Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Watching a huge group of dolphins jump in and out of the waves as they travelled alongside our boat. The calming sound of Grey whales breathing through their blow holes in an otherwise very choppy sea.A Grizzly bear fishing for salmon with her cub. The cub was picking salmon out of the river and playing with it.Seeing a pod of 11 Orca whales drift past our boat was pretty magical!Staying in a great hotel in Ucluelet after lots of time spent outdoors.  

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jo was great and she worked tirelessly to ensure that the trip ran smoothly and that we were all happy - I've never met anyone with more energy! I loved her idea to organise picnic lunches each day and she found some lovely beauty spots for us to enjoy. She was great at managing supplies and topping them up every few days to ensure there was always something new available. Along with the great restaurants that we visited in the evenings, there was definitely no shortage of food! Jo also led several really interesting walks throughout the trip and had plenty of knowledge about the areas that we walked through.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I would suggest taking binoculars and a good zoom for your camera if you want to maximise your experiences of the wildlife encounters. Also plenty of layers - the weather in September was generally warm but we spent a lot of time on boats where it was easy to get cold due to the wind. One of the boat journeys to see whales was very choppy and so sea-sickness tablets might be useful. Although wildlife encounters aren't guaranteed, we saw almost everything we hoped too. The landscape is also spectacular, which made boat journeys and ferry crossings really interesting too.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent. Very helpful and especially good with people. He was friendly towards everyone and showed no favouritism or judgement which really helped to make everyone feel welcome.  On one or two occasions, members of the walking group got a bit left behind so maybe posting a back marker with a whistle would have been a good way to avoid this, providing one or more members of the group are willing to volunteer.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The walking grade on our holiday was described as easy to moderate. I would say that most days the walks required moderate walking skills rather than easy as there were a large number of steps. this was not a problem for us but it might be for some people

Most Inspirational Moment

The 'Walk of the Gods' was absolutely spectacular. The views were breathtaking. It was very hard work, more a hike than a walk, but well worth it.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Eduardo Palermo was brilliant. He was funny, always on time, changed our itinerary so we got the most out of each day/best of the weather and he also was very caring and understanding with the members of the group who had to go slower on the 'Walk of the Gods' and on Versuvius. He was very knowledgeable about the local area. He also went out of his way to arrange/advise members of the group who wanted to do things that were not part of the itinerary.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The 'Walk of the Gods' was a lot more difficult than we were expecting. There were sheer drops with no guard rails which scared some of the group who had a fear of heights . In some places we were climbing up on hands and knees. 4 of the group who had old injuries from broken bones/dislocations would not have done it if they had known how hard it was. It was well worth it but we were glad we only had October heat to deal with and not the height of summer!!

Most Inspirational Moment

I most enjoyed Salamis and swimming in the sea. I was also impressed with how productive the land is out on the peninsular.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Yes. Don't travel direct to Northern Cyprus because it means going via Istanbul. it is quicker to fly to Larnaca and take a taxi to the North.

Most Inspirational Moment

The trip falls into three parts: the Rainforest, The Inca Trail and Lake Titicaca, so all three had their own inspirations.  The Rainforest - the diversity of animals and birds; The Inca Trail - achieving Dead Woman's Pass and reaching the Sun Gate; and the tranquillity of the Lake.

