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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14483 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Boyd & Pam Taylor

Reviewed May 2015

Bulgaria : Rodopi Mountains

A great week in a lovely unspoiled area. Gorgeous meadows. Lots of spring flowers, including rare orchids. Varied walks which give a good overall feeling for the area. The pace gave plenty of time to enjoy the surroundings & wildlife.

Most Inspirational Moment

Every day gave something new. The meadows were especially beautiful.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Nelly Radkova was an excellent leader. She was full of enthusiasm and fun. Being Bulgarian her local knowledge was excellent and she was obviously well liked by the local people. She spoke excellent English and was very kind and caring and eager to please at all times. She had a great love for the local environment and its conservation. She made the holiday very enjoyable.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take flip flops for the wet room, and a hair drier if needed. Don't forget your camera and binoculars. The weather can be changeable so waterproofs and an umbrella are advised.

Alan Taylor

Reviewed May 2015

Really nice week's walking in a rarely visited area.

A really nice week’s walking in the rarely visited Rodopi mountains in Bulgaria – I’d never heard of them before!
All the walks were pretty gentle with around four hours walking each day. The walks are in deep, step-sided gorges or up on open mountain pastures. There’s plenty to see with butterfly, bird and orchid spotting being particularly popular.

Most Inspirational Moment

The morning spent hiking up gorge of the Chairska River which is a spectacular route. The final half-day walk on the "Eco-trail" (before the transfer back to Sofia) is also excellent. Take a detour up to the waterfall, it's worth it!

Thoughts on Group Leader

A leader was Nelly, a local of the area. She had an excellent knowledge of the area including the flora and fauna. She's really easy going and everyone enjoyed walking with her. I particularly like being allowed to walk at my own pace and 're-grouping' at specific points.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The transfer from Sofia is five hours (including a half-hour beer stop). It's quite a slog but well worth it. Take flip-flops as the hotel has 'wet rooms' rather than separate shower + toilet. Also take a sink plug if you want to do any washing.

Caroline Merrifield

Reviewed May 2015

Scenery on a grand scale!our 2 tour leaders

Our two tour leaders introduced themselves, and said that their aim was to give us the best holiday we had ever had. They succeeded ! Each day we found ourselves in the most awesome ( and I don’t usually use that overused word!) grand scale landscape of desert and rocks, canyons and cacti. Walking in this scenery was the best way to appreciate it.

Most Inspirational Moment

Oh, so many! I leaned against a cool cave wall listening to our Navaho Indian guide drumming and singing. I did a day walk in the desert heat of Canyonlands National Park, and marvelled at the beauty of the immense natural rock garden.....sand, red rocks, flowering cacti, shrubs and architectural dried twisted tree trunks,.. Far better than any man made garden. I waded 7 miles through the Virgin River in the Narrows at Zion National Park, with the canyon walls soaring high above. I watched sunrise and sunsets paint fabulous colours on the Grand Canyon, Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, the red spires of Monument Valley and the pink and orange Hoodoos of Bryce Canyon. ..........Every day was a highlight! And we ate our lunches and 2 dinners in spectacular surroundings.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Evan and Brendon were fantastic leaders, and worked hard to make sure we got the most from our holiday. They were extremely knowledgable, good drivers, well organised, communicated clearly, and looked after us really well. On tricky scrambling or precarious parts of the walks, they gave confidence, and respected our limitations. They were fun and friendly.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take clothes for all seasons ! We had snow, hail, rain, wind, as well as a lot of sun and heat.

Stephen Pokoly

Reviewed May 2015

Captivating Camino

Week long bike adventure was the perfect mix of intense physical activity and sightseeing / touring.

Most Inspirational Moment

The challenging uphills were made worthwhile upon reaching the summit of the small mountains (1.500 m)...and then of course the smooth downhill cruise after.

Thoughts on Group Leader

fantastic

Louise Lake

Reviewed May 2015

Enjoyed every minute

My first solo walking holiday surpassed expectations. Every day was different. The walks varied from rocky steep mountain trails to flat coastal paths. The scenery was beautiful. The views of the Riviera from clifftops were spectacular. Wandering through quaint , quiet villages was a delight. An added bonus was the friendly company of everyone in the group and the laughter and different stories about life in other countries at dinner in local restaurants.

Most Inspirational Moment

I was very pleased to make the steepest ascent and descent of 460 metres on tricky mountain Paths.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Stephanie was always cheerful and professional. I always felt confident as she guided us along many different paths and taught us how to negotiate some difficult terrain. The whole holiday was well organised, including evening dinners . A definite plus for solo travellers.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't hesitate to step outside your comfort zone and challenge yourself, at any age. Our ages ranges from mid 40's to late 60's . Despite a few aches and pains we all coped well. It is wise to train before hand, including walking up and down steps!

Petra Hirst

Reviewed May 2015

SICILY - Group tour

I thoroughly enjoyed this trip. The time of year was perfect in that the scenery was green and the verges full of flowers. The people in Sicily were extremely friendly and the food we had was delicious (local knowledge of the tour leader and local operator obviously need to be thanked for this). I wouldn’t call this “moderate” as there are many hills so a good level of fitness is required. We’d expected temperatures to be mid-late 20s but instead we had mid 30s!! Beautiful weather but tougher for cycling up the long hills. I’d definitely recommend this tour.

Most Inspirational Moment

n/a - can't imagine what you want to know with this question....did I have a vision!?

Thoughts on Group Leader

Lovely tour leader with a great, dry sense of humour. Then again, I'm half Bavarian so I would say that! He was very keen to please his very big group of 16 and I believe everyone really liked Thomas.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you're fit for this one! There are long stretches with no breaks as people seem to race along. I took my time and stopped for photos and drinks but it meant I was constantly at the back. Take your own gel saddle and think about protection for your poor behind.

