Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

There were many - Machu Picchu, the condors of Colca Canyon, the Nazca lines, the Ballestras islands, the homestay.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Carlos was super - organised, calm, confident, knowledgeable, fun, with excellent English. A thoroughly likeable and trustworthy fellow.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take anti-motion sickness tablets during the flight over the Nazca lines and the long winding roads at high altitude. Bring more dollars than you think you need in small denominations and make sure that the bills are pristine. Listen to your guide's advice on how to cope with the altitude. Bring a refillable water bottle.

Most Inspirational Moment

Should I ever be lucky enough to own a palace, I would like to decorate it like Rudland Palace, one of the many beautiful places we visited. I really like the rococo stucco decorations. I was also inspired by all the public art, especially the sculptures I saw in all sorts of random places.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jolita, our group leader was fantastic, Nothing was too much trouble for her and she did everything she could to make sure everyone had a good time and a hassle free trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

During our city stays, there was plenty of free time so read your guidebook in advance to come up with a plan of how to make the best use of your time, The food in all three countries was excellent and good value although vegetarians might struggle to find much variety. On the other hand, chocoholics will do well. Luckily, we did a lot of walking to make up for all the great food.

Most Inspirational Moment

There was so many it is hard to pick which one to go for but if I had to pick one, it would be The Great Wall. Experience I will never forget.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Dragon was one of the best group leaders I have had, helpful, always there when you needed him, friendly, and very knowledgeable.

Most Inspirational Moment

The Inca Trail for me was a personal highlight. Not having camped for over 30 years I was a wee bit apprehensive but the entire experience was magical. The porters are simply the best. Awakening each morning to a hot drink served at your tent was a great start to the day.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader Fabricio was the best guide I've ever had on any trip including 2 previous Exodus adventures. He is amazing, knowledgable and passionate about his country.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If your thinking about this trip I would definitely recommend it. One of the best experiences of my life. The trail is a great challenge in a wonderful part of the world. Definitely try the Pisco Sour too.

Most Inspirational Moment

So many to choose from but I guess Machu Picchu and watching condors soar over Colca Canyon are right up there! But the Ballestas Islands and the homestay at Lake Titicaca take some beating!!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Carlos our group leader was fantastic....... knowledgeable, fun and concerned for the environment. I was ill onedY and he got me the correct treatment and showed real concern for my plight.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Would recommend taking an anti-sickness tablet before flying over the Nazca lines. If there is the tiniest of tears in dollar bank notes they will not change them. Powerade is the most palatable electrolyte drink!!

Most Inspirational Moment

National parks - Tsingy was spectacular and fun to explore by walking and via ferrata - the views at the top were superb. Isalo was great - walking through desert only to find a lush canyon oasis filled with plants and a (very cold!) natural swimming pool at the end (definately take the option of the local community barbequing food for you rather than the hotel sandwich!). Seeing lemurs in the wild eating and playing was excellent. There are loads of opportunities to see lemurs - mostly in the trees from from a short distance (but note if you want really good pictures you'll need a camera with a proper zoom e.g. 75-300mm DSLR lens... in some areas (where they are more tame a standard compact camera will do). Diving on the reef was great. The landscape changes on a daily basis - lush rainforests, deserts, white sand beaches etc.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ben (Nambinina) was great fun. He took care of us throughout the trip and ensured we were in the right place at the right time. He arranged a kitty so that all tips for porters etc. were taken care of. He tried to cater for everyone's needs.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Exchange most of your money at tbe airport. This is the easiest place to do so and probably the best rates (certainly compared to hotels in Tana). Cash machines are possible but are only really present in larger places, are often out of order or have no money and there is a maximum of around £100 you can withdraw at one time (often the machine will let you do more than one withdrawl... if there is enough money!). It's also a hassle if one person needs the cash machine as it holds up the whole trip. Similarly there are often queues at banks which can take a while to exchange. The airport currency exchange took sterling without a problem. Meals are between 15000-25000 ariary (£4-7) each for lunch and evening meal. Drinks are £0.5-1.50 each (cold beer is available everywhere!). By the time the kitty is paid for and tips at the end along with souvenirs and extra trips probably £350 spending money is needed. There are long journeys - this is clearly documented in the trip notes. It's the only way to see everything. On a few occasions we arrived at the hotel at dark and were leaving early the next day. For one of the internal flights it was a 3am start! There are times to relax on certain days but there is a lot of travelling too.... and some is on very bumpy roads and rather 'interesting' ferry crossings - all adding to the adventure. Most of the journey was spent in a very comfortable mini-bus and a small amount in four-wheel drive cars. For those with a bit more time it would be very easy to book a few extra nights in Ifaty at the end to spend relaxing on the beach or to do some more diving or birdwatching. Get rid of all Ariary befire you check in to the flight home (Euros is preferred once you pass through security in the limited shops in the airport). Have some Euro for entering the country to pay for the visa - was 27 euros. It gets cold in Andasibe and Ranomafana in the evening so take a warm jumper. It is generally a poor country and children will ask for sweats ("bon bon") - especially on the west side. One person had brought along some pencils, balloons and brightly coloured bangels which went down a treat with the children! They like to have their photo taken and it will amuse them for ages if you show them the picture on the screen afterwards! There are at least three night hikes so make sure you have a torch. Hand santiser is useful as often no soap in toilets.... 'bush' toilets may be cleaner! As you will be staying in remote areas food options can be limited at times - usually chicken or zebu (seafood on west coast which was amazing). In larger areas pasta and other options are available. No vegetarians etc. in our group. There is a three course meal on offer for lunch and dinner but often a main meal will suffice. It is possible to wash clothes at most hotels but save this for the places that you'll be staying in more than one night. It was fairly cheap. It is worth taking mosquito spray - I rarely used it and wasn't bothered too much (but some others were).

