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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14440 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Nicolo Tassoni

Reviewed March 2018

Highlands of Sri Lanka walking tour

Two weeks walking tour in Sri Lank. through cultural hotspots, mountain ranges, tea plantations, national parks. An excellent programme for a first discovery of the Country, its traditions, its people and its wildlife.

Most Inspirational Moment

I particularly enjoyed the trekkings in the Knuckles Ranges, but found extremely interessing as well the atmosphere of the Temple of the Tooth in Candy and the train journey from Ella to Badulla. Most pleasant place to stroll and relax definitely Galle.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Sujeewa, our team leader has been truly excellent: very knowledgeable on subjects as different as Wildlife, history, traditional handicrafting. He has also been extremely nice to all of us, attentionate and helpful as well as an excellent organiser.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It is a very good tour for thos who want to discover a wide range of aspects of Sri Lanka. Walking is an integral part of the trip but not overwelming on other activities such as cultural visits etc.

C L

Reviewed March 2018

Beautiful Finnish wilderness holiday

We had a really good time with a family of 5. The setting is beautiful – a low-key lodge in the forest, on the edge of a frozen lake. There are lovely walks from the lodge and cross country skiing. The trips were great, with authentic experiences with reindeer herders and husky owners.
Children were entertained constantly by the deep, deep snow! Equipment very good, and food excellent too.

Most Inspirational Moment

The campfire meals at the husky sledge and the reindeer farm, and the last night evening meal under the stars. Very low-key and relaxed, with no rush to get through anything - the leaders looked as if they were having as much fun as the guests.

Thoughts on Group Leader

There is a high ratio of staff to guests, which makes for great service on the trip and meals too. They were all excellent.

Advice for Potential Travellers

As mentioned by others, you don't need to bring much gear! The clothing and gear they provide is excellent and warm (though you need a scarf/neck warmer). But it all looks the same, so a handy hint if you want to spot your child among 8 identical children milling around a reindeer is to bring your own hat!

Jon Cooley

Reviewed March 2018

Discover Costa Rica

A great trip, very well organised with very comfortable accommodation in wonderful locations.
It provides a very good introduction to this fantastic country within a very brief timespan.
Attention to detail was excellent as was the contribution of our group leader and driver.

Most Inspirational Moment

The initial few days spent at Tortuguero was amazing, arriving and exploring by boat. Being located within the jungle was a great sensory experience, with night times especially noisy with birds, insects, mammals and the Caribbean waves so close by. The optional zip wire experience in Monteverde was exhilarating.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Antonio was exceptional. His knowledge, his manner, his humour and most of all his passion for his country and its wildlife were all outstanding. Unfortunately we had a medical issue while on the trip and Antonio, Oliver (our driver), and the manager of the Aquinas Lodge were all extremely helpful. Also, Camino travel making extra arrangements.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Drink plenty of water and avoid dehydration. It can have unpleasant consequences!

(E) Pat Arlette

Reviewed March 2018

Borneo Wildlife

This was an absolutely fabulous holiday. It had been very well thought out to give us as much exposure as possible to as many aspects as possible of the wildlife of Borneo. The accommodation was good and we saw an amazing variety of animals, birds, plants and insects. The local guides were excellent at spotting things of interest and Sheila, our leader, was one of the best I have ever had, all done with a lovely sense of humour. I’d thoroughly recommend it.

Most Inspirational Moment

Probably seeing the giant flying squirrels as I wasn't expecting them. The orang-utans in the sanctuary and in the wild were just lovely.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent! A grand sense of humour, always patient, interested in us all personally, very knowledgable and very good at spotting the wildlife

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are interested in wildlife, go for it

Felicity Iredale

Reviewed March 2018

Sri Lankan Discovery

I thought the trip was very well organised and our guide Ruwan was excellent

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing a leopard in the wild . I also enjoyed The 3 visits to the houses of local people and having the privilege of them cooking a meal for us.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent could not have been better. He was kind thoughtful and very capable with a very good knowledge of local history.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don’t expect a relaxing holiday there is a lot of travelling on this trip and some early morning starts

Jennifer Child

Reviewed March 2018

Sierra di Aitana trek TSA

A great weeks walking in a surprisingly unknown area, with stunning views. The walks for the week were over very varied terrain and we were led by the local guide José who was excellent and very knowledgeable of the area. His local experience was also valuable in adjusting the schedule for the week to account for the weather. This ensured we were able to cover the most scenic or challenging days in the best conditions.
The transfers were very short and several walks were direct from or back to the hotel.
This is graded as Moderately/challenging as there are long ascents and descents over sometimes challenging terrain. We agree with this grading.
We thoroughly enjoyed the week.
The small local hotel was really friendly and comfortable with good food and wine.

