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Review Centre

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.

Simply use the selector below to search our trip reviews and start reading real feedback from real Exodus travellers who have ‘been there and done that’!

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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Once you return from your Exodus adventure holiday, you will be emailed a link to add your review. Any feedback collected is posted onto our website, totally unedited.

Alternatively you can navigate to the relevant trip page and add your review via the Reviews tab.

Reviews

Review of Baltics Tour 25 June to 6 July 2025

This part f this review is from Peter Marshall. A very enjoyable, educational and adventurous tour

Most Inspirational Moment

Difficult to say; there were so many of them.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Without a doubt, Andreius was the best tour guide we have ever had on any tour. He was very well informed, great attention to detail and very easy to get on with. Not only did he make sure we were given every feasible opportunity to learn and feel what it is like to live in those countries and what it was like to live in them when they were part of the Soviet Union, but he also generated cohesion among the group so that everybody became friends, with no exceptions.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure Andreius is the guide on your trip

A Must See Part of Italy!

This trip was a wonderful surprise! I have been to a couple of places in Italy before (Rome, Venice, Florence) but Puglia is so different… in a great way! The coastline, the food, the culture and the history were all wonderful.

Most Inspirational Moment

Staring off in a world heritage site that is Matera was amazing! It is like walking around a movie set, every street and corner was breathtakingly beautiful.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ioana was a ray of sunshine! She was so knowledge and passionate about where we were visiting, it made such a difference having someone like Ioana there to guide us the whole way. She also gave us some amazing food recommendations which (as a foodie) was very welcomed!

Advice for Potential Travellers

It was very hot in June when i visited so i would recommend visiting in cooler months.

Excellent Holiday Discovering the Baltics

A very enjoyable and interesting experience. We learnt a lot about each country from experienced guides who really new the history of each place we visited. Very varied tours ranging from lovely cities with beautiful buildings, to visits to the seaside and countryside.

Most Inspirational Moment

The spirit of the local people we met, despite having gone through some very bad times they had a great sense of humour and seemed genuinely pleased to greet tourists from all over the world.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Andrius was a perfect group leader. He was well organised with a great sense of humour and very patient with us all. He was always ready to help and obviously has a wealth of knowledge and first hand experience of what it was like to live under Soviet rule. He chose restaurants for our evening meals which offered local cuisine to add to our experience and we were lucky to have him as our guide.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a selection of warm and summer clothes as the weather from country to country changes. Also, good, comfortable walking shoes.

delivered on primates and dragons

Varied trip that delivered on primates and dragons. Saw many Orang Utans , some very close ( rangers keeping us tourists back) . Getting to Komodo islands early meant many of them were out and about , as opposed to later in day when its hot and they seek out shade .

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing alpha male Orang Utan coming close , a few metres away , to study us. Not sure who was watching who .

Thoughts on Group Leader

Pleasant , good interaction with group , readily to impart information ( and repeat )

Advice for Potential Travellers

The second hike in Eco Lodge park was definitely a challenge without providing much more wildlife sightings than the morning walk. Thats the risk you run with nature . If you have any doubts about your fitness then think twice about the afternoon walk . We were fortunate in that a bigger boat was used for our trip ( unplanned maintenance on original boat ) for a group of 8 , so there were enough cabins , each with en suite shower and toilet. The snorkelling was shambolic to say the least. If you were not on deck when decision was made to enter water then you simply missed out. No roster or check for any passengers who were in their cabin . The local leader was a pleasant chap but briefing consisted of " stay together " while he simply took off and left group strung out in the water. No back marker or other crew in water with guests , difficult to spot leader ( he was far away anyway ) and left to own devices in terms of what you might see, no account of differing abilities of group . I have been on live aboards in Maldives multiple times as comparison, there was always leader plus at least one crew ( sometimes more ) in water , briefing on currents , checks that each guest was OK in water , wildlife ,coral etc pointed out and group kept roughly together , leader visible and obviously monitoring the group. All of that lacking on each of the snorkel sessions this trip .

