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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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239 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Reviews

Awesome Trip to see the real Sri Lanka!

This was an awesome trip from start to finish. Great way to see a lot of the country, people, wildlife, culture, history whilst taking on board some really fun activities such as white water rafting, walking to World’s End at Horton Plains, cycling through villages and paddy fields, looking at amazing views on a train journey seeing elephants, monkeys, boar, deer, crocodiles, many types of birds and even a leopard!

Most Inspirational Moment

cycling through villages and learning all about coconut farming, and being served a local Sri Lankan buffet in one of the settlements we cycled through. going to Yala national park seeing elephants and a leopard playing Sri Lankan games with our tour leader and fellow group. learning all about Sri Lankan history from our amazing tour leader Ruwan Exodus supporting local community projects and taking us to non touristy places. Visiting the tea plantations and learning all about the tea growing process was brilliant walking to World's End was awesome with incredible breathtaking views. Environmental issues remained a top priority with Exodus with water being supplied on the tour bus for us to fill up our own bottles

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ruwan definitely defined the holiday and made it one of the best holidays I have ever had! He was witty, very knowledgeable about the wildlife, history of the country and it's people. He made every effort to ensure that everybody was happy and fully participated in our tours, activities and meals. He also bound the group together, we arrived as strangers and we were friends when we departed! The Sri Lankan games we played towards the end of the holiday were hilarious.. All thanks to Ruwan and also the driver and his helper. I cannot recommend him highly enough. Thank you Ruwan!

Advice for Potential Travellers

go with room in your suitcase for Sri Lankan clothes, tea and spices!

Very enjoyable trip

Great holiday with varied activities.

Most Inspirational Moment

Particularly enjoyable memories include: Climbing Lions Rock, Hortons Plain walk (even though Worlds End view was misty), white water rafting, hot water bottle at night at the Hill Club, bike ride/local lunch, playing Sri Lankan games, train ride, wandering round Galle, and still some time to relax by the pool and have a swim.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Roshan was an excellent guide, our tour was very well managed.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Whale watching – I did it, and we did see blue whales (and a pod of dolphins). But, with hindsight, I would not have done it, as it takes around 7.5 hours, and you only see a few glimpses of the whales, and I think I could have made better use of my time by the local beach and doing perhaps the afternoon mangrove tour. Oh well, you live and learn. Sigiriya – do the optional game drive, we saw loads of elephants, and we only caught a glimpse of one on the included Yala drive. Take insect repellant.

Super Sri Lanka

Full of wonderful experiences made even better by our Tour Guide – Sujee. Rice & Curry is delish!

Most Inspirational Moment

Lion's Rock was amazing. Little England is a gem and their tea is delightful.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Spot on. He made the holiday special and I believe the group of 18 felt the same.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You must like Curry & Rice.

Grainger look back at Sri Lanka

A wonderful 15 day trip which matched/exceeded all our hopes & expectations. It was a very full itinerary but well worth the effort. We have always been independent travellers & this was our first ‘group experience’, one which we thoroughly enjoyed – the mixed group added to enjoyment. The trip was helped by the lovely leader Samith (see our comments below) and having such a stunning island to explore. The history, culture , scenery & diversity of Sri Lanka was well showcased by the structure of the tour.

Most Inspirational Moment

It is not possible to select one moment as there were many! The top of Sigiriya has to be up there, with the safaris highlighted by a leopard casually wandering in front of the jeep! Equally memorable was interacting with the villagers.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Samith was simply great. His knowledge of all places we visited, the history, the religions and culture enriched the trip more than we could have hoped,. However, just as important was his care for all members of our group, ensuring that everybody was happy with each day’s agenda. He was approachable with individual questions, patient with his responses and a lovely sense of humour! His relationship with the driver Dana (what a star!) and the assistant Sachin also put us all at ease. Top marks

Advice for Potential Travellers

It was our first Exodus trip & full on, as we have said above - & we loved it. However, we are regular walkers & pretty fit, but we wouldn't wanted it have to have been any more intense without some clearer indication. There fac we took 3 days R&R on the beach at the end of the trip added to the positive experience

