Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

A number of moments stood out. 1. Seeing a male and female tiger just 7-8 metres away from us at a waterhole on separate occasions - an utterly outstanding sighting which would be very difficult to better - as mentioned below the Exodus vehicles had just about the best view of them too. 2. Observing 2 10 month year old cubs follow in their mother's footsteps and stalk wild boar - they had no chance of catching them but great to observe. 3. Seeing a sloth bear was wonderful - whilst I didn't see them, other group members were lucky enough to see a Jungle Cat and Dholes (wild dogs) at a kill. 4. Seeing a 'live kill' right in front of us as we saw a jackal stalk, chase for 60 metres or so and successfully hunt a spotted deer. Pretty grisly but it was good to know that the jackal's cubs would be well fed. 5. Seeing the Taj Mahal - a wonderful site.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I travelled on this exact trip with Krishna 3 years ago and was delighted to have him as a Group Leader again - he was once again a terrific Leader, an extremely efficient, friendly and genuine guy. He worked really hard to ensure that the 16 days went very smoothly & to ensure that the Exodus group was given access to some of the best drivers/guides in the Parks which are so important to maximising tiger sightings - to put this in perspective when we had multiple Tiger sightings at one park other independent travellers travelling with other companies staying at our Lodge had none. His hard work ensured that all of the group had outstanding sightings that you would struggle to better if you did the trip 10 times. Krishna's willingness to wake up at 3am to ensure the group had 2 optional drives also paid dividends as the group saw tigers on both occasions. Much appreciated!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Tiger spotting is an extremely challenging process for even the most gifted of guides/park staff. The Indian National Parks are not home to huge numbers of animals that you see in Africa, but when you do see them it is a great experience. Just try and be patient and enjoy the beautiful parks as you go along!

Most Inspirational Moment

I enjoyed the ascent and decent of the peak itself as it was a real challenge

Thoughts on Group Leader

I found John to be an outstanding guide and leader

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you have a warm sleeping back and the correct gear for the whole trip. If your not fit then don't do it as i saw lots of people struggling on the final day

Most Inspirational Moment

Halong Bay was special for me as a scenery freak but the experience of the Cu Chi tunnels was also fascinating.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Leader was good and what he lacked in linguistic fluency he made up for in enthusiasm

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take the optional bike trips, they're a great way to feel part of the environment

Most Inspirational Moment

Speeding downhill! Seeing the countryside and Cuban life (and cars) from the saddle.

Advice for Potential Travellers

My biggest concern, as an irregular cyclist, before the trip was 'what to wear?'. I can now say, after two weeks in the saddle, that you do NOT need to invest in expensive clothing or lycra. I was very happy in loose cotton T-shirts and shorts, old cotton or silk caftans are cool and protect against the intense sun, 'pedal-pushers' do just that. Thick-soled walking sandals proved to be most comfortable. A gel saddle cover, and padded under-shorts were necessary (though hot), and good cycling gloves are a wise investment. Maybe I would have been faster in lycra?

Most Inspirational Moment

The whole trip was just an amazing way to spend a week hiking in the Spanish mountains. Summit views were brilliant as we had wonderful clear days on most of the walks.

Thoughts on Group Leader

José was a brilliant tour leader and his love of the area made the walking even more special. His knowledge and willingness to talk about all aspects of life in the mountains was excellent.

Advice for Potential Travellers

When booking flights check with exodus about flying locally as lots of places seemed to fly to Alicante at the same time of day. For example, stanstead, Birmingham, Manchester all arrived within 20 mins of the group flight from gatwick. The fourth walking day can be done in approach shoes if you prefer. Most people drank between 2-3 litres each day.

