Reviews

Highlights of Turkey

Absolutely the worst tour I have experienced in many years of travel. But the major bone of contention lies squarely on the unprofessionalism exhibited by our tour director, Zafer.
Destinations were interesting as Turkey is a fascinating country with ancient sites I consider as jewels. Overall, too many hours were spent on the bus as distances between highlights are vast. However little foresight by the tour guide exacerbated the situation. Toilet stops were infrequent; too long spend in food service centres; most days were conducted in a helter-skelter atmosphere causing some major highlights to be rushed or missed entirely. Hotels mostly were below standard/basic; some should be condemned.

Most Inspirational Moment

Cappodocia and the ancient sites

Thoughts on Group Leader

Whilst Zafer's knowledge of archaeology and general energy probably got him this job, his attitude lacked skill, responsibility and competence in caring for his group . He openly displayed an unbalanced and unprofessional approach towards a tour group of 17 persons....98% of effort directed on a romantic interest, whilst everyone else scrambled to gather crumbs. During the last 10 days, I felt we were an annoying nuisance tagging along on a honeymoon. It was absolutely pathetic watching exclusive "selfies" being taken, quite alienated from the group.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't use Exodus tours as they obviously do not instruct tour guides to behave in a professional manner, to remain unbiased, and to be discreet. They also obviously lack training in skills of crowd management. There also appears no protocols are in place when dealing with medical situations, as we experienced with one guest who required hospital attention. Exodus is also far too expensive as hotels are woeful and well below expectations.

Reply from Exodus

We were very sorry to learn that Helene was so disappointed with her tour leader. On the back of client feedback our local manager will be providing Zafer with further training before he leads any other Exodus tours. We would like to assure our clients that we are confident that the vast majority of our leaders are very popular and we regularly receive fantastic comments from clients about the value their tour leader has added to their enjoyment of their trip. Of clients who completed their holiday evaluation forms last year, 93% of our travellers said our leaders met or exceeded their expectations and in the online reviews posted by clients who have travelled with us all over the world, there are numerous commendations for their tour leaders which we feel is reassuring, but we sincerely regret that Helene’s experience in Turkey was not as positive.

Carpathians Walking & Bears holiday

All excellent: accommodation, food, hosts, itinerary and weather.

Cycle Nicaragua, Costa Rica & Panama

The guides are fantastic, the wildlife too,
It’s like riding along in a giant zoo,
You see toucans and sloths from your perch in the saddle
Iguanas and crocs when you go for a paddle

Some days you’ll be filthy and covered in sweat
Sat on a bus next to folks you just met
But you’ll still have a ball every day of this ride
These beautiful lands make you smile inside.

Ok, sorry about the atrocious poetry, I blame it on too much sunshine and cycling….it’s a brilliant trip and we’ve written a few tips to help you enjoy it as much as we did….

Walking in Mallorca

I thoroughly enjoyed this tour. I had only chosen it as the dates fitted in with subsequent travel in Spain and Morocco. I knew little about Mallorca apart from the trip notes but was keen to do some hiking. We had a really cohesive group which definitely helped with enjoyment each day. Although I had 3 weeks of further travel after this hike, I could have easily returned to Australia after the 8 days totally satisfied. I would highly recommend this trip!

A journey through a beautiful country

This is a thoroughly rewarding experience through a beautiful country. Still coming to terms with the 150 years of occupation and war, the trip took us from North to South in a hectic but fascinating two week trip. You’ll learn a lot about the recent history which still effects the country today. The people make this trip, from it’s busy markets, the millions of scooters to the smiling children playing on the streets its hard not to be totally charmed by the place and it’s culture. The country is stunning, halong bay being an obvious highlight, but the temples, pagodas, beaches, jungle and rice fields all help make this trip one of the best I’ve been on.

Long, gentle ups - and hair-raising downs

Surprisingly diverse mountain landscapes and the two extremes of Morocco’s coastal tourist spots (Agadir and Essaouira).

Spectacular wildlife expedition, especially great for birders

Undoubtedly the most spectacular wildlife expedition I have participated in. Great leadership from Roni, wonderful real life jungle experience. Mammalian wildlife a bit thin on the ground outside of the reserves, but birdlife abounded and our top birder noted over 90 species during the trip.

National Parks walk

The content of this trip was excellent and we had a very good holiday. There were a few minor deficiencies however, mostly concerning information/communication….. We travelled with others who had booked through Grand American Adventures and they appear to have been better served: they arrived earlier in Las Vegas and had time to explore the city whereas we had time only for a quick dash in, despite the trip notes listing day 1 as a city day. We arrived at the hotel at 6.00pm, just in time for the briefing. We were advised that our guide would expect tips of $5-7 per person per day but we were surprised to hear that there were two guides and they expected $10 per day each. As a couple, therefore, we paid $400 which was way above budget. There were other minor ‘annoyances’ … we were told that no meals were included but our GAA were told some breakfasts were included. We were left unsure but caught on eventually and gained a couple of meals! The Alexis Park was disappointing: they took 1 hour to collect us on arrival, the room was shoddy (and the door lock fell off) and it is a good 15 mins brisk walk to town. We thought we might also have been dropped at the airport for our return flight, as we passed the door, rather than return to the Alexis Park and immediately return to the airport. Sedona, the last minute addition to the itinerary, was very nice and we felt we could have made more of the walking opportunities there. A short town tour and lie by the pool was all that was needed!

A great Group tour!

Jordan has spectacular sights and friendly people, despite turmoil in the region it felt very safe.

Spectacular Peru

For anybody who wishes to see the sights of southern Peru this trip covers it all