Reviews

Ethiopia in Depth

Overall it was an excellent trip for those who enjoy exploring history, current culture, scenery and wild life and who are happy to spend at times many hours riding in mini buses sometimes over dirt roads.

Welcome from local people was genuine, some begging, some bartering but never felt under pressure to buy or give money.

Mountain scenery was amazing, historic churches and pre christian sites were fabulous and with relative few visitors competing for space, views and photos.

Local food was interesting and European particularly Italian options were available for those less adventurous.

Tour description of climbs to some of the Rock churches and mountain walks under-estimated the toughness but were worth the challenge for those who were fit enough.

Hotels generally pretty good except in Harar and there were more cash machines available than tour description suggested.

We saw no sign of political unrest although aware of difficulties due to government cutting off wi-fi as several points in the holiday.

A Memorable Holiday

A great holiday, and I was lucky to be part of a very friendly group – a big positive on any holiday. Our guide Justin made the real difference though, with his careful planning of all our activities. Our programme was very wide ranging, with options to be more or less active, suiting all of the group. Justin was helpful and courteous at all times, extremely knowledgeable and had thought of pretty much everything.

For me, the really special days were the game drive (we saw everything except for leopards), and the cable car up to Table Mountain (we were fortunate to have perfect weather). Highly recommended.

Great experience

Our trip was the first visit I’d made to India and so having a guided tour was brilliant. Our tour leader was really good at his job and in addition was willing & able to discuss India and Indian life & society. This made our experience so much more than just a series of visits to tourist spots.
I felt that the very best part of the trip was the trekking in the hills, which was hard work but well within my capability. We did experience unusual weather during this, with rain when it was totally unexpected. This meant a change to our schedule as one camp site became inaccessible. Our tour leader had this under control very quickly, and we had a night in a local hotel and a revised trek next day. This got us back on track by the end of that day.

Undiscovered Atlas review

A brilliant trip – the guide ensured we had a great time, even when the route had to be changed for safety reasons – we lost a days walking as the plan had to be changed entirely with our starting point changed because we weren’t allowed through by the border patrol. The guide worked so hard and immediately came up with a new plan which meant he had to manage everything to ensure we had food, camping sites and a safe alternative route. He was professional, fun and so kind throughout. The food was great and the organisation by the Moroccan team out there was brilliant. I had such a great time.

Lovely country, lovely group but disappointing wildlife experience

Sri Lanka as a country is gorgeous and the people are delightful. My disappointment with the trip relates to how the tour was delivered by the local company and the fact that this should be advertised as a bird watching trip with the odd mammal sighting possible. We did see elephants and the blue whale but 90% of wildlife sightings are birds.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing an adult male elephant with a prostetic limb play in the watering hole at the Udawalawe Transit Home followed closely by spending a couple of hours watching a blue whale.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was a delightful young man who was extremely enthusiastic and good fun to be around but he failed to adequately deal with concerns/ complaints raised by the group. The game drives were poorly organised. There was 16 in our group. We were put in 3 trucks which they named AB &C and we were we told we had to stay in the same groups so that we all had access to the nature guide. This didnt happen. As a member of jeep C, for all 4 game drives were we the third jeep in the line with limited sightings and always late to the wildlife party. Concerns were raised but not acted upon by the tour guide even when these become complaints. My wildlife game drive experience was eating my fellow travellers dust, hearing out what they were looking at and often seeing things behind shrubs or flying away when disturbed. I’ve never beed on a trip where the game drives were organised this way. If you were in jeeps A or B which alternated being at the front you had a much better experience than the 6 of us in jeep C

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is a bird watching trip. That was the emphasis of our naturalist guide and birds were in ambundance. Mammal sightings were limited. I didnt appreciate this and so was disappointed by the safari experience for this reason as well as how the jeeps were managed. I enjoyed staying in the rain forest and the ecolodge. The converted shipping containers were really cute and one of my hilights. They were hot during the day and cold at night but blankets are provided. We didnt walk along trails but walked up and down the tarmac road to the ecolodge. This limited the opportunity for wildlife sightings or should i more accurately say bird sightings as we were passed quite frequently by motorbikes. You need leech socks. These are provided so no need to bring your own. You need long trousers for this part of the trip.

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Claire for her feedback, although we were very sorry that her experience was so disappointing. We have responded to Claire directly and in response to this feedback, Exodus has reminded our local partner in Sri Lanka to try to ensure that the naturalist guide in Yala National Park rotates between the vehicles, and that the vehicle order should also be rotated where possible to ensure that everyone has a fair chance of wildlife sightings.

Jennifer Cox – Product Manager

Excellent trip to Sri Lanka with Exodus

We have just returned from our first trip with Exodus and must say we were very impressed with all aspects of the holiday. The administration and trip documentation were top class. The tour leader was brilliant….nothing seemed to faze him and he organised day-to-day activities superbly. The coach driver and his helper were also excellent and the tour coach was first class. The itinerary was comprehensive, with a nice blend of iconic and historical sites, cultural and physical activities, and nicely varied transport and accommodation.

Highlands of Sri Lanka

A wonderful experience in a beautiful country.

Costa Rica - Coastal Secrets Jan 2018

We had a great time on this trip. We saw lots of birds and other wildlife. Costa Rica has very diverse ecosystems and we experienced quite a variety. We really liked the limit of 16 travelers. We enjoyed the group and were made very welcome everywhere we went.

Outstanding trip in Finland

Superb trip! loved every minute of it. The activities, accommadation, food and staff were all excellent. Cannot fault a single part of the trip and would really like to do the whole thing again!

Incredible South Africa

All in all a fantastic and diverse trip with a great group of people. South Africa has so much to offer. Beautiful scenery, close up encounters with wildlife (I still can’t believe we came so close to lions), an interesting history, combined with some great walks and a few more thrilling activities. The food was also very good. There really was something for everyone and I would recommend this trip to virtually anyone really.