Reviews

Walking in Madeira

A very interesting and beautiful walking trip led by a very knowledgeable leader, Andre. Each walk was different and Andre provided a wealth of knowledge as we went along.
Hotels and food were very good.

Incredibly impressed

As a family we have done many trips with Exodus in Africa (various countries), Canada and most recently my parents attended the Western Explorers trip in America to see Yosemite, Bryce Canyon and The Grand Canyon which Exodus arrange in partnership with Grand American Adventures.
We have always found Exodus trips to be incredibly well planned and organised, ensuring that you see the very best parts of the areas you are visiting in the timescales available. The trips are ideal because there is no hassle involved for the traveller and you are guaranteed to meet like-minded people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy the experiences with. This particular trip was no exception.
I write this review however to say a huge thanks to both Exodus and Grand American Adventures as they were absolutely fantastic to my parents and the family back home in England when my father suffered a serious and unexpected illness and had to be rushed to hospital.
With specific mentions to Bethany, Monica and the tour guide Charlie, who all went out of their ways to ensure that lines of communication between us, the insurance company and the hospital were clear and effective, to provide my parents with support and to give the family back home piece of mind at what was a very difficult time for us. We will be forever grateful. There is absolutely no doubt that you will be in safe hands with this team.

Great group, fantastic local knowledge of the guides and great pedalling

A perfect break taking us away from the daily pressures! Michele and Simone were perfect guides – we learned a lot about Sardinia, Italy and many other things. It was a perfectly pitched level for us, with Nicky being pushed close to her limit whilst also being enough cycling for me as well. Lovely trip to the islands, great hike on one afternoon, wine tasting and a couple of Agriturismos. October weather was kind to us – many sunny days with a slightly challenging head wind for a couple of days – that added to the challenge!

Great Wall trip-can not recommend enough!

Travelled alone on the trip, met some incredible people and shared some phenomenal walks! Exodus made real effort to give us the full China experience, rural walks and tourist excursions. Already booked my next trip!

Great Itinerary, Bad Hotels

The itinerary for this trip is great – you’ll get a wonderful overview of Morocco as you’ll visit the cities, the desert and the mountains. Our tour guide was knowledgeable as I’ve come to expect it from Exodus, and the local guides used at some sites were great as well.

What let this trip down were the hotels – they’re just not particularly good for the Standard departures. Most of them were noisy (the one in Fes is literally next to a mosque) and in need of refurbishment (Meknes), the beds were uncomfortable verging on painful, and in some cities you’re not really where the action is as you’re not staying in the Medina (Fes/Marrakech). The camp in the desert is very basic (does have toilets, though, but not much else in terms of comfort).

Personally, I felt the 2 night stay in the Atlas mountains was a bit pointless – the hammam was interesting as we got to interact with the locals, but otherwise not an amazing experience and the walk was just going back and forth on a mule track.

Marilyn's Review

A really interesting holiday with lots of variety -loads of archeology and history, lovely churches, quaint hill top towns, nice coastal towns, main towns Catania(pretty) and Palermo(busy), mount Etna, very good group leader and local guides, a comfortable coach, good driver and of course great weather. I feel I have definitely seen the best of Sicily.
The accommodation unfortunately was disappointing except for hotels in Catania and Cefalu which were great. We had very damp rooms on two occasions, a B&B, quite basic tourist and tired hotel in Palermo etc. The holiday was not cheap and was advertised as having 3/4* hotels so I expected something better than we had.
I would rate it as Very Good if the accommodation had been better.

Most Inspirational Moment

Villa Romana in Casale - wonderful mosaics ; seeing(amazing views) and being on mount Etna

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent - very knowledgable and enthusiastic about archeology and Sicily in general. Good fun as well.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for a busy schedule.

Reply from Exodus

Exodus would like to thank Marilyn for her review, but we regret to read that she was disappointed with the quality of some of the accommodation. For this season, we have changed several of the properties in which groups can expect to stay, which we trust will prevent future clients experiencing similar disappointment. An updated list of properties can be found under the accommodation tab on our ADG tour webpage. We have also revised transfer time to allow clients more time in Cefalu. We are glad to read, nonetheless, that Marilyn found the hotels in Catania and Cefalu to be great! – Marta Marinelli, Product Manager.

Great trip

Great trip but a lot of time traveling. Which if you can sleep on buses is great as gives you a chance to catch up.

It really is a on the go all times trip. But the locations and different cities is worth it.

Essential Peru

A comprehensive tour of the best cities in Peru, a lot of travelling but well worth it

Inca Trail & Amazon Rain Forest + Homestay

All in all a great trip – I met some great people and saw some amazing sights, but this is no walk in the park and I don’t think any of us on the trip fully appreciated just how mentally and physically challenging this trip would be -with a rating of just 3 I think most of us who are experienced hikers – myself and two others hiked in Nepal last year and one of our grp had hiked to Everest base camp thought although a challenge we would not have to many problems – we had underestimated the effects of walking at altitude and not taken into consideration that it would most likely rain as it did for 2 days solid and then having to sleep in tiny tents which let in water whilst wet and cold was not exactly much fun

Stunning varied scenery

I read previous reviews prior to going on the trip, and they are all accurate. I would add that I was borderline fit enough for this holiday so found it challenging at times (it was a late decision to go), but I would not have missed a moment of it. I completed all the walks, which are all different from each other. The group I was with was very supportive. Andre the guide made one unit of us from the first night, and was watchful, prepared, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. As he said 80% is in your head, 20% in your walking ability.
Apart from Andre, the other essential was walking poles, especially on the long downhill Day 4.
I had not been on an Exodus holiday before, nor had I been on one without a companion. Any reservations I had were blown away very quickly. It was so enjoyable,I just love Madeira.
I am looking for my next holiday already.