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Hotel is run by a family. I cannot overstate how well they treated us. Buffet meals three times per day. Free WiFi. The snow was amazing. We had no cross country skiing experience before. Tour guides were excellent and coached us around 3-4 hours per day. Massage / Pilates / Yoga classes helped greatly with muscle soreness. I thought I was relatively fit, but I found by the end of the morning session I was happy to relax for the rest of the day. Despite eating well, I think I have lost a couple of kg on the trip!
Being able to ski 10k by myself.
The fitter you are the more fun you will have. Rooms are comfortable but not luxurious. There is plenty of space to relax in the lobby of the hotel. The hotel has a gym, billiard table, sauna and table-tennis table. If you are looking to ski and then relax it is fantastic. If you want to party and dance all night, this is not the right place to go.
I have been on many similar trekking trips but this was the first time that I travelled with Exodus. I did not quite know what to expect compared to other companies but from start to finish the holiday was well organised and thoroughly enjoyable partially due to Exodus but mainly due to the leader, Mohammed and his support team. We were plagued with truly abysmal weather for the first half of the week: sub zero temperatures for much of the day and gales ( which are,apparently, very rare!! ). My tent broke in the middle of the first night requiring an emergency decamp to the mess tent and then collapsed together with about 50% of the other tents, the mess tent and the toilet tent ( which blew away down into the valley ), on the second. Strangly, though, these experiences added to the bonding within what was a truly great group rather than detracting from it. I will admit that this may be a peculiarly British tendency!! The cimb to the top of Jebel Aklim in bright but arctic conditions was truly inspirational and the night that followed in the teacher’s house in Tagara ( Mohammed opted for this as an alternative to a third night of camping to allow us more than three hours sleep!! ) a humbling revelation. For the second half of the holiday the weather reverted to more normal conditions for the time of year, we actually were able to strip down to less than three layers for the first time and continued in this vein to the end. The scenery throughout was tremendous. The walking well paced and interesting although as previous reviewers have stated VERY VERY ROUGH and the group amazing: Totally FABULOUS!!! (will stop here as I have run out of superlatives!! )
Reaching the top of Jebel Aklim in arctic conditions ( sub -20C ) and the realisation that this is about as cold as I have ever experienced and this is Morocco!!
Throughout all of the drama Mohammed remained at all times calm and in control and he organised alternative accomodation at the teacher's house in Tagara when he sensed that we had had enough. His knowledge of Berber culture and history and the passion with which he conveyed it to us was inspirational and throughout the trekking the pace he set was just right based upon the individual abilities within the group and the timescale of the walk. A truly excellent leader
Do not rely on your expectations of the weather in Morocco as it can get VER, VERY COLD ( and windy but that's another matter altogether ) The terrain is often ( seemingly ) pathless, rocky and very rough so boots are ABSOLUTELY essential and if your idea of a toilet is not a hole in the ground containing someone elses human excrement then this is probably not the holiday for you!!
Our group of 18 was expertly looked after by the leader and support team. At the end of each day we looked forward to the meals proposed by the leader and all were excellent. The trip gave a good insight into rural and urban Vietnamese life and the leader was very knowledgeable about the many cultural sights on the trip.
A highlight was an 18 mile downhill ride in the Central Highlands from Dalat travelling through the National Park with dense woodland and many cascading waterfalls.
The leader was very passionate about Vietnam and had a great sense of humour which kept the whole group fully engaged throughout the trip. He was very knowledgeable about the historic sites and cultural places along the route and in the cities. Nothing was too much trouble and he was available to us at all times. His menu selections for our meals including our 'optional' meals, which everyone took, were outstanding
It can rain - heavily - but it is warm!
I travelled on my 50th birthday, determined to conquer the ‘unknown’ and explore a country that has always fascinated me since a young age. It’s a hard core trip with lots of early starts but well worth any exhaustion as the exhilaration you experience, at all the new sights, smells and scenery is beyond any adjectives. It is a complete sensory experience and an opportunity to participate in this beautiful country and it’s stoic people.
I believe with Exodus, that I saw Vietnam perhaps at a more authentic perspective and for that, I am grateful.
The food is wonderful, the sights are breath taking and the history is intricate and fascinating.
Most of my trip was inspirational as, personally I love history. A cycle tour to Cham Island was very humbling and gave me the opportunity to speak with a Veteran from the Vietnam/ Cambodia war. We had a family lunch in Hue, which was amazing to experience 'home cooked' food. Latterly, we visited the Cu Chi tunnels, which whilst fascinating, certainly brought a sombre reflection to my trip ( but a good sombre!)
Nhi Pham was our guide and a wonderful young woman. She was caring, precise and kept us all under control ( not that we were overly wild!) Her knowledge of local history really brought Vietnam alive for me, with antidotes and localisms. Without her, my journey and experience would have been very poor. Nhi takes great pride and respect her country, therefore making her a wonderful ambassador for Vietnam.
Take some warmer clothes for the north and be advised that the overnight train journey is 'an experience'.
