Reviews

Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It’s the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you’re interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.

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14420 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

David Harrup

Reviewed October 2018

Very well organised

Good trip that got away from the slightly touristy Porto city and included very scenic walks around the Douro river and further North. Due to the October storms instead of the first walk we visited the nearby town of Lamego with its 612 steps, church, castle and great views – really enjoyed this and probably preferred to a walk. Most of the wine tastings were port wine rather than normal wine (I was only expecting port on the last day) but there was plenty of local wine choice with dinner. The only downside, out of Exodus control, is that all trips depend on the dynamic of the group and it’s a shame when one person dominates.

Most Inspirational Moment

The views over the vineyards, which were variously arranged horizontally, vertically or in a curves depending on the shape of the hill, very picturesque.

Thoughts on Group Leader

András was excellent, and managed to cope with the many fastidious food requirements and varying walking abilities of the group.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring a swimming cap for the indoor hotel pools as they require them. The infinity pool at the third hotel is outdoors and freezing! Although a grade 1 (and the walks were very easy for a rambler like me) it is a walking holiday, you’ll need to be able to walk up say 50m of ascent, up 100 or so steps, and across quite widely spaced stepping stones over a river. Porto city is very hilly.

Mike Howard

Reviewed October 2018

A Brilliant Week in Portugal with Great People

Who could ever have imagined just how fantastic a week long experience cycling (plus laughing, drinking,eating, talking and laughing a bit more) from Porto towards Lisbon would turn out as a new group assembled , on time (in house story), in Porto on Saturday September 22. For me – well I had one of the great experiences of my life and I could say the same for my wife , Ali.
There was a sense of apprehension at the initial meeting but most of that pretty quickly dissolved as we went on our tour of Porto (on foot) and then to our first dinner. We quickly realised we had a great team – and to make a great team we had to have great leadership. That we did in Jaoa ( Zoom Zoom) and Oscar – absolutely brilliant and more on them later.
The tour was everything (“more or less” – there is a story there) we could have hoped for – scenic even breath-taking at times, a huge variety of different landscapes from coast to farmland to colourful villages and picturesque lakes and seaside towns, mainly very good surfaces but nothing un-expected, great accommodation, great camaraderie and ultimately friendships and very good equipment. The tour was, as advised, mainly flat with a couple of good challenging short hills which did take a good bit of energy.
If you have reasonable fitness (e-bikes are always available if you want) and enjoy the benefits of good exercise, connecting with new acquaintances and being blown away with scenery this is a “bucket-list” trip for you. And, to finish in the castled town of Obidos (yes, with a bit of final climb – 200-300 metres – “more or less eh Jaoa”) was a wonderful experience as was the time to enjoy that fantastic city of Lisbon when we arrived there by bus for our final day.
We will never forget our week long cycling experience on Portugal for all the very best reasons!

Most Inspirational Moment

Impossible to mention just one. Everyday was inspirational! From getting back onto the bike each morning, to eating the best Portuguese tarts, breath-taking views, finishing "the road to hell" - not that bad really - just 15km of straight road at the end of the day, the first Super Bock of the day and the evening dinner - there was something to savor all the time. For me there were 3 key inspirational features. We had great weather throughout so that helped but also helped enjoy some spectacular views. None more so than ascending the short,steep hill before Figueira da Foz and the beautiful views across and city and coastline far below. There was inspiration everyday in the form of our tour leaders who tended to our every need at any time and always wore great smiles. There was inspiration in the way the team bonded together-16 people from 4 different countries and one more little one for me - the wonderful way the whole team gave me a birthday i will never forget!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jaoa ( Zoom Zoom) and Oscar were/are the very best. Capable, experienced, gracious, on top of everything ,hospitable, caring and understanding. Hard to get all the right words to describe all attributes. These guys were at the core of why our tour was so good. We may not have been the fastest group but we never missed an opportunity to enjoy every possible experience and our leaders allowed that to happen. Always in control - they are the epitome of what great tour guides should be - and always with a smile!!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Spend a little time on a bike before you arrive in Porto for training - just helps you to enjoy the tour a bit more. It is not that it is difficult - it is just getting back on the saddle 5 days in a row!! Hopefully you can get a group like ours and hopefully you can have Jaoa and Oscar as leaders

Joseph Harper

Reviewed October 2018

The best holiday ever.

Basically travelling around for two weeks having a look at almost everything Morocco has to offer. No two days are the same. No two places are the same. The only constants I found was how friendly the locals are and mint tea!

Most Inspirational Moment

It's between the sand dunes in the Sahara Desert and the High Atlas mountains. Both have to be seen to be believed and the skies were absolutely amazing after the sun went down.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Youseff was really helpful and just an all round great guy. Also the driver Mustafa, literally nothing was too much trouble for him.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The travelling times on the trip notes. Double them.

Cheryl Olinyk-Semeniuk

Reviewed October 2018

Portugal Walking & Wine tour

Excellent tour. I would recommend this tour.

Most Inspirational Moment

Day 1 & 5 walks were in the forest . These walks were the longest in length. Beautiful to walk in the vegetation. I really felt inspired by these 2 walks.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Luis & Riccardo were awesome! Our group was so lucky to have them as our leaders. They were engaging. They were very interested in the people in the group.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I have been telling my colleagues & friends about this tour. It's fantastic! Potential travellers should be made aware of the ease or difficulty of the walk.

