Reviews

Cycling Madagascar

This was our 5th Exodus cycling trip, and if like me you like a good balance between cycling and sightseeing, this is the trip for you! There was some non-cycling activity almost everyday, whether it be a short visit to some local handicraft workshop, swimming in natural pools or a half day hiking in the rain-forest. This trip combines all the best aspects of a cycling holiday: varied terrains, waving children, wildlife, interesting local culture, a large variety of non cycling activities, great guide.

Walking the Greek islands

A fabulous way to see the islands, largely unspoilt fortunately despite their popularity. We were transported outside of the “tourist” area to ancient walking paths and walked through mediaeval villages. Our excellent Greek guide was able to fill us in with very interesting historical/local information to really get a picture of life in these islands.

Trip of a Lifetime

An absolutely fantastic trip. From start to finish Exodus excelled themselves. It’s not often you come back from somewhere and feel you’ve truly “seen” a place. With this, you do. Spanning landscapes, terrains, cultures, altitudes – you see it all. The Amazon is breathtaking; wildlife, the noise, the vastness of it – it’s incomparable. The Inca Trail is a true pilgrimage. Beautiful scenary, a challenge but so worth every. single. step. It’s hard to not feel overwhelmed and in awe on arrival to Machu Picchu. The people are wonderful, the food is wonderful, the sounds, smells, early mornings, late nights – worth every single penny. It’s not a holiday, it’s an adventure – the more you immerse yourself, the greater the rewards. As my first solo trip in my 20s, this was the most supportive environment to see a place, I felt safe and never in any danger. Thank-you to my wonderful group, every guide, every Porter and our wonderful guide for looking after me!

Sea and Sulpher!

An excellent week; plenty of variety, walking, both easy and more challenging, sea swimming, boat trips and down time if you wanted it. Lots of options to suit everyone.

Walking in Madeira

A very interesting and beautiful walking trip led by a very knowledgeable leader, Andre. Each walk was different and Andre provided a wealth of knowledge as we went along.
Hotels and food were very good.

Incredibly impressed

As a family we have done many trips with Exodus in Africa (various countries), Canada and most recently my parents attended the Western Explorers trip in America to see Yosemite, Bryce Canyon and The Grand Canyon which Exodus arrange in partnership with Grand American Adventures.
We have always found Exodus trips to be incredibly well planned and organised, ensuring that you see the very best parts of the areas you are visiting in the timescales available. The trips are ideal because there is no hassle involved for the traveller and you are guaranteed to meet like-minded people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy the experiences with. This particular trip was no exception.
I write this review however to say a huge thanks to both Exodus and Grand American Adventures as they were absolutely fantastic to my parents and the family back home in England when my father suffered a serious and unexpected illness and had to be rushed to hospital.
With specific mentions to Bethany, Monica and the tour guide Charlie, who all went out of their ways to ensure that lines of communication between us, the insurance company and the hospital were clear and effective, to provide my parents with support and to give the family back home piece of mind at what was a very difficult time for us. We will be forever grateful. There is absolutely no doubt that you will be in safe hands with this team.

Great group, fantastic local knowledge of the guides and great pedalling

A perfect break taking us away from the daily pressures! Michele and Simone were perfect guides – we learned a lot about Sardinia, Italy and many other things. It was a perfectly pitched level for us, with Nicky being pushed close to her limit whilst also being enough cycling for me as well. Lovely trip to the islands, great hike on one afternoon, wine tasting and a couple of Agriturismos. October weather was kind to us – many sunny days with a slightly challenging head wind for a couple of days – that added to the challenge!

Great Wall trip-can not recommend enough!

Travelled alone on the trip, met some incredible people and shared some phenomenal walks! Exodus made real effort to give us the full China experience, rural walks and tourist excursions. Already booked my next trip!

Great Itinerary, Bad Hotels

The itinerary for this trip is great – you’ll get a wonderful overview of Morocco as you’ll visit the cities, the desert and the mountains. Our tour guide was knowledgeable as I’ve come to expect it from Exodus, and the local guides used at some sites were great as well.

What let this trip down were the hotels – they’re just not particularly good for the Standard departures. Most of them were noisy (the one in Fes is literally next to a mosque) and in need of refurbishment (Meknes), the beds were uncomfortable verging on painful, and in some cities you’re not really where the action is as you’re not staying in the Medina (Fes/Marrakech). The camp in the desert is very basic (does have toilets, though, but not much else in terms of comfort).

Personally, I felt the 2 night stay in the Atlas mountains was a bit pointless – the hammam was interesting as we got to interact with the locals, but otherwise not an amazing experience and the walk was just going back and forth on a mule track.

Marilyn's Review

A really interesting holiday with lots of variety -loads of archeology and history, lovely churches, quaint hill top towns, nice coastal towns, main towns Catania(pretty) and Palermo(busy), mount Etna, very good group leader and local guides, a comfortable coach, good driver and of course great weather. I feel I have definitely seen the best of Sicily.
The accommodation unfortunately was disappointing except for hotels in Catania and Cefalu which were great. We had very damp rooms on two occasions, a B&B, quite basic tourist and tired hotel in Palermo etc. The holiday was not cheap and was advertised as having 3/4* hotels so I expected something better than we had.
I would rate it as Very Good if the accommodation had been better.

Most Inspirational Moment

Villa Romana in Casale - wonderful mosaics ; seeing(amazing views) and being on mount Etna

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent - very knowledgable and enthusiastic about archeology and Sicily in general. Good fun as well.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for a busy schedule.

Reply from Exodus

Exodus would like to thank Marilyn for her review, but we regret to read that she was disappointed with the quality of some of the accommodation. For this season, we have changed several of the properties in which groups can expect to stay, which we trust will prevent future clients experiencing similar disappointment. An updated list of properties can be found under the accommodation tab on our ADG tour webpage. We have also revised transfer time to allow clients more time in Cefalu. We are glad to read, nonetheless, that Marilyn found the hotels in Catania and Cefalu to be great! – Marta Marinelli, Product Manager.