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Although the trip notes said hiking on clearly defined trails, I found this not to be the case – much of the time there was no visible trail and we were bush whacking through leech infested mud. At one point, stopping for a short pee break I became separated from the group and became lost. Despite shouting loudly and blowing my whistle it was a few nerve racking minutes before I was able to find the group. Once again the lack of any clearly defined path made the situation worse. We experienced heavy rain every day while trekking through the Western Ghats, which made the leech situation horrendous, everyone suffered multiple bits on their torso. The provided leech socks were effective around lower legs and ankles, but were bulky and made hiking shoes far too tight – black toe nails etc. Given the condition of the walking conditions, which were treacherous and slippery, I feel we should have been accompanied by a second guide to deal with any emergency situations and perhaps to prevent trekkers from becoming separated and lost. Our leader, Santosh Kumar, was excellent in trying to address our concerns and varied the last scheduled day of trekking to avoid any further leech encounters or injuries. He also ensured that given the weather conditions we made camp in the higher ground rather than the planned site which was waterlogged. The food whilst camping was exceptional – probably the best Indian food I’ve ever eaten. All the other aspects of the trip were very good and enjoyable.
I've always wanted to visit the Kerala Backwaters and our short time there met and exceeded my expectations of this part of the trip.
I've already mentioned Santosh - he was informative, caring, had great organisational skills and was all-round first class.
Make sure to avoid the earliest trips in the season, take good wet weather gear and roomy hiking boots.
This was our first exodus trip and exceeded our expectations in every way. From the first contact I had with Exodus over the phone, I was impressed by how efficient and helpful the travel advisor Robyn was, she answered all of my queries and was accommodating when we needed to change our travel dates after paying the deposit. The subsequent contacts with Exodus were helpful and informative and the trip notes answered all questions we had when preparing for our trip. Sara Bull our guide was amazing, she is so enthusiastic about the area and managed to perfectly balance being supportive of everyone’s abilities and confidence levels, while still challenging the group. Our group gelled well and walks and meals together were enjoyable and fun. Sara never pressured any member of the group to walk faster than they were comfortable with, and paced the walks perfectly to keep energy levels up. The walking was hard at times, but was definitely worth it for some amazing views at the top. We loved having the company of Sara’s dog Elvis, and the dogs and cats around Braccicorti added to the family style feel of the accommodation. We feel so lucky to have had a fantastic guide, and such an enjoyable first trip with Exodus. Our only concern is that our future trip expectations are now very high!
Being at the top of Monte Prado! The highest mountain I've ever climbed.
Fab, Sara is a very inspirational leader and has an infectious energy and zest, even if she does seem superhuman at times. I found Sara really warm and open about her life, family and experiences which made the trip more personal. She had a real confidence in leading the walks, which you are constantly aware of in the background, this enables you to fully relax into the pace and not have any worries about how fast you should be walking, distance travelled, getting lost, unpredictable conditions etc. I would have been intimidated to try mountain trails without a guide prior to this trip, but I now feel confident that I could follow the walking routes and am capable of the activity level.
Book this trip! There is a reason that it has been running for 20 years!
We visited lovely towns and stayed in nice hotels and ate good food! Having been to this area before it was as expected and lovely to see again. I’d never been on a walking holidays and last time in Puglia I toured by bike. Whilst some of the walks were lovely, past aged olive trees etc, others were pretty ordinary. The guide was great and passionate about his local area. The group was ok and as usual you just avoid the naysayers. Being a cycle tourist an evening walk is usually a nice change. It only struck me on the holiday that on a walking holiday you walk during the day and then in the evening………….go for a walk!! Certainly recommend Puglia but not sure about the walking?
It’s difficult to give an average rating for this trip as most of it was excellent, especially the food and the enthusiasm of the tour leader, Santos. However, I have serious concerns about the trekking/camping element. 1. We were on the 29 October departure, which I think is too early in the season for trekking in this area. We had heavy rain most days. Leeches were a big problem (everyone got bites) and the provided leech socks were too bulky to fit comfortably inside footwear. We ended up with very sore feet and will definitely lose a few toenails. Having the team leader take out leech pincers with a penknife was not a highlight! 2. The trekking guide’s English was not good. Only one guide was provided (the tour leader did not join us on the trekking) and at one point my husband got left behind and his absence was not noticed. Contrary to the trip notes, the walk on Day 3 was not on paths – the guide simply tried to find a route through the forest. This was not safe and everyone had a fall. It was lucky that no-one was seriously injured.
Cruising on the backwaters.
Excellent - he was happy to share his knowledge of India.
Do not go in early November.
