Most Inspirational Moment
The ascent of Vesuvius.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Excellent. Knowledgeable about the area and its history.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Do lots of training on hills before you go.
Reviews
Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers
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Reviews
Amalfi coast
scenery excellent, but walking was much harder than I expected–and I have done about 60 Munros. V steep ascents + descents. Hotel clean, staff v friendly and helpful but food rather disappointing. However, the paninis we had at lunchtime were excellent.
Vietnam 2015
A comprehensive trip covering many aspects and places of Vietnam from Hanoi to Saigon. The trip included several days of moderately intense activities such as hiking, bicycling and kayaking. Areas visited included large cities to small isolated villages. Other modes of travel were a day and night on a boat and train.
Most Inspirational Moment
Visits to small home businesses which gave insight into everyday life and experience of locals.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Cong was a fun and thoughtful guide who took great care of the group and organized many optional activities for dining and entertainment. I highly recommend him as a tour leader.
Advice for Potential Travellers
We didn't need to take our bike helmets or sleeping bags because helmets were supplied and it was warm enough to just use the supplied sheets/blankets. Not sure if this is for all trips, but it would have been good to know to save luggage space.
One of the best
You may be in the wilderness, but if you like adventure you will run out of time before things to do.
I loved the dog sledging (you can have your own sledge and dog team), the snow shoeing, the cross country skiing, the sledging etc. There is also the option for extra’s and I’d recommend the skiing in Rukha and full day dog sledging. There is plenty of option for free extra’s too as you can use the equipment to walk the bear route with snow shoes and do local cross skiing.
You can get away with taking little cash and paying for most things by card at the end of the week. For a remote base camp the food is good, the room clean and warm with underfloor heating and the equipment good quality. The only down side is the taster sessions could have covered more ground e.g. the snow shoe taster guide session had a bit too much talking and not enough walking, but a few of us made up for it with a walk to village after. This was a small issue for an otherwise incredible trip.
Most Inspirational Moment
1) A couple of us walked the bear route and the pure magical beauty of snow, river and trees was uplifting. 2) The dog sledging also gave a sense of companionship and adventure. 3) The night walk was hilarious as we kept disappearing up to our waists in snow. ... 3 rather than 1 inspirational moment, but thats representative of how good the week was.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Teddy was very good. Entertaining, informative and attentive. He engaged the group well and was very clear with instructions. He has a very relaxed manner and got the best out of the group. He also worked very hard to ensure all 20 people got an opportunity to do everything they wanted to despite high demand for some activities, which meant he had to split optional activities over a couple of days.
Advice for Potential Travellers
You can pack light as they do provide all the gear. Suggest you take a couple of base layers, trainers and casual clothes for the evening. You don't need a lot of cash as the activities, your bar bill etc can be paid by card at the end of the week. You may want some cash if you eat out at Rukha or take a taxi back seperately to the organised bus.
Challenging but rewarding!
This was a demanding but thoroughly enjoyable trip for a pair of novice walkers. It was our first ever walking holiday and as the trip loomed we were worried that we may have been a bit ambitious selecting a Moderate/Challenging trek despite doing a good amount of preparatory walking to get fit. The walking was tough with around 800-1000 metres of accent on each walk coupled to quite long days. A couple of our fellow travellers who had been on other ‘challenging’ grade trips mentioned that they thought this trek was more demanding. This is probably down to the fact that the terrain is very rocky and uneven in places and considerable sections of the walks were on rough trails which was quite hard on the feet. The ascents were generally not a problem and although hard work they were conducted at a civilised pace with everyone finding their own speed.
There is an excellent balance to the days which were very satisfying with the hard work being rewarded by some fantastic views over the surrounding area, which is totally unspoilt and a world away from the costal resorts of Alicante and Benidorm. More importantly (I think) there was a heavy emphasis on refreshments in the evenings with plenty of food, wine and beer which I don’t think anyone felt the least bit guilty about indulging in after a day’s toil in the hills.
The accommodation was very good. The first hotel was clean and basic with a good breakfast and dinner in the evenings. The second hotel, which I was expecting to be more remote and rustic, was Casa Roc in the lovely little village of Sella. This was a charming spot with clean and comfortable rooms and communal kitchen areas and terraces. The honesty bar with its seemingly inexhaustible supply of beer and wine was particularly popular. We didn’t find sharing facilities too much of an issue, we shared a bathroom with two other people and were quite happy to trade the earlier slot in the shower for an extra half hour in bed! The hosts Steve and Liz were very friendly and clearly work hard to keep their guests happy. Liz did a fantastic job producing delicious authentic Mediterranean meals for us in the evenings, no mean feat considering how many people she was catering for. Steve did an equally good job keeping the jugs of wine and the bread baskets topped up.
