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.

Simply use the selector below to search our trip reviews and start reading real feedback from real Exodus travellers who have ‘been there and done that’!

Lots of our clients also like to post handy tips and advice about their travels. It’s great to know what to expect on an Exodus adventure before you go, so make the most of their experience and you’ll make the most of yours!

Haven’t posted your review yet? Here’s how to do it…

Once you return from your Exodus adventure holiday, you will be emailed a link to add your review. Any feedback collected is posted onto our website, totally unedited.

Alternatively you can navigate to the relevant trip page and add your review via the Reviews tab.

Reviews

Ian Wilson

Reviewed January 2016

Cycling through Namibia over Christmas

This trip is about the scenery of Namibia. The sense of enjoyment of riding undulating gravel roads, earning the downhill coasting, the vast open spaces, getting to the end of each day to find a bar next to a pool, was all amazing. It’s not a luxury trip but drinking gin & tonic from a metal cup watching the sun go down after a day’s cycling, was priceless.

Most Inspirational Moment

The sunsets... Watching the sun go down in Etosha sitting by the water-hole, with drinks and ice with new friends I'd made on the trip, will never be forgotten.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Sven, the group leader was fantastic, he used local knowledge and experience to get the most out of each day. The two helpers were amazing too, producing meals each end of the day on a wood fire, putting up and taking down our tents whilst we relaxed, deserves special mention.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It is an amazing trip and you will not regret going. There are a few things which I found helped: take some sports eletrolyte tablets or powder to add to your cycling water, I got through more than I thought I would. There are some electricity recharging opportunities, but a couple of multi purpose usb spare battery packs worked a treat to keep cameras/phones topped up until you get to a lodge. Not all sinks have plugs so taking a camping one is useful! The electric socket in Namibia is the same as South Africa, it's fairly unique with large pins..a universal adapted won't fit, but you can get a SA one in Jo'berg airport. Be prepared to improvise a pillow for camping

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Sally Godsell

Reviewed December 2015

Machu Picchu and Galapagos

This was undoubtedly a trip of a lifetime. Every day was action packed and what we saw and experienced exceeded our expectations. We were fortunate to have a small group so our tours felt very personal and unique. Our guides were very gracious, well educated and enthusiastic . We came away from each tour feeling inspired and well informed.

Most Inspirational Moment

The Galapogos trip was outstanding. I was impressed with how well coordinated the visitor tours were. We rarely saw other groups and the impact upon the wildlife seemed minimal.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had two group leaders. Cesar in Peru and William Lucinu in Galapogos. They were both outstanding . Their knowledge was amazing and they were very enthusiastic. Gloria in Quito was also terrific. I would highly recommend all of them.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I would encourage the use of hiking poles with covered tips. We hiked over challenging terrain at times. On the trip to Sierra Negra volcano in Galapogos the path was very muddy , steep and slippery. It was raining. One of the women in our group slipped and fell and broke her arm. She had to be evacuated to Santa Cruz and could not continue on our trip. It was devastating for her and was a very preventable injury.

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Penelope Barnes

Reviewed December 2015

cycle cuba 15 day

well organised and researched, demanding trip that helps you explore beyond the tourist’s perspective of Cuba.

Most Inspirational Moment

Swimming in the carribean with fishes, having cycled there. Seeing the face of an old man when he was given 4 cuban pesos on Christmas Eve. Seeing how rural Cubans live, during our banjo stops.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Freddie was excellent, thoughtful, knowledgable and has good people skills. V impressive.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring your own saddle etc, as Exodus haven't responded to previous requests for saddles shaped for use by humans.

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Paul Latimer

Reviewed December 2015

Galapagos and Machu Picchu

Our trip was fantastic. It exceeded our expectations. All connections and reservations went flawlessly. All guides were punctual, well informed and very helpful. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Most Inspirational Moment

It is really difficult to pick one moment. We enjoyed our group and our activities.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had two group leaders, one for Machu Picchu (Cesar) and one for Galapagos (William Lucin). Both were excellent.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We had one unfortunate incident on Galapagos in which one of our group fell on a muddy trail and broke her arm. She had to be evacuated and missed most of the Galapagos trip. This might have been prevented if she had had hiking poles with her. In retrospect it might have been better to have cancelled that hike since the conditions were very poor.

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Erica Tucker

Reviewed December 2015

Magical

This trip was one of my favourites ever… breathtaking scenery, yummy food, lovely Oulanka Base Camp staff, and great activities. I would really recommend this trip as there is a different activity each day which makes it so memorable and rewarding especially if like me you haven’t done any of these activities before.

Most Inspirational Moment

We were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights on our second night which will always be a wonderful memory. What does inspire me is the friendliness and positivity of the Finnish people living in such cold conditions with few hours of daylight.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our tour guide Martti was fantastic throughout. He was very organised, helpful and interesting. What really made it for me was his extreme passion for nature and the preservation of his environment.

Advice for Potential Travellers

One thing that isn't on the pre-trip details is that you have to be careful what you put on your face and lips (i.e. no make up or other water based products) as in such cold conditions certain products can freeze on your face. I would recommend taking VASELINE for the lips (and even your skin if really dry) as you can use this safely in such conditions.

