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!

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72 Reviews

4.5 out of 5

Brian Helsdon

Reviewed June 2018

Great Trip

This was an excellent well planned tour. I found the pace busy but not overly strenuos or hectic. You have plenty of variety, Mt Etna seaside towns and harbours, quaint old towns as well as the ancient sites. What made this trip so good was the guide, Vanessa,, who often went the extra mile to help the group, and the group itself, 15 very different people who got on well. We stayed on for 4 nights after the end of the tour for rest and relaxation near Taormina and this was certainly the right decision. Taormina itself is very crowded and touristy with the side streets and the public gardens offering a welcome relief. Palermo was the best big city with plenty of character.

Most Inspirational Moment

The drive up to the hilltop village of Erice plus the stay at the farmhouse.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Vanessa was one of the best, if not the best, tour leader I have travelled with. She had excellent English having lived in Dublin for eight years. She was extremely well informed and organised. She often went out of her way to help the group or individuals. For example we had independently booked a hotel at the end of the tour. Not only did she drop us off but checked the booking before we arrived and arranged for hotel staff to meet us at the end of the drive to the hotel. She was always cheerful and fun.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be be prepared for some long bus journeys and quite a busy pace. Don’t worry overmuch about the walks. Our group managed both walks without any issues but good walking shows are essential for the Etna walk. Consider staying on after the tour but not at the tour hotel.

martin spiers

Reviewed June 2018

Treasures of Sicily

Well balanced holiday with a good guide as well as good local guides who had more detailed knowledge of the sites. Plenty of variety in the other activities,

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the Straits of Messina AND the meal cooked at the AGRITURISMO hotel in Busseto Palizzolo.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was pleasant, engaged, efficient and knowledgable about his homeland

Rebecca Midvidy

Reviewed May 2018

Classic Sicily

Wonderful trip. Varied, good hotels and the best trip leader. Francesca is kind, knowledgable, helpful.

Probably would have prefered 2 less cities to visit. This would have made the trip a better pace and give us a chance to savour each place.

Most Inspirational Moment

Valley of temples.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Super as mentioned above.

Advice for Potential Travellers

None.

Jen S

Reviewed May 2018

Great trip, fabulous gelato

This was a great, moderately-paced trip. There’s lots to do, but plenty of free time to just sit in a café and watch the world go by… or if you like to keep moving, just grab an espresso and slip around the next corner to see what’s there… This was a pleasant balance of old Greek and Roman sites, free time in pretty towns and villages full of twisting alleys and stunning churches, a couple of light walks, and amazing Sicilian food.

Most Inspirational Moment

We had several hours to explore the beautiful town of Ortiga. It was a microcosm of the trip as a whole... after admiring the ruined temple in the main square, scoring an aranchine (Sicilian fried rice dumpling) and a cake for lunch, I spent hours exploring every tiny alleyway, my camera ever-ready, stopping off for gelato whenever I needed fuelling up...

Thoughts on Group Leader

Francesca was bubbly and enthusiastic, and brought the group together.

Deborah Hughes

Reviewed September 2017

Sicily is a varied and wonderful place to,visit

A fast and busy trip that delivered an amazing taste of Sicily. Every site was different and spectacular.

Most Inspirational Moment

Every place was inspirational.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Milena was fantastic. She was informative, organised and caring. She truely made this trip a wonderful experience.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Pack lightly as you need to get your case in the back of a mini bus and live out of a suitcase. Do not look at any photos before you go so that when you arrive at each site you will be amazed.

