosmas and Damian in Alberobello on the first night. The town was lit up with thousands of lights, there was music from the bandstand and fireworks later. The show of traditional Puglian music and dancing at the Masseria was also wonderful. The food and the wine too!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Angelo was great. Friendly, passionate about his country and always making that extra effort to ensure we had the best time!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't go if you are watching your weight!

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing Petra was one of the highlights of my life! I had wanted to go there since I was 11 years old in junior school and saw a movie on the discovery of Petra in a history class. Exodus is one of the few companies I found to offer two full days in Petra - and both days were full on and only for the fit and active. I had no idea that the Petra Archaeological Park was so extensive as most people are really only familiar with the much-photographed Siq and the Treasury - but there is so much more! We walked and hiked and climbed all over the park for 2 days for about 8 hours a day and saw an enormous amount, mostly with a running commentary from the eloquent Danny. It was an experience etched in my mind forever.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our guide, Danny Haddad, had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the history and archaeology of Jordan, and patiently answered all our questions about the social, political, cultural, economic and environmental aspects of life in Jordan. He spent about 14 hours of each day with us, and was a great PR person for Jordan, being highly proactive in engaging us in conversation about Jordan and inviting discussion on issues of interest while on the bus travelling between stops. I have not yet come across someone more passionate about his country and more willing to help immerse a group of travellers into his culture than Danny. He was a fabulous guide and is an amazing asset to Exodus. We were extremely fortunately to have him guide our group. The trip to Jordan, and especially Petra with Danny revealing its history and archaeological wonders to us, is one of the highlights of my life.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you are fit and be prepared for high temperatures in summer - even in September when I went it was over 35 degrees centigrade in Petra. Wear hiking boots and socks when visiting the Petra Archaeological Park as there is a lot of climbing of steps which are covered in fine dust and are quite slippery on the descent. Even the flat parts are also covered in a lot of gravel which can be quite sharp. I wore hiking sandals the first day and constantly had to empty my sandals of stone and huge quantities of sand! The second day in boots with ankle support which didn't allow sand and stones to ingress was much more comfortable. A hat is essential, as are spare camera batteries if yours doesn't have a rechargeable battery. Even a spare rechargeable battery would be a bonus as you will takes masses of photos! A warning - don't change Dinars back into whatever currently at the airport on departure as the exchange rate is horrendous and I was really stung there. Rather work on about JD 200 for the week and carry some of your home currency in notes to exchange when you run out. It was easy to exchange GBP, USD or CAD via our guide.