Reviews

Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers

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14433 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Nadia Ashraf

Reviewed August 2019

You HAVE to book this trip!!!

You will not be disappointed with this trip: stunning vistas every step of the way, great sense of achievement, great people; including John, our exceptional Mountain Leader and lovely hot chocolate and tarte myrtille at the mountain refuges.

Most Inspirational Moment

Making it up Brevent on the the last climb to complete the two-week trek!

Thoughts on Group Leader

John is an exceptional Mountain Leader: very experienced and certainly knows his stuff. He had a knack of popping up beside you for support any time you were feeling anxious about the path or there was a precarious snowy/icy section or river crossing. Certainly felt very safe in his hands. He is very knowledgable about the mountains, flora and fauna and has stories about his own adventures around the world to keep you entertained with. Set the perfect 'Fairy Step' pace on the hikes to make it seem almost effortless, which made all the difference, especially in the 35 degree heat we had on some days. Very well organised and always made sure we had a good spread for lunch. Even good at opening the impossible gherkin jars!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Although this is a summer trek, there was plenty of snow still on the path for our trip in June, so be prepared!

Claire Ashby

Reviewed August 2019

Hot week in the Fjords

Our trip coincided with a rare heatwave in Norway. This was great for evening swims in the Fjord with amazing views and freshing water! The guesthouse is very lovely with nice evening meals. If you are a keen walker you may be disappointed on the amount of hiking on this trip – there are only two days when you do full day walks, the other days are half day hikes and other activities or travelling. The range of scenery within an hour of the guesthouse is fantastic – from glaciers to high snow capped mountains and the more mellow fjords and waterfalls. Our leader Lucas was great but we didn’t have very good briefings either at the beginning of the week or on the next day’s activities. Sometimes, it was unclear what was happening until we were actually doing it..

Most Inspirational Moment

Swimming in the fjords.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Lucas was great - very friendly and keen for everyone to have a good time.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a lunch box and water bottle if you are keen to cut down on your plastic use. It was rather disappointing that despite Exodus's pledges on reducing plastic, one of the very first things that happened on this trip was everyone being given plastic bags and bottles to make day 1 lunch. Ask for a detailed briefing at the beginning of the week. Take your swimming gear - this is not on the trip notes. The guest house has a small pier with sun lounges and steps for swimming if you are lucky with the weather.

Kevin Stewart

Reviewed August 2019

Our first Exodus trip; it'll be hard to beat!

This was our first trip with Exodus and, whilst I had heard good reviews from friends, there is always an element of the unknown; the challenge level, the food, accommodation, the other group members etc..
This trip was excellent in all respects and has set a very high bar for future Exodus trips I will be taking.

Most Inspirational Moment

Our guides were the most inspirational part of the trip for me - two very different characters who complemented each others skills and personalities and really made the trip the great success it was. You wouldn't have known it was their first trip together. Of course going to the summit of Mt Toubkal was a challenge achieved, and doing the trip with my son was great. One lovely memorable moment was an exchange a couple of us had with some children who were selling buttermilk/kefir on the path into Imlil on our last day of walking. Rashid chatted with them in such a genuine, open way that we were all quickly smiling and laughing and left with a delicious drink!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Outsanding

Advice for Potential Travellers

If, like me, you're too old to like sleeping on hard ground, get a portable camp cot. Folds down well into your kit bag. Mine is FE Active branded, (other makes are available, no recommendation implied or paid for!) and is light and sturdy enough for a 90kg man. It made sleeping a pleasure. We took a couple of extra days in Marrakesh after our trip, which I would recommend, but probably not in July or August! The daytime heat forced us to spend our days by the hotel pool, so we only went out in the early morning and evenings.

Margaret Goodge

Reviewed August 2019

Amazing Adventure!

A wonderful trip which was superbly organised.

