1-844 421 0109
Call 1-844 421 0109

Ask a Question
hero-image

Reviews

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.

Simply use the selector below to search our trip reviews and start reading real feedback from real Exodus travellers who have ‘been there and done that’!

Lots of our clients also like to post handy tips and advice about their travels. It’s great to know what to expect on an Exodus adventure before you go, so make the most of their experience and you’ll make the most of yours!

Haven’t posted your review yet? Here’s how to do it…

Once you return from your Exodus adventure holiday, you will be emailed a link to add your review. Any feedback collected is posted onto our website, totally unedited.

Alternatively you can navigate to the relevant trip page and add your review via the Reviews tab.

Excellent
4K reviews on

Select a trip specific review:

51 Reviews

4.6 out of 5

Reviews

Go on this trip!

This was a fantastic trip – mountains, lakes, yurts, history, culture, beautiful mosques, delicious food & great guides!

Most Inspirational Moment

As everyone says the Eagle hunting was amazing - like nothing I’ve ever seen before! Our first view of the Registan in Samarkand.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Vitaliy (Kyrgyzstan & Kazakhstan) was very knowledgeable, great organiser & time keeper and also fun! Jahongir (Uzbekistan) was equally a great guide - so knowledgeable about everything! (Occasionally told us sl more than we may have needed to know - but did it with great fun, humour & and infectious chuckle!)

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go if you can. I’m in my early 60’s & was a bit concerned re reviews that said trip was too fast paced/ tiring / long journeys etc…….. I don’t know if we were just lucky but all went smoothly for us - train trips were comfortable & fun! Border crossings easy……. No hitches! Coaches all comfy (drivers all excellent!) We went in September & had packed for autumn - but still 28-33 degrees (yurt night was cooler - down to 10 degrees) Points to note: USD must be crisp / clean and post 2013 or they won’t be exchanged for local currency. The larger USD notes (50/100) get better exchange rates. In Bukhara/ Khiva you are able to buy things with USD, otherwise local money only. We found visa / Mastercard widely accepted in towns. 24 hour electricity in yurt camp - easy to charge phones etc. Karakol has a very poor bazaar…….. Bukhara and Khiva are excellent for bazaars! We found food choices to be excellent - lots of salads, soups, vegetables, fruits - we had been led to believe very meat based - but didn’t find this. Locals very friendly, no evidence of crime, never felt unsafe. I’ve travelled extensively & really enjoyed this trip - go for it!

The Silk Road

Well organised, very good communication and always have good local guides

Most Inspirational Moment

Several highlights - sleeping in a yurt was very special. Seeing Ragistan square in Samarkand was a breathtaking experience. We loved staying in Bukhara and Khiva

Thoughts on Group Leader

Both leaders were absolutely fantastic - organised, great communication skills, very knowledgeable about countries and history. They interacted with the group with good humour, respect and a caring attitude - both brilliant. I would also like to mention our fantastic driver Valerie in Kyrgyzstan - he was amazing especially driving up and down mountain to yurt camp on unmade roads thick with mud. He was a star!

This trip will stay with me

This was a good introduction to Central Asia that packed a lot of experiences and information into 16 days including the natural wonders of the magnificent Tien Shan mountains, valleys and gorges between, lakes, forests , deserts and parks , ancient preserved and rebuilt ruins filled with history, and the bustling cities each demonstrating their uniqueness, history, influences and progression.

Most Inspirational Moment

Too many could take that title.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had 3 different guides: one for each of the 3 countries visited, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Each offered historic and cultural insights into their country and the specific areas we visited. All were very good. They were from Russian and Ukrainian families who emigrated to the countries they now guide, I am assuming it because they can speak a variety of languages. It would be interesting to also experience the countries from Kyrgyz, Kazakh, and Uzbek peoples as well.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Read : -"Sovietistan" by Erika Fatland either before or after your trip. - The Silk Road by Peter Frankopan -Lonely Plant "Central Asia" (free online editions at Archive.org) Download: Google Translate, a good tracking app, Merlin bird identification app and Seek plant id. Enjoy your trip.

