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.

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14451 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Tam .

Reviewed March 2025

Stunning skiing, outstanding guides

This trip is fantastic; the two guides (Ilse and Mary) are second to none. They have quite different but complementary styles and both went above and beyond to ensure that everyone felt safe and had a great time. They know this beautiful area incredibly well and chose amazing routes to match the skill of the group and provide variety and fun and stunning views. There was a good balance between coaching (I learned a lot!) and just enjoying the skiing and the landscape. They also took wonderful photos of everyone through the week, which is a really nice bonus; it’s easy to forget to take photos when you’re wearing gloves and holding poles and focusing on staying upright.
Just two negative points:
– While the trip and guides were great, Exodus could definitely improve some things in the booking and contact process (and no, an infuriating hierarchical drop-down contact form is not a “live chat”).
– Since the required ski equipment is supposed to be included, ski waxes and corks should also be provided for the group to use. It’s very wasteful to expect people to buy a wax set that they may never use again.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are used to track skiing, the trip may be quite a bit less active than you're expecting. The nature of skiing over ungroomed variable terrain, combined with the focus on enjoying the beautiful landscape and improving your skill, mean that the pace can be quite gentle. However, the hotel has a nice trail network right outside the door, so you can go out again after the day's tour (or before breakfast) to stretch your legs a bit.

Reply from Exodus

Thank you so much for your thoughtful and detailed review. We’re thrilled to hear that you had a fantastic experience and that your guides made such a positive impact. It’s wonderful to know they brought complementary styles, deep local knowledge, and a genuine commitment to safety and enjoyment—along with some great photography skills!

We also appreciate your feedback on areas where we can improve. We’re sorry to hear that the booking and contact process didn’t meet expectations, and we understand how frustrating it can be when communication tools aren’t as intuitive or responsive as they should be. Your comments have been shared with the relevant internal staff as we continue to refine our systems.

Regarding ski waxes and corks, thank you for raising this practical point. We agree that requiring guests to purchase equipment they may not use again isn’t ideal, and we’re reviewing how we can better support group needs with shared resources in future departures.

We’re so pleased you enjoyed the skiing and stunning landscapes and we hope to welcome you on another adventure soon.

Anna Lewandowska

Reviewed March 2025

Great intro to both countries

A very enjoyable trip highlighting a few places/aspects of each country. If you do not have more time, this is a great intro to both Vietnam and Cambodia. Well organised, varied – in spite of limited time, we felt, we’ve seen a lot. The activity level was low as described, the pace was a bit more than expected, requiring early rises on many occasions, but this enabled us to see as much as possible, which we wanted and appreciated. Accomodation was of a slightly lower standard than expected (by reading travel notes), but overall it was OK. Plus if this is your first time in the country, it is hard to know what the norm is.

Most Inspirational Moment

Cycling through rice fields in Hoi An. Visiting a floating village in Siem Reap.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Thanh in Vietnam was simply the best. He had a clear passion for his country and guided us with humour and honesty through cities, towns, menus!, as well as not always easy historical sites. He was knowledgeable, approachable, and clearly dedicated to his craft. On a cycling trip he guarded us with his own bike and a tiny frame against traffic, which was so considerate (we had to cycle through few streets before we got to the countryside).

Advice for Potential Travellers

Pack some warm clothes for Ha Long Bay. Bring warm socks and a fleece. Do not be fooled that it is only one day and 16C. Do not expect 4-star, western-standard accommodation. Arrive a day early to visit Hanoi. We only had time to see the Old-Quarter as part of the trip.

Elizabeth Lash

Reviewed March 2025

Action-packed tour in beautiful Sri Lanka

This tour is the perfect introduction to Sri Lanka – a great balance of historical landmarks, cultural insights, stunning scenery and amazing wildlife (with a few opportunities for retail therapy thrown in). Our days were pretty full and varied, with something for everyone – no drive was longer than two hours, other than on our last day (going back to Colombo). The bus was comfortable and big enough for everyone to have a window seat if they wanted.
Our hotels were pleasant and well situated but some were a little tired around the edges, but I felt that was fair, given the reasonable price of the tour. The food was delicious throughout – we ate mainly in our hotels, with a few meals in local restaurants recommended by our guide, Mahen.

