Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking through the souk and walking out to see the Treasury

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was good and friendly and knowledgeable. I did feel that we could have had longer at certain places and I felt rushed on a couple of occasions to get to the hotel. When we were at Aqaba we only had 3 hours at the resort and this wasn’t long enough to relax properly... we had to eat lunch all together on a set menu and I think we could have got our own lunch when we wanted it and then we had to leave at 2pm and go to our hotel with nothing to do in the afternoon. We should have stayed at the resort for the day or been given the option to get a taxi back to the hotel.... I also felt our time at the Citidel in Amman was rushed - there wasn’t enough time to walk around the site which is disappointing as we could have stayed much longer. The Citidel is incredible

Advice for Potential Travellers

Book the trip - you won’t be disappointed... But I’d say get a taxi back to the hotel and stay at the seaside resort in Aqaba all day....

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the top of Ooty hill, at last. Spotting a tiger on the jeep safari The hindu temple at night, with dancing, fire and elephant. Swimming in the brakes of the Arabian sea The food! The glorious tea plantations, they are so pretty

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent

Advice for Potential Travellers

Put in a bit of training. Pack warm clothing too. Bring a pen! Book it.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the Orangutans. There was a moment when a baby was one tree away from it's mother and the mother reached her hand out for the baby to take before helping her swing into the other tree. It was such a human-like moment between a mother and child, wonderful to spend time with such a beautiful species.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Elly was brilliant, every things she did was to ensure we enjoyed the trip and made fantastic memories. She kept an eye on us all when snorkelling, ensured we had the best photo opportunities and gave us ointments to put on sunburn when needed!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring a t-shirt / rash vest for snorkelling, the sun is incredibly strong and it's very easy to get burnt.

Most Inspirational Moment

So many. Swimming with the whale sharks, the pirouetting of the mantas, following turtles across the reefs, floating above 15 to 20 sting rays, laughing all through dinner, breakfast with the sunrise etc etc

Thoughts on Group Leader

Kamey was a great guide and combined great knowledge with an easy and supportive manner. He pointed out countless sights on the reefs we would not have spotted while quietly supporting the lesser swimmers. Shafi was a great captain and dive leader. He has a sunny personality and huge skill and experience in all of his roles in managing the boat. He has done 4,500 dives and is completely first class at managing a relatively novice diver like me.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Rash vest and go pro/tough camera are musts! Bring loads of sun cream. A travel towel was great as an addition to my bed sheet as the air con is efficient. Bring your favourite shampoo, conditioner and shower gel as only hand soap provided. Also - let the crew tell you what the best opportunities are on each day rather than hark back to the itinerary. You will see more and better wildlife that way! And maybe have a party night too!

Most Inspirational Moment

Descent from Ooty Quite stunning

Thoughts on Group Leader

Thoroughly good man Knew just how to keep the group together and safe. Reliable and calm

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don’t worry about the recent floods The food is fabulous and safe!

Most Inspirational Moment

Swimming with the manta rays was extraordinary.

Most Inspirational Moment

As posted

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ps see later

Advice for Potential Travellers

If I did the trip again I would take a dictaphone to record the animals and free up for the photos. Also if you have one the tour leader used a scope.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were many-floating in the Dead Sea, seeing the Treasury in Petra, snorkelling in the Red Sea, riding a camel in Wadi Rum. Every day had a highlight.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I have been on many Exodus trips and all the local group leaders have been excellent but Eddie in Jordan was outstanding! His organisation was faultless and he spent a lot of time informing us about Jordanian history and culture. It was also a pleasure to meet his wife at our farewell dinner. FIras ,who was our cycling leader, was also outstanding . He was very safety conscious, honest about the route ahead and very encouraging to the less able cyclists. We also had a Tourist Policeman with us all week and whenever we were cycling we had a police escort!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just bear in mind that cycling is not a major part of the trip but , if you want to see the best of Jordan, then this is the trip for you. A reasonable degree of fitness is needed for the cycling as there a few challenging hills.

Most Inspirational Moment

The sight of Halong Bay. Although it was more commercialised than I had anticipated, I can understand that this is how it must be if tourism is a vital part of the Vietnamese economy. It was stunning, and the fact that we had a golden sunset on arrival made it all the more special.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader, Chi , along with his support staff, were superb from beginning to end. He was working very hard behind the scenes, especially when a typhoon washed away part of the railway line and we could not take our overnight train to Hanoi. An alternative approach with an extra night in a hotel and an internal flight was implemented seemlessly -credit to Exodus as well for this. Always smiling and even showing himself to be a good dancer on the boat, he seemed to share the English sense of humour with our VERY lively group. As a non fish eater he always managed to get an alternative meal sorted out for me before we had arrived at any restaurant. Very impressive.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Check the flight itinerary. You might want to consider whether direct flights would suit you better, and a few days to acclimatise before the cycling begins might also be a good idea. Ignore the advice that you don't need to take many clothes- you are wet every day either through sweat or a downpour. It was around a week before we were in one place long enough to get laundry done. If you are happy washing clothes in your room you might just get away with it, otherwise its nice to have clean clothes for the evenings. We found items marked for sale in US dollar amounts on numerous occasions. Everytime a conversion occurs someone is taking a cut so have a supply of both. The traffic "rules" may unnerve you at first....watch your leader and calmly go with the flow and you will be fine. Train on a mountain bike

Most Inspirational Moment

The trekking, some harder than anticipated, particularly in the heat and the altitude, so feel a sense of achievement. Happy faces. Humbled by the stay at the school, and seeing what the pupils have compared to pupils in schools here. Hindu temples Colour Wildlife at first hand

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent tour leader, certainly did a tremendous job, when the coach broke down between Munnar and Mundhan, finding alternative dining, and another coach/minibus to continue our journey. Came away with much more insight into Indian/Keralan life, ways, etc Supportive when we struggled with some of the trekking, and had a humorous side. Went out of his way to source a birthday cake for one of our travelling companions, and fireworks for us to celebrate Diwahli.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Leech socks, may not look good, but a necessity. A number of our group were affected by leeches, including myself. They're smaller than I expected. However it wasn't a painful experience, just expect some bleeding. Be prepared for early starts, particularly if you want to get the most out of this trip.