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

Ruth Keir

Reviewed September 2014

Beer in Bavaria

A lovely week walking through the meadows and mountains of Bavaria. Local brew went down a treat. Let down by lack of walking notes however….

Most Inspirational Moment

Completing a 21km walk round the Staffelsee and having a well earned beer to celebrate! A beer at the top of the Zugspitze (highest mountain in Germany) was also great - can you see a theme emerging here?!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Myself and my Dad did this as a self guided trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I booked this trip as a self guided option mostly owing to disorganisation and there not being much else left for my chosen week. I think self guided has the potential to work really well but we only got a lot out of it by borrowing the extensive walking notes from a Headwater client. This trip is offered jointly with them. All the other people on the trip had booked with Headwater and had excellent notes. The level of detail was impressive but necessary. The Germans are very into outdoor activity and the 'wanderwegs' - walking routes- are well signposted but you need to be able to find the start and know which bus to get etc. On average per 4 hour walk the Headwater notes had 2 full A4 pages of information. They also had 1 or 2 boot notes for different abilities and lots of local information. The Exodus trip notes were as per this website and totally useless! If I was going self guided again I'd be likely to book with Headwater for this reason I'm afraid. The taxi driver collecting us at the airport also had a Headwater sign so look out for this if you don't see an Exodus one. The hotel was a lovely family run place in a traditional Bavarian wooden house which looked like a cuckoo clock. The food was excellent however one of the Headwater clients was a vegetarian and struggled. I think she went some way to furthering the cause of vegetarianism in Bavaria during the trip but bewarned!! The hotel gave provided a tourist card which allowed free local bus travel which was excellent. The tourist information office was very useful too.

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Ruth for her review. We were very sorry to read that she did not receive her route notes and that she had to borrow some during her trip. We provide our clients with the same standard route notes as our sister company, Headwater, and have investigated why Ruth did not receive these. We were happy to read that Ruth and her father still had a great holiday.

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Celia Harrison

Reviewed September 2014

Walking in Cappadocia

Based in one hotel with day excursions/walking trips. Amazing scenery. Love Cappadocia!!

Most Inspirational Moment

The scenery, the hot air balloons every morning, the view from the plateau - the sight of an older group decending a steep slope with one gentleman, who was quite shaky on his legs and appeared to be in his late 70s, being stopped from toppling by someone behind him holding his belt from behind all the way down.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader was very quiet and sweet, but not very engaging. His pace was good for the walking and he took care of those who struggled. He listened to what the group said they wanted and did his best to arrange it, particularly issues around food. He opened up more towards the end of the week, which was nice.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do take walking poles, a hat, sun cream. I had walking boots, but some of the group got by with walking sandles - I preferred boots.

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Jillian DAVIS

Reviewed September 2014

Three Peaks of Ladakh

Very special trek in a remote area of Ladakh with challenging peaks and passes (very!) but worth every bit of effort.

Most Inspirational Moment

Climbing Dzo Jongo at over 6000m in a blizzard seeing nothing and the following day walking along the ridge across the valley with fantastic clear views of the mountain and the whole journey. Group dynamics - support, encouragement and fun. The amazing variety of landscape and views in every direction.

Thoughts on Group Leader

This is my second trek with Valerie who never fails to inspire, motivate and care. Her knowledge of the people and places are excellent: historically and now. We learned such a lot. The fact that she is deeply involved in environment and community improvement projects is inspirational and humbling. Valerie gets to know her group well, understands when anyone is not feeling 100% and quietly supports everyone's needs without fussing. Valerie also leads her local team very professionally, has high expectations and is highly respected: in addition she recognises talent and gives opportunities for the local team to progress when they can.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Not sure whether this particular trek will be repeated, but if you are passionate about mountains, go to the Himalayas, and the experience of walking with Valerie would always be a bonus.

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Ruth Hunt

Reviewed September 2014

Cycling Cuba 2014

Well organised, fun and safe trip

Most Inspirational Moment

Finishing the hilly section

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very knowledgable + good leader

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring water bottles

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Barry Farbon

Reviewed September 2014

Corsican delight

A wonderful trip in stunning mountain scenery.

Most Inspirational Moment

Absorbing the sheer beauty of the magnificent Corsican countryside with its wonderfully jagged ridge lines, its beautiful valleys and plunging waterfalls.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Suzie did a great job - friendly, well organised, knowledgeable and passionate about Corsica, with options planned for most walks to suit the differing aspirations of group members.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and and smile, smile, smile your way through a splendid week in a Mediterranean gem.

