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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14485 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Christopher Barton

Reviewed July 2018

Truly wonderful trip

This was our third camping trip with Exodus and this is almost becoming our preferred trip type – being cheaper doesn’t hurt either. We were amazed at the shear number of animals we saw in Kenya and Uganda long before we got to the Gorilla area. We saw the big five, and mostly with babies!, great scenery, wonderful lakes and rivers. Game drives were varied not only in the nature of the country visited but also sometimes in the ‘bus’ sometimes in 4X4s and sometimes by boat. There were some longish drives but with lots to look at, stops for snacks and toilets, and time to charge cameras etc for the next stop. We felt very well looked after the whole time, and guided through formalities of border crossings etc. We were a smallish group of nine which meant we had lots of space, and we got on well.

Most Inspirational Moment

I guess it has to be the gorillas - being so close and watching while they just got on with their lives. The babies were adorable and the silverback huge, but they seemed very peaceful.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jacob was really great, as were the other members of the team - KFC, Stonecold & Dolly. They looked after us really well and bought great calm and humour to the whole trip. In many ways they made it possible for us to have the great time we had.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I considered taking my walking gaiters but decided against it - almost the first thing Jacob said was "I hope you all brought you gaiters for the gorilla trek"! In fact we did well using two pairs of socks with the long pair on the outside and trousers tucked into them. It worked out fine. Do use a porter for the gorilla trek, it makes life a lot easier just having your bag carried, and the occasional hand up, but it also brings much needed employment to the local community.

Alexandra Tindall

Reviewed July 2018

Essential Peru Trip

This was an adventure trip. There was long bus journeys but you see the country as it is. We stayed in Lima in the Miraflores region a day before the trip which I am glad we did. We only managed to do half the trip as my husband got acute mountain sickness. We enjoyed the Ballestas islands especially the rock formations. We seen the Naza lines a couple from the tower , the rest from the aeroplane. The aeroplane did make me feel nauseous with the plane banking from one side to the other so everyone could see. I am really glad I seen them though. We then went to Cusco. Cusco was a lot bigger than I thought. I liked the Historic district of where we stayed in the hotel. We then went to Ollytambo. We only went there because there were strikes than would have stopped us getting out of Cusco and Exodus arranges at short notice to leave a day early and go to Ollytambo. I think they should include Ollytambo in the tour it was a lovely village and there are a lot of ruins you can visit. We then went to Machu Picchu which I enjoyed. I did think the guide would take us round the buildings, but he only did a couple as he spent too long explaining the Solstace etc. I would rather have spent more time going round the buildings with the guide. We did have free time here too to go around on your own which was good. We then went back to Cusco. Which was the end of the tour for us. We missed staying with a local family on Amantani Isalnd, Lake Titicaca, Puno , Cocoa canyon and Arequipa which was a shame. I enjoyed the part of the trip we did.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing a Machu Picchu as I have wanted to visit it for some years now.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Sabastian was really good . He is a credit to Exodus. He explained things all the time about the trip and what was going to happen. He handled all the changes caused through the strikes and had regular meetings to inform the group. He chose lovely restaurants to have our meals. He would find out answers to anything you asked if he did not know the answer straight away. He had arranged for the doctor to come to the hotel when my husband got ill. He came to the hospital that night and came back with me in the early hours of the morning. Because the tour had a free day in Cusco the next day ,he accompanied me to the hospital in the morning and the afternoon . He then arranged for someone else from Exodus to come to the hospital and help me and my husband for the week he was in ICU.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take the tablet for Altitude sickness it may help. Nobody knows who is susceptible to altitude sickness until they actually get it. If you get any signs of it tell your guide and accept help. Read all the joining instructions and make sure you take everything that is recommended it will make your journey more comfortable.

Christopher Bruce

Reviewed July 2018

Kicheche Bush Camp

Absolutely brilliant safari.

Paul Goldstein and the local guides went out of their way to ensure we had the best experience.
The camp itself was superb and the food was the best we’ve had on any trip.
The camp managers, Darren & Emma, were very friendly and welcoming and added to the overall experience.
We would happily go back tomorrow.

