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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14423 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Clare Smit

Reviewed November 2019

Tough trek but views are amazing!

Great mix of cultural diversity and natural beauty of India – starting and ending in the manic centres of Delhi and Kolkata respectively, the majority of the trip is in quieter parts of West Bengal and Sikkim, which are simply beautiful.

Most Inspirational Moment

Sunrise and cups of tea at campsite 3 with views of Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Mt Everest and Manaslu. It was cold but an absolutely magical experience! Also, the visit to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling - it was quite humbling to see the gear that Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hilary summitted Everest with so many years ago and how the equipment has advanced.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rajeev Rawat. What can I say - an amazing leader....nothing was too much trouble!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Pack for all kinds of weather. We had a torrential hail storm half way through the Singalila ridge trek, followed by thick fog...so thick that we couldn’t see the tents from the dinner tent! Head torches are a definite must.

Clare Smit

Reviewed November 2019

Tough trek but views are amazing!

Most Inspirational Moment

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rajeev Rawat. What can I say - an amazing leader....nothing was too much trouble!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Susan K

Reviewed November 2019

Great autumn walking in a beautiful area

A very enjoyable holiday in a surprisingly quiet area of Spain, despite being quite close to Benidorm. The walking was varied, in beautiful limestone country, with great views from the summits and interesting paths. The weather improved over the week for us – one day’s walk was rained off so we visited a local town instead – but we had sunshine on the later walks. Our guide, Jose, was very knowledgeable and has a passion for the area, its people and way of life. He guided us well and was supportive of group members.

Our hotel was well-positioned with views to the coast, and the owners were very hospitable. The food (vegetarian for us) featured local dishes and was excellent and plentiful. Our guide made our triple-decker lunchtime sandwiches and they were the best we’ve ever had on a walking holiday.

Most Inspirational Moment

Views from the summits, particularly Serella and Puig Campana. Also, those amazing sandwiches!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader, Jose, was excellent throughout.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take walking poles for the quite lengthy descents

Julia P

Reviewed November 2019

A lovely introduction to the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall is even more mind-blowing than in your imagination and doing this fantastic trip at the end of October is a great time to see it. We had beautiful autumn colours, with pleasant, warm days and slightly cooler mornings and evenings, and it’s not crowded with visitors. It’s suitable for people who are fit and enjoy walking, but it’s most definitely not a trek, so if that’s your thing you may not enjoy it as much as we did.

You get to visit different parts of the wall – from the restored and more touristy, to completely wild and unrestored and we appreciated seeing these different facets. The toboggan at Mutianyou is a hoot so it’s well worth giving yourself time to fit that in.

The food was good quality and varied (though see below if you’re veggie).The hotel in Beijing (Golden Sun Commercial Hotel) was very nice; a little away from the city centre but we enjoyed wandering the local hutongs, parks and temples and we easily got into town via the subway (Guang’anmennei station is an easy walk from the hotel).

Most Inspirational Moment

The highlight was undoubtedly the sections at Jiankou and Panlongshan, really beautiful and well away from the crowds. They were also the most steep and challenging, but eminently doable if you have a reasonable level of fitness - you get to challenge yourself and work as a group.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jack was lovely, he was helpful and considerate and looked after us really well. He sorted out little extras like a Kung Fu show, tea ceremony, paper cutting and even making dumplings at a homestay. He even arranged for us to have a Chinese massage in our hotel, which helped with our stiff legs!

Advice for Potential Travellers

There's lots to see in Beijing in the free time available and the subway is very easy to use (in English as a well as Chinese) so don't duplicate what you'll see on day 9. As a vegetarian I found the food better than I expected but not always very substantial. I was never hungry but ate a lot of cabbage, spinach or courgette with rice. By the last day of walking I felt quite tired and came back 1 kg lighter than I arrived. It's not a problem but do consider taking some protein bars, nuts etc. for a bit of a boost. Food at the Mutianyou homestay was the best with lots of good and varied veggie options. You won't be able to access Google, Twitter, BBC or the Guardian but we found that WhatsApp worked (though not for photos) and we managed to keep up with the news headlines as much as we wanted.

