Reviews

Vietnam Cycling 12th January 2019

The wonderful thing about being on an exodus trip is the feeling of being completely “looked after”. Vietnam is a fascinating, beautiful, busy, crazy place – seeing the country and finding all the best bits is all taken care of and the stress of travelling is completely taken away. We had a fantastic group of people and amazingly all got on really well even though we were different ages and from different parts of the world. The combination of exercising, getting out on the bikes, getting to see this beautiful country, eating amazing food, coming into contact with the local people, made a perfect holiday. The cycling was very well planned so that for the dull bits / heavy traffic we were transported on the comfortable air conditioned bus, leaving the fun / interesting bits for the cycling. The support team were always one step ahead, manning every junction so we couldn’t get lost and setting up the drinks / snacks table at regular intervals (including the best fresh tropical fruit you’ve ever tasted!). We packed in an amazing number of things, including exploring the cities, countryside, snorkelling, kayaking, finding out about the history and culture, and lots of eating and drinking, A truly wonderful trip!

Great trip

Fantastic group holiday. Excellent group leader and supporting team of 3. Pleasantly surprised by the quality of the hotels and very good breakfasts. Lunch stops in a variety of town and country settings. Interesting excursions aside from the cycling. Good quality bikes with suspension and disk brakes.

A brilliant trip

Our first visit to Vietnam; what an amazing trip. We had a fantastic tour leader (Phuong Le). It was clear from our introduction that she was determined to take good care of us, make sure that we had a great time, and she was going to
Introduce us to the unique life and culture of Vietnam. The trip broke down to a number of very different elements. We loved it all, and would recommend this trip without hesitation

Highlands of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a very beatiful island with loads of natural and cultural highlights,

The tour is descrfibed as walking and treking. If you read the detailed notes it’s fair to say that, yes there are walks, but nothing that I would describe as treking. The walks are comparatively gentle; the jungle walks a bit like Lakeland walks underfoot – but in forest. The climb up Adam’s Peak certainly got the heart pumping, although with the crowds of pilgrims all around there were plkenty of enforced spots where you rested.

There was a lot of travel time in vehicles. All as described in the trip details –

A fabulous triñ

An excellent, very well-balanced tour around Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It provided a good insight into the life, culture and landscapes of these two states.

Wonderful wildlife

We had an excellent opportunity to sample Costa Rica’s varied and unusual wildlife and habitats in a tour led by a knowledgeable and inspiring tour leader. The accommodation was well chosen and the itinerary carefully enabled us to experience the Caribbean and Pacific coasts as well as highlands and intermediate areas. Having such an excellent guide really did make a difference. I don’t think we would have spotted half of the birds we saw without his keen eyes and ears!

A fabulous trip

This trip was fast paced and full of variety. We stayed in seven different locations during the two weeks which meant we were packing up and moving on every two days. The scenery we saw in between locations was incredibly beautiful and the bus rides were always interesting as our guide made sure we stopped for coffee, lunch or a surprise! …..a sloth and baby in a tree or crocodiles basking in the river!
The lodges were all full of character and of a high quality. Meals were typical Costa Rican with amazing variety and choice. The fruit was outstanding.

Snowshoeing in the Catalan Pyrenees

An enjoyable and interesting trip that gave us an insight into the local landscape and culture. Snow only truly arrived 2 days into the week and our leader Miguel adapted well, staying true to the themes of the itinerary and giving us good walks without snow and then in fresh snow of depths up to 3 feet. Note – some stamina is needed, especially in the deep snow! Local villages, remote valleys in a national park and peak summits were all sampled, together with insights into local history and culture such as the Freedom Trail escape route, and Catalan wine and cheese tastings. A very enjoyable week.

Visit but not with exodus

We added Easter Island to our Discover Chile tour (which was excellent) but were very disappointed with the Exodus service. The accommodation in Hotel Otai was very good but could easily be booked direct and there are lots of alternatives near the centre. The main reason for the review was the very poor guide service. We expected Exodus to maintain it usual high standard especially in a location as dramatic as Easter Island. On the 1 day tour our guide was hugely disappointing – she didn’t accompany us around the sites; her knowledge was very shallow; and she was just not interested. On day two we had a younger male guide who was engaged and knowledgeable but catering for a group of 21 across 2 languages was a major shortfall. We also found that the flight costs wold have been cheaper if we booked direct. My recommendation is definitely to visit the island; make the arrangements directly; three nights is sufficient; book a day long individual guide locally; and rent bikes to revisit the places you liked.

Most Inspirational Moment

The quarry and the large platform nearby

Thoughts on Group Leader

We have travelled on 8 occasions with Exodus and the quality of the guide is a major reason to remain loyal. On Easter island the service used by Exodus fell woefully short of our expectations – both in terms of quality and also in terms of group size – I was sitting on the pull down seat in the aisle of a small minibus for the duration of the tour.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Definitely to visit the island; make the arrangements directly; three nights is sufficient; book a day long individual guide locally; and rent bikes to revisit the places you liked. Hanga Rua and Pea restaurants on the seafront are recommended

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Eamon for his review, although we are very sorry that he was disappointed with the guide service on this trip. We appreciate that there is a difference between a tour leader and a local guide, but we expect that the guides we use will provide a positive experience for our clients at the sites they are guiding.  We understand that the first guide was feeling unwell on this day and that this may have affected her performance, but we nonetheless regret that this impacted Eamon’s experience. Whilst we were pleased to read that Eamon found the guide on day 2 to be engaged and knowledgeable, we regret that he was disappointed with the size of the group he guided and that he was required to speak two languages. We have updated the trip notes to include more information about this in order to help better prepare our clients for what to expect on the Extension, as we recognise that the set-up is rather different to those on our main tours. The prices we charge clients are reflective of the costs we incur, but in our flight-inclusive prices we also include an amount to cover the cost of flight related issues for which we may be liable in accordance with our obligations under the Package Travel Regulations. Our customer services team have written to Eamon in more detail regarding all of the issues he has mentioned. Malcolm Parkinson – Product Manager 

Epic

What a fantastic adventure summiting Africa’s highest peak with the most amazing and supportive group of people, ever!!!!

Easily The most difficult thing I have ever done.

The trek was a well oiled machine. Porters were amazing. Tents were were dry and set up by the time we entered each camp. The food was fantastic.

The toilet was a godsend.

The guides were amazing, supportive, present and empathetic. I never would have summited without the excellent pacing and patience of Seraphine. I never would have made it die without the quick thinking, preparedness and assistance of Seraphine, King Janes, Abraham and others.

Of our group of 11 trekkers, 10 made it to Gilman’s point, and 8 of made it to Uhuru Peak!!!

I highly recommend Exodus and the African Walking Company (AWC)