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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14456 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Reviewed February 2014

CLASSIC VIETNAM & ANGKOR

A fascinating insight into life in Vietnam. This tour visited the highlights of the country – it’s not a relaxing holiday, but very interesting. Cambodia was worth seeing too – even though it was only two nights in that country.

Most Inspirational Moment

The boat trip in Halong Bay was fabulous, amazing scenery, but the biggest surprise was how good the boat was - nice clean cabins and a huge ensuite shower room. The crew served amazing food too. We also loved Hoi An - the place to buy your Summer wardrobe, and even have some clothes and shoes made for you. Cycling through the countryside around Hoi An was very interesting cycling through the padi fields. The cookery course was brilliant, especially the walk around the market first of all, to see the ingredients the Vietnamese use.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader, Linh, was amazing. Everything was perfectly organised for us and he told us so much about life in Vietnam, including their history, but also much about their day to day lives.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is a brilliant way to see Vietnam in 2 weeks. It's not particularly relaxing as you are doing something nearly all the time, but it was very well organised. I wish we had added a stopover on the way back though - somewhere where we could chill out for a few days, before coming home.

Reviewed February 2014

TREKKING IN NEW ZEALAND

A great way to see and do a LOT!

Most Inspirational Moment

What to choose! Camping on the beach at Abel Tasman was beautiful, big sky, stunning sunset and dawn. The Red quarry on the Tongariro crossing was the most amazing sight, the colours in the rocks unlike anything I've ever seen, then there was Lake Crucible, the refelction of the glacier so clear and sharp. I guess if I had to choose one, the sky dive over Queenstown was the most spectacular experience, we were blessed with a clear, bright day, making the views quite magical.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Both guides were brilliant, Graham on North Island and Chris on South. They both delivered beyond the expectations and were extremely knowlegable and passionate about their country. Changing the itinerary at short notice due to adverse weather was much appreciated and made for a very enjoyable final day. Chris's Dad, supplier of delicious birthday cakes, much appreciated too.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is a very full on trip, you need to be quite organised packing and unpacking every night. It is absolutely worth the long flight and a fantasitc way to see a lot of New Zealand and I would do advise doing all the activities and options on offer, it's that kind of place!

Reviewed February 2014

ANTARCTIC CIRCLE QUEST

The trip delivered everything promised – and more. The scenery and wildlife were as hoped for and the Zodiacs got us to the right places. The programme of talks on passage days and in the evenings were excellent. The ship (Ioffe) was better than I expected – comfortable, quiet, well maintained, and with a helpful crew.

Most Inspirational Moment

It would be unfair to pick a single moment from so many! Whale watching from the Zodiacs? Sailing up the Lemaire Channel? Observing life in a penguin rookery? Visiting the huts of earlier explorers? The variety of sizes, shapes, and colours of the icebergs? Entering the harbour at Deception?

Thoughts on Group Leader

Chad was very effective at running the programme, which of necessity had to be flexible, and keeping us informed. He was well supported by his helpers including a number of knowledgeable and approachable experts on the polar regions and their wildlife.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You will need warm clothing - obvious, but you may be sitting for three hours in a Zodiac with temperatures around freezing and in a chilling wind. Walks ashore are less of a problem.The waterproof clothing and boots supplied on loan on the Ioffe were of good quality, there is no need to bring your own. Take some coloured clips to identify your boots amongst the 90 other pairs!This is a very photogenic trip. Takes lots of memory, particularly if you intend shooting movie clips of whales and penguins.The Ioffe rolls very little because it has effective stabilisers but if you are prone to seasickness it would be wise take medication for the Drake Passage.

Reviewed February 2014

ANTARCTIC CIRCLE QUEST

An absolutely exhilarating experinence cruising on Akademik Sergei Vavilov whilst being surrounded by large white and deep blue icebergs, pushing through the ice trying to cross the Antarctic circle..An unforgetable experience observing and photographing colonies of penguins – those guys are so curious! They ask you to stay away at least 5 meters from the wildlife but nobody told the wildlife to respect that distance!!

Most Inspirational Moment

A lonely Adelie penguin stuck on a large iceberge, right on the top, trying to figure out how to get down again. Oh my! We watched that guy good half hour from our zodiac, whilst he was trying to find his way down, all of our frozen fingers were crossed for him in a hope that he'd make it down. We lost the count of how many times he run up and down, gliding, running, the poor Adelie must've been exhausted.When our time was up, we had to leave and none of us will ever know whether he made it down to the safety and found his colony but our thoughts were with him for the duration of the trip and even so after our return home.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our tour leader - Jonathan Chester was very knowledgable, always taking a great regard to the safety of us all and to the environment that was surrounding us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Yes, when you meet up wildlife, stop clicking the camera for a while. Stop, sit down and watch - things will happen.

