Reviews

Great Trip

Really enjoyed the trip. A fascinating island, great food, wonderful history. My only criticism is that we tried to cover too much, which at times led to us only reaching our hotel at 19.00.

Wonderful archaeological sites

Herculaneum and Pompeii were outstandingly good, seeing the artefacts in the Museum at Naples helped put the earlier visits into context. Walking to the top of Vesuvius was fantastic and seeing Capri was wonderful. Amalfi and Ravello were also very enjoyable and deserved four stars.

I felt the Path of the Gods walk had no place on this trip (perhaps only as an option for those who wanted to do it?). I did not the think the strenuous nature of the walk was adequately explained and an overall rating of ‘leisurely’ for this holiday certainly does not apply to the Path of the Gods. Several of our group would not have done the walk if they had known what it would entail. Positano was lost on me because by the time I had completed the walk I was hot, tired and dusty and not in the mood for sightseeing or shopping.

I felt the rest of our day in Naples could have been better spent elsewhere.

Most Inspirational Moment

Herculaneum and Pompeii - they were the reasons I booked the trip and they more than exceeded my expectations.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Eduardo's passion and love for his country is obvious and his energy and enthusiasm were impressive. We were a difficult group for him - a large group with two fallers on the Path of the Gods both of whom needed medical attention and stitches. I think he struggled to look after us all on that day - possibly the group was just too large for one person to manage? Although I think he did his best in difficult circumstances.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The pace of this holiday is marked as 'Leisurely'. The Path of the Gods is not leisurely and after our trip, that happened to coincide with the visit of two of the directors of Exodus, they will hopefully consider reassessing and reclassifying the description of the day spent on the Path of the Gods. There is a lot of walking on this trip and very little down time.

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Paula for her feedback. We are, however, sorry to learn of her concerns about the activity level of this tour. We have been running this itinerary for over 5 years with the same programme, which includes the Walk of the Gods as well as a short walk up to Mt Vesuvius, and the feedback we receive is normally very good. Following Paula’s group’s experience, however, we have updated the way our trip notes describe the overall trip difficulty, the terrain and the level of fitness required, to make sure our clients are prepared and aware of what to expect; and leaders will keep groups together during the most difficult section of the paths.  Marta Marinelli – Product Manager for Italy

Take this trip!

My sister and I have just completed this tour and we absolutely loved it!
The walks were tougher than we expected but worth every aching muscle at the end of each day!

Fantastic holiday!!

Had a fantastic time. Great guide, very knowledgable and very competent, lovely group and some good challenging activities.
Accommodation and food was good to excellent.
Had the most fabulous meal at the home of an Sicilian family; all produce from garden, including home made wine.

Fantastic holiday!!

Had a fantastic time. Great guide, very knowledgable and very competent, lovely group and some good challenging activities.
Accommodation and food was good to excellent.
Had the most fabulous meal at the home of an Sicilian family; all produce from garden, including home made wine.

Walking in Andalucia

A fantastic holiday superbly guided by Michael . Loved every minute from start to finish at the Cortijo Rosario. The staff and Roger the chef looked after us superbly. The accomodation is idyllic with fabulous views over the olive groves to the mountain of El Penon .
Although the walks were relatively easy they were interesting and scenic and the walk in the Caminito Del Reay was breathtaking.
The group of 10 were a great bunch ,got on with each other very well and were a pleasure to be with.

Excellent tour

Fabulous tour – it covered everythingI wanted to see or do, and much more -it exceeded my expectations. I loved every minute. Everyday was different and a pleasant experience. Great guide, great group, great fun, great tour, not to be missed.

Fantastic hiking holiday

We have just returned from a great week in Chamonix. The weather could certainly have been better and the low lying snow meant that a few of our walks did not run as planned. The guide managed to find alternatives which allowed us to see the region, weather permitting. The trip is classed as moderate but some of the days were quite challenging for some of the group. We were lucky to be part of an exceptional group of people which made each day an adventure no matter what the weather threw at us. The highlight of the trip was definitely Chalet Chamonix with Sarah and Rich. The meals were themed for different countries the couple has spent time in. But the cooking was at Haute Cuisine standard. Rich’s afternoon cakes were also fingerlicking good . The buffet from which we made up our packed lunches had a selection of homemade salads as well as meats and bread.Delicious!
The guest lounge and kitchen , with a well stocked honesty bar, turned into the hub where we spent time before and after the evening meal.
The hot tub helped to relieve the sore legs.

Chalet Chamonix amazing food and fabulous trip!

Sarah and Richard provide a service in the chalet that is second to none. I have not had food as good as this unless paying premium prices in a very expensive restaurant.
The company on the trip was superb a mix of Brits, Kiwis and Americans. The banter on and off the mountains was top notch.
Shaun our guide was great.
I have been on a few of these trips both working for companies and as a holiday maker. Can fault it and great memories.

Travels in the Baltics

A bit of a whirlwind tour although the three Baltic States relatively small, green and flat. I knew virtually nothing about them before I went but learned a lot out there. In particular their very complicated history – waves of invaders of whom the Soviet Union was the last one. There are ex-KGB premises which are now museums – very sobering to visit especially as people who were tortured there or sent to gulags still have family alive. Very sobering.

The tour was a good mix of cultural and natural sights. So as well as cities and towns there were visits to the coast. Much of the scenery was very attractive with a lot of forested areas
The number of places visited in a day and the amount of information imparted was sometimes a bit excessive. It was hard to absorb it all. There wasn’t much free time in some venues except for Riga.