Most Inspirational Moment

The night in the yurt - definitely better appointed than I expected. Followed by the camel ride and swim in the lake

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very accomplished and caring. Ensured that our salads were safe to eat and toilets were clean. Checked on anyone who became sick.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared to be ill with a stomach upset at some stage. In spite of care taken everyone became ill at some stage.

Most Inspirational Moment

I loved seeing the mouse lemur on the night walk in Ranomafana, as that was very unexpected. In Anja reserve, you WILL see a lot of ring tailed lemurs, which are great fun, and I loved the time we spent with them. The scenery in the two national parks was stunning and worth the effort to get there. The beach resort at the end was lovely and I really enjoyed the visit to the fishing village Although not a particularly hard slog, getting to the top of peak boby and enjoying the amazing views was also great.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rija was delightful - she always had a smile on her face and was unfailingly nice and polite and it was lovely to meet her.

Advice for Potential Travellers

1. The beer is quite strong. THB, the national beer, is 5.5%. Even the Skol, the weakest we found, was 5% and there are beers stronger than this. Don't get caught out thinking you are drinking Fosters, or you will regret it the next day (speaking from experience I'm afraid). 2. The first two nights of camping were quite cold, so take some warm clothes for the evening, and something you can sleep in. 3. The food is good generally, and the beer reasonably priced. Just after Brexit the currency had dropped from around 5,000 Ariary to the £ to less than 4,000, but the beer was still around 5000 for a large bottle. A main course for dinner was around 15,000, so still good value. I made do with £300 worth for the whole trip. 4. Get currency at the airport when you arrive as the banks are VERY slow - it took 3 or 4 people about 2 hours to change money at the first money stop, making us very late for the hotel on day 2. 5. During the day it was very hot, even if the evenings were cold, so you will need plenty of water - so take a bladder to put in your rucksack as you'll go through bottles very quickly. 6. When camping, you leave a chunk of your luggage behind. If you have a second Exodus bag, which folds up small, take this to put what you won't need while trekking. The porters will take up to 10kg for you, leaving you with just your day sack to take while walking. 7. washing in the rivers is possible, but awkward. The first couple of days it was too cold in the evenings, but the final two were fine for washing as it was still warm (there were hot showers at the 3rd campsite). 8. On the last day in Isalo, you visit the natural swimming pool, so this is the day to take your cozzies. You will have a couple of hours to rest / swim. Porters bring your lunch to this spot - as it is only 45 mins walk from the bus. 9. I opted not to do the early walk on the last day in Isalo, as you return to the campsite for breakfast, but they saw some lemurs on this walk, so I was gutted to miss that. 10. take a few little gifts for the kids - balloons, pens etc. - they will greatly appreciate it, particularly if you plan on doing the village walk in Ifaty. 11. There was very little opportunity for souvenir buying, apart from the village we visited on the first walk, and on the beach by the beach resort - although one of the masks I bought turned out to be riddled with woodworm, so check this if you buy anything. 12. Ignore the height gain / loss that the trips notes give for the Isalo trek, it's another two days of steep ups and downs, but the scenery is again wonderful. 13. Take loo roll for the camping, and wet wipes if it's too cold to wash in the rivers. Pack as lightly as possible, as you don't see your luggage during the day as it's on the roof, and you have to leave quite a lot behind when camping.

Most Inspirational Moment

The walking planned and led by Bob and the visit to Treviso with a great local guide.

Thoughts on Group Leader

As already mentioned above, Bob was everything which a good leader should be. He knew and led the walks well, was always attentive and helpful, even on the free day, and was very much part of the group.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you have not travelled with Exodus before make sure you understand what the gradings 'leisurely' and 'moderate' mean. If in doubt speak to someone at Exodus before you book. If you have special dietary needs, take an appropriate Italian language cook book and point out what this means. There is lots of good, meat or gluten free Italian food but many restaurant kitchens don't really grasp the concept.

Most Inspirational Moment

Standing on top of Puig Campana after a long and in places complex ascent and seeing all the other places we had been to in the week.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose and Jaime were both excellent. Very safety conscious and very experienced and full of interesting information about the area. Exodus has some excellent local leaders and these two are among the best.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is more demanding than the Picos challenging week. Partly due to the length of walks and partly due to the more technical sections. There is very little height exposure and what there is not precipitous. Poles are useful, even to a non pole user like me. It does rain and can be very wet so you must bring waterproof bottoms and an umbrella or poncho are useful as it is also hot (Sept/Oct). They advise boots and those who did not use them did have a few problems. You can get away without using them but be prepared for blisters/ sore feet.