Most Inspirational Moment
Reaching base camp.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Amazing! Absolutely faultless.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Make sure you are fit and have resilience. This isn't a trip for the faint hearted.
Reviews
Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers
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Reviews
Trip of a lifetime, but it's tough
We started this trip at the end of October. The organisation was superb. Our leader Silas was brilliant and very helpful. He was professional, was in control and incredibly knowledgeable. This is a long trip and it is tough. By choosing this trip over the standard Base Camp trek you are giving yourself three more days trekking at more than 5,000m so don’t be under any illusion that this will be any easier / the same as EBC trek. Climbing Gokyo Ri and Chola Pass are very hard. The scenery is absolutely incredible and the sense of achievement is unreal. This really is a trip of a lifetime and a huge tick off the bucket list.
What a fascinating country
A full itinery with a wide range of things to see, do and contemplate.
Most Inspirational Moment
Petra
Thoughts on Group Leader
Provided a safe environment for us.
Advice for Potential Travellers
It seemed like we got the less well positioned rooms; facing busy roads and in the basement with the noise of the restaurant starting at 6.30 am overhead. Ask to be moved. I does work sometimes.
Not just a walking trip
If you think it’s just a walking trip then you’re in for a pleasant surprise. There are a good variety of walks (although there a lot of downhill steps, so you should do some preparation for this otherwise your knees will complain !) … but you also get cookery lessons, trips to Vesuvius & Pompeii, and optional trips to Capri/Herculaneum, plus a bit of exploratory time at the end of the walks. The days are full, with early starts on a couple of the days. The food at the hotel is great. All in all, thoroughly recommended.
Most Inspirational Moment
Difficult to say one: Many, many fantastic views (worth getting to a 'high' point for a sunrise or sunset if you can) Pompeii was much more impressive than I expected (& brought to life by our guide) Travelling on the Capri buses was memorable !
Thoughts on Group Leader
Great :) - if you get Martina then you will be very well looked after
Advice for Potential Travellers
You'll read it in a lot of the reviews ... there are a LOT of steps, and most of them are downhill. You really will benefit from doing some longer downhill walks before you come to prepare your quads/calves/knees, it will make the holiday much more enjoyable if you do. Using two walking sticks will be very beneficial.
An wonderful trip!
This was a superb and varied trip with so many experiences and all in two weeks! A lovely group and with an excellent leader.
Most Inspirational Moment
So many it's difficult to be specific - all the walks, Madurai temple, Periyar Reserve, the Houseboat... ............. The top two are getting to the top of Meesapulimalai and the many interesting and informative stops on our coach journeys.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Sam Benjamin was brilliant -a great guy always prepared to go the extra mile. He got on well with all the group and with a lovely sense of humour. He is very well informed and his talks on the bus journeys and the interesting stops were highlights for me.
Advice for Potential Travellers
It's a great introduction to Southern India. - recommend with no reservations at all. The walks in the Western Ghats are quite demanding so you need to be reasonably fit and up to walking on rough and steep terrain.
Wonderful Holiday
Although classed as level 1 adventure you do need to be fit. One day cycled 15kms, another climbed all 1100 steps up Lion Rock. You did not have to do these things but would have missed interesting fun experiences. I travelled with my sister. We are both in our early 70’s and managed all the included activities. Enjoyed the age group varying from late teens upward.
Most Inspirational Moment
Its hard to decide what was the most inspirational event on the trip as we saw so many special things. Wild elephants, ruins, temples in use and the beautiful countryside.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Dileepa stepped in at last minute and did a superb job guiding us all. He knew so much history and other information about his country.
A varied trip of wildlife, cities, and food!
This was a highly enjoyable trip covering a wide range of different experiences. The first few days in Borneo were particularly excellent at Sepilok and Kinabatangan. We were lucky enough to see a wild orang-utan, a gibbon and proboscis monkeys. KL was also a highlight – particularly enjoyed the food tour and a (optional) trip to the PETRONAS towers. The food markets at night were also a great experience. A relaxing couple of days on Langkawi was (once we got there!) a really nice end to the trip.
