Reviews

Fascinating, however..

Fascinating colourful experience of Vietnam. The trip includes insight into it’s turbulent history, and inspired many of the group to read more about it.
I went single, into a group of 16, and with Ngok, one of the nicest and best guides I’ve ever experienced. He was with us in Vietnam, and joined us evenings and for optional tours as well. We had to say goodbye to him before the early morning onward flight to Siem Reap. There we had a new guide, who met us with the unsurprising news that it was too early to check into the hotel – and then took us on a full day program, through to watching sunset over a temple (unfortunately underwhelming on that particular day) – without yet checking in. We arrived at the chosen temple and waited there 2 hours for sunset, tired and travel weary after 2 weeks in Vietnam. The hotel was no more than half an hour away, so we really felt he could have planned the day better for us. We had all been up very early (the previous day too). Half the group wanted to go direct to the hotel and miss the sunset, but the guide felt we should see the sunset because it was mentioned in the original itinerary.

The majority of our group were disappointed with the Hotels. Comfortable and clean, friendly staff, but not as good as we expected from a trip advertised as Premium. Exception was the Hotel in Siem Reap, which met our expectations of Premium class.
Note, only the hotel in Hanoi was not the one advertised in the original programme, it was supposed to be an ‘or similar’ hotel. Several of us wrote to our travel agents to complain of its distance from the town centre (shuttle bus ran insufficiently), its proximity next to a road, and general failure to meet expectations.
Another point worth mentioning to those who choose this trip having noted that it is classed as leisurely. It wasn’t! There was very little free time, admittedly partly due to participation in some optional activities, and partly due to traffic jams keeping our bus on the road for hours longer than planned.
It would help relieve some of the stress if the itinerary could be changed such that we do not spend 2 nights in a hotel, travel some hours for an overnight elsewhere, and then do the reverse travel to return to the original hotel for another night. It happens twice in this itinerary.

A cycle trip to remember

This amazing trip has earnt its place as one of the top Exodus cycling adventures. In a fortnight you cover the whole country by bike, bus and train. We combined this trip with the Indochina and Angkor Wat trip so had already cycled from Bangkok to Saigon in the previous fortnight and were acclimatised to the time zone, heat and general chaos of the streets of south east Asia. its a shock to share the roads with so many motorbikes, cars, trucks and people but somehow everyone finds their place. Don’t do this trip if you don’t like traffic and are looking for peace and tranquillity. We had only a few cycling days through country backwaters but these were outstanding in their beauty. Mostly we cycled busy roads and at a pace which didn’t allow for much contemplation. It’s a fascinating itinerary with some fabulous stops along the way such as Whale Island, Hoi-An and Halong Bay. I recommend a few extra days in Saigon at the start and also Hanoi at the end as there is much to see and do in both cities. The bikes are mountain bikes so the mileage can seem long at times and the hills tough. That said, I never felt tempted by the bus until the very last day which I skipped to enjoy sightseeing in Hue without sweat. The hotels are all first class and the accommodation on Whale Island and Halong Bay very charming. The overnight train is an ‘experience’. Food is fabulous of course and the cycle snacks really amazing especially the home made lemonade. No need to bring anything extra except maybe a bag of muesli (I am a gluten free person and was very well provided for with rice cakes, nuts and fruit at every stop). Our leader was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and great fun. He did push the pace above that stated in the trip notes but we all coped and enjoyed the challenges of the passes and the ‘undulating’ landscape. The history of Vietnam is gruesome and complex. Meeting the people now and seeing the progress is inspirational. Our photos are awesome and we are looking forward to booking our next adventure. Many thanks Exodus and Tri our leader, for this fabulous cycling holiday. We totally recommend putting the 2 trips together if you have the time and funds available. It’s totally worth it.

