Most Inspirational Moment
Getting to the high point above the monastery in Petra was an achievement. thank goodness we were able to get a scary horse and cart ride back or we'd probably have got locked in. The trip to Bethlehem was a lights on moment for me. I got a feel for the Palestinian frustration and anger.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our Jordanian leader was knowledgeable and did look after us as we expected. He was rather longwinded perhaps from enthusiasm but rather tiring in the hot sun. Too fond of cafe stops, squeezing the time at the sites of interest. The Israeli leader. was incredibly knowledgeable about the history of the country and tried to tell us everything Would have been magnificent if I was studying the history of the region at degree level, but too much standing in the hot sun for so long that we had little time to actually see the places of interest. He was however not really a tour leader in the Exodus style. He wasn't there to meet us when we crossed the border turning up 15 minutes later. Didn't take us into check in at the hotel or was at all concerned about the early closing of restaurants and shops, threatened strike and later gun fire and rioting following the death of a young Palestinian on our free day in Jerusalem. Advice on where to eat ect, missing.
Advice for Potential Travellers
In its present form this trip is quite punishing with little down time. The walking can be hard particularly if you are keen to see as much as possible in Petra.
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Reply from Exodus
We are grateful to you for taking the time to leave a review and are glad that you enjoyed Petra and Bethlehem. However, we were very sorry to read that you felt the itinerary was rushed, and that you were disappointed with aspects of your tour’s leadership and the suitability of your vehicle. We put a great deal of work and thought into designing our itineraries, however I should mention that this is a new trip to Exodus, and we hope clients will appreciate that with tours such as this there may be some aspects that we look to amend in order to improve the overall experience, based on the feedback we receive. Please be assured that I will certainly bear yours in mind when I look at what aspects of the itinerary could be changed when I review the tour ahead of the next season and will consider potentially increasing the amount of time in Petra, as you have suggested. Regarding your tour leaders, though we were pleased to read your positive comments about the knowledge they shared with you about their respective countries, we were equally disappointed to learn that you felt you spent too much time standing in the sun, as I can appreciate this would have been uncomfortable. Whilst the weather is of course an uncontrollable factor, going forward we have suggested that longer talks are given under shade or on board an air-conditioned vehicle to prevent groups being in direct sunlight for extended periods. We are sorry that you found the vehicle provided in Israel to be too small to comfortably seat all group members and their luggage, as we would always want our customers to have smooth travels in destination. Having seen photos of the vehicle used and taking into account the number of clients in your group, we agree with your assessment, and we have therefore followed up with our local operator to make sure larger vehicles are provided on future trips. We hugely appreciate your feedback, as it has allowed us to look to make changes to this tour and ensure that it is as organised, informative, and enjoyable as our customers expect from Exodus trips, though we remain apologetic that this was not your experience.
Thomas Manchester, Product Manager
