Reviews

Everest Base Camp March 2018

What an absolutely amazing experience, too beautiful to ever put into words! Everything from start to finish was simply perfect – the organisation, the people, the nature. Without a doubt one of the toughest, coldest and most incredible things I have ever done!

I want to go back!

Last week we floated in the Dead Sea, snorkelled in the Red Sea, rode camels, camped in the Wadi Rum, looked out over awesome canyons and amazing landscapes, marvelled at mosaics, drank mint tea with the Bedouin, were driven through the desert in a 4×4, run down sand dunes, ate more houmous than you can shake a piece of flat bread at, and, of course, explored the wonders of the Lost City of Petra. We felt completely safe and welcome the entire time and have made new friends and memories that will last a lifetime! Go with an open mind, be prepared to take the rough with the smooth – the hotels are not 5 star – the Petra Palace Hotel is far from palatial (someone in our group joked that it was probably discovered at the same time as Petra) and the Golden Tulip at Aqaba lost its shine years ago – but we didn’t come to Jordan to sit in hotels. The only real downside to it all is coming home! Last night my 13 year old said to me, “We were a bit worried about going on this holiday, but I”m so glad we did but I”m sad it’s all over!”.

The Tropical South

The trip’s title really sums up our impression of Kerala. The vegetation is lush and every tree or plant seems to bear medicinal and /or edible spices,delicious fruit or vegetables. It was a very varied trip – some long journeys, but to see as much as we did, they were necessary and our bus was air conditioned and very comfortable. Our walk through the tea plantations was most enjoyable . I think we will appreciate a cup of tea even more, having seen the pluckers at work. The drive over the mountains to Tamil Nadu was spectacular. Relaxing on our houseboat as we floated past villages was a very pleasant experience. We didn’t see tigers or elephants, but still enjoyed our boat trip in the Nature Reserve, although we were slightly surprised by the numbers of humans we saw!
Our group was interesting and fun to be with. and we never felt like we were merely following a disinterested guide. Sibil did his best to answer our many questions and every venue had a local guide.

I want to go back!

Last week we floated in the Dead Sea, snorkelled in the Red Sea, rode camels, camped in the Wadi Rum, looked out over awesome canyons and amazing landscapes, marvelled at mosaics, drank mint tea with the Bedouin, were driven through the desert in a 4×4, run down sand dunes, ate more houmous than you can shake a piece of flat bread at, and, of course, explored the wonders of the Lost City of Petra. We felt completely safe and welcome the entire time and have made new friends and memories that will last a lifetime! Go with an open mind, be prepared to take the rough with the smooth – the hotels are not 5 star – the Petra Palace Hotel is far from palatial (someone in our group joked that it was probably discovered at the same time as Petra) and the Golden Tulip at Aqaba lost its shine years ago – but we didn’t come to Jordan to sit in hotels. The only real downside to it all is coming home! Last night my 13 year old said to me, “We were a bit worried about going on this holiday, but I”m so glad we did but I”m sad it’s all over!”.

Walking in Mallorca

Lovely relaxing week on an island I hadn’t visited before. Two centres with the contrast between the lively Puerto Soller with plenty of choice of restaurants and the quieter(and enjoyable) more remote environment of Lluc Monastery. A variety of walks exploring different aspects of the Sierra Tramuntana from dramatic coastal paths and views of turquoise seas and steep cliffs to more sustained mountain paths leading to 360 degree views of the mountain range. Not strenuous walking but pretty much all walks on good rocky paths, some uneven, which are perfect for regular walkers(I do use poles but didn’t need them on this occasion) ; for early April we were lucky apparently as we had no rain – if it had been wet, the walks could have been much trickier. All of this superbly orchestrated and managed by our experienced local guide Eduard who was a star in every respect from planning the logistics of the walks, leading professionally, making sure everyone was safe, preparing lunches, driving, and particularly gelling with the group and communicating his passion for everything Mallorquin having grown up on the island.

Walking in Mallorca

Lovely relaxing week on an island I hadn’t visited before.
Two centres with the contrast between the lively Puerto Soller with plenty of choice of restaurants and the quieter(and enjoyable) more remote environment of Lluc Monastery.
A variety of walks exploring different aspects of the Sierra Tramuntana from dramatic coastal paths and views of turquoise seas and steep cliffs to more sustained mountain paths leading to 360 degree views of the mountain range.
Not strenuous walking but pretty much all walks on good rocky paths, some uneven, which are perfect for regular walkers(I do use poles but didn’t need them on this occasion) ; for early April we were lucky apparently as we had no rain – if it had been wet, the walks could have been much trickier.

