Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The best moments include visiting the Buddha’s tooth relic in Kandy, spotting leopards in Yalla National Park and travelling on a packed train from the Hill country to the valley while viewing stunning scenery through the (open) train carriage door.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Neelaka was consistently upbeat, exceptionally informative about the country and always on hand to smooth out any issues and enable the tour to get on with enjoying the country.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for the rain and cold In Nuwara Eliya, to eating a lot of delicious food and to open your eyes to an extremely wide range of scenery, climate and wildlife.

Most Inspirational Moment

Mine was a non-walking moment actually! I adored taking the cable car to Aiguille du Midi, to see Mont Blanc from as close as one can without climbing. This was an optional trip on the day off. Seems pricey at first but absolutely worth every cent. The views, the altitude, such a privilege.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Mark, the walking guide is super fit and knows his stuff re geography and points of interest. He is kind too and although we had a schedule to stick to, he catered for the abilities of the entire group, in terms of sufficient R&R along the routes. I felt very safe under his guidance and he cleverly came up with a Plan B on the spur of the moment when my walking boots failed me! I whizzed back to the chalet for my back-up footwear and met up with the group, so I didn't miss out on the first day's walking - most grateful.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take tried and tested walking shoes / boots. Check laces are secure - not fraying, and soles are well and truly firmly in place. Sounds so obvious but I hadn't worn my boots in some time. Luckily I had a pair of walking shoes with me to use instead.

Most Inspirational Moment

Probably snorkeling whales, turtles and humming birds

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent see previous comment

Advice for Potential Travellers

You have to have an interest in flora and fauna

Most Inspirational Moment

Stepping out of my comfort zone in a supported environment.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very good. Worked well with group. Very organised .

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take part in the varied experiences. Take up challenges and 😊 enjoy.

Most Inspirational Moment

Pompei was sensational. So was Capri

Thoughts on Group Leader

I thought he was superb for adults, but not necessarily for kids. Very helpful and sociable

Advice for Potential Travellers

Check carefully. Not a lot for teenagers. I chose the trip specifically for that reason, but nothing for them to do. The adult trip, walking, seem to have a more adventurous trip. This family trip is for younger children, my daughter, age 14, didn't enjoy it much. Make sure there are lots of other travellers the same age, otherwise they will be bored in the evenings, nothing to do in the village

Most Inspirational Moment

I think we all enjoyed the quiet boat trip in Tortuguero - how Glenda managed to find a waterway all to ourselves given the amount of traffic on the main river I will never know. But the chance to see turtles, crocodiles, various birds including toucans and macaws, monkeys, lizards etc in their natural habitat with the added highlight of the 2 dolphins was marvellous. The white water rafting and zip wiring were such fun and we all enjoyed the adrenalin rush! And seeing something new almost at every turn was great. Traipsing back to our room one afternoon we came across an armadillo, seeing a coati in the grounds of the hotel, howler monkeys moving across in the trees above the swimming pool... etc. I could go on.......

Thoughts on Group Leader

Nothing short of fabulous. Glenda was so knowledgeable and her telescope managed to pick out things that we could not even see with the naked eye. Mauricio was always there incase anyone wanted to finish a walk early and his keen eye also spotted other treats hidden in the trees. Glenda's enthusiasm for her country and her willingness to share this with us was much appreciated. Our experience of Costa Rica would not have been half as good without her...

Advice for Potential Travellers

It is hot and humid in August and clothes all get very damp. Anything that gets wet, stays wet. So pack clothes in ziplock bags and keep them zipped wherever possible. Dry-wicking clothes are perfect and do not bring anything that cannot dry easily. A ball or something for the kids to play with in the pools is a great idea. And test your waterproofs before you travel. These need to be industrial strength as when it rains I mean it really rains!! Stand in the shower for 15 minutes on full blast and check those seams!!! If your kids are remotely travel sick - think about travel bands on their wrists as the roads are windy and bumpy. Connecting or family rooms are rare however if you have young kids the rooms normally have 2 double beds so you could all sleep together although it might be quite tight! A zoom camera is a must and maybe, as we did, another soft bag to throw in the washing and / or hiking boots when these are not being worn will keep the suitcases relatively clean and organised.