Very disappointing

Disappointing

Most Inspirational Moment

Birdwatching, which I found in the hotel, but our guide never even told us about it. Train journey was a complete disaster, everyone pushed onto the train, hanging on for dear life near open doors. Exodus never bothered to book seats. No one could see anything except other people's armpits. No apology from Exodus when several of our party emailed them immediately. An appalling and dangerous situation. The game parks are so full of land rovers chasing the animals that the smell of diesel was unbearable, whale watching the boatschased the whales until they were disorientated. Our guide never checked that everyone was alright - he marched on so fast - just trying to rush through the day, and twice people fell behind unwell, once he did not even notice........... Lovely countryside, smiley people but just too touristy

Thoughts on Group Leader

See above, and very bad at communicating anything off the script. Maps given out after you leave the venue so you couldn't see everything. All done so he could get through the day as quickly as possible, and on to his next meal. When we had free time no suggestions given of the best sites and restaurants. Very charming and smiley and enthusiastic, but only on his terms, which is not like most guides, who seem to go the extra mile for their customers. We were offered nothing except watching with the optional white water rafting - that is not optional just boring and time wasting.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The food was good but far too much. Not a company or country I would recommend, and I have travelled extensively both with tours and independently.

Magical tour of Sri Lanka

A couple of friends had been on this trip and recommended it but it so exceeded my expectations. An amazing variety of experiences around a beautiful island with a fabulous guide and a great group of travelling companions.

Most Inspirational Moment

I could just rewrite the itinerary! Everyday was filled with wonderful experiences. It could be seeing elephants to discovering a beautiful lesser known Buddhist temple. So many inspirational moments.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oscar was awesome! I’ve been on a few Exodus trips and he was one of the best guides I’d experienced. He always went the extra mile for us to ensure we had a wonderful time. Superb in organising and communicating. And a great sense of humour!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take every opportunity and enjoy.

An action-packed and fun filled holiday

This was an excellent introduction to Sri Lanka which included a wide range of activities, from visiting Buddhist temples to safari trips in two national parks, white water rafting and cycling in the beautiful Sigirya region. We travelled through contrasting regions and were also given opportunities to meet a number of Sri Lankans who were not involved in the tourist trade and try some authentic Sri Lankan food. The hotels were of a high standard and a number had good quality swimming pools. We were impressed by the diversity of Sri Lanka wildlife- we saw so many different birds, as well as monkeys, water buffalo, crocodiles and lizards as well as the elephants and even (luckily) a leopard! Generally, a varied and well thought out itinerary.

Most Inspirational Moment

Overall it was a great holiday with so many highlights. The cycling day in the villages was particularly memorable as was the optional white water rafting. We would recommend the safaris especially the one to Yala NP. The beach side Insight Resort at Ahangama was very good. It was great swimming in the warm sea.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ruwan was an excellent guide- as well as being friendly and sociable he was very organised and his attention to detail was impressive. He told us a great deal about the culture, history and politics of a country he obviously loves and was also willing to answer our questions and give advice on activities we planned for our free time.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We changed £500 at the airport on arrival and paid by card at the hotels - this seemed about right. All the walking is on fairly good surfaces and you shouldn't need more that good trainers. The temperatures were generally in the upper 20s except when we got to the south coast when it hit the mid 30s (too hot!) We recommend all the optional trips except: 1. The Adam's Peak climb - This is very hard even for experienced walkers. 6 of us went on it and it was a surreal experience walking up 5500 relentlessly steep illuminated (no need for a torch) concrete steps with hundreds of other people. Even at 4am it was very humid and exhausting. It was very crowded at the top and unfortunately we had a poor local guide. It's good to have done it but I wouldn't recommend it. 2. No one went whale watching - it was an early start and we were advised that we might be out for up to 7 hours and still not see many whales.

Discover Beautiful Sri Lanka

This is a wonderful adventure to a beautiful island. It’s busy, with some early starts and long journeys, but so worth it, to see so many Unesco Heritage sites, and many unexpected stopovers outside the comprehensive itinerary.