Paul Griffin

Reviewed November 2019

Bay of Bengal to Arabian Sea in about 500 smiles

This was such an excellent trip from start to finish. We experienced all types of weather from baking hot sun to cyclonic rain and along the way were constantly amazed by the friendliness and generosity of the local people.

Most Inspirational Moment

Without a doubt the guided tour of the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple where we witnessed Bullock and Elephant in ceremonial costumes in a procession.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Shekar was great, organised everything and sorted out a visit to a chemist for me when things got a bit awkward.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You will drink a lot of water whilst cycling so take something to put in it for flavour as it gets a bit dull after a while.

Phillip Pomeroy

Reviewed November 2019

Egypt Ancient and Modern

A fascinating, informative, and very enjoyable tour with the chance to dress up thrown in for good measure! As with all Exodus trips we had some early starts and long days with now wasted time in between. If you want to see a lot of Egypt and experience its history from ancient times through to the modern day then this is the trip to take.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the pyramids without crowds (not at Giza, for this head out to Saqqarah). Being inside the tomb of Ramses VI in the Valley of the Kings and admiring 3000 year old carvings and paintings everywhere you look, again without crowds (extra payment needed - not a lot and well worth it!). Wouldn't describe them as inspiring but certainly unforgettable and at times jaw dropping in their grandeur.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ahmed must rate as one of the best group leaders. He is knowledgeable on all aspects of his countries history and had the ability to tell a story and hold his audience throughout. His knack of bringing out members of the group to play the roles of the characters in the story (no acting ability needed) brought the tales to life. I was pleased to play the part of Pharaoh Thutmose III Egypt's most successful ruler. As well as being a font of information he looked after the needs of the group when they suffered from "Pharaoh's Curse" and ensured that we all knew where to be and when. If you read this and are fortunate enough to have him as a group leader you will not be disappointed.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take the usual health precautions, stick to bottled water and avoid salads except in hotels and restaurants recommended by your group leader. Have some small notes / coins for toilets. Cash is better than credit card as you avoid the 3% service charge. Changing money is easy but all traders and shops will take sterling, euros or dollars and give you a fair exchange rate. Optional tours will add up (£450 ish for two) but they are all worthwhile. We did everything on the trip note lists apart from the sound and light show. Abu Simbel is an expensive trip but is worth every penny. Go by road, have the excitement(?) of a pre-dawn start and see the sunrise over the Sahara desert on the way. As a bonus you will be able to admire genuine desert mirages on the trip back. You will miss so much if you fly (and pay a lot more). Go inside the pyramids for the experience. The Red Pyramid at Saqqara is far less crowded that the Great Pyramid at Giza.

derek crosbee

Reviewed November 2019

Successful holiday

Egypt is a fascinating country and we covered so much of it and some 4,000 years of its history most of which was new to me.
A land of many contrasts from the great cities of Cairo and Alexandria to the great Pyramids to the El Alamein battlefields down to beautiful Aswan the Nubian desert to Abu Simbel and to the treasures of Luxor everything bound together by the Nile river – Egypts lifeblood.

The different modes of transport we used helped to bring out the contrasts.

Most Inspirational Moment

Quite an hard question probably Abu Simbel not only for its beauty but also for the incredible efforts of the Egyptian people in moving it from its original site and re-building it in its current surroundings

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ahmed was a fine guide with an exceptional depth of knowledge - he always described himself as an Eygptologist rather than a tour leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Prepare yourself for taking onboard an amazing amount of information. Take plenty of deet - flies everywhere

Maggie Murfitt

Reviewed November 2019

Hurry Up and go to Egypt!

