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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Lots of our clients also like to post handy tips and advice about their travels. It’s great to know what to expect on an Exodus adventure before you go, so make the most of their experience and you’ll make the most of yours!

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14427 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Neil & Carole Bowman-Mahoney

Reviewed April 2019

Konichiwa and arigato!

This trip exceeded expectations in many ways – incredibly well-organised with a good balance between group activities and private exploration. The breadth of Japanese culture, both ancient and modern, was well covered, the accommodations were excellent, the food was extraordinary and the transport system very impressive. And the Japanese we met were always polite, respectful, friendly and calm. We came home with the feeling that the UK has a lot to learn!

Most Inspirational Moment

Too many to choose - seeing Mt Fuji floating on a bed of cloud, Matsumoto Castle floodlit, a Kabuki performance, exquisitely presented and tasty food in the ryokans, onsen, standing on a station as a shinkansen raced through at 160+mph, the tragedy of Hiroshima, the architecture of the Shinto shrines, temples and gardens, and more. Phew!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Mayuko Terao was superb, and couldn't do enough for us. Her ability to keep 17 disparate adults in order while negotiating the often crowded and complex transport system was remarkable. Her knowledge, communication skills and sense of fun were second to none. She gave up much of her own free time to ensure that we got the most out of our visit.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for a lot of walking, often in crowded tourist sites and on the transport system. There are many convenience stores near the hotels to buy food if you don't want to pay for the expensive hotel buffet breakfasts (ryokans excluded). Our camera broke down towards the end of the trip, and it was SO liberating! So, don't view everything you see through a camera lens all the time. Japan is so visually engaging.

Jan Grace

Reviewed April 2019

Fabulous!

I would recommend this trip to anyone. A level of fitness is a must – certainly more than a few brisk walks around the block – it’s challenging but rewarding!
Sara – our guide – was absolutely amazing – calm, knowledgeable, patient, kind, tough. She looked after us as a group and individually – nothing was too much trouble.
The farmhouse is amazing and the family who prepared our meals were so welcoming, kind and fun! The meals by the way – beautiful simple, rustic, locally sourced food – every evening we ate at the farmhouse was a treat! The idea of being able to create your own lunch from the choices laid out was a brilliant idea and you were able to take as much or as little as you wanted. Breakfasts set you up for the day!
The accommodation is lovely with real charm and plenty of warmth, heating, drying room, roasting fire in the lounge when cold and a swimming pool with amazing views.

Most Inspirational Moment

So many - the walks up the mountains, the valley walk, trip into Lucca - a beautiful roman town with so much history and beauty. Meeting so many interesting and kind people who made the week that bit extra special. A superb guide and the kindness and friendliness of the family

Thoughts on Group Leader

A....MAZ...ING! There are not superlatives to describe Sara - it will be difficult to find a better guide on any future trips - that's for sure!!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take the advice on the web-site - the right walking gear and walking poles are a huge asset for this week. There are 2 tough walks but certainly do-able and worthwhile - I felt a real sense of achievement at the end of the week in spite of a wobble on day 2!

Sue Rosser

Reviewed April 2019

Discover Costa Rica

This trip combines the highlights of the Costa Rica’s landscape with wild life in the national parks.

Most Inspirational Moment

The wildlife was the highlight for me. The most memorable being the boat tour around Tortuguero waterways. Waking early to the cry of the howler monkeys in the canopy near by: we set off in brilliant sunlight down the waterways seeing howler and spider monkeys and an abundance of fantastically coloured birds!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Glenda our group leader was warm, friendly, professional and contained an encyclopaedia of knowledge about both the wildlife and country which she shared with our group with enthusiasm and pride. She also had telescope that she used to take photographs on peoples phones with some amazing results!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take any cash you have in USA dollars, everywhere we went accepted them, there was no need to change any into Costa Rican colon - although in some places the change given was in Colon (which we used up first). We travelled in April, the dry season, however when it rained -which it only did for a couple of hours - it poured a poncho/ waterproof coat was essential! Also a good pair of binoculars and a book of Costa Rica birds or wildlife was useful. One person bought a simple ID chart which they used to tick off species.

