Reviews

Lovely scenery, disappointing walks

I booked on a Level 5 Challenging departure in April 2022. Mallorca is a beautiful island with absolutely lovely scenery but I was extremely disappointed with the walks chosen. Short, coastal walks at a very slow pace and far too many stops. There was only one day where we were really reached a summit. It was very frustrating and has deterred me from booking a guided tour with Exodus again. I specifically booked a Level 5 departure for the challenging hikes but Exodus did not deliver. I travelled with Exodus on many occasions in the past and always had a fantastic experience. I would not book with them again based on this trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching the summit of Puig Tomir

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had two group leaders which led to the trip being disjointed. Jacob for the first three walking days and Eduard for the last two days. Very knowledgable about the area and keen to share that with the group, which was really interesting. However, ultimately they did not deliver on the Level 5 Challenging nature of the trip.

Reply from Exodus

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, Irene, although we are incredibly sorry that you found some of the walks to be too easy, as we recognise that you were anticipating more of a challenge from this trip. As I hope you appreciate, activity levels are inherently subjective, but we do endeavour to describe each trip as accurately as possible, and we are always open to suggestions to amend our guidance should we be made aware of clients feeling a particular trip’s grading should be changed. We have been operating this trip for many years, and we therefore receive a large volume of feedback regarding our clients’ views on the itinerary. Whilst our product manager, Malcolm Parkinson, and tour leaders feel that the current grading for our Walking in Mallorca trip is accurate, we are aware that adverse weather conditions and the abilities of some of your group members prevented you from completing some of your walks and affected the pace of the walks that did go ahead, which we acknowledge must have been extremely disappointing. It must have been further frustrating to have two different tour leaders, as this is not the usual arrangement. This should certainly not have been the case, and, following your feedback, we have instructed our local manager to not operate future trips in this manner. We are hugely grateful for your loyalty to Exodus over the years and we genuinely hope that you will reconsider your decision to not book with us again. 

A unique way to explore Greece, Gods and Myths

Our very first Exodus trip (recommended by friends) commenced apprehensively (and very early) in the Terminal 5 Lounge at Heathrow. After a couple of ‘Pineapple Juices’ for breakfast and 40 winks on the plane we were soon at our hotel to meet the Group Leaders Dimitris and Dimitris soon being referred to as D1 and D2.
Very soon the eclectic mix of people were entrusting the next 7 days of cycling, eating, drinking, swimming and dancing with D1 & D2. We couldn’t have made a better choice. We had fantastic cycling, the snacks, lunches and juices that D2 provided in support were excellent and D1 and D2 excelled at their dinner choices every evening giving us a superb taste of local foods (at very reasonable prices). D2 (the wine connoisseur) helped us choose the best wines to go with the meals, although he was not put out when the odd carafe of house red, or the local beers were ordered as well!
D1 and especially D2 excelled in imparting their local knowledge, Greek history and Greek Mythology at many of our stops to visit ancient sights and places of historical interest. Even better were the lunches that they prepared and the snacks they offered during the days.
In summary, D1 and D2 were fabulous The rest of the group got involved to make it so enjoyable. We had a fabulous time and met some great people. What a fantastic lot! We loved it.

Scenery, sites, salads and stories

I originally booked this trip for summer 2020, it was rolled over twice due to the pandemic, but my word, it was a trip worth waiting for! Challenging cycling, spectacular scenery, fabulous food, and heaps of history – it has something for everyone, and then some. One of the best trips I have ever done (and this is my 12th with Exodus), “Team Dimitris” made it a wonderful re-introduction to cycling holidays abroad after the last few years of uncertainty.

Pura Vida

Costa Rica is well known for its biodiversity, and this itinerary is well designed to show it off given the wide range of habitat visited over the 2 weeks. Starting on the Caribbean coast, we spent our first 2 days exploring the waterways of the Tortuguero National Park. From there, we visited various rain forests and then cloud forests as we increased altitude, climbing the central mountain range that divides the country and then descending to the Pacific coast.
Be prepared for contrasting weather as go, from hot and (very) humid to much cooler at the greater elevations, and be sure to pack accordingly. It’s interesting to see the flora and fauna vary with these different ecosystems as you progress through the trip.
As previous reviewers have already commented on, the range of wildlife we saw (and heard) was huge, and included birds, mammals, reptiles, and invertebrates. Highlights for me include the toucans, humming birds, quetzal, sloth, and some impressively sized crocodile.
The accommodation was very comfortable and very well presented and the various eco-lodges certainly fitted the focus of the trip, helping you to feel immersed in the forest. Most had wildlife walking trails that you are able to explore without a need for a guide. I’d highly recommend the optional (guided) night walks as an opportunity to see the tree frogs and other amphibians and snakes.

