Reviews

Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It’s the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you’re interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.

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Lots of our clients also like to post handy tips and advice about their travels. It’s great to know what to expect on an Exodus adventure before you go, so make the most of their experience and you’ll make the most of yours!

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14493 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Richard Parry

Reviewed March 2016

Cross Country Skiing: Kvitavatn

This Exodus trip cannot be faulted…it was absolutely brilliant! The organisation from start to finish was smooth running; the location was perfect, providing on and off track skiing in beautiful Norwegian countryside; the accommodation was spotlessly clean and comfortable, with amazing views towards the mountain; and the food was simply delicious! In fact, we loved it so much, we’re going back this year!

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing people of all ages and ability getting out to enjoy xc skiing; also, seeing Ilse (our group leader) effortlessly perform Telemark turns!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ilse was fabulous! She is an excellent coach, who showed a high level of care towards us all, whilst helping us to progress our xc skiing skills throughout the week, at our own differing levels. She has a great sense of humour and is good fun to spend time with. As newcomers to xc skiing, our enjoyment of this trip was definitely enhanced by her and the way that she led the week.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go for it! If you are new to xc skiing, this would be an excellent introduction and would give you plentiful opportunity to explore on/off track, in beautiful surroundings. Equally, it is a fabulous place for the more experienced skier.

Sally Harkins

Reviewed March 2016

No 1 holiday!

Just the best week ever! It certainly isn’t a restful week, but it was great to learn new skills. There was down time in the evenings and we could enjoy the sauna and hot tub. Definitely try rolling in the snow after the sauna

Most Inspirational Moment

The huskie sledging was fantastic, driving a team of 5 huskies, I felt like the snow queen in Narnia. The scenery and snow covered trees were breath taking Building our snow igloo was hard work but rewarding, especially the amazing sunset that evening. Trying to sleep in it was fun, pay attention to smoothing the floor, otherwise trying to sleep on chunks of ice isn't great

Thoughts on Group Leader

Henri, our leader was great, knowledgeable and informative, the rest of the team were great, especially the chefs who cooked huge quantities of delicious food for our hungry bellies, second helpings were a regular occurrence People with dietary requirements were well catered for

Advice for Potential Travellers

Thick socks aren't included, so take a few pairs. I found I needed my thicker skiing jacket rather than the one base camp provide, but then I feel the cold. Also I used a thicker hat As said in previous reviews, take base layers, everything else is provided Take a towel for the hot tub We over packed, could have got away with a pair of jeans and a few tops for the evening. There is nowhere to go out at base camp, it really is in the middle of nowhere

Susan Gorman

Reviewed March 2016

Jo'burg to Cape Town

We travelled almost 4500k around Southern Africa; with wonderful scenery and experiences, knowledgable guide, fabulous cook. Highly recommend it as a great way to see loads and get a feel for the various regions and peoples. Lovely place to finish (Cape Town). Felt very safe throughout the trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

Scary - being 3 metres away from 3 rhinos (on foot). Thought provoking - visiting Lesotho and staying in the lodge which supported the local community. Different prospective - guide at Rookes Drift with his insight and knowledge Ahh moment -stroking a full grown cheetah, as a surprise visit! OMG - so many fabulous elephants, and a massive herd of 3/400 buffalo!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Fabulous, very well organised, caring and knowledgeable. Always ready to answer questions, give advice etc...... Cook also needs mentioning as she was able to feed all of us with amazing meals three times a day! Her morning fruit salad was always different and fresh (better than many hotels).

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do this trip! Don't take sleeping bags, not needed, but take. Swimming costume as you will swim in some amazing places.

Tony Rivers

Reviewed March 2016

Kenya and Tanzania adventure

Fantastic holiday ,saw big 5 at least twice , weather was great no rain .brilliant fellow travellers we got on so well even there was 16 off us .well lead by kips and his team .

Most Inspirational Moment

saw 4 lions take a buffalo right in front of us .. There are two many of inspirational to write memorable holiday .

Thoughts on Group Leader

Kips was absolutely brilliant , we didn't have a single complaint .

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for Zanzibar .,it is extremely hot ,90d and not much cooler at night .

Judith Pickthall

Reviewed March 2016

Gozo; self-guided walking holiday Feb.2016

Excellent Hotel (La Cence). Lovely weather Walking was excellent. Food great. Peopl,e very nice and very friendly.

Most Inspirational Moment

Cliff walks.

Thoughts on Group Leader

N/A

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go to Gozo Don't hire cars. Use the buses - the service is cheap and covers everywhere, regularly.

Simon Barber

Reviewed March 2016

Tirolean snow and snowshoes!

A very fine mix of wild, high mountains and very civilised relaxation in the valley. The Hotel Adler serves excellent food – real winter sport breakfasts, freshly done egg and bacon if you want. Being in the village, the shops are right next door for souvenirs etc. Having a week’s free travel pass made rest days etc so much easier to get around.

Most Inspirational Moment

Climbing the highest peak on the second day, in excellent weather with views right across the Dolomites to the main Alps in the distance.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Sara was an excellent leader - very knowledgeable, knew the mountains like her own backyard (not amazingly as they ARE her own backyard; she lives there!) - inspiring and incredibly fit. If anyone had needed carrying off the mountain, I'm sure Sara could have done it.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It can be a lot warmer than you think out there. Blazing sunshine bouncing off the snow and hard work going uphill can leave you sweating in regular skiing clothes. Make sure you can peel off layers down to full Summer wear! (And you'll need a lot of sunblock. It's bright out there on a good day.)