Most Inspirational Moment

So many of them! The cave temples at Dambulla, climbing Lions Rock at Sigirya, the country cycle ride with a home lunch under the trees, the imposing ruins at Polonnaruwa, three lovely days in Kandy, Horton Plains (quite a tough hike, but an amazing view at World's End), scenic Ella Gap, and our visit to the Exodus tsunami house, where we were welcomed and had a delicious home-cooked meal at a very reasonable cost. We also enjoyed Galle, though we thought a few hours there were quite enough.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oscar was the best guide we have had on any holiday, and this was our fourth Exodus trip. He was so interesting, we didn't want to miss a word! He was very empathetic to our group, and went beyond the call of duty in that if only a very small group of us were doing an activity, he was there with us. As a group, we all loved Oscar, and his love of his country was impressive. On the last evening Oscar brought us on a walking tour of Colombo which wasn't on the itinerary.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The optional activities are really worthwhile. The elephant safari, the cultural show, white water rafting and the whale watching trip. We would really recommend this trip to Sri Lanka!

Well organised trip to see many of the iconic places

This tour will take you to the main ‘must see’ places in Sri Lanka. However – if you want to go off the beaten track then this isn’t the trip for you. There is free time where you can explore on your own but obviously limited as to where you can go.
The standard of the hotels vary – but mostly are ‘tourist’ class with other tour groups staying.
Opportunity to eat locally is limited – pressure from guide to eat the hotel buffet. We ordered off the menu – much cheaper – and more than enough food. Breakfasts varied from very good to poor.
Be prepared to see lots of rubbish in the towns and along the side of the road.

Most Inspirational Moment

Not one particular thing. The weather was very foggy when we were due to trek Worlds End. So guide asked group to vote on whether we did it. Group voted not to. No one did Adam’s Peak. Cycling was fun. Places to explore on your own in Kandy.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Roshan was very well organised. We never had any problems. He has done the trip many times.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Mosquito repellent necessary. We were in Colombo for a few days before the trip started - those that arrived on the group flight were tired for first few days. Cycling is fun and easy. Group size of 16 but coach size could take more so fairly comfortable. Driver very good in the crazy traffic.

Discover Sri Lanka review

This is an enjoyable trip with a good variety of activities. If you have been to India before you will find Sri Lanka surprisingly different. If this is your first trip to the sub-continent it is an excellent introduction. We didn’t climb Adam’s Peak, but the other activities on the trip were all good, including the traditional Sri Lankan games that we had been apprehensive about, but which were great fun. The accommodation was generally good apart from the Giritale Hotel which is undergoing building work and our initial room was unfinished. At Nuwara Eliya the group didn’t stay at the Hill Club, but at the Mirage King’s Cottage, which was very pleasant and a little way out of town with lovely fresh air and gardens. The food on the trip was fine, we particularly liked the midday meal on the cycle ride day. Exodus arranged for the group to refill our water bottles from a large container on the minibus, which worked well and helped minimise plastic waste.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were a lot of good moments on the trip. The ones that particularly stand out are: climbing Lion Rock, white water rafting and the Temple of the Tooth ceremony. Also, we enjoyed the cave temples at Dambulla and the optional boat ride through mangrove swamps.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Nalaka was a lovely chap who got everyone smiling. Douglas, our driver, and Amal, the Driver’s Assistant, were both excellent too. Nalaka was very caring and dealt with any issues promptly and effectively. He made us aware of the need to be courteous to hotel staff and the beach ladies at the Insight Resort; many of the staff are boys from local farms who are doing their best to be helpful.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Insect repellent isn’t listed under Essential Equipment in the Trip Notes, but you need to take some. Binoculars aren’t listed either, and these are very useful for the wildlife trips. Horton Plains: the walk is harder than it sounds, it’s partly on uneven ground and involves some ascents and descents. We were fine, but a couple of people in our group really struggled and ended up missing lunch and nearly missing the train too. Whale watching: we paid a bit extra to have a private boat just for the group and this was well worth it. The boat pitches and rolls quite a lot out once out at sea and we recommend you take sea sickness pills. The cycle ride was good fun, easy going on level ground, but do take time at the start to find a bicycle that suits you both in the height and length of frame – some are more adjustable than others. Lastly, we found some of the hotel bathroom and shower floors were very slippery – take care!