Deirdre Duffy

Reviewed April 2019

Brilliant experience

Beautiful country, teeming with wildlife, lovely friendly people, an outstanding guide that looked after us from morning to night and made sure every minute of our holiday was amazing. This is a trip of a lifetime, we were transported to the best places in Costa Rica and guided through the national parks by an expert guide. We really had full days with as much wildlife viewing as you wanted to take part in, our guide was knowledge and passionate about the culture, the wildlife and the vegetation. I feel we had the most exposure to Costa Rica it would be possible to have within two weeks. If you wanted to our guide would show you the wildlife just around the hotel at 6am in the morning.

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking through beautiful forests in peace and tranquillity away from the crowds, noise, traffic and stress of everyday life. Standing quietly and listening to the sound of bird calls and rain dripping. Eating lunch while watching hummingbirds.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Outstanding, he really makes this trip with his passion and professionalism.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take waterproof clothing, it rains a lot. Take a fleece and a pair of long trousers, it's cooler in Savegre. Take closed shoes for walking in the forests. Take a camera and binoculars to get the most out of seeing the birds and wildlife.

Paul Walter

Reviewed April 2019

Amazing Experiance

We enjoyed an amazing week in the Atlas mountains culminating in the climb to Mount Toubkal’s summit. As it was snowy and icy on the peak we used crampons and ice axes but that just added to the overall experience. It was a very hard climb (9 hours up and down) but all of us in our group made it. The food on the trip was great and we were amazed at how such good meals could be made with limited cooking facilities (even freshly baked bread every day) and no-one got sick or had any problems. Camping at altitude was cold so make sure you take really good sleeping bags and have plenty of layers and down jackets for the assent.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were many great moments including the summit, using crampons for the first time, clear blue skies, clean air and wonderful vistas.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader was great in supporting us all and guiding us on the mountain.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Lots of layers of clothing as it can be - 10 with the wind chill before the sun rises and we saw + 33 mid day so you need to be able to take off and put on clothing as required. Take the best sleeping bag you can get hold of as night temperatures in the tents are low.

Chris Osmond

Reviewed April 2019

Prosecco Heaven

This is one of the best walking trips I’ve done. Fairly easy walking and in beautiful surroundings. Stunning views (weather permitting) and great walks through lovely villages and many vineyards.
Food and quality of restaurants outstanding and all washed down with Prosecco. Absolute heaven.

Most Inspirational Moment

No single moment. It was all so good.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Serena is a wonderful tour leader. Lovely demeanour and very well informed and knowledgeable of the area. She was good company throughout and very easy going. Just as a tour leader should be.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take walking poles for some sections of the walk and make sure you have a taste for Prosecco.

Liz Hartley

Reviewed April 2019

Fascinating experience!

You really couldn’t pack any more into 2 weeks! We walked round cities (lot of walking), visited temples, shrines, markets, gardens and castles and saw beautiful scenery from the trains. Our guide was very helpful and knowledgeable and always available for advice on what to do, where to go and where to eat in our free time.

Most Inspirational Moment

The cherry blossom, scenery and the beautiful gardens. The unique Japanese experiences - onsen hot baths, tea ceremony and kubuki theatre - were unforgettable.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ayaka was so helpful and informative and didn’t lose anyone in the Tokyo subway!

Advice for Potential Travellers

You need to be pretty fit as on some days there was a lot of walking with only a break for lunch although we were given free time to look round places on our own. You don’t need to take shampoo, conditioner or shower gel as all the accommodation provided it. The hotels in Kyoto and Tokyo had washing machines and dryers. Be prepared for all types of weather - an umbrella can come in handy. Take binoculars if you are going to the kabuki theatre or are interested in birds.

