Most Inspirational Moment
Swimming with Sea lions, penguins and rays!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Extremely knowledgeable.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Don't think twice - do it!
Reviews
Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers
Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It’s the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you’re interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.
Simply use the selector below to search our trip reviews and start reading real feedback from real Exodus travellers who have ‘been there and done that’!
Lots of our clients also like to post handy tips and advice about their travels. It’s great to know what to expect on an Exodus adventure before you go, so make the most of their experience and you’ll make the most of yours!
Haven’t posted your review yet? Here’s how to do it…
Once you return from your Exodus adventure holiday, you will be emailed a link to add your review. Any feedback collected is posted onto our website, totally unedited.
Alternatively you can navigate to the relevant trip page and add your review via the Reviews tab.
Select a trip specific review:
Reviews
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
A wonderful trip with some excellent experiences.
A WEEK IN JORDAN
A fantastic trip through Jordan. Very well-paced to allow plenty of time in Petra and Wadi Rum.
Most Inspirational Moment
Hiking as a group in Petra without seeing any other tourists.
Thoughts on Group Leader
A great tour guide--professional, fun, and educational
Advice for Potential Travellers
Take this trip! Unlike others where you get a day in Petra, this trip allows for you to immerse yourself in this incredible city.
THE HIGH INCA TRAIL
A brilliant way to get away from it all at high altitude. Spectacular and diverse scenery.
Most Inspirational Moment
Reaching the top of Salkantay pass....seeing two seperate valleys dropping away, and the snow clad mountain was simply stunning.Walking along the canals at approx 3000m and stopping to soak our feet in the ice cold water.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Wilfedo could not do enough for us, he was so informative about the surrounding areas, always willing to help, and fit into our 3 person group :)
Advice for Potential Travellers
Go with an open mind, don't sweat the small stuff...don't take too much stuff, remember the horses and the porters have to carry everything up hill!!!Even if you have a hydration pack take a metal bottle as they serve as a overnight hot water bottle (it gets cold at night).Most places we visited prefered the local currency (Solis), you can pay with dollars, but you will get a poor rate of exchange)
LAKES & MOUNTAINS OF SLOVENIA
This trip was absolutely fantastic, it gives a chance to mix a walking holiday with seeing such a beautiful and relatively undiscovered part of Europe. Each day is packed with beautiful views, walking can be challenging at times but you are rewarded again and again with the scenery on offer, even the airport had pretty mountains views! For me it was a perfect combination of a group organised walking trip but with some free time mixed in.
Most Inspirational Moment
Slovenia itself - it really is the most beautiful country! I have been to many stunning countries across the world but Slovenia really surprized me, such beautiful scenery, on my doorstep really, that i knew very little about. My favourite day was when we summited Golica and you walk with one foot in Austria and one foot in Slovenia, such pretty scenery, a little tough at times but i could have sat taking in the views at the top for ever and ever. Saying that though every day was fantastic, we had a great group of people and lots of fun. Even the free day which i choose to spend sunbathing and swimming in Lake Bled, as it was over 30 degrees, which was pretty special too. The trip had everything, great walking, stunning views, some free time and a fantastic bunch of people.
Thoughts on Group Leader
We had 2 leaders, David and Micah and they were such great guys. Very knowledgeable, with a real love and pride for their country and wicked sense of humour too. They were very good judges of character and took the time to make sure everyone was looked after and really helped to make the trip as good as it was.
Advice for Potential Travellers
The food portions everywhere are huge - one of our group ordered deep fried cheese for a starter on a night out - and it came with a side serving of chips - for a starter!! Lovely soups and cakes too - good job it was a walking holiday!
TOUR DU MONT BLANC
We had a great mix of people in our group – very cosmopolitan, young and old, with an international flavour and a wide range of hiking expertise. There was a great sense of camraderie where those with greater experience helped and encouraged those with less experience. This might have frustrated those with more ‘individualistic’ attitudes but this was a group holiday after all so teamwork is important. Less experienced hikers responded well to the general positivity and grew in confidence as the week progressed. This is a physically demanding trek and enjoyment will definitely be enhanced by having a good level of basic fitness. A rustic element is part of the overall experience so be prepared for dormitary sleeping facilities for 3 nights, but this was very nicely counter-balanced by staying one night in a comfortable hotel midway through the week.
Most Inspirational Moment
There were 2 stand-out on a personal level during our trip:While all 13 members of the group successfully completed the demanding 1-week itinerary, special mention is due to the oldest member of the group, who, at 75 years of age, was an absolute inspiration to everyone, some of whom were less than half his age. Another group member whose pre-trip training was severely curtailed having been hospitalised for pneumonia 2 months before departure showed utter determination in admirably defying the odds to get up all of the most challenging ascents and just never gave up.There were coutless moments of scenic inspiration.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Graham, a top-class guide, did an excellent job. He managed the spectrum of ability in the group very skillfully so that everyone successfully completed each days' walk. He was gently engaging with everyone and did not insinuate himself socially in any excessively imposing way. He had helpful suggestions and advice on clothing options, and gave regular tips for cost-saving measures when buying foodstuffs to take with you each day. He had a great knowledge of local terrain and prevailing conditions which gave a very comforting sense of confidence to all of us. At the end of each day he did a summary of our progress with the aid of a map, and sumarised what to expect on the following days walk. All of this greatly added to our sense of enjoyment.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Don't expect luxury accomodation on route - it is adequate and appropriate to the rustic nature of what you are doing in the surroundings you are in.A good basic level of fitness is highly desirable. It is physically tough but not excessively so for those with a reasonable level of fitness. Although challenging, it is relatively short. I would consider it a good preparation for those considering longer treks of a demanding nature (such as the GR 20 in Corsica or Everest base camp).Those with a sense of sociability and teamwork will find this more rewarding than those with strongly independent, individualistic attitudes.