Most Inspirational Moment

Arriving at the Sun Gate at the end of our trek and glimpsing Machu Picchu below was an emotional moment. Arriving at the summit of Dead Woman’s Pass on day 2 was also special. Both of these moments were enhanced by sharing the experience with a lovely group of fellow travellers.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Julio was a wonderful leader. Organised, knowledgable, friendly and empathetic, his skill in leading our group was superb from beginning to end. As a group, we knew we were in safe hands. He was very ably assisted by Anthony, whose easy going, friendly personality really added to the group dynamic.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This trek is graded as ‘moderate’ but day 2 of the trek to Dead Woman’s Pass is quite a challenge, especially in the hot weather in which we were ascending. Combine that with the effects of altitude, and putting in some training, in advance of the trip, is definitely useful. Give yourself an extra day in Cuzco prior to the beginning of the trip if possible. It definitely helped me adjust to the altitude. On the trek itself, walking poles are invaluable. Even members of our group who normally don’t use them, found them very useful in the descents. Although some snacks are provided on the trek, I would recommend taking more. The food prepared by the chefs is excellent (especially given the facilities they have at their disposal) but you’ll burn a lot of calories and I found I needed extra snacks. Finally, if you are travelling as I did in July, the night time temperatures really do drop. I used all my extra layers to keep warm.

Carole T

Reviewed August 2019

Chalet Chamonix: Cols, Cake, Cable Cars, Conversation.

An excellent trip which was very well organised by Exodus and enabled us to explore the Chamonix Mont Blanc area quite thoroughly. The different walks had their own characteristics and there was surprising variety each day; you do need to be fit to enjoy the walks as there is a significant amount of ascent and descent at a reasonably fast pace. The views are incredible with lush vegetation snow capped peaks, blue skies and glaciers. We travelled in late July and there were still plenty of alpine flowers, lots of butterflies and we saw marmots on one day. The weather was mostly good with just one wet day. The free bus/train pass provided for the local area is very convenient.
Our group of ten all got on extremely well and enjoyed great chats and laughter throughout the week.
Chalet Chamonix was a fabulous place to stay; very comfortable rooms, a short walk to the town and outstanding food cooked by the very welcoming hosts, Liz and Clare. The lounge area was a great place to relax after walks and enjoy the homemade cakes and tea and the honesty bar worked well too.

Most Inspirational Moment

The Col du Possettes walk was exceptionally beautiful with great views in all directions. The day in Italy reaching the Bonatti Refuge was a wonderful varied walk and the Grand Balcon Sud walk felt like a real achievement. Seeing the views from the Aiguille du Midi (by cable car on the free day) early in the morning was awe inspiring. Also watching the paragliders take off from Planpraz was a unique experience. So not one inspirational moment but many.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Kim was extremely fit and very knowledgeable about the walks in the local area.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You do need to be fit enough to enjoy the walks, as this trip is really at the harder end of grade 3. Make sure you have good kit to deal with all weathers including very hot, wet, cold. It is necessary to be able to carry 2 litres of water and it is good to take a couple of lunch boxes to pack up your picnic everyday. For the free day getting the Mont Blanc Multipass works well and can be good value if you do a lot of things. We started early on the first cable car up the Aiguille du Midi at 6:30am, no queues and you can enjoy the viewing points without crowds. [Take things slowly up there, at nearly 4000m it is high enough to feel the affects of altitude sickness and you need warm clothes for temperatures around freezing.] Then we did the Montenvers train to the Mer de Glace and the ice cave (well worth the 550 steps up and down). Also did the Planpraz and Brevent cable cars which were great.

Rob Dyer

Reviewed August 2019

Fantastic tour

The tour excellent from start to finish. The walking was well planned and supported brilliantly by John our mountain guide. The hotels were good and arrangements for transfer of our gear worked without a hitch. One of the best holidays we havd ever had.

Most Inspirational Moment

The sense of achievement of completing the last day’s climb was fantastic. John kept us together always as a group. Everyone felt supported Shen they needed it.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent. John managed to create a cohesive group. He managed to keep a sense of fun while inspiring great trust in his knowledge and skills. Could not have been better.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go for it! It is challenging but manageable for anyone who is fairly fit.

