Reviews

Cycling in Puglia

Thank you Exodus for an excellent first cycling holiday. I loved every minute… even the ‘undulations’ !!! I had not cycled more than 15miles in one go ever, but felt I was so strong by the end of the 6 days. A great personal challenge! It was great being in a big group, and soon got to know the people we had just met. Manuela was a tremendous guide & Pierrot was a superb support guy… providing us with healthy snacks , fresh water & delicious local food picnics. This trip is to be recommended. I will definitely go back to the area. And definitely travel with exodus again. The bicycles we hired were of a superb quality & very comfortable to ride.

Great Views, Difficult Andes Trek, Crowded Reed Islands, Expensive Country

Without doubt, Peru is a beautiful country, and our trip proved that the Andes is one of the most majestic mountain ranges on the planet. The highlights of our trip were:

1. The beautiful Ballestas islands off the coast of Paracas, where a lot of sea lions lazily dotted the islands along with dozens of penguins and lots of birds. We also saw interesting species of crabs and other shell animals.

2. The 4-day hike along the Moonstone Trek in the Andes – this was the most enjoyable part of our trip. The stunning views of Mount Veronica on the 3rd day kept us in awe, and the climb to the summit of the trek at 4,600 metres above sea level. We also walked through lovely meadows and farms along the way.

Funnily enough, Machu Picchu was not the highlight of the trip, even though it was a nice experience to be there, it somehow seemed crowded and overflowing with tourists, taking away the calmness and serenity that is typically expected of such places.

Be warned that the Moonstone Trek is a difficult one, and altitude sickness is a reality. You will feel the lack of oxygen and are most likely to feel nausea, headaches and vomiting. I did throw up on the 2nd day of the hike. Also note that altitude sickness can afflict anyone, even the most well-built or muscular or athletic of people. Just because you are very fit and may even be an athlete or sportsperson, do not think that you are immune to altitude sickness!!

Peru is an expensive country, and the prices are marked up at tourist places, and shopkeepers will not negotiate prices lower than 10%-15%. You may find some products cheaper in Lima than in the tourist towns like Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes, the town closest to Machu Picchu.

** Warnings:
– Many restaurants add a 10% service charge to your bill without your consent in advance.
– There is a “tipping” disease in the country, and you will find many occasions where the tour leader will ask you to give a tip to just about every service person you encounter, like a bus driver, the backup/alternate driver, the boat captain, etc.
– If you are a vegan or vegetarian or have other dietary restrictions, you will need to choose your food carefully and remind the waiter many times. They do not seem to understand or appreciate these dietary restrictions too well.
– Even simple things like a cup of coffee are overpriced in certain towns like Pucara, on the way to the city of Puno.

Overall, Peru is a lovely country, but go there knowing what to expect.
Safe travels!

Ciquo Terre

Michela Wicks , is a great leader . Encouraging , up beat , Kind and Knowledgeable . Location of Hotel is good .

Madagascar is great, unique & marvelous but one needs to be very fit to enjoy this amazing adventure

The trip is rated as leisurely & I would rate it challenging. We had extremely long travel days in the vehicles on winding bumpy roads (5 hr, 6 hr, 11 hr, etc.) The trip notes advise some long days, but we weren’t expecting such challenges just traveling in the van; our muscles were all tensed up by the end of each drive. The hiking to get to the Lemurs requires a person to be very fit in order to scramble up steep banks, cross streams, climbing steps up & down, & bushwhacking for 4 hrs at a time. It would be helpful to put this information in the ‘Is this trip for you’ section

Great trip

One of the best trip leaders I’ve seen in almost 20 holidays with Exodus; lovely family run hotel; amazing gelato and great walking.

Wonderful trip

What a fab trip. Great weather, wonderful company, and the gorgeous Dalmatian coast. The ride exceeded our expectations, it was a little tougher than we expected, some of the hills were longer than we expected, but always doable.
Our guide Marijo was the best, full of information, little stories about the places we saw. He was helpful and kind to a fault, we couldn’t praise him highly enough.

Wonderful trip

What a fab trip. Great weather, wonderful company, and the gorgeous Dalmatian coast. The ride exceeded our expectations, it was a little tougher than we expected, some of the hills were longer than we expected, but always doable.
Our guide Marijo was the best, full of information, little stories about the places we saw. He was helpful and kind to a fault, we couldn’t praise him highly enough.

Great Trip!

Excellent trip. A nice combination of historical sites and cycling. Our local guides offered to provide guidance for the evening meals so the culinary experience was also top notch.

The two guides were both very passionate about sharing their history and culture. I can’t say enough good things about Dimitris Steriotis and Dimitris Gotsis.

Awesome trip

Our guides were great. They shared their passion for Greek History, Greek culture, Greek food and cycling.

Amazing scenery & lots of laughs

We have recently returned from our first cycling holiday with Exodus and whilst I don’t usually do reviews this time I felt compelled to write to say how impressed we were. Fantastic scenery, great cycling, a lovely group and exceptional guide.