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Rafik Taibjee

Reviewed December 2015

wonderful trip

Great mix of history, culture , politics, beautiful sights , relaxation and activity

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking on wadi farasi trial in petra with a new temple or ruin around every corner, there to be discovered

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very passionate about archaeology which was infectious and keen to show us his country

Advice for Potential Travellers

In winter bring an extra jumper , as it can get colder than you'd expect in the mountains and north of the country

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Jarrod King

Reviewed December 2015

Fantastic trip

We had a great trip on our trip around Vietnam. Seeing and experiencing what felt like a very authentic Vietnamese experience. This trip put you right into the Vietnamese culture and not just the ‘touristy’ parts either. You got to see a lot of the path less travelled. Excercise wise, it was great, nothing to hard and the group worked at a nice leisurely pace. Biggest day by far is the trek around the northern Vietnamese mountains but again, plenty of rest stops etc.
If there was only one thing that could be improved, because the trip is so action packed you do get pretty tired, there is a few hours here and there to just sit down and relax but no substantial ‘free time’ so go in expecting to be busy a fair bit.

Most Inspirational Moment

Definitely the War Museum as well as the Cu Chi tunnels. Both places really opened your eyes up to the atrocities of the war and its effects on the Vietnamese people.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Viet was an absolute legend. Obviously extremely passionate about his country and culture he was always trying to enrich your experience with extra information or little experiences a long the way to get you more in sync with the local way of life. Extremely organised and a very good communicator, he made sure the group got the best out our trip. Which is not always easy when you have 14 people of different nationalities and goals. The whole trip honestly ran like clockwork.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you pack a sleeping bag liner for the train trip.

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Fiona Powley

Reviewed December 2015

Cycle Kerala

I’d heard so much about Kerala but have to say this tour left me somewhat underwhelmed. I’ve done other trips with Exodus which have been brilliant. I’m a keen cyclist. I found this trip go be lacking in experiences, sights and very restrictive. Whilst the cycling had its pluses, I actually felt it was very restrictive and meant we had little time to really get to know anywhere. Once the cycle day was over there was little guidance, time or opportunity to really explore, instead sheparded to hotel or tourist restaurants.
I wouldn’t recommend this trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

The best bits were great, Cochin and our rest day, cycling up to Ooty, Guruvayanor, the houseboat, the final day. The food was fabulous throughout, although more opportunity to eat outside of hotel and tourist restaurants would have been welcomed.

Thoughts on Group Leader

As a cycle guide Safi was great. But that's about it. Limited information about the plan each day, often delivered without enough time to be able to do anything different. Very little information about the places we went through and stopped at, and what we might optionally like to do there. If you didn't ask, very little was forthcoming.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are very happy to hear the accents if your fellow group members more than hear india, this is the trip for you. Take your own guidebook if you want to get out and about at all.

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Fiona for her review, although we are sorry for her disappointments. Our local operator is currently working to ensure that our tour leaders are providing regular and comprehensive briefings to our clients, and whilst the bikes we allocate to our clients are in good condition and usually well-received, we have taken Fiona’s comments into consideration. We understand that the tour leader assisted Fiona after her accident and we do hope she felt well supported.

Exodus Trip Manager, Megan Devenish

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Alison Jones

Reviewed December 2015

cycling in Vietnam

An excellent holiday with a good blend of cycling, relaxing and covering much of the length of Vietnam. The leader, Thenth went above and beyond his duties and should certainly be considered for the leadership awards. very efficient, friendly, caring, knowledgeable, kept his own team together well and introduced us to some great local places to eat. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys cycling and is comfortable pedalling for 50 miles. Lovely group of people we had too, mixed ages, who mixed well.

Most Inspirational Moment

Hard one to answer - maybe seeing a very strange creature when snorkelling - yet to be identified. also the children, as we cycled through villages, jumping up and down, shouting Hello, sin chao....so friendly walking into a hotel, in smelly cycling clothes, where a wedding reception was going on and we had to pass beside the greeting party, ....not what they had planned, I'm sure. a cooking class in Hoi Ann very early morning, standing alone on the deck of the boat on Halong Bay....and the food on the boat

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent - see above Also to be commended are the mechanic, Su, for his skills, his patience and support as back rider and his maintenance of the bikes. Also for their friendliness the bus driver and the van driver, who stood patiently at intersections to make sure that no-one got lost.......and provided great, regular drinks and snacks.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring a proper water bottle to fit bike bottle holders - they aren't easy to source over there. when it rains....the rain is warm, so you don't really need to put a waterproof on. the hired bikes were great - don't bother taking your own when crossing the roads....its 1.2..3 and walk. Don't stop - they really don't want to kill you. Its just a different code of behaviour. a bottle of sloe gin went down very well on the overnight train! - shared, of course

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Carolyn Thompson

Reviewed December 2015

Caz T

The trip was a fantastic introduction to South Africa. The scenery and wildlife was excellent. The trip was very well organised and ticked all the boxes for me.

Most Inspirational Moment

The variety of wildlife and the opportunity to view it up close. The varied scenery.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Justin, the tour leader was excellent. He was friendly and accomodating. He was knowledgeable and had a very good knowledge of wildlife. Fiona consistently magicked up lovely food, wherever we were.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Prepare for variable weather.

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