Reviews

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.

Stunning Patagonia

Where to begin. I’ve been on some amazing trips but this tops the lot! Exodus clearly do their research, so you are guaranteed awesome walks with excellent competent guides and as described accommodation.
The variables typically are a) weather b) the group c) how you get along with the group / guide.
On this trip all these were far exceeded – I have memories that will always bring a smile to my face, a sure sign of a great trip.
The nature of Patagonia ensured we got to experience all types of weather conditions, high winds, heavy rain, sun, hot, cold, but importantly we were lucky and got to see and do almost everything on the itinerary, and where cut short there were alternatives to keep the group occupied such as the micro brewery in El Chalten :). Excellent beer!
The group came from all walks of life and had interesting stories to tell and quickly gelled over our common interests that all brought us to this holiday.
Finally, our group leader Tomas, what can I say apart from repeat an earlier review comment, the guy is a legend!

What an amazing trip!

We decided to do a family adventure-type trip for the Hallowe’en mid-term and we picked this trip. It was really a phenomenal experience. We travelled from Marrakech across The Atlas mountains and back (with a couple of days in Marrakech at the end) in a week.
We visited some amazing places, had a great time, and the pace and intensity level was perfect for the whole family (four of us, ranging from 9 to 46 years old).
Our guide (Mohamed) was really excellent, always attentive to everyone’s needs, and always very interesting and insightful in explaining us everything that we saw and was going on around us.
Truly, truly recommended.

Brilliant holiday

Have just returned from a truly memorable trip to South Africa from Port Elizabeth through the Garden route/ winelands into Cape Town. The holiday was absolutely wonderful mainly due I’m sure to our wonderful guide Justin Barr.He showed us the true Africa not the touristy one!. He is so passionate about his country you couldn’t be anything but inspired by what you experienced. There was such a variation in the itinerary that you came away at the end of the trip with a true understanding of the country. I was nervous before travelling as I was a single traveller of 75 years,but I needn’t have worried as Justin made sure I was ok at all times.The other travellers in the group were all like minded and we all gelled really well. I can’t praise Exodus enough for putting together such a wonderful itinerary and providing us with such a caring and knowledgeable guide. I look forward to travelling with them again to another far flung country!!!