There were 14 people in our group and without exception everyone was friendly and sociable and for us this really made the holiday that extra bit special. There were people who were obviously more experienced and fitter than us but they were very supportive and encouraging, especially when we expressed doubts about joining the group on the last day for the climb to the 1408 metre summit.
Most Inspirational Moment
The last days walk to the summit of was definitely the hardest part of the trip but the sense of achievement and the views from the top were spectacular. Even Benidorm looked nice!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Jose is a fantastic guide and has a great sense of humour. He has a wealth of knowledge about the area and is obviously very passionate about it. It can’t be easy trying to keep 14 people organised and motivated but he did a great job. He encouraged people to take their time and didn’t pressurise people to go faster than they felt comfortable on the more difficult sections. On our free day he offered suggestions on what we could do and offered to organise transfers back from the costal town of Villajoyosa, and generally acted as mediator, translator and negotiator.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Walking poles and good strong boots with ankle support are a must if like me your knees don’t like going downhill. Also water was only available from springs on one of the five days of walking so take heed of the trip notes which advise you to bring two 1 litre bottles. The tap water from the hotels is perfectly safe to drink. Despite it being early March several of the days were pretty hot (by British standards) and shade is often elusive, and with 7-8 hours of walking you may need more water than you think.
Cycling Cuba
The holiday was well thought through and carefully run by the guide you provided. Each evening and lunchtime the food arrived as planned, whether we’d ordered and paid or had it or provided by you, or whether we’d arranged to go out to a restaurant you suggested. Great to see a foreign culture, nothing like I had experienced before. We experienced a great variety, including the atlantic coast, the carribean coast, the jungle, the mountains and a wide veriety of accomodation (all good).
Most Inspirational Moment
I found eating the local food provided at a private house, sitting in the garden and using his actual home a humbling experience that made me feel good contact with the locals. I experienced a culture shock seeing the economic state of the Cuban population.
Thoughts on Group Leader
He was well informed and was able to answer all our questions in a thorough manner. He even dealt with unforseen problems well, like the bus getting a pucture and the mechanic needing to sort out bike problems. His enthusiasm, cheerful manner and unfailing dedication to creating a good holiday for us made it all work out so well.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Be aware that snacks for the daytime rides are not available at the roadside, the guides provide fruit, but if you like cereal bars bring 12 days cycling worth with you. Please be ready when the guides seem to be giving you a HUGE ammount of water to drink cycling in a windy 30 C in not too good but it is necessary, also please do take some of the hydration salt tablets as you loose a lot of potessium an manganese in sweat. Also bring lots of tea bags and be prepared to ask for "agua calente" or have a great guide who asks for "hot water" when they don't do tea.
Unpredictable fun in the land of incredible landscapes
This trip was a fantastic and fun adventure from start to finish. I had no idea what to expect from the trip and was not used to cold weather climates but the unpredictable changes in the weather just added to the excitement. The itinerary was packed full of amazing sights including beautiful waterfalls, thermal geysirs, an iceberg lagoon, black sandy beaches, a swim in the blue lagoon and so much more. We also got looked after well each and every day, and where the planned schedule had to be adapted due to severe weather conditions, I still had an amazing time.
Most Inspirational Moment
There were too many on this trip! But some of the best moments were relaxing in a hot tub with a waterfall as your backdrop, walking up to see a glacier, the iceberg lagoon and swimming in the blue lagoon with snowflakes falling on your face and sipping a drink from the swim up bar on the side of the lagoon.
Thoughts on Group Leader
I really liked the group leader, David Kelley. He was very thoughtful and wanted us to have a great time, and he felt personally responsible that we didn't see the northern lights even though that was down to the severe weather conditions we had. He also had a wicked sense of humour (British, sarcasm) which made me laugh all trip. And he cut up cake in the snow with a plastic knife and fed us. What was also fab was his immense passion for Iceland and what he was sharing with us which was apparent throughout.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Key advice is to make sure you have the right clothing for the trip, the weather is really very unpredictable. So definitely take waterproof trousers and a balaclava, woollen mittens and a hat that covers up your ears and will stay on in a blizzard. Also a waterproof bag and waterproof case for your camera. It can be sunny one minute, then hail can smack you across the face the next, and then it's snowing! Embrace the unpredictability of the trip and don't be disappointed if things don't go according to the itinerary.
The Tropical South
A very enjoyable holiday with a great variety of scenery. The trip is well planned with everyday bringing new discoveries and different experiences from small villages to large towns, remote hills, fertile plains and busy seaside locations. The local people are very friendly. I would happily repeat the whole journey.
