Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

There were several moments during this trip which I will remember forever.  Floating in the dead sea and snorkelling of the boat in Aqaba were great fun.However the best bits for me were sitting around the camp fire listening to stories from Danny whilst looking at the gorgeous night sky in Wadi Rum and also getting to the viewpoint in Petra and looking out at everything.  Truly astonishing holiday.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Danny Haddad was a fantastic tour leader.  He was informative, friendly and passionate about the subject which made it all the more excellent.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I'd thoroughly recommend doing the snorkelling boat tour in Aqaba.  The lunch on the boat was wonderful - grilled fresh fish, fresh salad, potatoes...and then snorkelling off the boat was excellent.  Well worth the price! 

Most Inspirational Moment

Swimming with Sea lions, penguins and rays!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Extremely knowledgeable.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't think twice - do it!

Most Inspirational Moment

Hiking as a group in Petra without seeing any other tourists.

Thoughts on Group Leader

A great tour guide--professional, fun, and educational

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take this trip! Unlike others where you get a day in Petra, this trip allows for you to immerse yourself in this incredible city.

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching the top of Salkantay pass....seeing two seperate valleys dropping away, and the snow clad mountain was simply stunning.Walking along the canals at approx 3000m and stopping to soak our feet in the ice cold water. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Wilfedo could not do enough for us, he was so informative about the surrounding areas, always willing to help, and fit into our 3 person group :)

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go with an open mind, don't sweat the small stuff...don't take too much stuff, remember the horses and the porters have to carry everything up hill!!!Even if you have a hydration pack take a metal bottle as they serve as a overnight hot water bottle (it gets cold at night).Most places we visited prefered the local currency (Solis), you can pay with dollars, but you will get a poor rate of exchange) 

Most Inspirational Moment

Slovenia itself - it really is the most beautiful country!  I have been to many stunning countries across the world but Slovenia really surprized me, such beautiful scenery, on my doorstep really, that i knew very little about.  My favourite day was when we summited Golica and you walk with one foot in Austria and one foot in Slovenia, such pretty scenery, a little tough at times but i could have sat taking in the views at the top for ever and ever.  Saying that though every day was fantastic, we had a great group of people and lots of fun.  Even the free day which i choose to spend sunbathing and swimming in Lake Bled, as it was over 30 degrees, which was pretty special too.  The trip had everything, great walking, stunning views, some free time and a fantastic bunch of people.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had 2 leaders, David and Micah and they were such great guys.  Very knowledgeable, with a real love and pride for their country and wicked sense of humour too.  They were very good judges of character and took the time to make sure everyone was looked after and really helped to make the trip as good as it was. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

The food portions everywhere are huge - one of our group ordered deep fried cheese for a starter on a night out - and it came with a side serving of chips - for a starter!!  Lovely soups and cakes too - good job it was a walking holiday!

Most Inspirational Moment

There were 2 stand-out on a personal level during our trip:While all 13 members of the group successfully completed the demanding 1-week itinerary, special mention is due to the oldest member of the group, who, at 75 years of age, was an absolute inspiration to everyone, some of whom were less than half his age. Another group member whose pre-trip training was severely curtailed having been hospitalised for pneumonia 2 months before departure showed utter determination in admirably defying the odds to get up all of the most challenging ascents and just never gave up.There were coutless moments of scenic inspiration. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Graham, a top-class guide, did an excellent job. He managed the spectrum of ability in the group very skillfully so that everyone successfully completed each days' walk. He was gently engaging with everyone and did not insinuate himself socially in any excessively imposing way. He had helpful suggestions and advice on clothing options, and gave regular tips for cost-saving measures when buying foodstuffs to take with you each day. He had a great knowledge of local terrain and prevailing conditions which gave a very comforting sense of confidence to all of us. At the end of each day he did a summary of our progress with the aid of a map, and sumarised what to expect on the following days walk. All of this greatly added to our sense of enjoyment.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't expect luxury accomodation on route - it is adequate and appropriate to the rustic nature of what you are doing in the surroundings you are in.A good basic level of fitness is highly desirable. It is physically tough but not excessively so for those with a reasonable level of fitness. Although challenging, it is relatively short. I would consider it a good preparation for those considering longer treks of a demanding nature (such as the GR 20 in Corsica or Everest base camp).Those with a sense of sociability and teamwork will find this more rewarding than those with strongly independent, individualistic attitudes.

