Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The desert in Wadi Rum.Stopping for a tea break along "The Jordanian Grand Canyon" and having our first Bedouin Whisky Party as Danny called it.  FLoating in the Dead Sea.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was just brilliant, extremly knowlegable, very professional also very well-organized, Danny have made our tour so special with his skills, his art or presentation of the subjects, he also looked after us very well & we felt so safe with him and most of the time made us feel very special, I was also surprised how Danny acted very professionally toward some of the ladies in our group that were keen on him, well, I also thought that Danny was a charming person & in my opinion he is number one middle east, in which, he did not like to be called that way, truly fantastic person.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just do it, you will never regret it.

Suggestions

I cannot recommend this holiday enough - its a perfect adventure. Fascinating, exciting and yet safe and secure.

Most Inspirational Moment

None in particular but the - Alpine meadows were fab and the Mont Blanc mountain range is very impressive

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver, Dylan and Elaine are great hosts !

Advice for Potential Travellers

Enjoy

Most Inspirational Moment

The walk above Le Tour  with stunning views back to Mont Blanc

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver knows his mountains, his routes, his mountain flowers. He was great at settting a group pace to suit all and to walk within the comfort zone of all   at the same time enabling fun for others. A newish memebr of his team ,Dylan, his 11month old puppy became part of the group. All his breifings and  stories were punctuated by a stream of  jokes and puns but he also took all our safety very seriously.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be reasonably fit so as to enjoy. Bring hat and suncream! Accept life in smallish chalet can be a bit cramped and remeber it is Oliver and Elaine's home.. All days start with breakfast at 7.20 so be prepared!

Suggestions

If you want gently challenging walking within sight of the high Alps and meeting a group of new people it  would be hard to beat this trip

Most Inspirational Moment

we arrived at Lake Titicaca in the afternoon where we caught a small boat to Amantani island.Our local hosts were waiting at the pier to meet us so they could carry our luggage up the steep hill, my family made up of elderly parents , mother and father and 3 years old son Anthony. They had a small house and garden where they grew potatos and corn, a few sheep with a baby lamb who needed bottle fed as it had lost its mother and a toilet in the garden .  we were invited into thier kitchen where the women of the house were cooking our meal of veg. soup and veg stew with rice over the wood burning fire. after dinner we got dressed up in traditional dress and enjoyed a night of dancing and music. after a good nights sleep in our warm beds dressed with lots of heavy blankets , we watched the locals go about thier work , picking up water from the well in the garden, taking  their sheep to graze. it was all so peaceful and the local people were happy with life. granddad was picking flowers from the tree in the morning and before we left they presented us with a garland of flowers for around our neck, they were such lovely people who had little but gave us much.

Thoughts on Group Leader

fabrizzio was our tour leader , he was amazing, he was such a kind and caring person who took the stress out of traveling, he was always asking if we were ok and took us to the most amazing restaurants. he was so passionate about his job and his people, we stopped in the country a number of times to see some ruins or to do some shopping and the locals seemed to bond with him and love him, the old saying "NEVER  FORGET WHERE YOU CAME FROM' came to mind, cause to us a few pence or a orange didnt amount to much but to them it was a treat, we all have so much , which we take for granted but there are millions out there who have so little and he was one of these people who sees that.

Advice for Potential Travellers

when traveling its like life if you treat people the way you would like to be treated yourself , you can get so much more out of your trip, its not the places you go its the people you meet when you are there. we had 18 people on our trip but not all 18 saw the real Peru. try new things , eat adventurously, try the guinea pig, alpacha, chicha,tamales and Pisco sours and you will not be disapointed,

Suggestions

The scenery in Peru is mind blowing, everywhere you look its a picture postcard, take enough memory cards , there is wifi in all hotels so you can update your facebook and make your friends jealous. you can wash clothes in cuzco so you can pack for 7 days. in  Arequipa go to visit Juanita the ice mummy, and interact with the locals whenever possible, bring some candies and pens, pencils to the kids. when you go to Amantani island bring some supplies for the family, fruits, sugar, rice or any extra clothes you dont want to bring home, i gave the lady my tube of soap for washing clothes and she thought it was a nice handcream ,she was very happy when i found some in my bag. But most of all enjoy the experience and reflect on how lucky you are in life.

Most Inspirational Moment

There is something truly awe-inspiring seeing the terracotta warriors from close range, the pandas were just adorable particularly the mother with 4 active and playful youngsters, the scenery in Yangshou takes your breath away and then of course the Great Wall.  Unfortunately we did the latter in miserable weather which meant that the hoped for grand view was invisible.  The Hanging Monastery near Datong was well-worth the additional cost. What I also greatly enjoyed was the two meals we shared with local people - very simple cooking but so tasty.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jerry is very knowledgeable and was keen to do all he could to make the trip memorable.  With a very mixed group of people with different wishes it wasn't always easy to please everyone.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I don't eat meat and found it very difficult in the first half of holiday.  Our leader had been advised that I am a vegetarian so only presented simple vegetable dishes.  If like me you eat fish make this known before you go as Chinese generally classify fish as meat which leads to confusion.Everything on the Yangtze cruise is really expensive so keep your shopping and beauty treatments for either Yangshou or Shanghai - there is plenty of choice. There is a lot of carrying of luggage in railway stations so ensure you can carry your bag and take plenty of reading material for those long train journeys. 