Thidara Udomritkul

Reviewed May 2015

Petra and Wadi Rum Trek

A fantastic experience! I felt that we were able to fully appreciate the desert scenery that Wadi Rum had to offer. The wild camping was in excellent locations including on top of sand dunes and between sandstone mountains.

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching the top of Burdah Bridge. There are scenic views throughout and it was the first time I've climbed a rock bridge. The support from the local Bedouin people whilst climbing was excellent.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Zuhair was a very experienced and enthusiastic tour leader. I felt that he went above and beyond to make the trip memorable for us and the pacing of the walks on each day was well set.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring a head torch whilst wild camping as it is easier to eat dinner in the desert without holding a torch. Have small denominations in Jordanian dinar on the trip where possible

Arran Ellis

Reviewed May 2015

3 Amazing weeks in India Nepal

3 weeks packed with so much to do and see. I have no idea how Exodus can make any profit from this trip. True value for money! In summary if you do the trip and the excursion it works out to be 3 holidays in 1. 1st week, the wonders of Delhi, Agra & Japur. Our driver Amir was brilliant and took us wherever we wanted. We also met 3 very knowledgeable guides who provided guidance while visiting the Taj Mahal, Agra, The Amber Fort and Japur. Our hotels during this part of the trip where excellent.
The 2nd part of our trip was Darjeeling & the Singalila Ridge, where we met our new treking friends. The trek was led by Jospal & Suntos a local guide from Darjeeling. What these two did not know about the the mountains and local community was not worth knowing. We had some wet and windy weather but I always felt they had our best intrests in mind. We did get views of Kanchenjunga which was the icing on the cake for me. The tents we used where adiquate and the trek chef never let the side down and produced some of the nicest food I have ever tasted whilst on a trek not to mention a few restaurants I have visited. The days varied in length and variety. I was one of the youngest on the trek at 42 and found the undulating ridge fine. Our oldest member of the trek was 70 and like me plodded with the odd steep section slowing us down. If your relatively fit and healthy you’ll be fine. No need to start running marathons to sign up. And certainly do not let age get in the way. The pace was always slow and steady to enjoy the views, banter, and rhododendrons. I chose to do this trip in April May to get the best advantage of catching the various colours of plant life. As it turned out it was by chance Budda’s Birthday and a full moon during the trek, so whilst staying in small villages from time to time there was always some festivity happening.
The 3rd and final part of our experience was what I would call the Jeep Rural Safari. We left Darjeeling after visiting the Mountaineering Intitute where climbers and sherpa’s train to climb mountains such as Everest and lead treks and plumited down in altitude driving past massive tea plantations. Where we stopped and visited the tea pickers and farmers. Then onto Sikkim, different from the Darjeeling Region. More Westernised in my opinion, industrial along the river and lots of schools and universities. We stayed in Gangtok and visited a wonderful monestry and had some time to look around ourselves. The drive to Kalingpong took us back out Sikkim and back into the Dajeeling Region where we climed in our jeeps to see wonderful views of the local foothills of the Himilaya. We stayed at the Himalayan Hotel. The same hotel Malory, Irvine, Hillary and Tenzing stayed in prior to going to Everest. This was by far my favourite hotel of the whole trip! Ooozing with character and history. A wee drive to the train station then an overnight train to Calcutta, where we said goodbye to the jeeps and Santos. Calcutta was amazing! We had time to do a whistle stop tour of the city in time for some of us to go to a 20/20 Cricket match to see the Calcutta Night Riders v The Punjab Kings. Such an experience. The stadium was packed with 60-70,000 supporters. This was our last day, so we went to a rooftop restaurant which was a special place to say goodbye to our new friends before parting our ways and going home.
I know this was to be a summary but there was too much to tell.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing Kanchenjunga in all its splendor once the clouds moved on, on our final morning on the ridge. Magical.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jospal & Santos where truely amazing! Very very helpful, approachable, flexable. There English was better than mine! You want these guys on your trek!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Prepare for some wet days depending on the time of year you go. Dont skimp on decent waterproofs. Some of the team had Poncho's which seemed to provide the best solution to staying dry. I went April May and a 3 season sleeping bag wearing thermals where fine. Drinking water whilst treking can get boreing. Take energy tablets or condensed juce pods to add to your bottles in the morning. Some of the team had metal bottles which proved useful at night to stick in you sleeping back as a makeshift hot water bottle. Bring an open mind and a sense of humour!!!!!

Marian Sears-Carter

Reviewed May 2015

Essential Peru

The trip is very busy with long days and several early starts but it is worth it. You see so much of Peru and each region has its own personality.

Most Inspirational Moment

The mountains. The drive to Cuzco was especially moving what with the mountains bracketing the roadway towering up into the sky above.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Cesar was excellent! He was detail oriented and attentive to everyone's requests.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The altitude takes getting used to. I was focused on the altitude effects at Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca but didn't pay proper attention to the altitude effects from the journey to Cuzco, where you are over 12,000 feet ASL for two days and over 15,000 feet ASL for a day. It takes approximately 6-7 days to get used to the altitude and you need to manage your body. The viewing platform at the Nazca lines does not provide sufficient scope to truly experience them. My wife and I paid the USD125.00 for the airplane ride over the Nazca lines and this vastly improved our appreciation of them. However, since we went in early afternoon, when the sun was strongest, it was sometimes difficult to see the lines in the light colored sand. If possible, take the flight either early in the morning or late in the afternoon when the sun's rays are not as direct.

Michael Murray

Reviewed May 2015