Reviews

Genuine Morrocan Community and Hospitality

This is a very good introduction to Morocco, Marrakech, remote village living and the high Atlas Mountains. You learn that Morocco is a Berber nation in the Arab world. It is also a very good example of Exodus’s responsible tourism. Excellent local leader and drivers.

A wonderful week in Jordan

We really enjoyed our week in this really interesting country. There was so much to see and do. We enjoyed the Roman city at Jerash, Amman sites including the Jordan museum, Mount Nebo, Karak castle, Petra for two days which is the right amount of time. Also Little Petra and the Neolithic village, the Rift Valley, the Bedouin camp was experience at Wadi Rum which was great, swimming and snorkelling in the Red Sea at Aqaba and finally the Dead Sea experience. Only one long day in the bus but we made a few stops so it wasn’t boring. Hotels were good, food was excellent. Not much alcohol but lemon and mint drinks were good. Hiking in Petra was fun…we all did the treks. Jordan is a very friendly country….we felt safe at all times.

A wonderful week in Jordan

We really enjoyed our week in this really interesting country. There was so much to see and do. We enjoyed the Roman city at Jerash, Amman sites including the Jordan museum, Mount Nebo, Karak castle, Petra for two days which is the right amount of time. Also Little Petra and the Neolithic village, the Rift Valley, the Bedouin camp was experience at Wadi Rum which was great, swimming and snorkelling in the Red Sea at Aqaba and finally the Dead Sea experience. Only one long day in the bus but we made a few stops so it wasn’t boring. Hotels were good, food was excellent. Not much alcohol but lemon and mint drinks were good. Hiking in Petra was fun…we all did the treks. Jordan is a very friendly country….we felt safe at all times.

Breathtaking Adventure

This trip exceeded our expectations. It was a great mix of cultural visits with active elements. There was tremendous variety packed into an 8 day holiday.

What a week!

Highly recommended and couldn’t stress how much effort the guides put in on making you feel welcome to this amazing country and how supportive they were in making the trip perfect for each individual. Head guide Elina is a fantastic overall lovely person.
The food was to die for (all traditional Finnish), don’t be expecting burgers unless it’s an Elk one!
The drink was expensive, but I had budgeted for this prior to the trip as I knew this would be the case. It’s good idea to purchase alcohol at a UK airport or lack some in your case before hand.
All of the activities were perfect to gain a taster of each, and once equipped with your gear, you were free to use them as you please in your free time.
I took a hike up a local hill on our free day, using the snowshoes provided, Elina showed me a map in which I took with me, and an easy to follow, well marked trail. What a fabulous day to get a view of the Russian border from the top.
The owners of the Huskies were so caring and knew a of the dogs inside out, what a lovely life they lead and the dogs really enjoy their work, this is obvious when you meet them, due to the excitement and noise they make when they know they’re going on a trip.
The reindeer are well looked after, and the herdsmen explained that they are trained to pull the sleighs in the winter when they are brought back to the farm, but released again to roam during the summer months.
I can’t tell you enough how much I love this country, the lovely people and how close they are to nature.
If your after a really laid back holiday and an escaped from the rush of day to day life, this is for you!

Don't go for the Snow Monkeys!

There are two reasons to go on this trip: in Spring for the Cherry Blossom, or later in the year to see the Snow Monkeys. We did the latter, and in fact the last departure of the year, the next being in April. We did not see any monkeys, and the people we spoke to, including the staff at the monkey centre, said that it was too early to see them. They come to a hot spring when it’s really cold. When we were there, it was not cold (avg 17 deg in the day), and in any case, the hot spring had suffered damage from Typhoon Hagibis and was not filling up. We spent a morning hiking to what was essentially a muddy pool for no reason. This was a real waste of time. Apart from this, the trip was enjoyable, but there are a number of free days which really should be filled up with – for example every person on our trip wanted to see Mount Fuji but we had to do that ourselves on a free day – I feel that this should have been part of the itinerary; the tour finishes in Tokyo with a free day on the Friday, and then another free day on the Saturday before being collected for the airport at 6.30pm. There’s lots to do in Tokyo, but we lost our guide before the tour finished. I don’t want to be only negative – we really enjoyed the vast majority of this tour, but it could have been so much better.

Wild Namibia

Dear Exodus:

I have had the most wonderful expedition. I’d like to say a few words about the people that made it happen.