Most Inspirational Moment

Esquinas Rainforest Lodge is a special place - the wildlife all around you. The guides here are very good.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Andrès is good - and has lots of knowledge - but maybe he's done this trip too many times to show the enthusiasm I've experienced with other guides.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It's hot and humid - so many things get damp - pack plenty of t-shirts. It's cold in the cloud forest in Savegre - especially at night - make sure you do have a few warm layers. Shampoo and soap etc is in all they the hotels. I didn't feel the need to use walking poles. Walking boots not required. You can drink the water in all locations. Flying via Houston was ok as you don't need to reclaim luggage. Coming back via Washington Dulles was very easy - would recommend it. You can recharge batteries at every hotel. Wifi free and available everywhere. U.S. dollars accepted everywhere - normally receive Costa Rican colones as change - but never a problem. Not much to do in San Jose but good to go a day early to recover from flight. Good hotel with swimming pool.

Most Inspirational Moment

This was my first trip to Cuba. I had expected to see "poverty" but soon realized this is not an impoverished nation in the traditional sense of this word. Definitely, the living standards are low compared to First World. However, the people are well educated, mostly well-fed and housed, and make do with much less "stuff" than we are accustomed to having. Cuba is a fascinating country that is best experienced first-hand because it truly is unique.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Yazel was knowledgeable, patient, extremely well organized and a passionate host to the group. He took great care to make sure everybody was well prepared at each stage of the tour itinerary. Our driver (Eduardo) and bike mechanic ("TT") did not speak much English but were very friendly and always willing to listen to our own sorry attempts at communicating in Spanish. Yazel provided a steady supply of information, with historical and local flavour, prior to and during each day's riding or bus transfer.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Unless you are used to riding in high heat (averaged 32-34C by mid-day) and humidity, I would say the riding is of mild to moderate intensity most of the time, not leisurely. The optional "challenge" hill on the last biking day is fun but it is a true challenge - slow and steady wins the day! Take more cash than you think you will need, and expect to pay for everything in cash. Our Canadian bank cards (debit and credit) did NOT work, even in Havana. Awkward! Fortunately, our new biking amigos bankrolled us.

Most Inspirational Moment

Arriving at Base Camp Everest after the long and tiring walk was amazing. The view of the tents as they neared were inspiring.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was a great help. He helped keep the team going.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a pillowcase, drink lots of water and try to eat. Enjoy yourself.

Most Inspirational Moment

The Atlas Mountains. It was a lovely walk although longer than we expected and the gite is lovely. Go for the hammam too!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very good!

Advice for Potential Travellers

My advice would be consider not taking a sleeping bag, I never needed it, there are nice beds even in the desert and blankets are available. I would take a travel pillow as many pillows were very fat and hard! Definitely take a torch and either take or buy snacks as it can be a long time between meals. Take a swimming costume, I didn't and I regretted it, all the hotels have a pool and it's very hot! And book your own flights not with royal air maroc! Every flight was delayed and our flight home was cancelled and I have never received worse customer service than from that airline.

Most Inspirational Moment

The homestay and walking at Mai Chau region would be regarded as a major highlight of our trip. In retrospect, this was a relatively peaceful phase and a major contracts to the hustle and bustle of the bigger towns and cities.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Tom/Tho – excellent from start to finish, he watched out for our needs and looked after them. How he managed to get 7 disparate family groups to arrive on time each day is beyond me, he did it with ease and without hassle. We will long remember the statement “OKAY Lets Go” and his infectious laugh.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Hotels: All perfectly satisfactory, even the “Simple Hotel” in Can Tho seemed to be of similar quality to all the others. Generally the hotels were well situated near the centre of activity. Good to have the use of a hotel bedroom and bathroom after Ha Long bay and before the train journey to Hue. We did not realise that at the homestay we would NOT have to carry our overnight gear, this was left in the homestay before our walks began. We though that we would be walking with our gear. The cycling through Hue was an experience – how we navigated the roundabouts without getting killed can only be down to the skills of the Vietnamese motorbikes, not to anything we did. Don't expect a lot of "free" time on this trip, there is activity going on all the time and even some of the supposedly "free" times have optional activities arranged that should be undertaken.