Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many.... from waking up to the sound of howler monkeys outside your room, being surrounded by hummingbirds and having them land on your outstretched hand at Selvatura Park, conquering your fear of heights on the hanging bridges and zip wires above the forest canopy at Monteverde, seeing a sloth being rescued from overheard cables by the local fire service, hearing the sounds of the cloud forest at night as fireflies flit around around you, seeing a humpback whale for the first time, watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean at Carillo Beach.... the list goes on!

Thoughts on Group Leader

From the moment we arrived at San Jose Airport, our group leader, Eduardo, made us feel incredibly welcome in his country. Knowedgeable and passionate about the history, culture and nature of Costa Rica, Eduardo soon shared his love of his country with us all. Within minutes of meeting us, Eduardo had memorised all our names and, refering to us "family", he ensured we got the best possible experience we could - asking us to write down our wishlist of things we wanted to do and see whilst we were in his beautiful country. Eduardo was an exceptional group leader: great with the children in the group, imparting his extensive knowledge with enthusiasm, sharing his photos with us on the WhatsApp group he created for us, treating us to chocolate and ice-cream on a daily basis and instilling in all of us a sense of the "Pura Vida"! We must not forget our driver, Cesar, either. He made sure we were safe on the roads and waited patiently for us after every excursion, always greeting us with courtesy and a smile.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We decided to book a 3 night beach extension - staying on at Nammbu hotel at the end of the trip - which Exodus organised, along with a private transfer back to San Jose airport. We were definitely ready for some rest and relaxation after a packed schedule, so this was really worth doing, plus it gave us a chance to do some additional activies - such as scuba diving (at Samara) and turtle watching at the nearby Camaronal Wildlife Refuge.

Most Inspirational Moment

The fish lunch in the museum, food was delicious, the museum was really interesting and in a picturesque location.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Andrius was an amazing ( and very witty) group leader, his flexibility in adapting the trip programme to the interests of the group was a huge plus. His knowledge of the area is vast and the insight he provided in to history of The Baltic States complemented the cycling - he was the icing on the cake! Thank you.

Most Inspirational Moment

The Meekong Valley was beautiful , a chance to unwind, relax with the group. Very peaceful, great food, staff were friendly. Would have liked a couple of nights there. Vegetarian restaurant in Hoi Chin Ming City- fantastic

Thoughts on Group Leader

Doan made our holiday very special. Looked after all of our group, a joy with the kids, very knowledgeable about the places. Pre-empted our requests and coped with our demands. Took us to wonderful places to eat. We wanted to take her home with us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Arrive a day earlier to get over the jet lag and do some of your own exploring of Hanoi. Take tea bags and cups on the train overnight and sheet sleeping bags. Take lots of sun cream as easy to get burnt when snorkelling or swimming in Whale Island. If you get burnt use aftersun NOT oil or cream. Watch out for the Urchins. Take rain macs as when it rains it pours.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were several - daily - which largely revolved about the scenery - 'wow' moments, which will not be forgotten

Thoughts on Group Leader

Gunner was affable, stoic & professional throughout; quietly unassuming, he was the calm amidst 'our storm' - whilst we were somewhat excited by the chaos he was efficient in his acquisition of alternative accommodation - at speed

Advice for Potential Travellers

Notwithstanding the weather, this is not a moderate trip - the walks are substantive in length, & whilst the pace was not over demanding, there were several high, steep, narrow &/or exposed parts to almost every day which a more moderate walker may not anticipate

Most Inspirational Moment

It is difficult to identify a single "inspirational" moment as it was not really that kind of trip. It is probably more appropriate to point to the local people as an inspiration as they have emerged from an oppressive communist governed administration at the end of the 1980s and have spent the last thirty years working hard to evolve into a more democratic country, integrating into the EU.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Tudor was without doubt one of the best guides we have had the pleasure of meeting on any of our Exodus trips. He was unfailingly charming, helpful, extremely hardworking, very informative and knowledgeable, and became a firm friend of our group. He was not only a great ambassador for Romania but also a very nice and gentle person.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Get your currency (Romanian Lei) from one of the ATMs at the airport on arrival in Bucharest and choose the option not to take the conversion rate offered by the machine. By leaving your own UK bank to apply their conversion rate you will get a far better rate of exchange. As a couple, we found that £200 (1000 lei) cash was enough to cover our needs for the whole trip as the majority of meals are included in the cost of the trip, but we used credit cards on a couple of occasions (in Sighisoura and Bucharest) for dinners. Tips for the guides went on top of this £200 so we drew a little more out at the end of the holiday from the ATMs in Bucharest. A crossbar bag is handy for carrying a camera so photos can be taken whilst cycling, but panniers are provided for carrying other essentials so a rucksack is not really necessary. The support vehicle is never far away so access to day bags is easy. Bring your own water bottle for filling up and carrying in the bottle cage on the bike. You need to be relatively fit for some of the climbs but there is nothing overly difficult if you already enjoy cycling.