Firstly I want to thank the support crew. Simson, Umbarra, Fritz, Matthias and Asa. These gentlemen turned camping into an art form. I’ve stayed at the best hotels and resorts around the world; this crew is second to none. Their attention to detail and service oriented guest first attitude is superb. They brought such an infectious positivity to the camp that it was impossible not to enjoy yourself. Did I mention the food? Asa catered to our every want and surpassed expectations every single night. This man is a genius on a camp fire. Absolutely remarkable. Hands down the best crew an expedition could want. I could go on and on about these guys. I don’t know how much you pay them but they are worth their weight in gold. Thank you to the crew, their efforts ensured this trip was a raucous success.

Next I’d like to thank Tracks and Trails. I wouldn’t dare go into the wildly remote areas we ventured into without a solid plan B. Tracks and Trails seemed to have not only a plan B but a plan C and D for every possible scenario. The vehicles were the best and when the inevitable setbacks that will happen in this rugged environment occurred, they had our back every time. I was very impressed with how quickly they reacted and problem solved. I felt confident knowing I had a team working in the background that could solve any issue at the snap of a finger regardless of the distance, environment and terrain. I felt like nothing could stop us. Very well done Tracks and Trails.

PJ. What can I say? The man is as legendary as Tarzan. His positive attitude combined with his no nonsense polite but stern business approach had all of us paying attention to the details that kept us safe. He was the pack leader. I have a great deal of respect for this man. PJ’s tracking skills were a marvel to behold; When he was tracking the desert lions I felt as if I was in a movie. He found us every animal we dreamed of seeing, then got us a better angle. Pj’s knowledge base is ridiculously extensive, I’d gamble he knows more about Africa than the Encyclopedia Británica; history, botany, geology, astronomy, flora and fauna, tribal ancestry.. the only thing he didn’t talk about was religion and politics. The only question he couldn’t answer was, “PJ, is their anything you don’t know?”. PJ catered to the group and the individual, birds for the birders, terra formations and geological history for the rock hounds, biology for the plant lovers, history for the scholars and everything you could want to know about mammals, reptiles, birds and insects. He even ran around overturning rocks to find us a scorpion when an interest was expressed. PJ is a gem, his leadership and people skills are enviable. When I come back to Africa I will find out what tour he is guiding and do that. I cannot say enough about his skills.

Lastly, I’d like to thank Exodus. You’ve done an amazing job of pairing us with the very best local guides, support staff and logistics professionals. I’ve never travelled with Exodus before, I’ll never tour with anyone but Exodus from now on. Very well done. Superb.

Thank you once again to everyone involved, I’m looking forward to my next adventure.

Sincerely,

Lance Berryman.

EBC is a sensational but tough trek

In common with other reviewers’ comments, it should be noted that the landscape between Lukla and Dingboche is like an alpine paradise, unexpectedly beautiful valleys and rivers, criss-crossed with suspension bridges and dotted with Buddha stupas. While mostly undulating, the trail is especially difficult on days where the ascent can be two hours straight up. But the leaders are cogniscent of this and allow many water stops in between scheduled breaks. Our leader, Bikash Tamang (TNT191102), was an especially experienced and supportive leader and provided confidence to those who needed it as well as providing cultural and geographical narrative from start to finish.
The only reason I am giving 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the sanitary condition of many of the lodges high up in the Khumbu region and the abysmally cold bedrooms which are not insulated or well built. Do not underestimate how cold it gets at night.

Wadi Rum & Petra

Booked this trek at the last minute and was not disappointed, the time of the year meant that the weather was ideal and made the days trekking that much more enjoyable.
The first day was the minibus drive from Amman down into he Wadi Rum area which ended with a short trek to the night camp in the Bedouin village tents. The evening meal was a traditionally cooked meal that that had been covered and buried in the hot sand on top of hot charcoal. a good nights sleep ensure we were ready for a good full day trek on the next day.
The remaining days covered a lot of ground and sand and the group was a good mixture of different nationalities
(2 Irish, 3 Scottish, 2 Netherlanders, 1 French, 5 English ) we all soon gelled soon enjoyed each others company this made good getting the background about what and where we had been and done.
Whilst the trekking was not overly difficult, a fair level of fitness is required not only for the distance to be covered, but to take into account the hot weather and the trekking up to 8 hours on the longest day mainly over sand.

Petra and so much more

An excellent introduction to a welcoming and fascinating country. There are varied landscapes and fantastic historical sites.