Most Inspirational Moment

Just sitting at the top of a mountain and seeing nothing but more mountains in every direction!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader organised everything with great efficiency and nothing was too much trouble. She was friendly, helpful, very encouraging and her knowledge of the area was extremely good.

Most Inspirational Moment

Easy - the most inspirational moment was getting to the top of Africa. That's what it was all about.A close second was saying thanks and goodbye to the guides and porters. They sang a beautiful Kilimanjaro song for us, and it was then that you realized just how many people were supporting us on this trip.... carrying bags, putting up tents, peeling spuds and most importantly, looking after the porta-loos. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Emanuel was our group leader and he was fantastic. He had the right balance of humour and professionalism. He quickly gained our trust and we knew that listening to him meant increasing our chances of getting to the top. Top marks, despite the fact that when you asked "how far?" the reply was always "don't worry, we'll make it in time for tea"... 

Advice for Potential Travellers

Think positive and you'll get to the top.  Keep drinking and snacking on summit day - It was easy to forget to do this and my water bottle froze. I was jealous of the camelback with insulated tubing. Even a neoprene bottle cover would have made a big difference.Hire the Exodus sleeping mats - You don't need to worry about carrying them and they looked so much more comfortable than anything you could buy.Bring a nail brush - The grey volcanic ash gets everywhere. Bring US dollars - Small and big denominations. Credit cards were only accepted at the airport. Bring more than you think as tipping the guides and porters becomes quite an emotional event and you don't want to be short when this happens. Bring walking poles x2 - Turns out that they are not just for "old" people ;) They stayed in my bag for the first 4 days, but they were a life saver when skiing the scree on the way down.

Most Inspirational Moment

Our particular highlights of the trip were; Armenia Stunning scenery and church locationsGeghard Monastery and its Armenian rock sculptures inside Sanahin with its monastery and the museum of the Mikoyan brothersGeorgiaGori's Stalin museumUplistsikhes enormous cave city Alpine regions and Mount Kazbek scenery

Thoughts on Group Leader

Both Mere (Armenia) and Elisa (Georgia) were superb ambassadors for their countries. Different styles but both equally knowledgable and looked after us well.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go knowing that you will visit easily 20 plus churches on this trip. It did drain us toward the end.Instead of the synagogue in Yerevan, visit the Museum of Sergio Parajanov, a film maker and artist born in Georgia and living his last years in Armenia. Its full of his art and collages and gives a different insight into the two countries. We travelled in June 2012 and Georgia is under a lot of construction and renovation. Hopefully this will be more complete come 2013. It didn't adversely affect our trip, but you should know.Most of the time you arrive at your destination around midday and it can get hot. This is particularly relevant to the walk to Gergeti Holy Trinity church. I would recommend that the group take the jeeps up and down. Then ask if you can do the 4km (return) walk to a waterfall. Do not go to the Russian border it is a waste of time, there is nothing to see.

Most Inspirational Moment

Meeting the 12 others in my group who were all fantastic people! Everyone had a good chat during the trip and we all got on well with each other (I hope we can all stay in contact!). The scenery around Mont Blanc was breath taking of course and I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere back at base in Chamonix.

Thoughts on Group Leader

A real inspiration to me to see how he organised the group and kept in control. The bag packing briefing was really well done and I learnt a lot about what I didn't need on the trip. Graham was a very responsible leader heading off quickly at one stage whilst the group took lunch to make sure that a refuge was open then came back again to give us the all clear!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take note of how little you need on the walk! Less is more but don't forget the important clothes such as waterproof trousers!