Stephen Newey

Reviewed April 2019

An amazing adventure in Botswana

Our adventure in Botswana was the most incredible experience we have ever encountered. The guides were amazing. Their knowledge of all things growing or living in this beautiful country was boundless. They were all extremely helpful and nothing was too much trouble, always going the extra mile to ensure that we got the most out of our trip. Our cook produced the most delicious recipes and all on an open fire with a few pots and pans. Wild camping definitely gave us a flavour of actually being amongst the wildlife. We saw all the species of animals and birdlife that anyone could wish for. A trip across the border to Zimbabwe took us to the breath-taking Victoria Falls. So majestic yet so powerful. It would be remiss of me not to mention our two main guides, Ngande and Mello. They were incredibly caring and thoughtful towards our needs, always ensuring that our safari experience was the best that it could possibly be. Finally, we are so grateful to Exodus for arranging what proved to be the adventure of a lifetime and one which we will never forget.

Most Inspirational Moment

The entire experience was inspirational but the most emotional moment for me happened on a morning game drive, when we came across a beautiful male leopard sitting majestically on top of a grassy mound. Needless to say that my camera was red hot that day. The previous morning drive was a lovely misty morning when we encountered a small pride of lions. One of the shots I took was perfect. I called it "Lions in the Mist"

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was an amazing man called Ngande Mosepele. His knowledge of wildlife and birdlife was boundless. He was so caring and kind to everyone, always making sure that each of our group, regardless of our individual interests, got the most out of our trip. He also had a great sense of humour. We all agreed that we couldn't have had a better leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If anyone is undecided over whether or not this type trip is for you. Don't think twice. Just do it. I promise you won't be disappointed. If like us, you have never been on safari before, choose "Wildlife and Wilderness of Botswana" It will be an adventure you will never forget!!

Eric Lassiter

Reviewed April 2019

Two full days in Petra

My decision to take the 12-day tour (really only 10 days since the first day was only “arrival” and the last day was only “departure”) with Exodus was the best decision of my trip planning. Most basic Jordan tours offer only two full nights (one full day). Three nights in Petra meant we had two full days morning to night. One full day really really is not enough for Petra. Three full days, one more than we had, would have been ideal.

Most Inspirational Moment

Most inspirational moments: Traveling over the sands of Wadi Rum at sunset on the back of a small open jeep was sublime. Traveling over the sands of Wadi Rum at dawn on the back of camel was far beyond sublime. These are moments when one truly feels fully alive; amazing, moments that will remain sharply vivid long after the trip. Hats off as well to the Exodus tent camp at Wadi Rum, tucked in a narrow cleft between two "jebels," the hard rock mountains that give Wadi Rum its distinctive look.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Nidal Alteaq was a great pleasure to travel with. Tour leaders are nearly always friendly, informative, personal and professional; Nidal's proud, unbridled joy at showing off and wanting to share his Jordan shone through. Thank you Nidal, for that gift. Shukran!

Pete Batchelor

Reviewed April 2019

Hectic awe-inspiring tour

A wonderful trip, more than full on. So many must-see sites packed into such a short time. Great organisation with an excellent expert guide. Hotels and cruise ship were very good. Be prepared for some incredibly early starts though.

Most Inspirational Moment

Where to start? The Pyramids & Egyptian museum, Karnak, Hatshepsut etc Temple, Valley of the Kings tombs, Abu Simbel….

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ahmed was an expert Egyptologist teaching us much about Egyptian culture and history as well as doing a splendid job as our tour guide. The organisation and itinerary was first class.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The trip is graded as leisurely because there are no difficult walks involved. But it is really full on with starts of 4am or earlier on 3 of the days to catch internal flights or the coach to Abu Simbel. Very high security at airports – we had hand sanitiser confiscated! No need to get E£ or US$ before you go - ATMs are good and plentiful and generally don’t charge fees. Get lots of small notes (5 E£, about 25p) as soon as possible for tips at toilets etc. – our guide managed to get supplies of these.

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