Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The trek along the Inca Trail was amazing.  The scenery, the exotic vegetation of the cloud forest and the many Inca ruins along the way all contributed to the anticipation and excitement of reaching the Gate of the Sun and our first sight of Machu Picchu.  We were not disappointed!The Peruvian people were so cheerful and uncomplaining, especially or porters and drivers.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader, Fabrizzio, was brilliant.  He was extremely efficient, very knowledeable, patient and friendly.  Thanks to his excellent organisation, everything worked like clockwork.  He worked hard to make sure that everyone got the most enjoyment out of the trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do it!

Most Inspirational Moment

As well as crossing over many high passes as part of the circuit, we had the opportunity for some side trips up to local peaks 200-300 metres higher and easily accessible from the pass. Reaching the peak gives you a fantastic 360 degree view, definitely a 'wow' moment, and the weather was benign enough so that we could enjoy a relaxing lunch break at the top - sublime!

Thoughts on Group Leader

The main trek leader, Graham, is a very experienced leader who is thoroughly familiar with the Mont Blanc region. This meant that he could plan good alternative routes when the weather was unfavourable for the planned route. He also kept us informed and entertained with little anecdotes and snippets of local history, which I feel is an important aspect of these treks. So I now know where the word 'alp' comes from - which is not what you might expect!We also had the benefit of a trainee leader, Johnie, who led some the walks. This was beneficial, as it made it easier to organise side trips that did not require the participation of the whole group. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is a hard walking trek, definitely more C than B and with lots of steep descents, so make sure you go equipped with good walking boots and socks, and walking poles are very useful.

Suggestions

The pop-up tents are certainly easy to put up, but not so easy to pack away, especially when wet with heavy dew first thing in the morning! I finally got the hang of it by the end of the holiday, but there are always helping hands available.And look out for the mobile milking parlour at 2200 metres, definitely a first! 

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing four Condors flying high above us on the first dayWalking on my own for a bit on the 3rd day of the trek, it was so peaceful and quiet and the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful (Day 3 was my favourite overall)The lovely wild flowers and bird life along the trek  The fantastically hard working porters and cooks who looked after us so well & put us to shame they way they ran up and down the steps carrying such huge loads and often wearing the flimsiest of sandalsSeeing Machu Picchu - nothing really prepares you for how amazing it is no matter how many photos you've seen before   

Thoughts on Group Leader

Marcial was great, very experienced and knowledgable and with a great sense of humour - his love for his country shone though & I left knowing a lot more about Peru & it's history than I arrived with. I'd also like to thank Ricardo, our second guide, for his patience and kindness when I needed it (I was ill going up Dead Woman's Pass) and & also his infectious enthusiasm for plants & wildlife - I'll remember his clever little trick to attract the moustache bird for a long time!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you bring enough warm layers for the trek - it gets v cold when the sun goes down. I had debated whether I needed my down jacket but was so glad I did pack it in the end! Pack some plastic bin liners or bags to keep your clothes dry (the kit bags aren't waterproof and it does rain even in the dry season!) Perhaps investigate making your own flight arrangements if you can afford to - I was not impressed with LAN (at Cusco when checking in for return flights, there was chaos and confusion with half the group being told they did not have seats from Lima to Madrid - this was sorted out at Lima but did not make for the best end to a great trip) I wouldn't choose to fly with them again unless it was totally unavoidable (not Exodus' fault of course but just something to bear in mind)  

Suggestions

Don't be put off doing this trek - yes it's quite tough sometimes (especially on Day 2 and the relentless climb up Dead Woman's Pass) but you really don't have to be super fit, just take it at your own pace and with the support of the guides and the rest of your group, you'll do it!  

Most Inspirational Moment

A real live brown bear crossing our path (while in a mini-bus !)

Thoughts on Group Leader

First class - full of knowledge

Advice for Potential Travellers

Moderate it may be for time and distance but the walking is hard on the feet.

Suggestions

Take a bath plug

Most Inspirational Moment

All the areas visited were interesting but I particularly liked the Cappadocia area and the underground city at Derinkuyu was amazing.The story of Troy is one of the most well known and it was great to see the place after much imagining. Istanbul is a great city and you could easily spend more time there.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Kiymet our tour leader was very knowlegable and informative.  She ensured that the trip ran smoothly and made time for everyone. Excellent.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Think about when to go. It was pretty hot at times and, for me, if it had been any hotter visiting some of the sites would not have been as enjoyable.If you use the laundry service provided by the hotel at Antalya be careful, they obviously wash all colours together and some of my clothes came back prety grey.