Fascinating trip

Varied and very interesting trip to three Stans of the Silk Road. Kygyzstan revealed beautiful scenery and traditional ways of life. Kazakhstan showed a mix of ancient history and modern city life. Uzbekistan was full of awe inspiring culture and buildings associated with the Silk Road.

Most Inspirational Moment

The eagle training experience in Kyrgyzstan. Wonderful architecture of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. The metros in Almaty and Tashkent are well worth experiencing.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Tatiana in Kyrgystan was a wonderfully enthusiastic, warm and informative guide. Sergey in Uzbekistan was informative, super organised and seemed to have boundless energy. Both enlivened the trip with their knowledge helping to include us in the food and cultural experiences of their countries.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It's a full on, high paced trip so sit back and enjoy the scenery as much as you can. There's a lot to experience in the travel through these different cultures, go with the flow.

The Silk Road

Once again, a great holiday! Itinerary was strong, wonderful places to visit, a fab mix of accommodations and simply exceptional tour guides! Some of the best for sure I have had. A huge thank you to both Vitaliy and Dilshood for their exceptional knowledge, patience, openness and sense of fun! A treat to have Alex Morris from Exodus along with us too – great fun and very open to feedback, and putting up with a bunch of oldies!

Most Inspirational Moment

The guides! Both Vitaliy and Dilshod were exceptional. And the countries we visited breathtaking.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Exceptional and some of the best we have had!

A fantastic journey through Central Asia bursting with History and Culture

As an Exodus staff member (Senior Consultant), I’ve been lucky enough to travel on quite a few trips but Central Asia has been on my list for years. This is an incredible trip visiting 3 Stans, and all very different from each other. The scenery and hiking in Kyrgyzstan was spectacular and the Golden Eagle experience was a real highlight. Uzbekistan was such a contrast to the first 2 countries and some of the sights were breathtakingly beautiful.
All of the countries were fascinating in their own way and our guides Vitaliy and Dilshod were excellent! Both very knowledgeable and gave us great insights and the history of each place we visited.

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking the streets of the old city in Khiva was like stepping back in time 1000 years. It has been fantastically restored so that you are practically walking through history in the modern day.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Vitaliy and Dilshod were excellent from start to finish. Their attention to detail, information and planning meant that we always knew what was happening and when. Delivering so much information and history cannot be easy but they managed to strike a great balance between detail and content that we were all kept interested every day.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Pack for all weather as we experienced from 7'C to 42'C throughout the trip, and keep some room for shopping as even the lesser shopping travellers still ended up taking home some new purchases. They don't call it the Silk Road for nothing :)

The Silk Road

Variety of sights was very good. Our guides were exceptionally helpful and knowledgeable.

Most Inspirational Moment

The night in a yurt, scenery, the quality of food everywhere was unexpected, architecture and history (especially Uzbekistan).

Thoughts on Group Leader

Both Vitaliy and Dilshod were personable and helpful. Their knowledge was exceptional, and helped us understand their culture in a part of the world which I did not know. Sometimes the talks were a little bit long as there was a lot of information to take in.

The Silk Road

The itinerary was good and both tour guides we had were knowledgeable, professionall and made the tour great fun.

Most Inspirational Moment

Uzbekistan

Thoughts on Group Leader

Both leaders were good but Dilshod especially was very knowledgeable and did his utmost to ensure we had a great tour. He was an excellent ambassador for Uzbekistan.

Two trips in one!

I’m writing this two months after coming back. I’ve just finished my photobook of the trip and completing this made me realise how much fantastic stuff we saw. And how it’s like two trips in one. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are based on mountains, open spaces and some walks. Uzbekistan is cultural, four interesting cities and fantastic Islamic architecture. It’s great to have experienced both and enjoyed three new countries in one adventure.