We’d like to thank you for your review, Amanda, and we are heartened to receive your comments about your tour leader, Santos, which have been passed on. On the other hand, we take our customers’ welfare extremely seriously, so we were particularly concerned to learn about the times during your trip that you felt this was compromised. We generally find that departures at this time of year run smoothly, but we are aware that your trip was impacted by unforeseen heavy rainfall, which created problems with leeches. Whilst this is of course outside our control, we would have hoped that the clothing provided by our local team would be effective in repelling such parasites, so we were regretful to read that this was not the case. We are wary that a lengthier monsoon season could become commonplace so, going forward, we will not be offering departures in October and will instead add further trips in the spring. We were also concerned to discover that your day 3 walk did not take place on the designated path, but on an alternative route through the forest. We expect our leaders to generally stick to the standard route, but we trust their topographic and geographic knowledge to make changes to a walk if there is a valid reason to do so. We are assured that the deviation you took was a known part of the trail and was deemed safer than the regular path as it had better grip underfoot after heavy rain, although we acknowledge that several members of your group suffered falls on this day, which must have been worrying. We will use your helpful feedback during future reviews of this tour, and we do hope that the issues you faced in India do not discourage you from travelling with Exodus in the future.
– Sarah Puttnam, Product Manager
Excellent trip. We saw so much of the island.
Reaching the top of the highest mountain in Madeira above the clouds and swimming in the natural pools at Porto Moniz.
The group leader was excellent - very enthusiastic about his homeland and very knowledgeable. Very considerate of all members of the group and various abilities. He did tend to repeat himself a little though.
Be mindful that there are quite a few very high paths - albeit mostly with handrails - definitely think twice about this trip if you are not great with heights! Some of the walks were quite challenging.
This was a very varied trip with cities and temples, mountains with tea plantations and wildlife walks, a very relaxing time on the Kerela Backwaters and the beach.
The peace and tranquillity of the Kerela Backwaters and the whole houseboat experience.
Biju was amazing, he was very informative and conscientious, always there and nothing was too much trouble. He virtually ran 2 tours, when one member couldn't cope with the planned programme, but the experience of the main group didn't suffer at all.
Try to be realistic in assessing your ability to cope with itinerary. (The notes were clear enough but, as stated above not everyone was capable of doing everything.)
Taj Mahal at sunrise and visiting Varanasi We did a cooking class which was a highlight and just the people and the buzz of being in India.
Excellent leader giving us options and making sure we saw as much as possible in the 9 days
I flew to Goa at the end of my trip for 5 days to have some chill time, it was great to reflect on such a wonderful exodus trip!
Cuba has the most beautiful scenic mountains, forests, beaches, lowlands, and wildlife. The roads are pretty awful in Cuba, but our driver did a great job of navigating the potholes. Cuba’s towns and cities are a beautiful example of people who have the least being happy to share what little they have. The locals were all friendly, generous, and welcoming, not to mention happy to put up with me murdering the Spanish language in an attempt to communicate. Trinidad is party central! Every night of the week, bars and clubs have excellent live bands, and so many amazing dancers. Havana is packed full of culture, and although a lot of the city is run down and falling down, you can see where restoration work on the colonial style building has been completed to a very high standard, and where it is ongoing. The Rum museum (Museo Del Ron Havana Club) is well worth a trip, the basic tour lasts about 1/2 hour and includes a generous sample of the 7 year old Havana Club rum for 350 pesos, which at the time was less than £4! Generally prices in Cuba are very low, and thankfully now you only have to deal with Cuban pesos and Euros, whereas in the past there was also CUC too!
We know that generally people in Cuba don't have a lot, and Rayselis showed us a few of the projects being run not only to preserve Cuban heritage, but also to give the people jobs and allow them to earn a little extra. Whilst in the tourist areas, beggars we fairly common, my general view of Cubans is that they want to work for a better life.
Rayselis was amazing. Her local knowledge was awesome, and she seems to know everyone! She was constantly working behind the scenes to make sure that our experience was the best that it could be, and she looked after us all so well. I think we would have been lost and broke without her.
If you're prone to getting bitten, or you react badly to insect bites, bug spray is essential even during the day. If you want to help poor people, do it via your tour guide. The moment you give to one beggar you'll be swarmed by all of them. In bars and restaurants in Havana, if you want to choose a "special" cocktail from the board - ask the price first. We found that the cocktails on the menu were 700 pesos (around £3.50) and the ones on the board were 2200 pesos (roughly £11). Still good value compared to London prices, but not 3 times better than the ones on the menu. There are some amazing rums to try, but before you buy that £180, £400, £3500 bottle of rum to take home, find a bar and try them first. Maybe it's my unrefined palate, but out of the various expensive bottles I preferred the £50 masters selection to the more expensive ones.
Recent trip was well executed.
Petra