Uganda is definitely the Pearl of Africa

By far the most emotional wildlife experience ever and a true bucket list adventure. The abundant wildlife took my breath away. From being entertained by the Chimpanzees in Kibale Forest to Gorilla trekking, even spotted 2 leopards on our night safari and a python swallowing an impala on our safari walk optional excursion. There are a few long drives but see it as free “African massage”. This tour is also highly recommended for bird watchers and had to chance to see African Grey’s, Shoebills, Turacos, Malachite’s and Kingfishers. The Lodges on this trip will maximise your animal-watching experience and all the rooms are spacious. Haven Lodge staff even treats you with warm water bottles in your bed at turndown service. The food was delicious with a huge variety to choose from. Overall, the best experience ever.

Most Inspirational Moment

Being touching distance away from the Gorilla family in their natural habitat in Bwindi Forest and seeing the small ones frolicking and playing. The trackers and porters went above and beyond to make this a magical experience for everyone to reach the family of gorillas mo matter your level of fitness.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Umar was incredible. Great guide and amazing driver with hey focus being our safety. His general knowledge was out of this world and he was extremely patient it all the questions.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a warm jumper and a poncho for Bwindi Forest, it does get cold in the evenings and we experienced rain every afternoon. Don't wear bold colours like red, orange or yellow on your Chimp trek, bring gaiters for all walks and don't drink the tap water. Visit the Ride for a Woman Foundation, its an excellent well-thought charity that gives back to the local communities.

Bucket list road trip

Great adventure and my first trip to Africa. Starting in South Africa with good wine and penguins, onto Namibia seeing the second largest canyon in the world, ancient cave paintings and sunrise at the Sossusvlei dunes. It’s a great trip if you are no rush and limited by time. Sit back and enjoy the scenery go by. Extend your trip both at the beginning and end. There’s lots to do in Cape Town and many adventure activities to try in Victoria Falls. Wildlife in Etosha and Chobe was incredible. Abundance of zebras, giraffes, elephants and special spottings of cheetahs, lions. Kanoeing on the Orange river and the mokoro ride in Botswana were also special things to mention. The long drive days are a small sacrifice to see all there is on the itinerary!

Most Inspirational Moment

Climbing the dunes at Sossusvlei, watching African sunsets and seeing a baby elephant

Thoughts on Group Leader

Peter was great. Very hard working and taking care of us from early morning hours till bed time. Great at spotting wildlife before we even knew there was any.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Prepare yourself for long days in the minibus. There are few longer days but generally it passed very quickly with help of audiobooks, podcasts and much needed napping due to early starts. First week definitely feels most on the go but it gets better with staying two nights at each place from second week. Take some warm layers as nights do get chilly. Come with an open mind and enjoy the scenery changing, all the magical places we visit and wild animals you get to see

A very special experience!

The grandeur of the Mont Blanc massif is incredible to witness. The hiking was diverse, offering a fresh feel to each forest, peak and trail. I was amazed every step of the way and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I didn’t know views could be so break taking! Chamonix was a beautiful charming town – it was a great place to end each day.

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching your first peak, looking up and not only seeing the incredible views but knowing you got there yourself.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Egle was phenomenal! Her mountain knowledge was superb and she was great fun to hike with!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Shoes with a sturdy and grippy sole are a must! This was the first time I used hiking poles and I was SO thankful I did. I will not be hiking a mountain without them again. I started each morning by drinking an electrolyte drink and I think this helped my hydration a lot. I also recommend bringing some protein bars with you.

Pinch me bucket list moment!

Kenya’s week-long safari adventure was an unforgettable journey, taking us from the breathtaking elephant herds of Amboseli National Park beneath Mount Kilimanjaro, to serene early-morning boat rides among hippos on Lake Naivasha, and the vibrant birdlife of Lake Nakuru, where hundreds of species filled the skies. It concluded with the wildlife-rich plains of the Masai Mara, where we encountered lions, rhinos, giraffes, and zebras in their natural habitat. Each moment was seamlessly organised, our guides were expert in all areas, covering topics on not only the animals in the parks, but welcoming us into the essence and culture of Kenya as a country, allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in all that Kenya had to offer – it’s beauty and wildlife while experiencing the peace and wonder of Africa’s landscapes—a truly inspiring and transformative adventure.