Most Inspirational Moment

All the walks were good. Perhaps the ascent to Puig Campana at 1410m.

Thoughts on Group Leader

José was very good and had worked hard to provide great walking for the week over varied terrain. He also provided support and information in providing extra activities for the rest day.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Read the trip notes. Boots with good tread and walking poles are advised. Unusually we needed blister plasters, so these might be worthwhile packing.

Cheryl Morris

Reviewed March 2018

If you love hot, polluted cities, this is for you

Not in my list of top twenty Exodus trips

Most Inspirational Moment

I'm tempted to say "getting home", but I did enjoy seeing Angkor Wat. We went to a couple of excellent restaurants recommended by the guides. Hoi An has its charms. I enjoyed the floating markets in HCMC but we had only about half an hour so it was a bit rushed.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Fair in Vietnam - not overly interesting and his English was at times difficult to understand but he worked hard to keep us on track with the itinerary. Very professional and a nice guy. In Angkor Wat - excellent guide with superb English who surprised us with his excellent knowledge and vocabulary (he got me with "cantilever"). Only with him for two days.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You are based in cities in Vietnam. It's hard to walk anywhere - mopeds use the pavements as parking bays and whenever there is some space, the mopeds drive on it. You need nerves of steel to cross the road. HCMC felt more spacious but it's a huge city with sky scrapers. You have very little exposure to the countryside (though some people in the group did an optional morning cycle ride into countryside and raved about the experience). There's no wildlife to speak of, even in Hoi An when we stayed by the river, in the Mekong Delta and during the trip to Halong Bay. Pollution is a huge problem in the parts of Vietnam we visited. Air quality is very poor and many locals wear masks. It was hard to take a decent photograph of any water due to the large numbers of plastic bags and bottles floating on the surface. Hotels were in the main the kind you would use on a business trip. I drew the short straw in most hotels though some other members of the group were lucky in getting rooms overlooking pleasing sights. In HCMC, we were surrounded by noisy construction sites which kept some group members awake at night and there were numerous massage parlours in the same street as our hotel, with scantily clad employees seated outside. One of our group said, "Miss Saigon is not a musical but an essential piece of travel advice" - and it's not far off the mark. Overall, I didn't find this a Premium experience. The trip is scant on content and whenever you do get to a sight, I felt we had very little time to explore properly. Angkor Wat is worth seeing however and the overgrown temples are beautiful - but be prepared for crowds.

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Cheryl for her feedback, although we regret that she did not enjoy her time in Vietnam. We appreciate that Vietnam is an increasingly popular tourist destination; as part of our Responsible Travel Policy our local operator strives to ensure that our groups minimize their impact on the communities they visit and that we do not add to the plastic waste issues facing South East Asia. We also feel it is worth mentioning that out of 48 reviews on our website, clients have given this tour an average of 4.5 stars out of a possible 5 (on the date of publishing) and we feel this is reassuring, however we are genuinely sorry that Cheryl’s experience was not so positive.

Kelly Reid – Product Manager for Vietnam and Cambodia

Neil & Carole Bowman & Mahoney

Reviewed March 2018

Snow leopards aplenty!

This was our second visit to Hemis NP in search of the snow leopard. Our visit in 2011 produced one very brief sighting. On this return visit we were amply rewarded with several lengthy sightings on four of the six days we were there, giving us the chance to view them stalking prey (blue sheep), resting and ridge-walking. Much of our success was due to the incredible skill and dedication of our Ladakhi spotters. We cannot thank them enough.
We were also priveleged to have good sightings of a pair of wolves, a herd of urials, picas, woolly hares and several large birds of prey including two Eagle Owls roosting and flying at dusk.
Apart from wildlife watching, there were very good cultural experiences too – visiting monasteries, attending a Buddhist masked dance festival at Matho Monastery and a welcoming homestay in the traditional Ladakhi village of Rumbak.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing one of the leopards, after resting, stand up then roll around on the ground with paws in the air! We were told this helps camouflage its coat and hide its scent from its prey.

Thoughts on Group Leader

As we have said many times, Valerie Parkinson is second to none in all respects!

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you have visited the Himalaya during the summer months, we would highly recommend the contrasting experience of winter in Ladakh. There are very few other tourists, the scenery is different but more spectacular for its frozen rivers and snow-covered slopes. Yes, it can be very cold, but it can also be very bright and sunny, so, as long as you have the appropriate kit, there should be no problem. And don't take too many changes of clothes! Do as the local Ladakhis do in winter.....