Mark Latham

Reviewed August 2019

On the roof of Africa

Review of my Exodus trip to Kilimanjaro in The Herald: https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/16237809.travel-trek-to-the-summit-of-mount-kilimanjaro/

Most Inspirational Moment

See the above link.

Thoughts on Group Leader

See the above link.

Advice for Potential Travellers

See the above link.

Susi Quinn

Reviewed August 2019

A long and varied road

This amazing trip was like several holidays rolled into one. From the surreal weirdness of Ashghabat and Darvaza, through ancient archaeological sites to the stunning monuments in Bukhara and Samarkand, through the desert to the Afghan border then up into beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers and nomad camps, before descending back down to the modern post-Soviet cities… every day there was something new and wonderful to see.

Most Inspirational Moment

So many! Ashghabat set us up with three weeks' worth of jokes; we all fell instantly in love with Bukhara; the necropolis in Samarkand was an unexpected delight; the drive into the Fann Mountains was a welcome return to awesome scenery, and the whole of Kyrgyzstan was jaw-droppingly beautiful, especially the ever-changing colours of Son Kul lake and the brilliant stars on a clear night.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our fantastic tour leader Ale(jandro) was a major reason for the success of the trip - always on hand to organise things or deal with any issues, endlessly cheerful and calm, and full of entertaining stories about his previous trips. The local guides sometimes varied in quality, but the best ones were truly stellar - Bek in Uzbekistan and Valentina in Kyrgyzstan in particular were excellent.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The Tajik visa is valid for about 45 days, so allow a few days' leeway at the start rather than trying to calculate your exact entry date (a few people got this wrong and had to get new visas over dodgy Turkmen internet). The Turkmen LOI can arrive very late, not the "month in advance" suggested in the trip notes, but nobody got rejected. Take plenty of rehydration salts even if you have bowels of steel - nearly everyone had some troubles, and the salts are also good if you're sweating buckets (which will definitely happen at 46 degrees!). Learn some Russian if you can, it's spoken almost everywhere, and will help you understand the bill at restaurants. The transfer window at Istanbul Airport on the way home is very tight - do whatever it takes to speed things up, whether going through the VIP security check or hitching a ride with a motorised wheelchair (have some $$ ready to tip the driver), as you may have over a mile to run to make it before boarding closes - we all made it, but only just.

David Bennett

Reviewed August 2019

Good

This was our first trip with Exodus and was excellent in some ways and a little disappointing in others.
The hotel was excellent, clean if small rooms, superb staff and food of the highest quality. Arrangements at the beginning and end of the trip were smooth with no transfer problems.

The disappointment of the trip was the walking which for three days lacked any inspiration as we trudged through rolling hills or woods with very little views. The Cares Gorge walk was excellent as was our final day where we actually walked in the high mountains. More of this was needed. We cannot understand why we were not actually in these high mountains more.

Most Inspirational Moment

The Cares Gorge walk which was not only long but also spectacular. The food every night was of the highest quality but the salmon dish stood out.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader was very pleasant with good knowledge of the local area. He catered for the diverse walking abilities of the group very well and I always felt safe with him. His English whilst adequate was not fluent and so frequently he misunderstood us or took rather too long to give us information as he searched for the correct word. We thought it rather poor that he did not eat with us on the first night when information could have been imparted.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Choose your walking grade carefully. We spent 7hrs walking 7miles one day which was ridiculous!

Sam Segar

Reviewed August 2019

Excellent walking trip

This was one of my favourite holidays so far. The guides, Martin and Albert were knowledgable, supportive and enthusiastic. The hotel was hosted by the best staff and owners. The hikes led us into the most amazing scenery you can see in Europe. They were suitable for the level 3 and 5. It would be a good idea to put some training in for both. The days were long but therefore fulfilling. The breakfast and dinner were plentiful provided by the hotel. There was a good bar for evening socialising before an early bed for the next days activities. If you go on this trip you will not be disappointed.