Most Inspirational Moment

A sunrise hot air balloon ride over the masai mara, seeing the game reserve below from a different perspective, watching animals dash across beneath us while relishing in the beautiful warm sunrise

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was truly magnificent. He was totally immersed in everything to do with wildlife. He had been an ecologist and studied many different animals over a 25 year career, with his current studies into butterflies. Knowledgeable about his country, politics, farming, animals, populations and history. He made us feel safe and secure throughout the week, with the customer and animal safety at the forefront of everything he did.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Kenya accepts USD and KES and the conversion rate is best with KES so try and pay with KES where you can. Some of the optional extras (Masai Mara village visit and hot air balloon ride) and require USD but for all other things, KES is the currency to pay with. Also ensure you have a camera with a great zoom lens and a decent pair of binoculars to really take in, close up, all that Kenya and it's wildlife has to offer

Fantastic trip!

Itinerary was jam-packed with great sights and activities that gave us a taste of both ancient and modern China, while still leaving some free time to explore on our own; excellent value. All the hotels were very good (luxurious for Exodus), with the Tianfu Sunshine in Chengdu being stand-out for room facilities and decor, the Bell Tower in Xi’an for location and generous room size, and the Dong Fang in Beijing for the most extensive and best quality breakfast buffet (and period charm in the historic coffee shop, courtyard, and public areas); Golden Tulip in Shanghai was also very glamorous and well-located for the Bund. Transport (bullet trains x 2, internal flight, private minibuses, and public buses) was all excellent – punctual, efficient and clean, and our trip leader, Sunny, got us to all the attractions before the busiest crowds, and marshalled us well on public transport. (There were only seven of us on my departure – five solos and one couple – which was a good number; I can imagine a full cohort of 16 would be much more challenging to manage in the busiest locations.) Food was amazingly cheap and generally good (you can eat well for a fiver, and feast for under £10; large beers cost around £1), although some of us might have liked an option once or twice to have a more upmarket and relaxed dining experience. This trip takes in all the main tourist attractions (Tian’anmen Square, Forbidden City, a section of the Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, panda breeding centre), and they were all well worth seeing, but what I enjoyed most was having some time to explore the lesser known cities, Xi’an, and Chengdu. Xi’an was my favourite, for its historic centre, and lively night-time vibe. I would have liked some more time in Shanghai (not least because I was on a quest for family history); a day and a half on the official trip itinerary is not enough for such a vibrant city, specially as we lost half a day (the group trip to Yuyuan Garden) due to heavy rain the day we arrived. Luckily, some of us had late flights on departure day, effectively giving us another post-trip day in which we were able to visit the Yu Garden independently, but it would be good if this extra day could be factored into future trip itineraries. (Personally, I’d trade Beijing for more time in Chengdu and Shanghai. I’m planning to return to Shanghai independently.) As a solo traveller, this was my first long-haul trip, and it was brilliant. Just go!