Suggestions

Go with the flow.Be prepared to be waiting in railway stations long before departure time - they operate in a way similar to airports, meals arrive in stages usually with the rice at the end!, if you drink tea take some tea bags - it may sound like coals to Newcastle but black tea bags are really difficult to come by and all hotel rooms and trains have facilities for making drinks. 

Most Inspirational Moment

The Cippolino marble and columns quarry.

Thoughts on Group Leader

As above.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The only drawback was being told by the BA desk at terminal 5 that we should have checked in online. After much to-ing and fro-ing we were told we could have the last two seats on the outward flight, despite having turned up two and a half hours before takeoff. The joining instructions only say that electronic check-in is optional.

Most Inspirational Moment

Just the sheer scale of the wall and its setting in extraordinary scenery.  It was great to be able to dip in and out of the group - to be on your own to soak in the experience and the view and then to connect and share with others.  We had a great mix of people, maybe we were lucky but I prefer to see it as a tribute to Exodus's marketing.  The group really bonded - previous experience of group trips suggests this makes all the difference.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jerry - can't praise him enough.  He was knowledgeable and free with his insight and always went the extra mile to make sure we were all happy, even giving up his own free time to arrange extras for us.  Perhaps the greatest compliment I can give him is that everything seemed to go very smoothly (except when the driver lost his way!), and I'm sure a lot of work had to go in to make it seem so.  He also kept a weather eye open for our safety, which was needed given the sometimes almost treacherous nature of the terrain.

Advice for Potential Travellers

There's some steep slopes and iffy sections of the wall to be hiked, don't contemplate if you have dodgy knees or if you aren't at least reasonably fit.The food throughout was excellent - better probably in the rural areas where it was freshly cooked and delicious.  No one on our trip suffered from tummy troubles - to my knowledge anyway!  That said, if you are a coffee drinker some sachets may be a good idea.   

Suggestions

The Trip Notes could do with revising.I was expecting the acrobatic show in Beijing to be a tourist trap - it is, but it was amazing! 

Most Inspirational Moment

Finishing the cycling on the last day - up the hill - great achievment and amazing scenery

Thoughts on Group Leader

Group Leader was fantastic - knowledgeable, friendly, responsible and good fun. very patient, nothing was too much trouble

Advice for Potential Travellers

- Take plenty of sunscreen, insect repellent and tolietries. Things are hard to come by. Take plenty of cash - cash points work but can be difficult and plenty of the places are remote. - Take a padded seat cover to put over your seat

Most Inspirational Moment

The first view of Bryce Canyon did it for me-magic! But also Yosemite, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley and just about everywhere else on the trip was pretty special. Not forgetting the mini stops-Rachel, Nevada on the ET highway, near Area 51-prepare to be abducted, and Seligman, a little tourist town giving us kicks on the legendary, now defunct Route 66.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had 2 leaders on this trip-Jeannie and Whitney. Both were excellent company and lots of fun on their first trip as co-leaders. Did I mention well organised too? Ladies-well done, (and you never again need to be shocked by the amount of beer a bus full of Brits can get through.).

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do this trip. Long days driving, living in tents, shopping and cooking for the group, and ridiculously early mornings are more than compensated for by the scenery. The parks are beautiful, well maintained and litter free. Las Vegas at the end of the trip provides a wake up call and reminds you of the other side of America. Tacky in the extreme, and an amazing contrast.The only grumble  we have was the optional trip to Monument Valley. This was offered as "everybody does it or nobody" which puts unfair pressure on those travellers on a budget. The food and "entertainment" provided by the Navajo was nowhere near good enough. Exodus should do this extra as a drive through Monument Valley, and cut out the rest-the scenery was great but not worth an extra $100. As an extra thought, why not extend your benefitting local communities policy to the Navajo-they could do with some help in making this more enjoyable and professional, and they don't seem to get it from their government.Grumble over-loved the trip.

Suggestions

Br prepared to get stuck in to camp life to get the most from the trip. The trip notes say you are expected to shop/cook/clean so don't expect not to. Be prepared for some brilliant walks in beautiful places, but not all day every day. You can always opt in/out of any walks recommended by the leaders, who do not always walk with the group. We found having the autonomy to choose a good thing , as it allowed us to go where we wanted at our own pace.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the bears in the sanctuary was incredible, the stories of their rescue and how they are now thriving was very moving.  However seeing wild bears was also amazing.In addition the beautiful Carpathian landscape especially when high up in the sheep pastures and pine forests was lovely.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Cosmin Dan was excellent, very knowledgeable, very patient and looked after us very well.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You don't need much extra spending money on this trip, the bear hide and the visit to Bran and Brasov allow some opportunity and you can spend money at the guesthouse on excellent local beers and wines, but generally everything is provided.  Good waterproofs (essential for the week we were there) and perhaps boot cleaning kit is a good idea.

Suggestions

I really liked this trip, and Romania.  I would certainly consider returning, even repeating the same holiday again some time.