Most Inspirational Moment

I feel that I should say the elephant safari or the white-water rafting (which were both thrilling), or the iconic train ride through the tea plantations, but my favourite experiences were when we seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, with hardly any other tourists around, enjoying the birdsong and the beauty of the landscape.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Mahen was great - he was always smiling and doing his best to make the tour as enjoyable as possible (even if that meant moving the schedule around in view of weather conditions and people's personal preferences). He clearly loves his country and wanted us to love it too - his enthusiasm was infectious.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Pack a decent breathable waterproof and sliders/crocs, whatever the season! We went in what should have been dry season but got thoroughly soaked on more than one occasion. Most people on our tour wore trainers, which were fine but sometimes took over a day to dry out and weren't easy to take on and off when entering temples (especially when wet). Although it is not a physically demanding tour, it is busy and we were glad to have extended our trip by three days on the coast (near Galle). With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had tacked on an extra day before the tour to rest (having not got much sleep on our overnight flight from London) and acclimatise to the heat.

Janet Whyte

Reviewed March 2025

Amazing Experience, not to be missed

As a first time visitor to India I was not disappointed. This is a full on trip with lots of time spent travelling between locations but this means you get the full flavour of both Kerala and Tamil Nadu from the stunning tea plantations in the North to the Southern Tip of India where three oceans meet.

Most Inspirational Moment

So many but in particular the walk through the spectacular tea plantations and the visit to the inspirational Charitable trust Srishti. The dawn walk through Madurai is not to be missed and neither is the boat trip through Manjira village, both of which give a real flavour of the way many local people still lead their lives.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Biju is an inspiration . I have been on several trips with Exodus and have always rated my guides as excellent but Biju is in a category on his own - he is simply outstanding. Nothing was too much trouble for him and everything was always done with a beautiful smile. He took us to local restaurants thereby introducing us to to the local food; he explained so much about the Indian culture and religion and took a great delight in the fact that our group wanted to try everything that was on offer. Together with the driver Vinod they make a great team.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't leave it too late to get your visa. Take a plug for the sink as none of the hotels had one. Don't worry about changing money, there are plenty of ATM's or money changers where you can exchange either dollars or sterling for rupees. Everything was ridiculously cheap - we had some lunches for eq£1 including a tip!! Biju collected money at the start , in sterling or dollars, to cover tips for various guides, coffee stops and the driver which made things much simpler and quicker as we went along. Biju suggested that we saw the Kathakali dance in Kochi on day 2 rather than waiting until day 8 in Periyar and he was right as there are plenty of other things to do there. You need to be aware that the Sri Meenakshi Temple is being repainted and so the towers are covered in scaffolding and should remain like that for the rest of the year . This was a big disappointment but Biju made sure that we stopped at a much smaller but beautifully painted temple on another day.

Andre Plourde

Reviewed March 2025

A busy, rewarding trip.

“Highlights” is an apt descriptor. Visited many historically significant sites.

Most Inspirational Moment

Sunrise at Angkor Wat.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Thanh in Vietnam and PJ in Cambodia.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don’t miss the Cham ruins (optional tour) in Vietnam.

Clare Dickerson

Reviewed March 2025

Spice Trails of Kerala

All trips need a number of key ingredients to come together to make it work. The first is an interesting and varied itinerary, the second an effective and efficient leader. Finally, your fellow travellers. We were fortunate enough to have all three on our late February 2025 visit and we had the most amazing & relaxing time really getting to see the real Kerala. There were also lots of local support staff (i.e. cooks, drivers, guides etc) and these also played their part behind the scenes to make it work. Thank you !

Most Inspirational Moment

As previous reviews have stated there are far too many memorable moments to list that it is difficult to pin down one or two. However, the camping / walking, houseboat on the backwaters, street food tour and a home cooking evening with an Indian family were our highlights.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Santhosh Kumar was our Group Leader for the entire 2 weeks. His efforts, energy, organisational skills and enthusiasm kept the itinerary moving along and made the trip so much more enjoyable. He is a great ambassador for all things India and this shone through throughout.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Try to get used to the slower Indian pace of life as soon as possible. It will make the trip so much more enjoyable. As previously, GBP & USD money can be changed on the way to the first hotel (and many other places during the trip except the camping part). Warm, layered clothes for the (camping) are only needed after sunset and before sunrise in late February as the day soon warms up. Walks can be quite up & down on the camping part so bear this in mind when taking in conjunction with the distance and potential weather conditions. However, walks were well paced and you have plenty of opportunities to stop for water & short rests.

Lorna Hill

Reviewed March 2025

A superb adventure from start to finish

This trip had so many contrasting experiences and enchanting surprises along the way. It was quite a full itinerary but not arduous.