I visited at the end of May, and decent waterproofs were essential – If, like me, you’re taking cameras, make sure you have a waterproof bag for these too. Having said that, the weather was kind to us and although it rained frequently, it was pretty predictable and tended to be limited to the evenings so didn’t impact on the excursions – but be prepared and aware that the itinerary is flexible to account for the weather if required.

Another wonderful trip with Exodus

The trip was excellent from start to finish. The hotel has been described as basic but it has everything you need. It is scrupulously clean & the owner(s) / staff cannot do enough for you. There is a beach 5 minutes walk away at most & the hotel has a bar opposite where you can relax with a book & enjoy the light breeze after a walk.

Great trip

We were a group of seven people on this trip. Our tour leader’s name was Bledin (probably the wrong spelling). He was an excellent leader, very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. For some of the time we were really just sightseeing, but when we were trekking it was quite hard work. This trip is classified as moderate, but I do feel that it should be classified as moderate/ challenging, as when we were trekking in the alps, we were on shale, which is rather challenging, especially as I’d never walked on that surface before. However, with Bledin’s help I was able to successfully negotiate the three days of trekking. Our forth walk was on rocky steps which I am more familiar with.

The Albanian people are very friendly, and helpful. The wife of one of the hoteliers even leant me a pair of boots, when mine fell apart!

All in all, a very enjoyable trip.

An excellent tour of an amazing country

This trip really does do a great job of showcasing what an amazing country Jordan is – taking you to some of its more well-known sites (e.g., Petra, the Dead Sea) and some of its lesser-known ones (I had never heard of the Wadi Mujib Siq Trail before but it was my favourite part of the trip). The trip strikes a great balance between fun activities and time to relax. The first hotel (Rum Art) is a little basic, but the standard improves as the week goes on which means you appreciate the later ones even more. I have never had longstanding ambitions to go to Jordan but, after this trip, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Pleasant, but not an Atlantic Ride. Needs another guide with 16 people.

This was described as an Atlantic ride. We did not even glimpse the Atlantic until the end of day 3 out of 5. After that, we saw it in parts and it was lovely. It was hopelessly misdescribed. The ride was reasonable, but incredibly slow, particularly on the first 2 days, and on main roads. I am not a fast cyclist, but to travel at an average of 10 to 12kph on a flat main road is ludicrous, and dangerous. It was very hard to control the bike at these speeds and to keep stopping and starting on busy main roads is far from ideal.
The problem was that there was only one guide and no support vehicle following us, so the guide had to keep stopping and then riding very slowly. This was incredibly frustrating and annoying, especially as the scenery was boring for the first 2 days. This was not good enough.
The accommodation was a bit hit and miss. It was okay, with a couple of very poor and cramped rooms. In one hotel, not only did we get the booby prize of an unsafe room, it was also the venue for the group dinner. The food was inedible, and my husband and I ate very little. The hotel was quirky and very interesting, in Obidos, but we drew the short straw.
Overall, I would not particularly recommend this trip.

Walking and Wine - Portugal

A wonderful week of walking, port, food, scenery and good company. The walks are almost flat, but there are a couple of short uphill stints on some of the days.

Amazing trip

What an amazing experience this trip was. We saw so much it os difficult to know where to start. Brian our guide was so knoledgable about all of the animals, plants and insects we saw. He could spot a bird and tell you what it was when just a speck in the sky or perched on a distant tree. He also knew where most of the animals hang out, so we saw plenty of wildlife incuding elephants, lions, impala, giraffe, hippos, zebra and kudu among other things. We even saw a couple of cheetah and a pack of wild dogs.
There ar a lot of different experiences on this trip, from the mokoro canoes on the delta to Victoria falls. This inevibably led to some long drives. The wild camps were good fun and it was amazing what our cook Abi could produce on a camp fire and a gas ring. Although I personally don’t like it apparently the porridge was to die for!!