Suggestions

Great trip, well worth going on.

Most Inspirational Moment

The moments that stood out most were the little extras that the leader threw into the trip, like the Rescue Tuk Tuks that saved us from the rain in the plantations and our last night at the Onam celebrations in Trivandrum - We even made it into their local newspaper with our yellow balloons! The meal at family home was also fantastic. I loved so much of the trip. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Suresh was brilliant. So knowledgable and has a wicked sense of humour. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take loads of cheap pens to hand out to the children. You will have never heard the phrase "One pen?" so many times in your life before. Get an easy to apply mosquito cream instead of the greasy sprays as you want to make sure that you apply it diligently daily otherwise you will be eaten. Not a malaria risk, just annoying bites. Boots Repel Citrapel 75 cream worked brilliantly for me. 

Suggestions

It's an amazing trip. Do it!

Most Inspirational Moment

I think each and every day had its moments, some days many of them,  such as reaching the highest point of the day and having time to take in the stunning views and seeing just how far we had come.  

Thoughts on Group Leader

Graham was excellent as a leader always approachable, always calm and friendly, had time for everyone and was extremely knowledgable about the mountains, local history and wildlife.  His little 'optional' deviations from the route were always well worth the extra effort.Lewis who was in charge of shopping, cooking, moving gear etc was also excellent and the 3 course meals he served up, all on time, were really really good. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you are fairly confident about covering the distances involved taking into account the ups and downs as some days I found were fairly strenous and I think the fitter you are the more enjoyable it would be. Comfy boots and ruck sack!  

Suggestions

I would of loved to have stayed in one of the mountain huts one night just for the experience. If this could be incorporated into the trip it would just improve on what I thought was already an excellent trip. 

Most Inspirational Moment

The most inspirational moment of the trip was looking over the marble mountains out to the coastline.  It was an excellent spot of a picnic!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Liz was a very good leader and encouraged the group to push themselves to the top of the mountains each day.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The walks we completed were approximately 7 hours a day, so there wasn't alot of free time in the afternoon.  Also if you like golf check out the golf course at Braccicorti.

Most Inspirational Moment

I'd love to say it was reaching the summit of Mt Toubkal, but unfortunately I was too knackered to appreciate it properly.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Perhaps I've been very lucky in previous trips, but unfortunately I didn't gel with our leader Hassan (apparently there is - or has been - more than one leader on this trip called Hassan, I believe the one we had was "young Hassan"). I was disappointed because I had read such good reviews of all the leader on this trip. I found him efficient but distinctly unsocial and uncommunicative. His briefings were an absolute bare minimum of essential information (what time we would leave and how long the day's walking would be), he showed no interest in us as people or in talking to us about his country or culture, even when asked directly, and I never once heard him give a word of encouragement to anyone, even when we were clearly struggling on tough climbs. Moreover, he appeared to be totally unaware of the fact that I had various medical conditions, despite having received written information from both Exodus and myself about them, which I found a little alarming. He was, however, totally professional and ensured our safety throughout, and by the end of the week he had thawed out enough to show occasional glimpses of humour. Other members of the group did, however, seem to have more favourable views of him.

Advice for Potential Travellers

There were no snacks provided on this trip, unlike most Exodus trips I've been on, so take plenty of cereal bars, nuts, etc as you'll definitely need them on some of the long days. And take clothes for all eventualities - the weather can be very changeable in the mountains. Having read conflicting reports about the need for water purification tablets, we were able to buy bottled water on most days but not all, so do take some with you. If you don't like carrots (or vegetables) then you may be in trouble. Earplugs recommended not just for those sharing with snorers but to enable sleep when there's a howling wind rattling your tent!

Suggestions

This was the toughest trip I've been on so far, with some very hot temperatures at the start, strong winds at higher altitude, lots of slippery scree and a very challenging summit day. The tents were also in a terrible state of repair - one tent pole broke and they had no spares so two of us had to share, plus many tents had broken zips and/or rips in the fabric. Finally, I strongly believe that two guides are necessary on this trip, at least on summit day, unless you happen to get a group of very similar ability - otherwise the faster people may get frustrated at having to go at the pace of the slowest. Hopefully these issues will get sorted. Overall, a wonderful trip despite a few niggles. But beware the rock thieves at Toubkal Base Camp.

Most Inspirational Moment

The last walk, the descent to La Flatiere was by a route where we walked down a narrow ridge with drops on either side.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver was great, excellent sense of humour and was very helpful on the treks, while transporting us and at the chalet.