This was one of the best trips I have done.
The guide Ahmed is fantastic, he knows EVERYTHING about his country He explained everything really well with just enough detail. He was also great fun, a really nice man.
The trip is physically easy, however, there are some very early starts but Ahmed organised wake up calls for us.
The monuments will take your breath away, I can’t pic a favourite place. The hotels are good and the level of service is excellent. The first and last hotels are really good and the cruise ship was stunning.
I stayed an extra couple of nights and I’m glad I did.
What a fantastic experience!

Most Inspirational Moment

Probably the Valley of the Kings, or the Museum in Cairo, or Abu Simbel, or the Temple at Karnak, or the Coptic monastery..........

Thoughts on Group Leader

One of the best tour guides I have ever had, Ahmed was enthusiastic and inspirational.

Advice for Potential Travellers

There was only one Temple that we had to cover up but they give you stuff to put on over your clothes. The rest of the time scrappy t shirts and shorts are fine.

Sue Clark

Reviewed November 2019

Amazing, inspiring trip!

This trip is not for those who are looking for a quiet, relaxing holiday. Lots of early starts made the most of the opportunities we had to get under the skin of this brilliant country. There is a lot to see and while some of the trips are optional, it’s worth trying to add several to your itinery, so budget accordingly!
We had a great group of travellers and a brilliant tour guide who was funny, patient (I had lots of questions) and always kind – thank you Ahmed!
When you make short stops, particularly early on on the tour, leave everything except your camera (and maybe a small amount of money) in the tour bus – there are often crowds and there are hawkers everywhere – there’s always an opportunity to buy souvenirs in Egypt!
The vegetarian food is adequate, but not always super interesting – the food tour of Cairo, the Nile boat and the Nubian fellucca ride were hi-lights! Take the tour leader’s advice – he was usually right!

Most Inspirational Moment

The fellucca ride on the Nile, together with lunch on the boat - the food was amazing and the boat ride was magical! I was very keen to see inside the tombs in the Valley of the Kings - King Ramses VI tomb was brilliant! Hatshepsut's temple was just as impressive as it looked on TV - definitely a must! The sleeper train ride was great fun! The one that surprised me (in a good way) was the war cemetry at El-Alamein: it's beautiful, peaceful and quiet.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ahmed was great! He was kind, helpful, knowledgeable and funny! He kept us going, looked after everyone (we had a group from 23 to 76!) and tried to answer our numerous questions!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take lots of £ or $ (make sure it's all notes - particularly small values) you will get good exchange rates with the local traders! Take an extra bag - there's a lot you can buy and will want to buy! Go with an open mind and a willingness to learn. If you are blond and female you will get lots of attention!

Sue Totterdell

Reviewed November 2019

Amber warning

This was a great trip, with spectacular scenery, delicious food and a comfortable hotel. Although the steps (up and down) involved should not be underestimated, the ‘amber warning’ refers to the rainstorm that coincided with our day off. Despite this, I would recommend this trip to anyone who enoys coastal scenery and even suggest this relatively late departure date to avoid some of the crowds in the popular Cinque Terre villages.

Most Inspirational Moment

The walk to Portofino was probably the best but this reflects that it was the sunniest day, so the photographs remind us what a wonderful day we had. However, the overall enjoyment owed a lot to a wonderful group of fellow walkers. It was certianly one of the most musical Exodus trips I have taken.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Michela was great. She warned us of the likelihood of bad weather on the Tuesday, moved the rest day so that it coincided. She provided all the information we needed to take the proposed trip to Genoa but then came to breakfast early on Tuesday morning to warn us that the weather forecast had deteriorated and that we should stay closer to Moneglia. We did indeed experience a dramatic storm and were very pleased that we were not high in the hills when it happened. The drowned walkers we saw about town made us glad for Michela's advice. She also managed to keep the group together very well, so that the speed of ascent and descent (tricky after the rain) suited us all. Very professional.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't be put off from going late in the season. Even in October we met lots of people on the footpaths of the Cinque Terre but I can see it would be musch busier in summer. The rain was warm! Take walking poles if you have them - particularly useful on slippery descents.

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