Abby Millward

Reviewed March 2016

I want to give 6 stars!

Amazing weather, people, sights, food and more! I recommend this trip to everyone. Each day I thought ‘WOW! Nothing can top this!’ and the next day, something would!

Most Inspirational Moment

We were lucky enough that a kind local Bedouin family invited our small group to their cave for dinner. This was an amazing experience, sitting with them and exchanging stories by moonlight in the middle of nowhere. We even saw shooting stars! I will never forget that evening.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our guide was oustanding. Full of stories, history, know-how and advice, he truly looked after us and made our experience special. Each day was excellently planned, and we were told very clearly at the start of each day what we would need, where we would go, and how long we would be at each location. I felt totally looked after and safe in his hands! In addition to this, even at the major tourist sites, he had alternative routes through so that we got a unique experience, far from the crowds of people.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I travelled in mid february, and the weather at the start was rainy and cold. If you're travelling in winter, definitely take a waterproof jacket and coat or fleece. And for those staying in the desert camp, you will want to sleep with two or more jumpers on! I didn't take a sleeping bag but slept in my PJ with clothes on top and doubled up on blankets from a spare bed. I was still cold. My last minute purchase for the trip was a pair of walking boots (nothing fancy, 40 quid on amazon) and this was the best decision I made. I wore them all day every day. You will need comfy shoes with good support and most importantly grip, for clambering up rocks.

Derek Mepham

Reviewed March 2016

Discover Costa Rica trip

This was a most amazing and varied trip, visiting rain forest, cloud forest, volcanoes, Pacific and Caribbean sides. 48 hours of rain, even though the dry season, now I see why its called the rain forest. Hanging bridges, zip wires, hot thermal pools, the warm ocean. Excellent accommodation and meals throughout the trip. Wonderful siting of birds and animals. Hot, humid, cool, wet, dry, Costa Rica has all the seasons in a quality small package, that everyone should visit.

Most Inspirational Moment

Costa Rica accounts for only 0.03 percent of the earth's surface. However it contains nearly 6 percent of the world's biodiversity. It was amazing to see how environmentally friendly Costa Rica is, a country that uses 99.2% renewable energy. Replanting of forests, following clearing of the forests to plant Palm Oil. Everyone we met respected their countries efforts to improve and remain as organic as far as possible. Also to see that there is no army, so the money saved is used to help everyone.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our guide throughout the trip was Guillermo Arrieta. Probably the best guide we have ever encountered on any holiday. A natural born Costa Rican, a trained Biologist, studying in the USA. He was proud of his country and knew and shared all aspects, from history, education, economy, geographical, biodiversity, animals, insects and the most amazing knowledge of birds. at the end of each day Guillermo would review what we had seen, reminded us via his I-Pad, of the bird and their song. We saw in excess of 200 birds in our 2 weeks, considering 2 days were continuous rain, when the birds were difficult to spot.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Always take plenty of insect repellant, good binoculars, camera, wet wear over trousers and look at your surroundings, don't be a slave to your camera.

Phil and Anne Smith

Reviewed March 2016

A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE, TIGERS AND THE TAJ MAHAL!

We can thoroughly recommend this trip for anyone who loves wildlife. Although seeing tigers was the highlight of the parks, we saw lots of other wildlife whilst trying to spot the elusive tigers. We did the 15 scheduled drives and another two that our guide Krishna organised. in total we saw 4 tigers (1 in Pench, 3 in Bandhavgarh, 0 in Kanha). Most of these sightings were lovely. The one in Pench was not so good as every jeep rushed to try and find the best spot for photos. You need to be quite patient and just relax and enjoy the lovely scenery and wildlife and Krishna’s great company. We were lucky to be with him on each trip, as we had a private departure for just us two as not enough people had signed up. This cost extra but was well worth it.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing a lovely male tiger on a track in Bandhavgarh and following slowly behind at a distance, watching him scent marking and even briefly doing some stalking of a small deer that crossed the path in front of him. We were the only ones there and it was bliss! Another inspirational moment was the Taj Mahal, which was even more beautiful than we expected. Nearly all the tourists were Indian, which made it even better. The red fort at Agra was also stunning, and our guide round the Taj Mahal and the fort at Agra was a lovely lady called Bindu. The final inspirational moment was visiting the school that Exodus supports - lovely kids and we could have happily stayed longer.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Krishna excelled in every way, always thinking about us and making sure we were happy and comfortable. He was very good company and a huge source of information on Indian wildlife. He even sorted out extra bean bags for us, which were essential when using a long lens.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It would be difficult to fit a tripod in the jeep, so a large bean bag on the horizontal roll bar was the best option. Our January trip was very cold in the morning, when you are up before dawn. Do not ignore the advice about taking hat, gloves and scarf and fleeces if you go in the winter months (December to early Feb). This is because not only is the temperature close to freezing for a few hours, but also you are travelling around in a completely open top jeep. We had not a single drop of rain the whole trip. We both had binoculars and wished we had taken an old pair that we could give to one of the park guides, as they sometimes needed to borrow ours. Worth taking a small HD video as well if you want to capture the movements and sounds of the wildlife. Tiger growls are wonderful!

Andrew Kelly

Reviewed March 2016