Most Inspirational Moment
I especially enjoyed the stay in Munnar and the trek in the Western Ghats with breathtaking views of the Annamudi Peak and surrounding hills. I could have stayed here for another day just exploring the countryside, photographing the wildlife and surroundings and talking to local people. I also enjoyed the fact that we stopped to see a small brickworks, rice being harvested and visited Madurai and the very busy Sri Meenakshi temple.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our group leader Chandra was very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. He went out of his way to accommodate our wishes. The whole trip ran smoothly. Also the coach driver was an excellent driver and with his helper kept the coach in good condition.
Advice for Potential Travellers
As we had booked a few extra days onto the end of the trip we did not feel so compelled to relax at the seaside at the end of the trip and we did the extra optional trip to Kanyakumari. Although you end up on a small coach for a couple of hours each way I did enjoy visiting the old wooden palace at Padmapuhamban and the small boat trip to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial and the Thiruvalluvar Statue at Kanyakumari followed by paddling in the nearby beach where the three oceans meet and where we watched the sunset.
Discover Sri Lanka (not premium version)
Excellent trip. Good mix of culture and temples, cities and rural, walking and beach time.
(Please note I did not go on the ‘premium’ version, but I couldn’t the correct trip on the list!)
Most Inspirational Moment
Climbing Adam's peak Sigirya Cycling
Thoughts on Group Leader
Roshantha was very organised, kind and caring. Was able to sort out problems and was very knowledgeable. Organised a kitty to pay for tips to avoid overpaying/hassle individually. Organised constant supply of bottled water on coach to save everyone buying in order to save costs and time.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Money - get it at Colombo airport and there are plenty of opportunities to get out of ATMs along the way. Can pay in sterling for optional activities. Option to change in Kandy. Except for three or four days it is a different hotel every night. This is fine as it's the only way to see the sights! There was usually no more than 90 mins spent on the bus at any one time as appropriate breaks built in (e.g. to tea factory, spice garden, tea house etc.) Wifi available at almost all hotels (mostly in reception and not in rooms - I note this was a complaint earlier... but who wants constant internet when on holiday!?) Plenty of time for relaxing around the pool at the end of the trip and also odd afternoons - it's not 'on the go' constantly... I thought it would have been more 'active' but some felt it was too active! Hotels were much better than expected - some were luxury! Most food is consumed in the hotels. In some places there is an option to eat in town, but some may regard the hotels 'safer'. The cycling was very gentle and excellent fun The extra day in Kandy is not really necessary - I'd have rather had an extra day of walking, but it does serve a 'functional' purpose (time to wash clothes, change money etc.) For Adam's peak it cost me £80 as I was the only person in the group that wanted to do it (if more people do it the cost comes down) On one review the person complained that those on single supplement had worse rooms. I can't see how this would be possible. The rooms were almost all equal.
Kvitåvatn 2015
Have X-C skied in many parts of world, but after over 35 years still keep returning to Kvitåvatn because of the variety and excellence of the terrain and possible tours. Ski trails much improved for skaters this year, while snow conditions were wonderful in the mountains. New management and rebuild of part of original lodge both settling nicely. Ski hire and the ski preparation areas excellent as always. Food very good this year (copious smoked salmon every day!). Had to replace some ageing ski boots; the shop in nearby Rjukan -easily visited using free bus service – helpful and very well stocked.
Most Inspirational Moment
Superb descents on even surfaces and perfect snow during days touring in the mountains. Dawn light on Gausta (the nearby mountain) on a day of perfect weather. The first cup of (free) coffee after a seven-hour tour!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Ilse and Mary are always cheerful and enthusiastic, and provide excellent teaching for novices and experts alike. They always seem to be able to find some decent snow, even if the conditions are less than ideal. Evening 'entertainments' first-rate for the newcomers who need to know about waxing and safety in the mountains. Whole group this year very cheerful and friendly.
Advice for Potential Travellers
If you are unsure of whether you will like Cross-Country skiing, try it here: if you don't take to it, it is very easy to hire downhill equipment, snowshoes, or take in the history of the area by visiting the local museum, which celebrates the "Heroes of Telemark". Plenty of photo-opportunities and, this year, surprisingly plentiful bird life.
Cycling in Rajahstan
Excellent trip with the benefit of a great leader. A full on trip with lots of variations.
Only draw back was the lack of “down time”. Also needed more shopping time.
Most Inspirational Moment
Seeing the Taj Mahal
Thoughts on Group Leader
Excellent, knowledgeable, calm, clear, fun.
Advice for Potential Travellers
If you plan to extend your holiday arrange to stay at the Central hotel in Delhi. ( The Siddarth) rather than the Ashok. It takes an hour to get to the centre of Delhi from the Ashok.