Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many moments from seeing how the Northern tribes live in traditional houses, their dependence on their animals and many on their rice crop; to the busy frantic street scenes crowded with scooters and mopeds in the cities of Hanoi, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh city. The steet sellers with their wares straddled across their shoulders with everything from baskets and hats, to sweetmeats and the street food scenes are unforgetable.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Binh Bui was amazingly organised. He never let us down once. His timings were amazing, his care and his attention to detail were unsurpassed. If things outside his control happened he just adjusted and surmounted them without fuss. His genuine care and emotional investment in his job is unquestionable.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared to walk and ride bicycles in high temperatures and don't be afraid to say I need a break!

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching the top of the ice climbing wall. Plus the husky and snowmobile safaris

Thoughts on Group Leader

Henri and Miriam were absolutely great! Very knowledgable, good company and they spent hours on the phone to arrange everything!

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you're at the Logging Lodge, bear in mind that it's a 45 min drive from Basecamp. And if you're at Basecamp, there might be a family group staying there at the same time (I preferred the peace and quiet of the Logging Lodge!)

Most Inspirational Moment

The walking trip around both Trinidad and Havana was excellent and well guided.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Raysalis was absolutely brilliant. She had a lovely disposition, was very knowledgeable about the island and its history. She also went out of her way to make sure everyone was happy and any issues were resolved quickly (i.e. one lady had a problem with her camera and she helped sort it out). Her English was fantastic and she was very clear about the plan for each day ensuring that the whole group knew what was going on and that everyone's timekeeping was as good as possible.

Advice for Potential Travellers

There is a lot of construction going in Havana at the moment (i.e. the Capitoli building currently has scaffolding on it), but don't let it put you off, it's amazing to see the development and changes happening. The food is bland but very good - just don't expect anything spicy! Snacks are hard to come by, so take chocolate / crisps / sweets if you can't survive without them. There are various towers to climb in Trinidad, Cienfuegos and Havana - climb them all, the views are worth it!

Most Inspirational Moment

2 things : The trip around Halong Bay including the time spent kayaking. Also the meal that we had with a local Vietnamese family.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was excellent. He was very knowledgeable about all aspects of Vietnam - its history, culture, way of life, countryside etc. Through relating personal stories, he helped us to get to know and understand the country in a way that ordinary guidebooks cannot. When 2 of our group had a serious cycling accident, his management of the situation could not be faulted.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is an excellent trip from the point of view of seeing Vietnam. But if you want to really test your cycling ability, this trip will not do that.

Most Inspirational Moment

There was more than one inspirational moment and I couldn't choose between standing amongst thousands and thousands of penguins and/or seals, or the sheer beauty of the Antarctica's ice bergs floating by.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The expedition leader of this cruise - as well as his crew - was absolutely fantastic, knowledgeable, helpful, and I couldn't imagine having a better leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just relax and enjoy and see a part of the world you have never seen before.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the che guevara museum - an amazing and moving story of his life.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jorge was a friendly leader with good local knowledge however we never had enough time in any area/town to really apprecitate what he was telling us. Ray was a great driver coping well with the long 7-9 hours driving he was doing on most days.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do visit Cuba as its a good place to see, however take toilet roll with you where ever you go, take snacks as there is very little in the way of chocolate, crisps, sweets etc, if you wanted take spices or sauces to pep-up your food, definately book an add-on beach hotel via Exodus at the end of the tour so you can chillout for a few days at the end as you will be exhausted from not doing much! Oh and buy Rum out there as it is really cheap.

Most Inspirational Moment

Being able to climb the mountain to see the gorillas unaided!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent. Knowledgeable and prepared to respond to (our only occaisional) demands!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Ignore all the ramblings in the trip notes concerning registering online for visas and just follow the spoken advice and purchase an East African visa for all three countries on arrival. Not really sure it is necessary to pack a mosquito net, since the tents are mosquito-proof and most of the other stops feature mosquito nets.

Most Inspirational Moment

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paul_emma/2/1478530913/tpod.html

Most Inspirational Moment

Retracing routes that in some cases have been used for years. Feeling the support of everyone both guides, drivers and fellow holiday goers. Feeling part of a great team. Feeling included regardless of ability or age.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Radu was wonderful and I loved the fact that he was sooooooo patient and answered most of my very curious questions with enthusiasm. John was such a support both on and off the bike. Both guides filled the holiday with fun and laughs.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you have a solid pair of cycling shorts that can withstand all sorts of cycling both on and off road. Some people used buffs to cover their faces especially on the off road downhill sections as it could get quite dusty. Be prepared to get a couple of bruises preferably on the bike.

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching the campsite on Day 3, after a really challenging couple of days of trekking. Not only was this probably the best campsite in the world, but we also had the best location inside the campsite, owing to our group leader and team making the selection and preparing. And our group leader coaxed us up the hill to the best view I have ever seen at exactly the right time after we arrived. Completely breathtaking!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Bobby (Ubaldo Quispe) was the best tour leader I have ever met (and I have traveled on many many different types of tours all over the world). He was extremely knowledgable, really inspired confidence, was able to manage the group really well, even though we had a range of different abilities and the trek was challenging. He is also one of the best team leaders I have ever met, was truly generous and kind hearted and I would love to go on another trip led by him in the future. Monica, our co-leader was also amazing, able to give just the right type of encouragement and to lead from the front or behind perfectly. She also gave me a magical medicinal remedy (passionfruit and hot water) for a complaint I had that was super effective and I thought that was awesome!

Advice for Potential Travellers

It is a challenging trek, so it's worth putting in effort before hand - in particular building up your leg muscles because there is a lot of down and uphill, with big steps. And be prepared to go slowly if you need to - the air is thin so I found it tough going over the mountain passes.