Valerie Berry

Reviewed June 2017

The magic of Sicily

A great trip and although quite a fast pace there was plenty of time to enjoy the towns, ruins and magnificent scenery. The food and wine was of course splendid wherever we went our wonderful guide Mileena was there with her extremely helpful maps of every town and ruin visited. There is something in this trip for everyone. If you can’t walk far there is always a cafe with a lovely outlook to sit at, on the other hand if you want to walk and climb steps for wonderful views, then you can do that too

Most Inspirational Moment

Visiting some of the towns really early in the morning where there was just me and the street cleaner around. it was so atmospheric to have an espresso in the Duomo square without the hordes of tourists which would appear later. The Sicilian food specialities were wonderful too

Thoughts on Group Leader

Mileena was exceptional. Nothing was ever too much trouble. She was so enthusiastic and the maps she gave us at every stop must have taken her hours to highlight but they were so useful.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take comfortable walking shoes with you and plenty of sunscreen

Nigel Day

Reviewed June 2017

A rush!

An enjoyable trip taking in most of the ‘must see’ places in Sicily: a great overview of the island. One niggle, though, is that because of the scale of the place the whole trip seemed too rushed: lots of time in the coach, and not quite enough time at various locations to give them justice.

If you can afford the time (and higher cost), the newly-introduced ‘Sicily Grand Tour’ would be a better bet, but if you are prepared for the pace of this tour the ‘Treasures of Sicily’ does live up to its name.

Most Inspirational Moment

The stunning mosaics at Monreale. The views of Etna were great (except when the scirocco brought in the Sahara sand).

Thoughts on Group Leader

Salvo was very knowledgeable, and helpful. he also made sure there were plenty of loo stops - important given the length of some of the coach trips!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Consider carefully your aims for the trip (see my summary), but then enjoy yourself. Make sure that you have plenty of cash to pay for meals, souvenirs and tips, as you can't rely on credit or debit cards being accepted. If you need more cash, most places have ATMs. When paying by credit/debit card or withdrawing cash at an ATM, you will sometimes be offered the opportunity to pay in your home currency - as a rule, though, this will involve a poor exchange rate and a fee, so you are probably best advised to reject this option and hope your card issuer is more generous. Leave room for the gelati and sorbets (granita)! You will walk them off. As always with such tours, be prepared for some minor disappointments - for example, our tour of the Zingaro Nature Reserve was called off due to the fire risk caused by a scirocco blowing through, and the "elaborate Byzantine mosaics" at Cefalu Cathedral were hidden whilst the building was undergoing some renovation. However, there is so much else to see that such disappointments are unlikely to detract significantly from your holiday.

Susan Wiltshire

Reviewed June 2017

Treasures of Sicily

A very busy week spent travelling to a considerable number of places. Not much time to see anywhere properly but a good overview of the island. A lot of time spent in the coach.

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking on Etna was an interesting and inspirational part of the trip - if you enjoy views and volcanoes!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader did not interact with the group and carried out his duties without humour, fun or enjoyment. This was the most disappointing aspect of the week, as having travelled with Exodus before, I have had far better group leaders who can make the holiday wonderful, exciting and longing for more. We had two other tour guides for a short period of time who were knowledgeable and interesting. Vanessa was particularly helpful on our last day helping us with travel arrangements and being a real group leader even diverting the coach to see some extra sites on the way to the airport. What a difference had she been our group leader for the week!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do not take any extra items unless you really need them. Pack so you can find items easily without unpacking your suitcase each night. Bags of items of clothing are a good idea. Some people used poles when walking on Etna. Take them if you feel more comfortable using them on steep slopes - up and down. Take shoes to wear for swimming in the National Park as the beach is made up of large stones.

Reply from Exodus

We were sorry to hear that Susan was disappointed with aspects of her tour’s leadership as her tour leader usually receives very good feedback; we are in contact with Susan directly in this regard and our local manager has also followed up on her concerns with her tour leader.

Marta Marinelli – Product Manager for Sicily

William Sinclair

Reviewed May 2017

Sicily

Tour leader, Milanda and driver could not have been better
Loved Sicily and our guide brought the Island and its’ history alive with her vast knowledge and infectious enthusiasm
She is warm, compassionate and very caring of her groups well being
Hotels… good locations… some beds below standard
Have no back issues but if you did mattress standard poor at 2 Hotels
Want to do Umbria Italy next year
Do you have a tour of Morocco?