Reviewed February 2014

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING: DOBBIACO

A comfortable friendly hotel with a pool and sauna which I enjoyed. The food was almost over generous and generally good but at times a bit samey. The hotel was located fairly near the bus station which was helpful if one wanted to catch the bus to a skiing area but quite a hike from the local ski area and stadium which was a bit of a pain at the end of the day.

Most Inspirational Moment

The beauty of the valey and the track around the lake was upliftingThe private ski lesson given by Iris which I had with a fellow holiday maker on the last day and finally learning how to stop! Iris showed up the inadequacies of the group leader as an instructor.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was a nice guy and worked hard inspite of suffering from illness during the week. However there were 26 of us and we had to be split into 2 groups and the beginners group had 16 in it. The range of ability was considerable and he should have had the courage to push the better skiers up in to group 2. The effect of this was that 2 of us who were complete beginners and needed more time to get the hang of it were told most of the time to go and do our own thing. Clearly this made sense because it was better that the majority were catered for but this was not what was satated in the brochure or what I was expecting.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Consider having external ski lessons if you are a beginner and feel that you are not being catered for.

Reply from Exodus

We are glad that Mark had a great holiday, although we are sorry that he was disappointed with the amount of ski instruction provided. We have been operating cross-country skiing trips in Dobbiaco for over 20 years and we rarely get feedback from clients to suggest there is a lack of tuition, however usually each ski level group has no more than 14 people in it, so 16 may have been slightly too large. We are confident that two leaders can provide sufficient tuition for a group of up to 26 people, but in the future we will do our best to ensure that leaders have no more than 14 people to teach at a time.

Reviewed February 2014

FINNISH WILDERNESS WEEK

We really enjoyed our Finnish Wilderness week. Oulanka base Camp was very well run and definitely to be recommended. Our only criticism was that the group was supposed to be limited to 16 and there were actually 21, which was too many for the snowmobiling and the snow shoe safari to Castle rocks

Most Inspirational Moment

Sleeping all night in the snow quinzee we had built

Thoughts on Group Leader

Teddy/Bjorn was wonderful, as were the other members of his team

Advice for Potential Travellers

Enjoy and do make sure you do the husky safari. It was brilliant!

Reviewed February 2014

ANDES TO AMAZON

Such a wonderful country, full of variety. As our leader said "Four worlds in one country". You get to experience so many different environments; jungle, highlands, mountains and coast. The jungle was an incredible experience, meeting indigenous people, exploring the jungle at night time and experiencing a Shaman ceremony was great. The mountains were awe-inspiring – being above the clouds and experiencing altitude for the very first time was not only interesting but something I will never forget. Highlands beautiful, especially the beautiful hacienda in Banos. And not forgetting the coastal part, where we saw dolphins and thousands of Frigate birds – Amazing!

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many... After a 2 hour hike in the jungle we came to a clearing that overlooked the rainforest from a high view point - that was brilliant!Visiting the equator line and standing in two hemispheres at once was a priceless bucket list moment!Walking in the flanks of Chimborazo at over 4000m was a fantastic first time - lunar-like landscape - wonderful!As the clouds disappeared as a big reveal to show us the crater lake - it was a great 'WOW' moment.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was lovely, very knowledgeable about his country and very kind.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a small rucksack for the jungle, as you won't be able to take your main luggage with you on the boat to the rainforest lodge.

Reviewed February 2014

CYCLE NICARAGUA, COSTA RICA & PANAMA

This was our first ever Exodus trip and we were most impressed with every aspect of it. It was an excellent introduction to the three countries.