This was my 3rd trip with Exodus, and it was a really great experience.
Sri Lanka is a wonderful country, very lush & green as it is a tropical country with lots of rain, so it is just green everywhere. The people are very humble & friendly, they speak English in most places, except in some really remote areas.
The cycling itself was challenging, due to the heat factor, as it is quite a humid & hot most of the time.
Overall, the trip exceeded my expectations, & I really enjoyed the cycling as that is what I was looking forward to.
The simplicity of the people & how humble they are, extremely friendly, and especially since we are on bikes, they are always fascinated by where we have come from & where we are going to, and the fact that we are cycling everywhere. Ridging through very remote areas is really refreshing as well, a nice break from the busy & polluted cities.
Suresh is a great guy & a great leader, a great sense of humour, and goes out of his way to do more that what is expected of him & always does it with a smile.
Some days of the cycling can be quite challenging, so ensure you have a decent level of fitness. I am fairly fit, and there were a few days that were tough. The weather plays an role as well, as it is very humid & hot, it adds to the difficulty of the cycling, so ensure you are prepared. Stray dogs are everywhere, lying in the middle of the roads roaming around, they are generally harmless, however, as you will be on bikes, they like to run after the bikes, sometimes giving up after a few meters, but sometimes they can chase you for a while, can be quite scary, but you just need to kick you leg out at them & shout at them & that will hopefully get rid of them. Lots of sunblock & insect replant is a must. The food is not for everyone, can be spicy & you may not get western food in all places. Keep hydrated, as it is extremely hot. Some of the accommodation is not the best, think we had 2 places where is was very basic, but that is expected, as some parts are not central & a little remote.
Fantastic trip. Great people, scenery, culture and views. Very well organised and was very well looked after by trip leader and whole exodus team.
Visiting poon hill was very special for me as it was where my grandpa and grandma visited over 40 years ago so I thought of them as I looked across the amazing views. However there were many amazing moments including visiting beautiful monasteries and the feeling after crossing Throng la pass and seeing the amazing view on the other side.
Bikash was fantastic. He had a great awareness about all those in the group and how they were feeling and was always helping us to have the best time possible. He showed professionalism as well as being a really fun trip leader. Would 100% recommend him as a trip leader to friends travelling to Nepal. Thanks Bikash!
Go to Nepal! It is a beautiful place with beautiful people. Would recommend travelling in winter if you don't mind the cold and don't want the crowds.
We knew December was the wettest month, but hearts sank when our first wildlife trip had to be abandoned as the river was too high for safety to take us there. However, our guides had a good backup plan and took us to the Sarawak Cultural Village where we were able to see some traditional longhouses and experience a display of spectacular tribal dances – including one of the group having a go with a blow pipe. We were lucky enough to see the bat exodus from Deer Cave at Mulu before the rain started again and forgot to stop. We were evacuated from our comfortable lodges while it was still daylight, wading through above-the-knee water to the restaurant. As it got darker, and the water deeper we expected to spend the night elsewhere than our comfortable beds. However, the rain did stop and the river stabilised so we were eventually boated back. The poor villagers further up the river didn’t come off so easily in the worst floods for 14 years. All praise to the Garden Park staff and our guides for their excellent control of the situation, and their help to their neighbours as well as us. Don’t forget your PONCHO! Preferably a discreet colour. A wading nature walk next day turned up a scorpion, various lizards and skinks as well as a Paradise Flycatcher and the sunshine brought back the butterflies. From the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary on, the mammals were amazing. The monkeys are real characters with such expressive faces and it was good to see so many mums and babies. Great photo opportunities. Sepilok was a mixed experience. The youngsters are kept the other side of a glass wall and they didn’t care for the pouring rain much either – rolling around trying to don sacks and holding leaves over their heads in attempts to keep dry. Although it was disappointing to only see one adult orangutan, it demonstrated how successful the rehab programme has been as far fewer babies and adults are coming in for care. However, moving on to Danum Valley, our outing turned up a mother and youngster orangutan yards from the centre. And they didn’t stop coming. Five in a couple of hours. Even the guides were amazed. In all we saw ten or eleven over the whole of the trip, just doing their own thing in the trees. We were lucky enough to see a herd of pygmy elephants on our Kinabatangan river cruises. Again, loads of babies. There were a lot of boats vying for the best position so unfortunately the disturbance to the animals from noise and diesel was to be regretted. The birds were spectacular here too, hornbills, hawks, eagles and little flowerpeckers in the garden as well as more butterflies. Take binoculars and a camera with a good zoom if you want to get any animal shots. You don’t need huge lenses – I got some great shots with a compact. And discreet colour clothing. Pack light. It really is ‘deal with your own luggage’ on this one and there aren’t big retail opportunities so small is beautiful.