Most Inspirational Moment

The number of big cat sightings, which was due to the spotting skills and patience of the guides.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Paul Goldstein is a legend. Inspirational and great fun, you learn so much just from being with him.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Get on the next plane out. You won't regret it.

jane atkinson

Reviewed July 2018

walking in albania

This is a really great trip combining some really challenging walking in wonderful, completely unspoilt mountainous terrain for the first half of the trip and a short exploration of Albanian culture for the second half.
The accommodation in the mountains in very friendly, family run guest houses was beyond my expectations and always very clean – a great experience. The food, particularly at Valbone, was excellent and plentiful.
It was a great pleasure to visit a country/region where tourism has not yet arrived!

Most Inspirational Moment

Difficult to pin down any particular moment - walking in the completely unspoilt, non touristy (difficult to find these days!) Albanian mountains was certainly inspirational.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Arvil was an extremely pleasant and well informed leader who spoke English fluently. However there are 2 points I would like to raise regarding his decisions 1. For reasons which were never made clear the already scheduled long drive from Valbona (Day 6) to Berat was extended to go via Dourros on the coast (his home town I believe). There appeared no good reason for this. This made it an extremely tiring day of almost 12 hours arriving at Berat at 1900 where we were, after checking into our hotel, taken off for a guided tour of 2 of the oldest mosques in the country (on the itinerary for the following day). Most of the group including myself were too tired to either challenge this or declined this tour. 2. On Day 5 the option to do the full length of the White Circle was not given. Although I was perfectly happy to walk only as far as the ridge and back down the valley, I know that at least 2 of the group was very disappointed not be able to be given this choice. Again no reason for this was presented by Arvil.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are not fit and a seasoned walker this trip will find you out!!! The Exodus rating of 3 Moderate is a little understated I would say. The mountain walking in this programme is really wonderful but if you are not already a regular walker and unfit think twice about this. Having said all of the above I would highly recommend this programme if you like unspoilt untouristy places - go now before its too late!

Richard Hazlehurst

Reviewed July 2018

Not for the faint-hearted

A fabulous trip to a very interesting country. Thoroughly recommended, but please note the reservations about travelling discomforts, below.

Most Inspirational Moment

Probably climbing the singing sand dunes. The views were astonishing.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Odka was wonderful. She never stopped smiling and she was always looking after us and ensuring we were comfortable, well-informed, well-fed and well-watered.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The website explains that there is a lot of travelling involved with this trip. That is inevitable, given the size of the country and the distances between the various places to be visited. What is perhaps not made clear enough is the fact that the journeys in the desert are almost entirely off-road and the distances make in necessary to travel at quite high speeds. You can be hurtling along at 50, even nearly 60, m.p.h. for many hours on packed sand, gravel or stone with bumps, jumps, swerves and sudden braking. After 10 or 11 hours of this, we felt shaken, not stirred, and had aches and pains to remind us of it. If you go on this trip, you will see some remarkable places and have some wonderful experiences. But do be warned about the discomforts of the travelling. Everything else was good, great, often excellent.

Mick Sfinarolakis

Reviewed July 2018

Amazing trip!

Fantastic week in amazing surroundings with great people, we stayed in chalet chocolat which is a lovely chalet with everything needed for a comfortable stay, hosts zohi and ben were brilliant, very friendly and accomodating and kept us well fed with excellent food. 5 days of walking amongst fabulous scenery and a day to explore, paraglide, ride the cable cars etc. Our guide for the walks, tom, was fantastic, friendly, full of knowledge and contributed to a brilliant week. All round a great holiday, would highly recommend.

Most Inspirational Moment

Everyday brought something new so difficult to pick one moment, the walks offered varying amazing views of the alps and paragliding on the day off was unbelievable.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader tom was brilliant, full of stories, great knowledge of the local area and around the world, and a very friendly guy.

