Reviews

Has it all, must do and indulge

This trip incorporates the wide variety of activities and sights that the country has to offer.
Cycling, walking sailing, train & coach are some of the various types of travel experienced from the lowland to their highlands and the vast variety of landscapes that Vietnam has to offer this trip allows you to experience this breadth of experiences in a fantastic organised holiday and tour guide participation is second to none.

a week in the Galapagos

a brilliant holiday, unfortunately cut short through no fault of Exodus.In the circumstances they handled everything well and re-arranged flights to our complete satisfaction,the itinerary was great, the boat amazing and you couldn’t want for a more amiable and knowledgeable guide. We
visited all the islands in the east and were fortunate enough to see all the wildlife on our wish list, and although we were offered the chance to return and do the western Isles, I decided to take a full refund for the lost week and arrange another holiday with Exodus in the future. In summary I would say it was not just a great holiday but a lifetime experience

a week in the Galapagos

a brilliant holiday, unfortunately cut short through no fault of Exodus.In the circumstances they handled everything well and re-arranged flights to our complete satisfaction,the itinerary was great, the boat amazing and you couldn’t want for a more amiable and knowledgeable guide. We
visited all the islands in the east and were fortunate enough to see all the wildlife on our wish list, and although we were offered the chance to return and do the western Isles, I decided to take a full refund for the lost week and arrange another holiday with Exodus in the future. In summary I would say it was not just a great holiday but a lifetime experience

Stunning views (but not as good as the Circuit

Having done the Annapurna Circuit and the Singalila ridge I thought it was time to go back to Nepal. I enjoyed the Circuit so much I thought that the Base camp would be a good experience. I love Nepal very much but this was a very different experience – the trek itself is a bit of a route march after Chhumrung due to the fact it’s one path in, one path out in effect. There were lots more people on the route and the tea houses were very much standalone (due to restrictions on room numbers) rather than being part of communities. Also the heating was non-existent – probably as a result of it being a conservation area but cold is very fatiguing over a few days.
I very much enjoyed trekking though the forested areas – we saw lots of birds, flowers and common langurs.
Base camp itself is spectacular – as long as you get clear weather.
The extra day in Pokhara was welcome.
Overall I am glad I did the trek. I’d vote to get rid of the Poon Hill diversion (not a necessary aprt of the route) and to spend longer in Chhumrung or in one of the villages on the way down.
Be warned that the multiple shared accommodation is not spacious at all. I was with friends and the rest of the group I was put with was excellent company. If the group isn’t gelling then it might prove tough to be at such close quarters.

Beasties and Birdies of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a wonderful country, mainly for its variety and volume of wildlife.
Of course Costa Rica is well know for its bird life. While many will have seen humming birds, (as I have) it was a superb sight to be close to these magnificent birds as they weaved their way around us lumbering giants. I never grow weary of watching these creatures.
Howler, Spider and Capuchin monkeys using their prehensile tail moving from branch to branch provided an often amusing spectacle. Other animals featured were the Tent Maker Bats and White Lined Bats, Agouti, Coati, Caiman and Green Iguana.
Although not an ornithologist, brightly coloured birds such as Toucans, Curassaw, Acorn Woodpecker, Scarlet Macaw, Flame Coloured Tanagen and Emerald Toucanet, I find a delight to watch, particularly watching them feeding. It seemed as though even when driving along the roads animals almost posed for us to record them.
One would expect to be roughing it, but it was the last thing I would use describe our accommodation, while the food was always good and often outstanding.
The places visited represent the full variety of environments, from high altitude cloud forest (at Savegre) , to transitional forest (Manuel Antonio Reserve), to tropical wet forest (Tortuguero) to rainforest (Esquinas).
I cannot leave my summary without mentioning the inspirational Michael Schnitzler who as a conservationist has obtained over $4 Million from his Austrian sources to purchase land and develop Esquinas Lodge. Amazingly he has done this in between travelling to between Costa Rica and Austria, where he is an internationally admired violinist and concertmaster the Vienna Johann Strauss Orchestra. A truly remarkable person developing a remarkable environmental project.
Friends who have seen the videos from the trip have been enthralled. Others to whom I have described it have suggested that it be added to their “bucket list”.

Cycling in Vietnam

I found it the perfect combination of cycling, travelling by bus, visiting sites.

Wildlife & wilderness of Botswana

It was such a memorable adventure – seeing cheetahs, leopards and wild dogs, not forgetting elephants who seemed to like wandering around our camp at night ! The wild camping made it possible to be part of their world which was a real privilege. The camp staff were excellent and I just loved Botswana. All together one of the best holidays I have been on .

Atlas Descent

Second time on this trip and once again it was brill. Great riding, stunning scenery, amazing tour leaders and a good group of fellow riders.

Mountains & Villages of Evia

The tour guide, Thanos, was superb. The food was great. Treks were beautiful. However, the quality of the hotel was OK.

Fantastic India

A very good trip seeing many wonderful sights and experiencing some of the culture of the country. It involves a great deal of travelling on indifferent quality roads and in the towns and cities chaotic and noisy traffic and people everwhere. We saw quite a lot of poverty.

The forts and palaces are awesome and the serene beauly of the Taj Mahal is an unforgettable experience. We saw 2 tigers in Ranthambore but the park would be worthy of a visit for its landscapes alone without that bonus.

The camel fair was rather disappointing as most of the camels there were just to give rides to tourists rather than for trading and the whole thing is really a huge street market and funfair.

The travel times in the trip notes were inaccurate as journeys often took significantly longer and we ended up having almost no free time to do any shopping. The one day we could have had a little spare time was in Jaipur but the local guide then took us on a pointless visit to a carpet/textile emporium which I believe the whole group considered to be a waste of time.

The hotels were gernerally of an adequate standard although some were in need of a little tlc particularly in the plumbing department with leaks and loose taps. Staff were unfailingly helpful.