Watching the interactions of the proboscis monkeys Seeing the orangutans wild in the trees Fabulous birds - amazing hornbills and bulbuls Pygmy elephants - adults barely taller than the tall grasses they were eating
He organised things well and was a good birder which suited myself and my friend. He seemed to lack confidence in dealing with a group and found it difficult to address us all in one go. He really wanted us to see everything we came for but when things went against us weather wise, he found it hard to deal with. Unfortunately he did lose it with one of the group after a long day when it looked as though a river trip wouldn't be on because of continuing rain and went on a rant 'why don't you like me', 'I'm trying to do my best' and such like which was well out of order and had nothing to do at all with the group member.
Poncho! Umbrella. Waterproof shoes/boots (jungle walks need more than walking sandals). I dubbined a pair of cheap, microfibre lightweight, non waterproof boots and that really did do the business as I didn't want to take heavy leather boots. So can recommend that as a solution. Plenty of good mossie repellent as it gets washed off in the rain. Incognito is a good natural (non Deet) one. Discreet colour clothing Long walking socks and spray them with anti mossie to deter the leeches. I took gaiters and some managed to creep under so wouldn't recommend. Something simple to change into for dinner. Nowhere's 'dressie'.
Fabulous holiday – due in no small part to our guide Katia, she went over and above what could have been expected. It included early morning and late evening walks to watch wildlife that weren’t included in the tour.
Also travelling with a great bunch of people absolutely made the holiday. Can’t wait for my next Exodus trip.
Richard
Tortuguero was brilliant and Esquenas Lodge
Couldn’t have done more to make for a great holiday
Take a poncho
Definitely a moderate trip ( in winter ) . Some challenges with packed ice / deep snow so a reasonable level of fitness would be helpful.
getting through a couple of very steep , snow and ice packed sections of a couple of the walks
Thomas was full of historical info and local knowledge which he was more than happy to share. good sense of humour and encouragement when he thought it was needed.
use clothing layer system, plus gaiters . Weather can be sunny / cold / rainy / snowy . There are times when you dont snow shoe but may need to walk in deeper snow as its safer than an icy path. Alternatively it could be muddy and gaiters do help keep you clean. Definitely take some shoe grippers that can fit onto your boots i.e. Yaktrax or those rubber /spiky things sold in many shops. Some paths are sheet packed ice and the grips give you that extra safety feature , but you will be putting on and taking off multiple times during a walk so make sure you are familiar with them. The paths vary depending on if they are in open / forest / gorge etc. If you can , carry an old hiking trousers belt / webbing/ bit of string . Its useful to help tie down the snow shoes onto your rucksack ( if you dont have side straps on the rucksack ) . The guesthouse is cosy and warm , plenty of hot water. No TV in rooms . You make your lunch sandwich at the breakfast table in mornings and carry it with you. Might be worth carrying your own trail bars / jelly babies etc if you like to snack en route . A flask to carry your own tea ( the guest house will fill with hot water or fruit tea ) may also be useful in cold weather. You really only need a bit of spending money as one night in a restaurant in Brasov ( I had 2 beers plus main plus starter and it was 60 Lei or 12 pounds total . Roughly 5 Lei to the pound ) . The guest house runs a tab that you settle on final night. You just help yourself to beers ( one beer is 5 or 6 lei depending on brand , teas in afternoon 4 lei ) from fridge , mark it on your list and settle at end . The guest house is in middle of nowhere , really isolated . So no town or shops to walk to etc.
If you’re looking to get away from it all in unspoilt scenery, try out different winter activities, and generally have an experience you’ll never forget, then book this trip.
The location is beautiful, the staff are great, the food was absolutely delicious, and I didn’t want to leave!
The optional snowshoe hike in Riisitunturi National Park was fantastic. The scenery was something I'd never seen, and everything I wanted to see when I imagined Finnish Wilderness. Also the silence in the forest, and exploring on snowshoes with others, or practicing cross country skiing alone. It's a perfect escape bubble from the rest of the world.
Teddy/Bjorn was great - very laid back with a great sense of humour. All the staff at Basecamp were knowledgeable and really friendly. The whole place has a relaxed and cosy feel.
Just do it! If you like being outdoors, making new friends, and trying out new activities then you'll have a great time. You don't need any experience of the activities, just be willing to have a go. On a practical note: The afternoons are mostly free so you can be as active as you choose to be - either snowshoeing, cross country skiing, using the sauna and hot tub, or just taking a nap! Evenings were spent playing cards or boardgames, chatting, or reading by the fire. Drinks are available from reception - I recommend the cloudberry liqueur, or the peppermint in some hot chocolate! Optional activities can be quite pricey so do allow for that. You pay for everything on your tab at the end of the week. If you're not a downhill skier or boarder then Ruka doesn't have much to do, but I found the day spa and a nice coffee shop. A few others went snowmobiling. Wifi works in the dining room/reception (most of the time) and you can always use 4G in the rooms if you need to. Bring a spare power pack if you like taking photos on your phone. The cold will drain your battery quicker than at home. Basecamp really do provide everything you need to stay warm, and you don't need to pack much at all. Just a few sets of your own baselayers, hat and buff, and then jeans and jumper for the evening.