Reviews

Vast landscapes and stunning scenery

A fantastic trip! When I told people that I had been hiking in Kyrgyzstan, nearly everyone immediately asked ‘where?’ It is a remarkable country, and a trip that has been planned to ensure absolutely stunning days of walking in the Tien Shen mountains. The cities have their own charm and fascinating history and they bookend the trip.

What a nice surprise!

This is our 10th Exodus cycling trip and because we were both very busy in the summer, we didn’t have a lot of time preparing and read up about the trip. We knew next to nothing about Albania and just managed to read the trip notes once so that we know how many days to pack for and that was it. The trip turns out to be a great pleasant surprise. We thought Albania will have poor infrastructure with lots of pot holes (like Cuba or Romania) but the back roads that we rode on were great. Most of the cars are Mercedes (surprisingly) and the hotels were great European standard (most have good fast WiFI except in the mountains).

The food and drinks are cheap (even with the £ being so low because of Brexit) and the old city of Gjirokaster and Butrint were amazing.

The quality of cycling is also very good. There are quite a few climbs (especially the one on the last day) but we are never in a rush and with our keen leader encouragement, we managed most of them.

Concordia & K2

This truly was a trip of a lifetime. Having travelled to Everest Base Camp and Kilimanjaro (with Exodus) we thought we had a pretty good idea of what to expect on this trip. We were so wrong! This was so much tougher and in many different ways. Firstly, whilst there’s an itinerary, it quickly became apparent that there’s a lot that’s outside the control of Exodus and the on-the-ground operator. We were held up in Islamabad for longer than expected (due to leave on Saturday, left on Wednesday). Our flight to Skardu was cancelled as a result of bad weather and with just one flight a day, it wasn’t possible to get re-booked until Wednesday. Once in Skardu, although visa and permits have been granted, there’s still a step to complete on the ground and it can’t be started until you arrive in Skardu. Here you’re at the very of the Authorities and ‘it takes as long as it takes’. We weren’t granted permission to enter the national park until around 9pm on the day we arrived in Skardu. Sara, our tour guide, kept us informed at every step and went over and beyond, using the local operator and ‘connections’ to try to get us back on track. She discussed the options with us and as a group, we decided on a plan to try to keep the overall tour intact. This meant combining 2 days of itinerary into 1, twice! The terrain is hard and unpredictable, this is where Sara and the local team were invaluable in their knowledge and expertise. We really were in their hands, finding safe passage and negotiating an ever-changing landscape. This made it feel really natural and exciting. It was one of the most breathtaking places on earth, with a real sense of pure and raw beauty. We worked hard to get to Concordia and even harder to get K2 base camp. The team were unbelievably amazing, we simply could not have completed this trek without their encouragement, support, humour and importantly expertise. This isn’t a well trodden path and you need to know the environment. It was obvious from day 1, Sara had an incredible relationship with the local team, she knew the country and local environment well. She had a wonderful nature and approach to the people, the country and the environment, all of which she shared so generously, with true enthusiasm and passion. She’s such a modest person, someone that would shy away from the attention or thanks, instead passing it on to others. However, she was at the centre of everyday, every step and for that we are very grateful. An incredible trip and one we’d highly recommend.

A week in Jordan

Great trip, brilliant tour guide.

Would’ve liked the first whole day in Amman and not split between 2 locations.

The first few days are very heavy around Christianity (churches etc). Would be nice to see more history of Islam.

Had the chance to meet and speak to lots of Jordanian men in the programme – would be nice to have had the chance to speak to some women e.g. at the Bedouin camp

Absolutely fantastic Portugal

This trip was an amazing experience with absolutely stunning scenery, around every bend was a picture postcard view of the ocean. The guides were excellent and their spoken English was great. This being my first premium trip I was very impressed with the hotels and watching the sunsets over the Atlantic from our hotel balconies and resteraunt tables was a highlight for everyone. The cycling was a bit harder than I anticipated, the trip is graded a two but is as hard / a bit harder than the indochina trip I did earlier in the year which was graded as a three. The first few days are definitely leisurely, but on later days there are a couple of hills one long climb and one short but steep one, the last day is more undulating. I wouldn’t let these put you off though they are manageable by anyone that’s done a bit of prep or cycles regularly and there’s always the van or an ebike. The bikes were trek dual sport 3’s and were excellent hybrids with hydraulic disc brakes giving confidence on the way down. The trip was mainly on excellent quality cycle paths with only a limited amount of road riding to link them together. We were generally in the hotel for 330 each day with most starts about 930

Cycling through Transylvania

Another super Exodus trip with a great group. The countryside is lovely and most of the cycling was on minor roads and tracks – so peaceful and calm. The cycling has quite a few climbs to increase the heart rate but nothing too severe. The accommodation was varied, clean and comfortable. We were clearly mixing with the local communities and we received smiles from everyone we met. Food was good and locally sourced. All in all a great trip

It promised so much ...

Unfortunately Exodus dropped the ball on this particular tour. A combination of a new inexperienced tour leader, dirty poorly maintained accommodation (Agriturismo is not an excuse for dirty or poorly maintained accommodation!) and inedible food. My expectation of the actual tour itself was different from the reality. No transport to and from town on days off.

Sebastian teb010319

Excellent

Sunny Baltics

The trip was very interesting with lots of variation, capital cities lovely little fishing villages. Lots of culture and history and easy cycling. Excellent food. Andries was a really great tour leader with a great sense of humour.

Wonderful holiday in Costa Rica

I loved this trip. I had read many of the reviews before we went and so went with high expectations- we were certainly not disappointed. We saw so much more wildlife than I expected and saw such a variety of habitats/climates from rainforest to cloud forest, Caribbean coast to Pacific coast, plus a volcano to boot! It felt like we had been on holiday for way more than two weeks, we covered so much! I can’t pass a rustling bush now without trying to spot whatever is in there!