Most Inspirational Moment

So many! A few highlights: the night-time river cruise in Shanghai, with all the lights of the Bund and Pudong (currently optional, but not to be missed!); Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai; arriving in Xi'an, to feel the very different (more characterful and "Chinese") vibe after Beijing, enjoying the Muslim Quarter food street there, street markets in the Sanxue Historic Conservation Area, and exploring the City Wall; the charming People's Park in Chengdu and visiting the Sichuan opera. And watching the many young women out and about in Manchurian or Han dress in the northern cities, posing for photos at the tourist attractions - a social media phenomenon!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Sunny was very well-organised and made sure everything went according to plan. She was a fount of information about the various sights on the itinerary.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is a great trip that covers a lot of ground. You do need to be fit to manage the various transport options, while handling your luggage - stations and airports are very spacious and well-designed with escalators and lifts, so you don't have to lift things much, but you do need to be nimble for timings (and to get a good space for your luggage on the bullet trains) and able to wheel your luggage to and from the minibus, which may be parked some distance away. Take note of the restricted items on bullet trains and planes and be careful to keep batteries and power banks in your hand luggage and plug adapters in checked luggage; don't take any kind of aerosols, not even mini bug spray or deodorant, into tourist attractions - security is very tight at attractions and entrances to stations and airports, with everything being thoroughly scanned; you may be asked to fully unpack your bag if anything at all suspicious shows up. Get a good eSim with unlimited data, so you don't have to rely on hotel wifi, which can be very slow and blocks some Western sites; I had a Holafly eSim (installed before departure), which allowed me to use all my normal apps, including WhatsApp and Google Maps, which was a godsend when navigating around Chengdu and Shanghai on my own in free time. The Chinese app, Alipay, is commonly used by locals for all things, to pay by phone in shops and restaurants like Apple Pay, order food, buy transport tickets, order taxis, and to translate, but beware that it doesn't work with all UK bank cards; I had pre-installed it with my Barclays debit card, but it only worked once, and thereafter I had huge trouble with Barclays trying to get me to verify every single transaction, even £2 ice cream, even though I had tried to tell them in advance I would be in China on those dates; nightmare! Visa debit and credit cards did seem to work directly though in major outlets, with chip and PIN, but not contactless, and for cash withdrawal in machines (the machine returns your card after the cash, not before as in the UK, so don't panic!). Cash was generally acceptable in most places and is easier for splitting food bills and paying for excursions and tips, so take plenty of cash and a bank card. Pre-install WeChat for the trip's group chat. The included excursions (and optionals, such as the stage shows and river trip) were all great, but if you have time, it's worth exploring a bit further on your own, e.g. the historic areas of Xi'an and Chengdu (Kuan and Zhai Alley, about 40 mins walk from the Tianfu Sunshine Hotel, is a refurbished area of historic buildings, similar to Covent Garden, pleasant for a wander and buying gifts and souvenirs). Not much English is spoken, even at reception in the hotels, so try and work out how to use translation apps before you go (translation is included in WeChat and Alipay). Squat toilets are common in public places, so don't be surprised; there's usually at least one Western toilet as well, but you may need to queue for it - and have a good supply of tissues, as loo roll is not always provided or available inside the cubicle. Just book this trip - it's amazing!

Two trips in one!

I’m writing this two months after coming back. I’ve just finished my photobook of the trip and completing this made me realise how much fantastic stuff we saw. And how it’s like two trips in one. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are based on mountains, open spaces and some walks. Uzbekistan is cultural, four interesting cities and fantastic Islamic architecture. It’s great to have experienced both and enjoyed three new countries in one adventure.

Most Inspirational Moment

So many. Holding a golden eagle. Walking to a frozen waterfall (end April). Soviet memorials in Almaty. The Tashkent metro. The Samarkand necropolis. Climbing up to a desert castle in a sand storm!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Both guides were good, knew their stuff and were full of enthusiasm for their countries. Vitaliy has lots of experience with managing the days and groups on the Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan section. Driver Valerie was good too. Sergey has lots of experience as a guide in Uzbekistan. We were his first Exodus group so now he is 'blooded' for you!

Advice for Potential Travellers

It's a great trip - so many wonderful photos. But it's not an easy trip in terms of some of the logistics. It's a night flight to Bishkek - so we travelled a day early to be ready for the group and to see more of Bishkek (the parks were beautiful at the end of April; the state museum of history very worthwhile). Getting around is pretty easy in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan with the minibus. Uzbekistan is a bit harder as the distance travel is by train with some early starts and some late arrivals. But the trains are all part of the experience and basically you're getting to see four super cities in eight days. Compared with a longer trip to just Uzbekistan, which might be more relaxed, you've also experienced the scenery and mountains in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. So no pain no gain! Yes, there are a lot of mosques, madrasas and mausoleums but each Uzbek city is slightly different: Tashkent (the metro), Samarkand (the Registan and Necropolis), Bukhara (the Emir's palace) and Khiva (just the whole place as a unique restored city). And to get to Khiva you have a great afternoon seeing something quite different, the desert castles. We enjoyed the food, a little like Turkish. There's good beer and wine too!