Most Inspirational Moment

It was humbling to meet the big hearted people of these mountains, so hard working, whether it be trekking with horses to get the luggage to the next shepherds huts, bringing tents to our campsite or providing banquets of artisan food using meagre facilities.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Dorian hails from these mountains which is a real bonus. The group was a competitive lot, decked out in performance logging technology, at times they craved more information about the daily challenges ahead.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Shepherds huts were same sex dorms, either mattresses on the floor or bunks, toilets could be a hole in the ground, showers a bucket of cold water close to the hole in the ground. at one place the ladies walked up the hill, round the corner and bathed in the stream! When the hotels nights came we made the most of the facilities! Food is artisan, handmade cheese, home baked bread, lots of tomatoes, peppers and cucumber. Interesting soups, spinach pie and the famous flee pie. It's chilly in those hills at night bring a fleece I managed without Lekke, survived with Euros Head torch was really useful to navigate the accommodation/read at night Arrive for this well trained, it's a tough trek, lots of steep uphill, steep downhill, rough terrain. Crazy running 5K/10K/half marathons/marathons seemed to be a popular pastime of our group.

Most Inspirational Moment

My daughter and I loved the rafting trip at Sarapiqui - which was the "floating safari" rather than the white water version as we felt too nervous to do that. In fact, because of heavy rain the night before the water was quite stirred up so it was actually quite thrilling. The guide on this raft was wonderful - he made it really fun. She also loved the zip wiring at Sarapiqui, and we all enjoyed the hot springs at La Fortuna - absolutely magical in the twilight. But the stars of the show were all the animals we saw - especially sloths and monkeys, and endless iguanas!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Katia was one in a million - so knowledgeable and such a brilliant communicator. Long journeys were broken up with really good background on where we were and what we were seeing, and she gave us really good historical, cultural and social background too. - As a birdwatcher I really appreciated her willingness to take us on 6am bird spotting strolls. I would never have seen half so much if she hadn't shown me it - and her passion for flora and fauna is infectious. I will never forget her detailed description of the social organisation of the leaf cutter ant! She is a born leader - always managing to make things feel organic and informal, while doing masses of contingency planning behind the scenes. She also treated us all as individuals and sought to offer options that would appeal to each of us. Her local knowledge of restaurants was invaluable - she gave us choices and took us to great places.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We went in the rainy season - and boy, did it rain. Not just an hour or two a day, but torrentially for hours on end, especially on the Caribbean side where it rains more or less all the year round. And when it isn't raining it is more often than not very overcast. Once we got to the Pacific side the weather was much better - sunshine for at least half of every day. So be prepared for the weather - it can be demoralising. Others have mentioned the difficulty in drying clothes out - our guide was ingenious and took us twice to local laundrettes where a service wash was efficient and far cheaper than in the hotels. Returned either same day or following morning. Hotels are simple - but we liked the simplest one, at Cahuita, the best because you could hear the ocean from the garden. We had a miserable time on the optional turtle trip at Tortuguero locally run, not organised by Exodus. We had to walk through rainforest to get to the beach and, because of heavy rain, floodwater was nearly up to our knees - the pitch dark and the warnings about going single file because of the risk of snakes resulted in our daughter being absolutely terrified. We did see turtles but by this time she was unable to enjoy and just wanted to feel safe again. It felt very overcrowded and not really in the interests of the turtles. But the river trips made going to Tortuguero worth it. Do consider doing what we did: we booked a hotel on the Pacific coast and stayed on for five more nights after the tour relaxing, swimming and whale watching. Really worth it - after travelling all that way.

Most Inspirational Moment

Chobe National Park at sunset with the birds in their flocks going to roost. Watering holes in Etosha National Park were phenomenal.At one point there were at least 40 elephants by the water together with impalas, zebras, eland and a couple of giraffes,not forgetting various bird species. Sossusvlei dunes ever phenomenal in Namibia and Deadvlei’s skeleton acacias very photogenic. Sunrise and sunsets have left a golden impression of the entire holiday.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent time keeper who has leadership qualities of an army general which he relaxed once he had sussed out the group.

Advice for Potential Travellers

For the camping trip ensure you take a suitably warm sleeping bag and clothing . Travel light as there’s a lot of loading and unloading into the truck. Soft back packs are ideal.

Most Inspirational Moment

Constant views of the stunning lake.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Self-guided.