Most Inspirational Moment

Difficult to choose one from so many….but I think the experiences in Hoi An were amazing; cycling through the countryside and seeing the lanterns at night

Thoughts on Group Leader

Huyen was perfect in every way. We all adored her. She was exceptionally well organised, generous with her time, nothing was too much trouble, knowledgeable, empathetic to our needs, funny and just a beautiful person.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We were glad we took thin blow up mattresses for the train. Getting VND currency was no problem from ATMs.

Lorna Hill

Reviewed March 2025

A superb adventure from start to finish

This trip had so many contrasting experiences and enchanting surprises along the way. It was quite a full itinerary but not arduous.

Most Inspirational Moment

Difficult to choose one from so many….but I think the experiences in Hoi An were amazing; cycling through the countryside and seeing the lanterns at night

Thoughts on Group Leader

Advice for Potential Travellers

We were glad we took thin blow up mattresses for the train. Getting VND currency was no problem from ATMs.

Jacqueline Smith

Reviewed March 2025

Real India on wheels

Our first cycling adventure with Exodus (after a great various activity tour to Vietnam last year) and this tour was just perfect for my husband and I as we love being active. However we still enjoyed the free days to explore and the sightseeing too. We had a great group and excellent guides. It was also our first trip to India and we felt as though we saw the real India, especially in the first week. The people were so friendly and they never stopped smiling and waving at us. The bikes were very good quality and suited to the mixed terrain. The hotels were generally of a good standard although a couple not so much but appreciate that it’s not always easy to find suitable accommodation in certain areas.

Most Inspirational Moment

For both of us it would be the impromptu visit to a junior school. The staff and children were so happy and made us very welcome. My husband would say the cycle up Ooty was his favourite ride but mine was the ride across the rolling Nilgiri Hills and the dramatic descent through the hills and tea-covered slopes of the Western Ghats and tropical rainforest on day 6. Also seeing a tiger in Bandipur National Park.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Safi our group leader along with Vineeth and Arun were all excellent guides. They kept us safe through some busy areas and fed and watered to keep up our energy levels, as well as being friendly and spoke excellent English. We enjoyed the food at all the cafes and restaurants safi took us too and my favourite was the seafood one by the sea on our last ride.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Some of the road surfaces and speed bumps are horrendous, traffic manic in the cities and the heat makes even the flat rides tiring but keep hydrated, follow the guide, take care and you will love it.

Kathryn Boast

Reviewed March 2025

A Feast for the Senses

This trip is certainly an insight into real India, we definitely felt we were in at the deep-end! We’ve previously cycled in Vietnam and Sri Lanka with Exodus and this trip was very different. Our previous holidays included a lot of information about the abundant flora, fauna and history of the countries, this trip not so much. However, it is very interesting to cycle through the villages and towns to see how the people are living and the people were very friendly towards us.
Don’t under-estimate he climb up Ooty Hill, it’s an unrelenting slog, but well worth the pain for the sense of pride at the top and the lovely stop at the Highland Cafe.
Some people in the group had asked for electric bikes and 2 of them were small-wheeled and, in my opinion, looked quite poor and not up to the job. However, our non-electric bikes were absolutely fine.
The roads are very busy and we had some sections cycling on the highway so I would say that this isn’t cycling for the faint-hearted. However, our guide was excellent at keeping the group together through the ‘dodgy’ bits! The cycling for the first few days does include a fair few hills so don’t expect it to be flat! Also, some of the road surfaces can be a bit rough, or even non-existent in some places, so don’t forget your padded cycling shorts!
Eating out is very cheap in the south and we had some delicious food. Also as far as I’m aware no-one in our group suffered with any tummy upsets.
In the main, the hotels were good. We had a couple which were a bit basic, but our guide explained that this was because there wasn’t anything else in the area, but other hotels were excellent so it’s swings and roundabouts.
All in all, a very good trip and we definitely feel like we’ve seen real, incredible, India.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing a tiger in Bandipur National Park! One day our guide asked if we'd like to visit a little school and we had such a lovely visit. The children were absolutely delightful. Getting to the top of Ooty Hill!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Safi was a great leader and dealt with all this trip threw at him magnificently. Unfortunately, there were a few accidents which caused him to have to think on his feet but he never faltered and everything worked out very smoothly. He certainly earned his money on this trip! Vineeth and Arun also deserve a mention because they too were brilliant. The three of them worked tirelessly to ensure we were looked after extremely well.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The roads are busy and rough in places. The weather is hot. Don't under-estimate the hills!

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