Wonderful contrasting country cycling

This tour gives a great overview of the 3 countries visited with differing food, landscapes and people. Our group was small (only 9: Brits and Americans) which gave us a very close bonding time together and our leader ‘Is’ was outstanding in her warmth, compassion and sense of humour. The pace was faster than expected and yet although we cycled further than I have experience of, it was completely manageable and I was never tempted to get on the bus. It’s hot and sweaty but virtually flat the whole way. There is more traffic and car fumes than anticipated and it felt a bit risky at times, but ‘Is’ had her eye on us the whole time with help from the crew. The food is wonderful and as a gluten free vegetable lover I was in heaven. There really is no need to bring anything extra except perhaps a bag of muesli. The cycle snacks are never ending and delicious. Culturally, we were indulged in many new tastes, sights and sounds from spiders, silk worms, frogs, rats and snakes to be eaten in the local markets to fabulous home cooking in the home stay. We toured Angkor Wat in its splendours over 3 days and enjoyed the boat ride in Cambodia and the homestay in Vietnam. Entering Vietnam, we experienced the New Year celebrations in a riot of colourful flowers and local costumes and decorations as well as some evening shows. We enjoyed every aspect of the trip and followed straight on to the Exodus Cycle Vietnam trip. This was totally manageable and I recommend it as a way of enhancing the experience if you can manage that amount of time and expenditure (see my review for that trip too). We loved the time spent in Saigon and also had a few extra days in Bangkok at the start to acclimatise to the time zone difference and the weather. The hotels along the way can be basic but all are clean and comfortable and most have swimming pools. Laundry is easy to do. Leave space in your suitcase for shopping. There are lots of possibilities along the way for cheap and colourful clothing, crafts and food items. The history of war can be hard to digest and the visits in Pnom Penh quite devastating. But we were taken for lunch to a community restaurant project rehabilitating street children, which was so uplifting that we could see how the people have moved forward from their dark history with quiet hope, endurance and humility. We have so many great photos and memories but are already thinking about where to go on our next adventure. A big thanks to ‘Is’ and Exodus for this great holiday.

Costa Rica birding departure

Good for bird watchers
Excellent professional guide and comfortable air-conditioned coach
Costa Ricans friendly nice people
Good opportunities to ride on boats and walk in unspoilt rain forest and swim from beautiful Pacific beaches
Drawbacks are lots of long coach journeys on slow roads and many of the places visited are crowded with coaches and tourists. Also hotel food is nothing to write home about except at savegre where it is excellent
Don’t bother with night walk and suspension bridges at Monteverdi which are poor value in my opinion.
Costa Rica also very expensive even for basics like bread or fruit . I found it hard to understand how the poor local population could afford to live at these prices

Snowshoeing in the sun

The amazing weather meant that snow was fast disappearing, but our leader, Miguel, still found some excellent routes. There were some enjoyable snowshoeing challenges, and outstanding views of distant peaks.
Miguel also shared his passion for Catalonia and its history,food and wine.

Fantastic two weeks. I could have stayed longer!

This was my fifth trip to Dobbiaco, the first as an absolute beginner. The trip was as enjoyable as my first.
The first week was grade 3/4. The second was grade 2/3. A hard first week with long days. The second week was more relaxed with more time for a hot chocolate and a sauna on returning to the hotel.

Mt Toubkal Winter Climb

Really great trip. All the other people in the group were lovely. Scenery and food fantasic. Mountain accomodation basic but more than adequate. Toilets could be better though.

Mt Toubkal Winter Climb

Really great trip. All the other people in the group were lovely. Scenery and food fantasic. Mountain accomodation basic but more than adequate. Toilets could be better though.

Mt Toubkal Winter Climb

Really great trip. All the other people in the group were lovely. Scenery and food fantasic. Mountain accomodation basic but more than adequate. Toilets could be better though.

Not as expected

Having previously been on trips snowshoeing in winter in Finland and trekking in the French Pyrenees during the summer months, I had an expectation of a snow filled adventure on this holiday. Unfortunately we were unlucky to have no snow! On another trip, blue sky and sunshine would have been great but it was not what we were expecting.
To be fair, Miguel our guide did take the group snowshoeing on some ski resort pistes during the week and on the final day, after a bit of a drive, led us on a memorable trek through pine forests up to spectacular mountain views.
The Hotel Victor was nice, clean , comfortable with very friendly staff. The breakfasts were very good and there was a good choice of three courses for dinner in the evening.