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Robert Pearson

Reviewed September 2014

Walking the Cyclades - Greek Islands

An excellent week of walking interspersed with sightseeing and gastronomy. Well led and organised, Leisurely pace. A good holiday.

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking along the rim of the Santorini caldera - spectacular views all the way.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Cecile was an excellent guide, led the walks well and more importantly skillfully organised transport through the week, ushering our group on and off numerous ferries and buses. Cecile organised a side trip "extra" to Akrotiri - this was a useful and interesting "filler" when we had a little spare time on Santorini. The group was also excellent !!!

Advice for Potential Travellers

This tour is correctly graded as leisurely - a very appropriate pace for the heat of the late Greek summer (1st week of September). The walk along the Santorini caldera rim was for us the highlight of the week, we only took the bus half way back, and picked up the path again to take in the views in the afternoon sun. Just beneath the highest point on the rim, their is a safe path that goes down to a lower mesa jutting out into the caldera for excellent views.

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Angela Wallace

Reviewed September 2014

Best holiday ever!

Beautiful scenery, excellent cycling, great group, good food and wine, and an enthusiastic leader. What more could you ask for!

Most Inspirational Moment

Hard to pick just one with so many great aspects to this trip - particularly enjoyed Lake Garda, Verona & Venice, which I expected, but Vicenza and Padova were lovely places too, and much less touristy! ;p The cycling in general was enjoyable due to being on excellent, safe and well maintained off-road tracks for the most part. I think the food and wine were a particular highlight of this trip, especially the ice-cream. Hmmm...ice-cream....

Thoughts on Group Leader

Michele was one of the best leaders I've ever come across - this was a fully booked trip and he lead the whole thing by himself with remarkable enthusiasm, energy, good humour and excellent organisational skills. Nothing was too much trouble for him in ensuring that everyone in the group was well looked after and enjoyed the trip, from organising extra cycling for those who wanted it, to making sure we always went to the best restaurants and even introducing us to his lovely family in his home town.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Weather was very variable so bring layers/waterproofs - most of the rain we had was in the evening and the days were generally sunny but not too hot, so mostly perfect for cycling but we did have one rainy/cold day. The cycling was generally flat and very moderate but there were a few hills and the bikes were heavy so a reasonable level of fitness is required. The bikes had good waterproof panniers to carry spare layers etc. during the day and we were given a small handlebar bag and water bottle ( although most people preferred their own), also no need to buy maps as a booklet and full route details are provided for this trip, a very nice touch I thought!

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Romaine Byers

Reviewed September 2014

Walking in Tuscany - TDT

Undoubtedly one of the most memorable Exodus trips we have had – made so primarily by the leader, Sara, the wonderful farmhouse hospitality under “Mama” and the general cohesiveness of the group which blended well.

Most Inspirational Moment

Climbing up to the highest peak of Monte Prado with two dogs!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Brilliant. Sara is an exceptional leader, well qualified in mountain craft, had researched all the walks very well (some of them were down tiny footpaths which could hardly be seen) a great hostess and a good driver!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Please join the trip - they would not be disappointed but just a word of caution - we don't think that anybody was aware of the dramatic scenery in this part of Tuscany and therefore to allow for long climbs and descents in magnificent scenery in other words potential travellers should be aware that it can be challenging, especially in wet weather. I would class it as the upper grade of "Moderate".

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Alison Doherty

Reviewed September 2014

Fabulous

I have not been on an organised walking holiday before, really loved it!

Most Inspirational Moment

The scenery was beautiful and enjoyed the peace and quiet. I felt a great sense of achievement at the end of each day.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Sara was amazing, I can't fault her.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I borrowed a walking pole and found it really useful on the descents.

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Ann Pilsbury

Reviewed September 2014

Walking in Northern Cyprus

A varied and interesting trip. Spectacular views. Lovely people. Hotel Pia Bella was a very good base.

Most Inspirational Moment

The most inspirational moments were Visiting the castles high on the cliffs and imagining what they might have been like when people lived there and what kind of people they were.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was excellent. His English was superb and he had a great degree of knowledge about history, flora and fauna. He was a very warm person and didn't mind answering all our questions patiently. The pace of the walks was good, it was still quite hot.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It was interesting to see fruits and seeds on the trees, but spring flowers would have looked lovely.

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Ann for her review. We are very sorry that she experienced a flight delay which led to a missed connection. We appreciate that it must have been frustrating to have arrived and not have a transfer waiting, however, unfortunately, we do not have a record of being informed of the flight issue, so were unable to organise an alternative transfer locally. We were very glad, on the other hand, to read that Ann had a great trip overall and we look forward to welcoming her back on another holiday soon.

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