Reviews

Undiscovered Atlas

I have been on many similar trekking trips but this was the first time that I travelled with Exodus. I did not quite know what to expect compared to other companies but from start to finish the holiday was well organised and thoroughly enjoyable partially due to Exodus but mainly due to the leader, Mohammed and his support team. We were plagued with truly abysmal weather for the first half of the week: sub zero temperatures for much of the day and gales ( which are,apparently, very rare!! ). My tent broke in the middle of the first night requiring an emergency decamp to the mess tent and then collapsed together with about 50% of the other tents, the mess tent and the toilet tent ( which blew away down into the valley ), on the second. Strangly, though, these experiences added to the bonding within what was a truly great group rather than detracting from it. I will admit that this may be a peculiarly British tendency!! The cimb to the top of Jebel Aklim in bright but arctic conditions was truly inspirational and the night that followed in the teacher’s house in Tagara ( Mohammed opted for this as an alternative to a third night of camping to allow us more than three hours sleep!! ) a humbling revelation. For the second half of the holiday the weather reverted to more normal conditions for the time of year, we actually were able to strip down to less than three layers for the first time and continued in this vein to the end. The scenery throughout was tremendous. The walking well paced and interesting although as previous reviewers have stated VERY VERY ROUGH and the group amazing: Totally FABULOUS!!! (will stop here as I have run out of superlatives!! )

Cycling Vietnam

Our group of 18 was expertly looked after by the leader and support team. At the end of each day we looked forward to the meals proposed by the leader and all were excellent. The trip gave a good insight into rural and urban Vietnamese life and the leader was very knowledgeable about the many cultural sights on the trip.

Amazing experience

I travelled on my 50th birthday, determined to conquer the ‘unknown’ and explore a country that has always fascinated me since a young age. It’s a hard core trip with lots of early starts but well worth any exhaustion as the exhilaration you experience, at all the new sights, smells and scenery is beyond any adjectives. It is a complete sensory experience and an opportunity to participate in this beautiful country and it’s stoic people.
I believe with Exodus, that I saw Vietnam perhaps at a more authentic perspective and for that, I am grateful.
The food is wonderful, the sights are breath taking and the history is intricate and fascinating.

Cycle Sri Lanka - Amazing trip with some challenging cycling

This was my 3rd trip with Exodus, and it was a really great experience.
Sri Lanka is a wonderful country, very lush & green as it is a tropical country with lots of rain, so it is just green everywhere. The people are very humble & friendly, they speak English in most places, except in some really remote areas.
The cycling itself was challenging, due to the heat factor, as it is quite a humid & hot most of the time.
Overall, the trip exceeded my expectations, & I really enjoyed the cycling as that is what I was looking forward to.

Annapurna Circuit

Fantastic trip. Great people, scenery, culture and views. Very well organised and was very well looked after by trip leader and whole exodus team.

Wildlife and More

We knew December was the wettest month, but hearts sank when our first wildlife trip had to be abandoned as the river was too high for safety to take us there. However, our guides had a good backup plan and took us to the Sarawak Cultural Village where we were able to see some traditional longhouses and experience a display of spectacular tribal dances – including one of the group having a go with a blow pipe. We were lucky enough to see the bat exodus from Deer Cave at Mulu before the rain started again and forgot to stop. We were evacuated from our comfortable lodges while it was still daylight, wading through above-the-knee water to the restaurant. As it got darker, and the water deeper we expected to spend the night elsewhere than our comfortable beds. However, the rain did stop and the river stabilised so we were eventually boated back. The poor villagers further up the river didn’t come off so easily in the worst floods for 14 years. All praise to the Garden Park staff and our guides for their excellent control of the situation, and their help to their neighbours as well as us. Don’t forget your PONCHO! Preferably a discreet colour. A wading nature walk next day turned up a scorpion, various lizards and skinks as well as a Paradise Flycatcher and the sunshine brought back the butterflies. From the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary on, the mammals were amazing. The monkeys are real characters with such expressive faces and it was good to see so many mums and babies. Great photo opportunities. Sepilok was a mixed experience. The youngsters are kept the other side of a glass wall and they didn’t care for the pouring rain much either – rolling around trying to don sacks and holding leaves over their heads in attempts to keep dry. Although it was disappointing to only see one adult orangutan, it demonstrated how successful the rehab programme has been as far fewer babies and adults are coming in for care. However, moving on to Danum Valley, our outing turned up a mother and youngster orangutan yards from the centre. And they didn’t stop coming. Five in a couple of hours. Even the guides were amazed. In all we saw ten or eleven over the whole of the trip, just doing their own thing in the trees. We were lucky enough to see a herd of pygmy elephants on our Kinabatangan river cruises. Again, loads of babies. There were a lot of boats vying for the best position so unfortunately the disturbance to the animals from noise and diesel was to be regretted. The birds were spectacular here too, hornbills, hawks, eagles and little flowerpeckers in the garden as well as more butterflies. Take binoculars and a camera with a good zoom if you want to get any animal shots. You don’t need huge lenses – I got some great shots with a compact. And discreet colour clothing. Pack light. It really is ‘deal with your own luggage’ on this one and there aren’t big retail opportunities so small is beautiful.

Discover Costa Rica

Fabulous holiday – due in no small part to our guide Katia, she went over and above what could have been expected. It included early morning and late evening walks to watch wildlife that weren’t included in the tour.
Also travelling with a great bunch of people absolutely made the holiday. Can’t wait for my next Exodus trip.
Richard

Transylvania Winter Walk & Snowshoe

Definitely a moderate trip ( in winter ) . Some challenges with packed ice / deep snow so a reasonable level of fitness would be helpful.

The perfect winter escape

If you’re looking to get away from it all in unspoilt scenery, try out different winter activities, and generally have an experience you’ll never forget, then book this trip.

The location is beautiful, the staff are great, the food was absolutely delicious, and I didn’t want to leave!

Fabulous Winter Walking

If you’re looking for European winter walking, this is for you. The sun was gorgeous (although the wind is cold on the mountain tops so make sure you have warm clothes) with fabulous, long range, 360 deg views. Jose’s sandwiches are already legendary, and rightly so, but he is also an experienced, knowledgeable and fun walk leader. The perfect escape from a dark, grey, damp UK and only a short flight away. Don’t expect to lose weight though!