All of this superbly orchestrated and managed by our experienced local guide Eduard who was a star in every respect from planning the logistics of the walks, leading professionally, making sure everyone was safe, preparing lunches, driving, and particularly gelling with the group and communicating his passion for everything Mallorquin having grown up on the island.

A week in Jordan

What a wonderful country, full of Eastern promise.
The people were lovely and did not annoy us as we passed so many little shops.
The country was clean and the hotels of a very good standard, a little bit more expensive then we first though it was going to be, but it is a fairly rich country so prices are on the higher side.
The Dead sea, Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, Aqaba were all fabulous but Petra was something else, amazing place and so much bigger than we thought it was going to be.
Brilliant week and made even nicer by the fact we had 16 companions from 4 different countries, no smokers no moaners just wonderfully friendly people who were there to enjoy this amazing country.
Thanks to all of you.

Discover Costa Rica

I would highly recommend this trip. The trip is very wildlife oriented, so if that is not your main interest, it may not be for you. However, I wouldn’t say that is normally my main area of interest, and yet I really enjoyed this trip, and it made a nice change. You get 2 nights in each place (except San Jose), so its not as rushed as some trips where it’s mostly 1 night before moving on. The standard of accommodation is very good too. Bus journeys were broken up so they didn’t feel too long, so don’t worry about the time spent on the bus. Great customer service and standards of tourism infrastructure in Costa Rica. An excellent, well organised trip, as perfect as these things are ever going to be.

The Time of Our Lives

Though I have travelled to about seventy countries, Jordan with Exodus offered me one of the best weeks of my life and I and my twelve year old will be absorbing the experience for a long time to come. A haven of peace in a troubled region, it is so important that we go to Jordan and support such wonderful people in building their tourism industry. Petra and Wadi Rum were high points, though you somehow have to make it to Jerash, the Roman city north of Amman. Our guide, Sami, organised it for us and we were taken there on the usual tour bus. I will always remember him. He was such a good guide, not just for running the mechanics of the trip but because he was so a charismatic figure, a serious scholar of all he was showing us, a superb story teller and so good at relating to the kids. At Wadi Rum he even bought a football for them and they had an amazing time. Thanks to him for making it perfect.

Comfortable trek with beautiful scenery

This is the third trek I’ve done in Nepal, the fourth in the Himalayas. I enjoyed the trek, found it easier than Everest Base Camp, the Annapurna Circuit and Ladakh- the Markha Valley. Yes, the numerous stone ‘staircases’ were a bit tough at the time, but very do-able and we were not rushed but had plenty of stops to catch breath and drink water. The tea-houses were OK (I always find the basic level of accommodation, especially the toilets & showers, also the rooms a tougher personal challenge than the actual walking) – the food they offered was OK (I didn’t get sick!!), if a bit repetitive.
The scenery was beautiful – big mountain landscapes, valleys with rippling streams and waterfalls, small villages and families farming their terraces using water buffalos and wooden ploughs. Always, the high snowy peaks were in the background. Add to that the colourful rhododendron forests and tiny bamboo bridges. When we first arrived at the Annapurna Sanctuary, I was a bit disappointed as there was no snow on the ground….and muttered to my friend ‘Oh no, just a load of old rocks!!’, but then, as we arrived at ABC, it started snowing heavily…and snowed and snowed all afternoon. The next morning, we trekked back across the flattish section between ABC and MBC and it was stunning – a perfect ‘winter wonderland’ and everything i’d hoped for.
This trek reached a lower altitude than I had experienced on my previous Himalayan treks and I was fortunate not to experience any symptoms of altitude sickness at all (whereas I did have some (manageable) symptoms on the previous ones.
Sunrise at Poon Hill was also a delight. I’d experienced this once before when on the Annapurna Circuit, but, unfortunately, on that occasion, although we climbed the hill, there was no view to be had – it was all obscured by clound. However, on this occasion, Mother Nature decided to reward my persistence and we were greeted by beautiful views of the mountains.