Most Inspirational Moment

So many. Holding a golden eagle. Walking to a frozen waterfall (end April). Soviet memorials in Almaty. The Tashkent metro. The Samarkand necropolis. Climbing up to a desert castle in a sand storm!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Both guides were good, knew their stuff and were full of enthusiasm for their countries. Vitaliy has lots of experience with managing the days and groups on the Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan section. Driver Valerie was good too. Sergey has lots of experience as a guide in Uzbekistan. We were his first Exodus group so now he is 'blooded' for you!

Advice for Potential Travellers

It's a great trip - so many wonderful photos. But it's not an easy trip in terms of some of the logistics. It's a night flight to Bishkek - so we travelled a day early to be ready for the group and to see more of Bishkek (the parks were beautiful at the end of April; the state museum of history very worthwhile). Getting around is pretty easy in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan with the minibus. Uzbekistan is a bit harder as the distance travel is by train with some early starts and some late arrivals. But the trains are all part of the experience and basically you're getting to see four super cities in eight days. Compared with a longer trip to just Uzbekistan, which might be more relaxed, you've also experienced the scenery and mountains in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. So no pain no gain! Yes, there are a lot of mosques, madrasas and mausoleums but each Uzbek city is slightly different: Tashkent (the metro), Samarkand (the Registan and Necropolis), Bukhara (the Emir's palace) and Khiva (just the whole place as a unique restored city). And to get to Khiva you have a great afternoon seeing something quite different, the desert castles. We enjoyed the food, a little like Turkish. There's good beer and wine too!

Scenic Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan with cultural Uzbekistan

A lot to see on this whirlwind tour,stunning scenery in Kyrgyzstan, busy Almaty in Kazakhstan and a lot of mosques,minarets and mausoleums.
The included lunches and dinners were very good apart from the dinner and breakfast at the yurt which was very basic and tasteless,room for improvement.
The eagle hunting demonstration is excellent something I won’t forget. The yurt stay was basic but acceptable,a bit chilly at night in June,the next morning there’s a 6km walk down to the red rocks,a very easy walk and very beautiful.
The border crossing on foot into Kazakhstan was straightforward as it’s so quiet unlike the border crossing into Uzbekistan which was pretty chaotic.
The Charyn Canyon was amazing,easy walk down to the picnic spot,you can either walk back or buy a ticket for a ride back up in a soviet truck.
Both sleeper trains were 4 berth quite tight on space for luggage,first sleeper does have food and drink available.
Uzbekistan was stunning but overwhelming with the amount of mosques,minarets and mausoleum’s visited in 4 regions,personally I wouldn’t have been bothered if Khiva had been missed off the itinerary a bit of a tourist trap.

Most Inspirational Moment

The rides on the metro in Tashkent not to be missed, the people were so polite offering up their seats as soon as we got on. Again the walk in Djety Oguz and the canyon walk were great.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Both leaders were very good and looked out for us as a group.Both Vitaly in Kyrgyzstan and Dilshod in Uzbekistan were outstanding in the amount of information that they imparted,at times it was rather overwhelming and just too much to take in especially after a lack of sleep and the heat of the day.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take dollars, cards were accepted in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan a few in the group had cards blocked in Uzbekistan which was time consuming and a hassle to get unblocked. You can exchange your local currency from Kyrgyzstan in Kazakhstan, you have to rely on the guide for exchanges in Uzbekistan we were taken to a money exchange in a very nice hotel,I ran low on currency and the guide phoned a friend who then came out to the local market to do an exchange,very clandestine but fair exchange rate. The food in Uzbekistan does get very repetitive each restaurant has a very similar menu,lots of meat kebabs and salads,the lamb was excellent. Also don’t expect dishes to arrive at the same time is very random and they run out of dishes unexpectedly after you ordered 30 minutes ago.