Most Inspirational Moment
I particularly enjoyed the wildlife / Borneo section of the trip (and perhaps wished I had chosen a trip with more wildlife)!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Both tour leaders were excellent. Aldrin was friendly and organised and an all-round excellent tour leader. Similarly, Jeremy was helpful, enthusiastic and took us to some varied restaurants/eating places!
Advice for Potential Travellers
If the ferry crossing continues to be part of the trip - beware! The Lonely Planet guide warns that the crossing is particularly rough at certain times of year (Jul-Oct) and can be a vomit inducing experience. They are not wrong. I am never sea sick, but on our crossing almost everyone on board was sick. Be prepared!
AOP181027
Good holiday with an excellent guide called Keigo Ninomiya. He was always available and provided some fantastic optional trips such as the temple of a thousand budhas in Kyoto called Sanjusangen-do.
I do not understand why this was not in the itinerary.
Most Inspirational Moment
The Temple of a Thousand Budhas In Kyoto and the optional trip to Mount Fuji. The EDO museum in Tokyo was very good. The bullet train trip to Hiroshima was also inspirational and may be more time should allowed for the Peace Memorial Museum.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Keigo Ninomiya was excellent always helpful planning optional trips on our free days and buying our railway tickets for instance on our day trip to Mount Fuji which involved bullet trains and other transport.
Advice for Potential Travellers
MasterCard and Visa were accepted everywhere contrary to the trip notes so less cash is needed. In addition, the minimum cash withdrawal from 7 Eleven stores was 10,000 Yen which is around £70 which is a large amount if you are in the last few days of your trip.
A Vast and Beautiful Country
If you like huge landscapes and wildlife this is a must do trip. Namibia is unlike any country i have been to before and certainly felt different to other areas of Africa (im no expert!). The scale and space has to be seen to be believed and adds to the beauty – sunsets are amazing. We went towards the end of the dry season and this meant that animals were gathering at the waterhole. We were lucky enough to see herds of elephants and several rhino … not to forget giraffes, oryx, gazelle, hyenas and many many more. We were on the camping trip and Ronney and Jonas done an amazing job to set up camp and take it down … we tried to help but they are so good at it I think we slowed them up. They were fantastic guides, great ambassadors for the country and Jonas cooked food on a fire that i couldnt in a fully equipped kitchen. This is our fourth trip with Exodus and I will certainly be back for more.
Most Inspirational Moment
Being on top of Dune 45 at sunrise
Thoughts on Group Leader
Ronney was a fantastic leader and just made the whole trip go smoothly. Nothing was a problem and he put up with our sometimes dodgy timekeeping with a smile
Advice for Potential Travellers
book it ..... its a fantastic place to see!
Patagonian Adventure
From the vast, isolated Patagonian Steppe to the gorgeous Andes mountains, delicious steaks and empanadas, challenging but rewarding hikes, weather prone to dramatic changes within 15 minutes, glaciers, penguins, pumas, and guanacos galore…. this trip has it all. Upon returning home, we pulled out our roadmap of the region (thanks again for giving us yours, Xavier!!!) and talked about what else we’ll see when we come back one day.
Most Inspirational Moment
For me it was completing the first hike. Not only did we have perfect skies and weather for our views of Mt. Fitz Roy and glaciers off in the distance during this hike, but as a new hiker I definitely had a sense of accomplishment that I could actually do this in the first place. My husband would say the hike in Torres del Paine was most rewarding, as he thought the trail and views were better (I didn’t partake unfortunately, but was instead treated to a more private tour of the park with two other members of the group who also weren’t up for the arduous trek that day). We also booked an extra excursion during our free day in El Calafate to hike on Perito Moreno Glacier that we both agree ranked as another favorite part of the trip. We missed our way more fun Exodus group, but still had a blast drinking from glacial streams, hopping over crevasses, and silently eating lunch on the middle of the glacier while listening for distant avalanches. Pictures don’t do Patagonia justice — it’s unbelievably beautiful, and every viewpoint was in its own way an inspiration.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Xavier was amazing! I had been hoping to have him as a guide as previous reviews really raved about him and we were not disappointed one bit. From being very open with us, to having all the best advice of what to eat, to saving us at the last minute in the little ways (like giving us a copy of the roadmap that we missed out on, or arranging for some trekking poles for us on a moment’s notice) to the bigger stuff (taking one in our group to the doctor to make sure everything was all right after a bad fall, or frantically making sure we were all checked in on our flight to Buenos Aires after an airline strike the day before) he really worked hard to make sure everyone had an enjoyable experience. This is only our second Exodus trip but we can tell Xavier is a high-caliber guide.