Most Inspirational Moment

Cycling on the deserted roads on Ometepe getting a real feel for how the villagers live and being waved at in a welcoming and friendly manner by everyone we met.The courtesy shown our group by drivers in Nicaragua on the couple of occasions we had to cycle on very busy roads and a roundabout.Cycling 45 miles on one day (the furthest we'd ever cycled) and still raring to get back in the saddle the next morning!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Roberto (Chino) was outstanding and ably assisted by Memo. They were both lovely people - good humoured, cheerful, positive, diplomatic, encouraging, patient at all times and extremely hard working. They answered all our questions and told us lots about each different country. Nothing was too much trouble for them. The very occasional problem with a bike was solved immediately. A great deal of behind the scenes work was being done so that everything went so smoothly.Roberto was efficiency personified – the slick and quick way he checked us all into each hotel was most welcome after a hard day's cycling. We liked his briefing each evening and morning and appreciated the really detailed supplementary trip notes he provided us with.The safety of the group when out cycling was paramount – Roberto's attention to this aspect of the trip was exemplary.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Get as fit as you can – we found the cycling quite tough. There are a lot of hills.Padded cycling shorts are essential!Don't expect to see wild life at every turn. This is a cycling trip but you'll still get to see some amazing animals and birds.The bikes were excellent but another time I'd consider taking my own saddle.

Reviewed February 2014

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING: DOBBIACO

I wsa disappointed by the lack of tuition and the food. Together with 2 other members of the group we sorted and paid for our own tuition. The food improved after I spoke directly with the owners of the hotel and suggested alternatives , such as buffet. I and others spoke with the guides about all of the above but no remedies was made in respect of tuition and or the food provided.I was determined to have a good week and manage to do so by making my own arrangements and altering my overall plan. The support/friendships of two likeminded people with whom I spent most of the week made that possible.I had high expectations of Exodus especailly as the information provided by the telephone reps was informative, postive and encouriging. Sadly that did not match the deliveryHad the absence of tuition been made clear at the time of booking or even at the beginning of the trip, I wold have arranged private tuition before departure or upon arrival or sought an alternative.Elena Sandrini

Most Inspirational Moment

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Thoughts on Group Leader

Very disappointing . He was not interested in those who needed assistance , as I and two others clearly did

Advice for Potential Travellers

ask , ask , ask and demand a clear , transparent accurate description of what is provided , to include quality, tuition and availability of the leaders

Reply from Exodus

We are really sorry that Elena was left disappointed with aspects of her holiday. We have been working with the Hotel Tschurtschenthaler for over 20 years; they provide hearty meals to help keep skiers going for a day in the mountains and generally the feedback that we receive about the food is very good. We are very disappointed that Elena felt she received less tuition than she was expecting; most clients are really pleased with the coaching they receive from our experienced cross country ski leaders and they are delighted with the progress they make during the week.

Reviewed February 2014

DISCOVER SRI LANKA

Well, we had really high expectations of this, our second Exodus trip. It exceeded them in every way! We knew from other reviews that it would be good, but it was truly amazing. It was certainly busy and action packed with never a dull moment. And it really was fun all the way. Incredibly well organised, a great group of people of all ages ranging from 23 to 75 and an incredible leader. Oh, and what a beautiful country and people.

Most Inspirational Moment

All of it. So hard to choose favourite moments - inspirational, I suppose would be the Exodus Tsunami House/lunch. But then seeing 4 leopards in Yala was pretty inspirational too. Oh yeh, and the blue whale (even though I had to be woken up by lovely group members as I was feeling a bit more than queasy on the boat ride - worth it though :-).But wonderful too, was the bike ride in Giritale, climbing Lions Rock, white water rafting, and each of the Temples were far more interesting than we expected.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Absolutely the best. Sujan (ably aided by driver Soudat and 'conductor' Inidiga) was fantastic. Knowledgable, brilliantly organised, full of good tips with lots of humour and good grace. He was truly amazing, ensuring we were at the Temple of the Tooth at absolutely the right time to get 'front row' seats for the ceremony; at the boat in time to ensure that we had upper deck, 'front row' views for when the dolphins, whale and turtles made their appearance; he made hotel check-ins smooth and pleasant and his running commentary throughout was full of really good information presented in the most interesting way.

Advice for Potential Travellers

As others in past reviews have said, DO EVERYTHING. There is nothing on this trip that we would have wanted to miss. Yes, it means lots of early starts and some long days, but hey you're on holiday in the most amazing, beautiful country. You may not get the chance again. The hotels are varied in standard but each has something special to offer - style, location, comfort, etc etc. In fact, our favourite was the Kithigula Guest House for it's stunning location, even though it was one of the most basic. And don't worry about the few with basic rooms, you only sleep there and you'll sleep well after all the activity anyway. Food: yes, there's a lot of hotel buffets, but they are very good buffets. There is little 'evening eating out' culture in SL and you won't find better food locally anyway.

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