WALKING IN TUSCANY
We went on the ‘C’ grade week. It was a wonderful holiday amid spectacular scenery. The accommodation and food were excellent and the organisation faultless.
Most Inspirational Moment
Just sitting at the top of a mountain and seeing nothing but more mountains in every direction!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our group leader organised everything with great efficiency and nothing was too much trouble. She was friendly, helpful, very encouraging and her knowledge of the area was extremely good.
KILIMANJARO CLIMB - RONGAI ROUTE
If you are looking for a challenge, then you should definitely do this. It gives you a great sense of achievement to make the summit. It was a fantastic experience that leaves you wanting to do more.
Most Inspirational Moment
Easy - the most inspirational moment was getting to the top of Africa. That's what it was all about.A close second was saying thanks and goodbye to the guides and porters. They sang a beautiful Kilimanjaro song for us, and it was then that you realized just how many people were supporting us on this trip.... carrying bags, putting up tents, peeling spuds and most importantly, looking after the porta-loos. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Emanuel was our group leader and he was fantastic. He had the right balance of humour and professionalism. He quickly gained our trust and we knew that listening to him meant increasing our chances of getting to the top. Top marks, despite the fact that when you asked "how far?" the reply was always "don't worry, we'll make it in time for tea"...
Advice for Potential Travellers
Think positive and you'll get to the top. Keep drinking and snacking on summit day - It was easy to forget to do this and my water bottle froze. I was jealous of the camelback with insulated tubing. Even a neoprene bottle cover would have made a big difference.Hire the Exodus sleeping mats - You don't need to worry about carrying them and they looked so much more comfortable than anything you could buy.Bring a nail brush - The grey volcanic ash gets everywhere. Bring US dollars - Small and big denominations. Credit cards were only accepted at the airport. Bring more than you think as tipping the guides and porters becomes quite an emotional event and you don't want to be short when this happens. Bring walking poles x2 - Turns out that they are not just for "old" people ;) They stayed in my bag for the first 4 days, but they were a life saver when skiing the scree on the way down.
HIGHLIGHTS OF GEORGIA & ARMENIA
For both countries we had superb guides, wonderful scenery, great church locations and full bellies (the included food is tasty and in abundence even for veggies). The hotels were also all of a good standard and often better than expected. We did find ourselves a bit churched out though and some of the drives didn’t warrant the reward.
Most Inspirational Moment
Our particular highlights of the trip were; Armenia Stunning scenery and church locationsGeghard Monastery and its Armenian rock sculptures inside Sanahin with its monastery and the museum of the Mikoyan brothersGeorgiaGori's Stalin museumUplistsikhes enormous cave city Alpine regions and Mount Kazbek scenery
Thoughts on Group Leader
Both Mere (Armenia) and Elisa (Georgia) were superb ambassadors for their countries. Different styles but both equally knowledgable and looked after us well.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Go knowing that you will visit easily 20 plus churches on this trip. It did drain us toward the end.Instead of the synagogue in Yerevan, visit the Museum of Sergio Parajanov, a film maker and artist born in Georgia and living his last years in Armenia. Its full of his art and collages and gives a different insight into the two countries. We travelled in June 2012 and Georgia is under a lot of construction and renovation. Hopefully this will be more complete come 2013. It didn't adversely affect our trip, but you should know.Most of the time you arrive at your destination around midday and it can get hot. This is particularly relevant to the walk to Gergeti Holy Trinity church. I would recommend that the group take the jeeps up and down. Then ask if you can do the 4km (return) walk to a waterfall. Do not go to the Russian border it is a waste of time, there is nothing to see.
TOUR DU MONT BLANC
My first group trekking trip and it won’t be my last; infact I am already planning more adventures with Exodus! I chose this particular trip as a taster or starter to see how I coped with challenging walking. The whole trip worked out really well from flights to the walk and accomodation.
Most Inspirational Moment
Meeting the 12 others in my group who were all fantastic people! Everyone had a good chat during the trip and we all got on well with each other (I hope we can all stay in contact!). The scenery around Mont Blanc was breath taking of course and I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere back at base in Chamonix.
Thoughts on Group Leader
A real inspiration to me to see how he organised the group and kept in control. The bag packing briefing was really well done and I learnt a lot about what I didn't need on the trip. Graham was a very responsible leader heading off quickly at one stage whilst the group took lunch to make sure that a refuge was open then came back again to give us the all clear!
Advice for Potential Travellers
Take note of how little you need on the walk! Less is more but don't forget the important clothes such as waterproof trousers!
WALKING ON THE GREEK ISLANDS
For me this trip was too laid back and the "walking" short and not challenging. On the positive side the food was very good and the weather brilliant!
Most Inspirational Moment
Santorini was the highlight
Thoughts on Group Leader
Poor- she hadn't walked the trails and got lost on Naxos. Her communication skills were not good and too much was left to our memory on matters such as timing etc., Furthermore we didn't see her at all until breakfast on Day 2. We were just deposited at the hotel in Athens - there wasn't even a notice at the hotel and we had to ask check in staff at the hotel for information!
Advice for Potential Travellers
This is not like most Exodus walking holidays- the walking is no more than a stroll.
Reply from Exodus
Feedback about this trip has been very positive since we changed the grading from Leisurely/Moderate to Leisurely and we updated the trip notes accordingly. This was the first Exodus tour that Cecile led; she has subsequently led many more trips and her feedback has been very good, as can be seen in more recent reviews.