Advice for Potential Travellers
A few things: 1) The full-day hikes really are tough. Poles are a must if you don’t want to feel completely wiped out. Also, just as an FYI, they are both around 14 miles with 3000 to 4000ft of elevation gain (starting from a fairly low elevation though) with a lot of that gain being in some rather steep, shorter sections. I wish I had trained ahead of time so that I could have participated in all the hikes, including the free day one the *entire* group went on in El Chalten except for us. 2) Breakfast in most places is going to be toast with a few small pieces of ham & cheese that you might be really sick of by the end of the trip. Pack extra snacks if this is a concern! 3) Cash only in most places, no joke. Especially with the fluctuations in the Argentinian economy these days, your cards are mostly unwelcome. There’s a bank in the EZE airport right by the customs doors (before or after — we went after) that has a very fair exchange rate and, if I remember correctly, takes GBP as well as USD. In Chile, cards are accepted everywhere except the middle-of-nowhere toilet stops you’ll desperately need, so you only need a small amount of Chilean pesos. 4) If your heart is set on a glacier walk in El Calafate or a penguin walk in Ushuaia, these things sell out early. Let your guide know days in advance you’d like to book these (with the hopes of getting a spot), or book them yourself ahead of time. Note that the penguin walk may make you miss out on the morning walk in Tierra del Fuego though, so choose wisely! 5) A lot of times in restaurants, Xavier was nice enough to give us a taste of what he’d ordered. You’d think after a couple times we’d realize he was routinely ordering the best dish and copy him but alas we did not. So my advice to you is — if he’s your guide — ask what he’s having before you order. The man knows what to pick!
Kayaking the Lower Zambezi
This was definitely a trip to get me out of my comfort zone (wild camping and kayaks instead of hotels and minibuses) and certainly did not disappoint. The fact you get so close to the wildlife far outweighed the fact you are wild camping (which I though I would struggle with).
The sense of achievement at the end of the week was overwhelming, having travelled such a long distance in a kayak.
The safari element far exceeded anything you would imagine and felt far more real than if you were in the back of a safari jeep (which I have done in South Africa). Animals spotted included elephants, hippos, lions, warthogs, buffalo, impala, zebra, baboons (and other monkeys), fish eagle, kingfisher and lots of others too much to mention.
The group I was with was amazing and everyone got on so well and helped each other. The food was good throughout the week and we even had a celebratory BBQ on the last night.
All in all I can safely say if I can do this holiday (and enjoy it) then anyone can!
Most Inspirational Moment
Getting so close to the elephants (which is the main reason I chose the holiday). the sense of achievement for actually getting to the end without breaking!
Thoughts on Group Leader
CB was amazing. Very knowledgeable, humorous, kind, professional and clearly enjoyed his job. It is no wonder he is an award winner. Best made the perfect assistant guide and is clearly learning a great deal from CB. Both together looked after us so well and work brilliantly as a team.
Advice for Potential Travellers
sunscreen. I ran out of 2 tubs (although half of one ended up at the bottom of the safari truck). Deet - I had 2 and ran out although I was probably the one with more bites than anyone else. Bite cream offers a major relief for the bites. Head torch (with a red light), gloves for the rowing. Prepare for no showers until the comfortable camping half way through but we were able to cool off and kind of clean off in the river a couple of times. It is proper wild camping so there are no toilets until the comfortable camp but the views you get when behind the bushes are literally stunning :-) If you can, add on a quick trip to Livingstone for the Victoria Falls. You are so close it would be a shame to miss it. As well as bringing a load of school supplies bring an extra suncream with you if you can. They give any spare suncream to a charity looking after albino children as it is prohibitively expensive in Zambia.