Kathleen Bush

Reviewed July 2018

Perfect Week in Chamonix France

My husband, son, and I just spent a delightful week in Chamonix , France on the Mt Blanc highlights trip. We stayed in Chalet Chocolat and loved every minute of the trip. Each day we enjoyed a great breakfast and packed up a lunch that included sandwiches with fresh locally baked bread and salads prepared by our wonderful chalet hosts Zohi and Ben.
Our guide Shaun would lead us daily to a different area around Mt Blanc for a beautiful hike in the Alps. The hike itineraries were well planned out. We saw a variety of areas and had time for a great picnic lunch each afternoon.
In the afternoons Zohi had a delicious cake waiting upon our arrival back at the Chalet. We could also enjoy time in the hot tub with views of Mt Blanc.
Every night Zohi and Ben cooked a delicous gourmet meal.
We couldn’t have been happier on our trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

My favorite moment was picnicking in a field of wild flowers in Italy .

Anne Holmes

Reviewed July 2018

A great holiday

My first cycling trip couldn’t have gone better, a great group of people, an excellent leader and luck with the weather. There is a good mixture of cycling and tourism although the itinerary is full so there isn’t a lot of free time or opportunity for stopping en route.

Most Inspirational Moment

I liked the undulations of the day around Trakkai as knew I would get lost and didnt have to save any energy for other rides! Enjoyed seeing how fast I could go. Really enjoyed the beauty of Palmse. The day at Jurmala was good as we had free time and loved the dachas.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Lina was excellent, organised but friendly. Her sharing of her personal experiences of life in Lithuania brought the whole trip alive. She has an extensive factual knowledge of the Baltic and found some great places for us to eat.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If I had known that a cycle pannier was provided, I wouldn't have brought a cycling rucksack. Water was also provided so a single water bottle was fine. The trip notes said that there should be time to look round Tallinn but the Exodus flights were an evening arrival. Some of the group arrived a day earlier to see the city which was a good idea.

david martin

Reviewed July 2018

Comments from Christine and David Martin

We enjoyed the holiday very much, we had a good insight into the three capital cities and a fiar understanding of how the countyry side worked.
The food was much better than expected ,
we had feared it might mainly be pork and dumplings but it was a good selection of ‘western ‘ and local dishes.
The cycling was mainly through forest tracks which do not give many views of the country side but perhaps it is very difficult to design a cycling holiday in a very forested area to include time to stop and look aroun villages . Although the cycling was not technically difficult there were times when it was necessary to keep close to the leader mto avoid getting lost. A back marker would have been very useful and would have been able to cope with any problems (punctures, accidents) as well as ensuring.

Most Inspirational Moment

looking around the old towns and being told of the problems which the three countries had faced during the last 100 or so years.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Lina was very personable, knowledgable about the areas we went throuh. She told us in great detail about the histories of the countries, the problems which they faced and, potentailly, still face. She interacted well with all members of the group, ensured that the eveing and lunch time restaurants wer einteresting. It seemsed that the distances which we cycled and were transferred were quite long for the times allocated , we always seemed to be trying to catch up with the schedule. Not sure if that is a problem of the design of the holiday. but loading a nd unloading the bikes takes about one hour

Advice for Potential Travellers

be prepared for fairly hectic days

Carol Penn

Reviewed July 2018

A remarkable trip

This was a trip full of variety and dramatic scenery, from the surreal Ashgabat, the amazing Darvaza crater, the beautiful mosques and madrasahs of Samarkand and Bukhara to the truly majestic and ever changing scenery of the Kyrgyzstan mountains. Each of the 5 countries had its own unique character. There are some long journeys but they are full of continuing interest with lots of worthwhile stops on route. 99% of the accommodation was very comfortable, spacious and spotlessly clean.

Most Inspirational Moment

I found the experience of the continuing journey to new and unexpected sites and places the biggest wonder. There was no tourist commercialism at all. One guide in the walnut grove was highly surprised when I said I would buy 3 packets of walnuts!!

Thoughts on Group Leader

The experienced and knowledgable Suzie Grant guided us effortlessly throughout and 3 of the local guides were outstanding.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for ‘4 seasons in 1day’ at Son-Kul lake. Take some warm layers. The stoves in the yurts are not lit until 8.30pm and it is c o l d! That said, it is very comfortable glamping.

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