Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Traveling through the spectacular Gramos Mountains next to the Vjosa River between Erseke and Permet. Skenduli House in Gjirokaster was a particularly interesting visit. The host, whose family had lived in this house for many generations, spoke excellent English and explained the historical uses of the different rooms including for weddings.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our Group Leader was a lovely man who worked very hard and had good knowledge of Albanian history and culture, unfortunately his level of English was not good so it became difficult to follow what he was saying. He also felt he should be constantly giving us information when travelling on the mini bus which led to a lot of repetition which also became trying. At some sights we would preferred to read the English information boards ourselves but the Group Leader insisted on doing this for us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The Albanians are friendly and helpful but I would visit before the tourist boom starts to dominate the culture. Most of the museums we wanted to visit were closed for repairs or renovations. It didn’t actually look like much work was happening so I would check this out before going.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing wild flower meadows in the mountains with the shepherds & their flocks plus a predominance of agricultural land. The profusion of home grown fruit & vegetables. A veritable time warp. Also, the large amount of Roman & Byzantine ruins showing the importance of the country years ago.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Artur was enthusiastic about his country & extremely knowledgeable. However, he went into too much detail; he tended to over talk so we had no reflection time until he was asked to have periods of silence. His command of the English language was sufficient for us to understand him, but at times I felt he did not really understand our questions as he would not answer them with a relevant answer as he seemed to miss the point. He did repeat the same information more than once even when on the bus with the microphone. Maybe this was to ensure everyone had heard it but that did become rather wearing. Maybe this is the way he has been trained…

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is a full on trip with no spare time; we were mostly moving on each day.

Most Inspirational Moment

It’s impossible to choose.. I was in the tomb of Seti I on my own for about 20 mins.. and the view of the Nile from the Basma hotel in Aswan is something timeless and awe inspiring for sure..

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rania was absolutely amazing. She has boundless energy and enthusiasm.. there was never a question she could not answer or a request unmet. She is the best spokesperson for ancient and modern Egypt that I could imagine.. she herded us cats around the sites as though we were on some kind of magic carpet swooshing past the crowds.. I miss her already.

Advice for Potential Travellers

There are early starts but it’s just a rhythm you can relax into.. it does avoid the crowds and the heat.. I definitely agree it’s nice to add a day at either end though.. Aswan is super relaxing and it’s easy and cheap to get your own airport taxi.

Most Inspirational Moment

Most inspiring moment was when we first saw the sloths up close at the Sloth Sanctuary!!! Also the zip wiring was exceptional in Fortuna highly recommend!!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Gwenda our tour guide was amazing a real credit to Exodus, very professional and friendly, kept us all well informed with a whatsap message the night before detailing what was happening the next day.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring lots of light clothes as it was very humid.highly recommend this tour.

Most Inspirational Moment

View over Matera

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent - calm, helpful, shared cultural and historical knowledge, great bike mechanic and very organised

Most Inspirational Moment

The Taj Mahal. It was so beautiful it almost made me cry. Standing in front of it for the first time was just incredible. And we got there for sunrise so it wasn't too busy.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Manoj was fantastic. He was informative but not overly so, engaging and took the time to get to know each of us. When our overnight train was delayed by several hours he worked really hard to rearrange everything in Varanasi to ensure we didn't miss out on anything. In the end, Varanasi was a real highlight for most people in the group, despite having half a day less than expected (due to the train delay).

Advice for Potential Travellers

The overnight train is basic so pack a sense of humour. There are some long drives as well, but the bus was comfortable and there's so much going on to look at that they just add to your overall exposure to India.

Most Inspirational Moment

Stepping out onto balcony at hotel in Matera and seeing the old city and cave dwellings for the first time.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader, Manni, was phenomenal. He was always organized, knowledgeable about the route and each of the cities and towns we visited, and always with a sense of humor. Manni made a great trip even better!

Most Inspirational Moment

The scenic drive through Durmitor en route from Zabljak in Montenegro over the border into Bosnia was amazing . The drive out of Sarajevo on the visit up to Lukomir was spectacular. I would have loved to have spent more time around the scenery in this area. I will now look into the walking holiday! I can also recommend going for a swim at the Kravica waterfall! I also really learned a lot from the time in Sarajevo hearing more about the complex history of the country and in particular the terrible suffering during the time of the siege of the city in the 1990’s. Some of what I read in the museums in the city and also what I heard about from our guides will stay with me for ever.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We were very lucky to have two guides ! Lorenc was our leader and we were joined by Dina who was learning the tour. Both were super - they were a great team ! Very friendly and shared a lot with us about their country.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you have not been to Dubrovnik before it is worth adding on an extra few days at the end of the trip if you want to see more of the city.

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking the walls in Dubrovnik.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Brilliant - friendly, knowledgeable, made sure we all had the best holiday!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for walking!

Most Inspirational Moment

There's not one that stands out about the others, but I like the opportunity to swim in the sea, the hot springs, the walk, (only a short one disappointingly) the views of the mountains , the meal in the house owner's garden and Berat - great accommodation, fabulous group meal next door to hotel, a nice 'feel' to the town and some free time

Thoughts on Group Leader

Artur is very knowledgeable but was ranked as one of the worst guides I've ever had on my travels. He was clearly passionate about Albanian history, and seemed to think that we all shared his passion with non-stop commentary whilst he was guiding us around the sights, on the bus - he would not shut up. I wanted the opportunity to look around in peace, to look through the bus window in peace, to chat to fellow travellers but there was a constant drone of history in a very hard to understand accent (though he is fluent) . I asked him to offer less commentary on the bus so he switched off the microphone and carried on talking as much without the microphone. Far too much detail, lots of repetition. He seemed to get cross when we didn't have any questions but then when I did ask questions he was cross because he's already given the answer at some point when I'd switched off from the droning. He was reluctant to allow us the opportunity to meet the group later and opt out of the guided tour. He got very, very cross with me when I said that Voskopje was not an artists' village but the trip notes said 'the artists village...an important and well-known centre for the arts where many talented Albanian painters work' I asked when we were going to see the artisits as there was one church with painted walls that had been graffittted over and he said that the artists had died centuries ago. So why did the trip notes use the present tense? He lacked any understanding of my frustration over this.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are fascinated by Albanian history, love to look around churches and mosques, old and new and old ruins then this is the trip for you.