Thoughts on Group Leader

You don't get to meet the leader, on our trip this was Marcial, until you get to the airport in Puerto Maldonado.  The guide who met us at the airport in Lima didn't have much to say and didn't know his way round Lima, having to ask his way to sights on several occasions.  The guide in the Rainforest, Leol, was fantastic and so knowledgeable.  How he managed to spot the animals and insects in the dark and when there was only a fleeting glance during the day was unbelievable.  Marcial came into his own once we left the rainforest.  His knowledge of the culture of Peru was vast, he knew the best places to eat as he was local to Cusco.  Because we were a small group we only needed a mini bus, rather than a coach so we were up and ready each day on time and therefore he didn't need to chase anyone up.  His advice was accurate and he answered any questions we had.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Money - make sure you take enough US dollars.  The trip notes are pretty accurate, but that is just to get by.  If you are a spender then take more.  Change about $75 per person in the airport - the exchange rate is much better in Cusco - that will get you by for getting round Lima, the airports, water etc.  When you get to Cusco change quite a bit as you will need Sols for all your shopping and eating out, only some restaurants take card.  Tips for the porters can be in dollars, but you will need Sols for some of the additional trips rather than dollars.Luggage - pack as light as you can for the Inca trail - remember the porters can only 7kg of what you will need and some of that includes your sleeping bag and thermarest.  Make sure your sleeping bag is warm enough - work on the comfort rating rather than the temperature rating. A two season bag is not warm enough!  You will need more tops in the rainforest than you think as you will need to change at least 3 times during the day, where as on the Inca Trail you probably don't need as much as you think! And if you do, remember you have to carry it!Poles - if you are used to walking with poles, take them as they help with the ups and downs.  If you are used to walking without them, then you probably don't need them - you can always find a sturdy stick en route.Water bottles - take bottles that can be filled with boiling water as these can be used as hot water bottles at night while camping.See if you can get the earlier flight back from Puno to Lima as we had to hang around for 5 hours after getting back from Lake Titicaca before the 9.00pm flight to Lima and couldn't see any reason for this.  It means you don't get to the hotel until nearly midnight!

Most Inspirational Moment

Our two nights in Tortuguero on the north Caribbean coast were wonderful.  The boat trips, the cabins, the food, the beach and the turtles ... just perfect.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader was an absolute mine of information, always keen to provide us with the best experience possible of his country. Tricky questions were answered honestly, his manner open and friendly.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for the rain - there can be lots of it! A good waterproof poncho or jacket is a must, consider a decent umbrella and walking shoes. Sandals during the wet season are not suitable in every situation, boots can be a bit much.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many but the single best moment was seeing a female leopard with her three cubs high in a tree and no more than ten yards away from our Landcruiser. This was followed no more than two hours later by a massive wildebeest crossing, one of natures great spectacles.

Thoughts on Group Leader

A very knowledgeable and highly expert wildlife guide during the day and a great raconteur during the evenings with a constant stream of highly amusing jokes and anecdotes. A larger than life character.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just sign up and enjoy a fabulous holiday. Once in the Mara the experience is faultless. Be prepared for periods of relative inactivity during the day, the wildlife does not perform to order, but on our trip there was always a spectacular sighting in the offing to maintain a high level of anticipation. 

Most Inspirational Moment

Loved the Demosarios Gorge walk also swimming from a lovely bay.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Can't speak too highly of Thanos. Not only was he interesting and entertaining but also very dependable.

Advice for Potential Travellers

No it's quite clear in Exodus literature

Most Inspirational Moment

Their was more than one thing the whole experience was tremendous.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Kevin was superb and went far above his job very helpful and first class highly recomended

Advice for Potential Travellers

Get it booked now.

Most Inspirational Moment

We first entered the wall at Mutian Yu by walking up through the fields and trees from a small village. This was a great way to experience anticipation and then the wow factor.Leaving the restored wall and continuing onto the crumbling parts being taken over by nature and having long sections to ourselves, breath taking beauty of the scenery. Beyond Gubeiku toward Jinshinling a thundery sky bringing the mist to settle in the valleys and the wall peeking above with layer upon layer of purple peaks-magical! 

Thoughts on Group Leader

A great big thankyou once more to Kevin Wang (Wang Shengrong) our local guide who was fun to be with and funny, patient and caring, informative and did his utmost to make everyones holiday special. Well done Kevin you succeeded in making my holiday memorable! The itinery worked well never a dull moment. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are expecting some time to yourself theres not a lot."Shopping" opportunities are rushed alsoIf you like English style tea (ie. Tetley/Builders type) bring Teabags and powdered milk. However, Jasmine tea does grow on you! If you fear using the chop stick bring a spork but its mighty good fun getting to grips with them.The Chinese massage is almost torture, the Kungfu show a mixture of martial art demonstration, acrobatics and ballet dance to a story and music- fabulous and the opera exactly as I knew it would be an experience! Other members of our group that went to the Acrobatic show were well impressed. I would have gone to them all if I could have. You should try at least one.