Teresa Lipson

Reviewed March 2018

Disappointing holiday with potential to be so much better

If there were a category between Fair and Good I would have ticked that one. I was on the same trip as Steve Winfield and concur with pretty much everything he said. Apart from the guide (ssee below) another disappointing matter for a trip called Premium was the variability of the accommodation. From a delightful (but cold) riad in Meknes and a lovely one in Essaouira to a rather sterile (and cold) hotel in Fez and a really miserable and dirty one in Marrakech. The latter was probably the biggest disappointment as I had hoped to stay, at the end of the trip and the hundreds of miles covered, in one of the many lovely riads in the city or at least a hotel that justified the Premium label. We ended up in this ghastly hotel , on a busy noisy road (my room was right on it), a lousy breakfast and unhelpful and rude staff (who denied that the wifi didnt work in some of the rooms when some of us were clearly experiencing the opposite).
I am sounding negative because I had hoped better of Exodus but I would not recommend this holiday as it was delivered to us.

Most Inspirational Moment

Riding the camel through the desert ...the beautiful Secret Garden... the wonderful guide at Todra

Thoughts on Group Leader

It is extremely telling that the review of the same trip taken in November is much more positive than our experience and that their guide was described as excellent and fun. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for ours and this set the tone of things. I think we all had a good time but this was despite him. He was very efficient on the organizational side so we could travel with no worries about luggage etc but he gave the minimum of information and the kind of cultural and historical background that most travellers seek when visiting a country as rich and varied as Morocco and rarely interacted with us at mealtimes. The information he did give was, as Steve indicates, invariably incorrect as regards timings, temperatures and what to expect on a day by day basis. Briefings were ad hoc - no regular times and opportunities missed to impart details in the coach with a microphone to hand. His English was competent but halting and this was in total contrast to the excellent local guides who were engaging and amusing and interesting. Our young guide in the Todra Gorge, for example, spoke excellent and highly adaptable English learnt from subtitles on TV ! Minimum education but a great love for his area and a desire to impart everything he knew. T

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you dont like to be cold dont go to Morocco before mid March. This is a fascinating country that pays your attention and the local people , particularly in the country and desert are delightful. Find out who your group leader will be and where you will be staying. However, Exodus was not at all forthcoming with the latter information. Oh.. and avoid the hammam in the mountains..... a few of us women had a less than enjoyable experience. Give the money to support the villagers some other way.

Reply from Exodus

We were very sorry to hear that Teresa was disappointed with aspects of her tour’s leadership and that this impacted on her enjoyment of the holiday. Rabiaa has been working as a tour leader for 6 years in Morocco and we have received positive feedback about him from his previous Exodus trip. Teresa and Steve’s comments have been shared with Rabiaa and we have asked the local manager to discuss with him how he can continue to improve his local knowledge and language skills for future trips.

Tom Harari – Product Manager

Lesley Skelly

Reviewed March 2018

Loved this trip it will be hard to beat!

This was a most fabulous trip – a fantastic mix of cycling and sampling local culture. We had a really good guide Shibu and his team. We loved Kerala and the mix of experiences on this trip. We liked the level which was leisurely /moderate – ideal in such a hot country we wish there were more trips available at this level. We loved the food and have had withdrawal cravings on return to the UK from such delicious fare! We had a great group of people on this tour they also helped to make it a brilliant experience.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were many lovely moments. Cycling through the beautiful countryside with periods of cycling along the coast. Enough time to enjoy the scenery. Music which we could hear as we went past churches and temples. It seemed mystical. Sunrise on the backwaters. Cookery lesson at the home stay. Our guide always finding us a table in the evening with the best views!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Gorgeous person. He helped to resolve a dental emergency in a calm and efficient manner. Always supportive - we felt very safe under his guidance. Loved the dancing he arranged for us on the boat in the backwaters! He had a great team too who looked out for us in the areas with more traffic.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Definitely need good insect repellent - two of our group got caught out on the first day and their bites were a nuisance. We were very conservative in our dress and perhaps strappy tops and shorts would have been OK in most though perhaps not all places, as was cycling in Lycra. I found my baggy shorts a bit hot for cycling in this setting. We spent very little money during the trip - thanks to the wisdom of our guide. We added on to our trip - staying at the final hotel for extra days - that was also very enjoyable. Wine is quite expensive in Kerala - would be worth choosing another drink. You can always get on the bus if you are having a bad day!

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