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting to the top of the climbs and seeing the views. Lake Ochrid is a fab stopover and well worth a visit in itself. We arrived with enough time for a tour and chance to see the town.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Junid was our leader-what a lovely man. Nothing was too much trouble and he was calm but efficient. The food and drinks were all covered with a tab which we paid at the end of the holiday which saved so much time.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you are fit enough to do the mountains. If taking your own bike you will need a hybrid one as there are some potholes. However the bikes we all hired were fine. Take your swimming costume for the lakes. Take some cash so you can pay your bill at the end of the week -they accept euros or pounds.

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting to the top of the climbs and seeing the views. Lake Ochrid is a fab stopover and well worth a visit in itself. We arrived with enough time for a tour and chance to see the town.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Junid was our leader-what a lovely man. Nothing was too much trouble and he was calm but efficient. The food and drinks were all covered with a tab which we paid at the end of the holiday which saved so much time.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you are fit enough to do the mountains. If taking your own bike you will need a hybrid one as there are some potholes. However the bikes we all hired were fine. Take your swimming costume for the lakes. Take some cash so you can pay your bill at the end of the week -they accept euros or pounds.

Most Inspirational Moment

Two of them. One was the developing attraction of the mountains. Last time in Ladakh I found myself comparing the Indian Himalaya unfavourably with the Everest region. This time, the terrain seemed more varied and attractive, perhaps in part due to the fresh snowfall. It made me feel I wanted to go back again and see more. The other was, with hindsight, the climb up the river gorge from Chuskurmo and up over the Gongmaru La into the Nimaling valley. The gorge and river crossings were a challenge following the overnight snowfall, I found getting to the top of the pass a real struggle, and we then had to get down to the camp site through a blizzard and sit in the mess tent for a couple of hours (sustained by black tea) while the lost sheep were found and the tents put up. I don't think anyone enjoyed it much at the time - it took me half an hour in a sleeping bag to stop shivering, though we all did the best to keep morale up. But the next day I felt an immense sense of achievement, and I hope others felt the same.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Brilliant as always. Her experience really showed through during the blizzard when she and some others got lost. She had a grip on everything, and a fair bit of illness to deal with, but always had time to chat, and encourage people where necessary.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you are fit and experienced enough for the trek; enjoy yourself; but be prepared for things not going according to plan. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. I think we shall dine out on some of the stories from this trek!

Most Inspirational Moment

The 12km climb on day 5, and seeing the view over lake Ohrid and then the descent afterwards.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Junid was an excellent leader. He provided clear instructions during the cycling and was always on hand to provide assistance when needed.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you are prepared for long tough climbs in warm weather. You can always get in the backup vehicle if it gets too hard, but that's not a satisfying as finishing the climb on your bike. Pack a waterproof it was mostly hot and sunny but it did rain a few times.

Most Inspirational Moment

The wildlife was the highlight for me. Two encounters specifically: Firstly a large male Grizzly wandered along the shoreline, weaving between the trees and the river’s edge. Slowly, it approached us as we stood as a group shoulder to shoulder (forming one large object). It continued aware of us, until it was 20m away, and then passed by and headed further up the road. Also, on returning from the bear trip we meet a pod of Orcas - maybe five or six. The large male had a dorsal fin approximately six foot tall! We watched them for maybe 25 minutes keeping the required distance of at least 200m. Then they disappeared. Suddenly, they appeared just off the bow of the boat like dolphins do surfing in the bow wave (maybe 10ft away). Quickly, we turned the engine off and watched in awe as they disappeared again off into the distance

Thoughts on Group Leader

Eric our group leader was in my opinion not as knowledge, friendly and enthusiastic as previous leaders. He did however manage to organise additional trips for our groups as and when requested and taxied the group about making sure we were at the correct destination at the correct time.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This, as far as I know, is this first time this trip has run as early as it did. We left on the 19th August. Although the salmon ran early last year that was not the case this year. If possible I would recommend to travel a little later maybe mid September - in order to maximise the chances of seeing the grizzlies fishing in the river. We did nevertheless still manage to see all the wildlife.