Saeah Briggs

Reviewed October 2018

Amazing country

Jordan was like no other country on earth, the trekking on sand was challenging but the routes seemed to be planned to take break points just at the point I felt I couldn’t do anymore!

Most Inspirational Moment

Advice for Potential Travellers

I’d dressed more conservatively than I needed to - girls are ok in respectable length shorts and short sleeved tops in the desert and at Petra.

Terri Markle

Reviewed October 2018

Amazing 7-Day Tour of Croatia

I highly recommend this tour if you want to see the Dalmatian Coast and Croatia’s mountainous terrain. I have never visited Croatia so I was eager to see the big cities-Dubrovnik and Split-but I also wanted to hike in Croatia’s National Parks. With this tour, I could do both plus write about them for my blog (www.femalesolotrek.com). It was a writer’s dream.
Our guide was Mario, a native who taught us so much about his country, the war and the Croats. He was high energy and great fun. I would definitely do a tour with Mario in the future.
I think it is a great decision by Exodus to stay at a seaside Dubrovnik hotel for the first two nights because it features wonderful walks to view the Adriatic Sea (plus friendly cats). There was also a great restaurant for our first night out (order the black risotto with cuttlefish) plus the local grocery store to purchase food for lunches during our hiking days.
I highly recommend that your group pay the extra fee for a walking tour of Old Town Dubrovnik to learn about its history. I also chose to pay to walk the fortress walk. It took about 90 minutes. It was an incredible experience. If you are a cat lover, you will cherish all the time to play with the street cats in Dubrovnik. They are so friendly.
In quick succession over the next seven days, we visited the Island of Brac, Split, Krka National Park (the waterfalls), Starigrad Paklenica and National Park Paklenica.
I loved each location but the stay in Brac was particularly memorable. We had an old fashioned Croatian dinner featuring roasted meats and potatoes. I also loved the goulash served at a mountaintop restaurant/inn. It was a great treat after climbing all morning on Thursday.
You don’t visit Zadar as part of the tour. But the group flight departs from Zadar airport so you can make your own tour on the last day. Our group had several people who chose to take a van back to Split to fly home.

Most Inspirational Moment

It was standing at the summit on each of our hiking days in Croatia’s mountains and marveling at the beauty of this country. I loved the people, the scenery and the adventure.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our guide was Mario, a native who taught us so much about his country, the war and the Croats. He was high energy and great fun. I would definitely do a tour with Mario again.

Advice for Potential Travellers

October is a great time to do this tour. Our temperatures averaged mid 70s which made it very comfortable to hike. Do not book this trip during August. Our guide Mario said his group had a difficult time hiking during the heat wave this summer.

Barbara Broomfield

Reviewed October 2018

Brilliant!

Excellent trip. Plenty of time at each destination to enjoy surroundings. Some early mornings but nothing too extreme. Accommodation good and very comfortable beds . Food amazing especially if you are a meat eater!! Highlights of the trip were Table Mountain, Hermanus for the whale watching and anything that included the dramatic coast. Cape Town was a fab city of contrasts and climate. Our guide Justin was incredible, his knowledge and passion for his country were humbling. We came away with a truly great experience/understanding of South Africa. Oh and it is very cheap!!

Most Inspirational Moment

Hermanus whale watching. We did the organised boat trip which was great with a total remover 20 whales surrounding the boat. However the morning after there were 5 whales in the bay at breakfast frollicking in the water which was spectacular. I managed to get many photos of the classic whale tail.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Justin can't be rated highly enough. Nothing was too much trouble (not that we were any trouble!). Big smile all the time to the vast knowledge from history, politics, geology, flora and fauna. He was great.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just do it. You wont be disappointed.

Mohan Paul

Reviewed October 2018

Awesome...!

Absolutely loved every moment of the trip

Most Inspirational Moment

It was getting to the top of clouds... it was breath taking, and I just never got tired of the views. Waking up and seeing some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets, was so worth it.

Thoughts on Group Leader

JT was probably one of the nicest, most humble people I’ve ever met. He has an amazing talent to be able to encourage, and inspire people when they feel like giving up. He has a great sense of humour and clearly loves interacting with people - both the travellers and also the porters and support staff. He is well respected from what I saw and I can see why.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Definitely take diamox with you. Altitude sickness really does make a fair few people suffer... I had some of the worst headaches/migraines I’ve ever had in my life during the trip. The medication was a blessing... and take plenty of paracetamol too.

Susan Richards

Reviewed October 2018

Could have been brilliant!

Let down by inappropriate vechicle, poor logistics and frequent changes.

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting to the end of Table Mountain on hike.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very pleasant , excellent flora and fauna knowledge.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for long drives .

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Susan for her feedback, although we regret that she was disappointed by some aspects of her trip in South Africa. While we usually get positive feedback for our Johannesburg to Cape Town trip, we have reviewed the comments we have received from customers who travelled on this departure, and have discussed the transport and logistics with our local team. On this trip there were an unusually high number of accommodation changes, due to limited availability at the properties we usually use. Although the alternative hotels and lodges were of a higher quality than those we normally stay at, regrettably we understand they had an impact on the ordering of the itinerary. We do not anticipate future trips being affected in this way, and also feel it is worth mentioning that out of 24 reviews on our website, clients have given this tour an average of 4.3 stars out of a possible 5 (on the date of publishing) and we feel this is reassuring, however we are genuinely sorry that Susan’s experience was not so positive. John Penge – Product Manager

Susan Richards

Reviewed October 2018