East Asia Small Group Trips

This was an amazing trip. We packed a lot in to 2wks. Cities, mosques, kasbahs, medinas, countryside, desert camping (including camels!), mountain villages, hikes, a fishing port. Oh, and some shopping! There were some long travel days, but they didn't feel long... the bus was comfortable (and our driver Hassan was excellent!), with frequent stops for sights / loo breaks. Also, the scenery was interesting. Our guide Mohamed was superb, one of the best we've ever had (and we've been lucky with Exodus to always have excellent guides, so the standard is high). One example... We had an unexpected issue with the bus on about day 3 which wasn't fixable locally, and we all assumed the itinerary for that day might need to change, or at least that we'd be delayed for a while. But thanks to Mohamed's organisational skills, enough taxis turned up within 20mins to take us all on to our next scheduled stop, with Mohamed following once he'd sorted a replacement bus.

This trip was unforgettable! Many people choose to do the Annapurna Circuit on their own and they mainly follow the Jeep track, which didn’t appeal to us. We were so happy and grateful that we decided to go with Exodus - we had the best guides! Sukman and his assistant guides Dipendra and Lakpa Sherpa were fantastic. We had knock knock tea in the mornings - loved that part, and followed a mix of alternate trails (that weren't well known) with certain sections along the main Jeep track. On those quieter trails, we rarely encountered other trekkers and definitely no other tour groups. We did pass herds of goats and met local people. We only saw other people along the main jeep track. Two days before reaching Thorong La Pass, we had heavy snow. Thanks to Sukman’s expertise, he made the difficult decision to backtrack immediately. Many trekkers without guides, or those who chose to wait out the storm, ended up stranded at high camp and had to be rescued. We were fortunate to make it safely off the mountain in time, though it meant rerouting the second half of our trip. Even with the detour - we thoroughly this trip thanks to the amazing team. The porters were also incredible companions. Without them, carrying all of our belongings for three weeks would have been tough!!

This was my first trip to Asia and I wanted to get an overview, so the highlights of Sri Lanka really achieved that. The trip was well planned with varied activities, to appeal to most travellers. We did have to put up with Cyclone Ditwah, which made some activities more like an endurance, but nobody could plan for that or do anything to change it. Our Sri Lanka tour guide and his team went way beyond my expectations in order to keep up safe and as comfortable as possible, under difficult circumstances. They deserve their Christmas Bonus! Personally, I would have enjoyed more time at the spice garden and I wonder what the value was of the canoe trip to the curry cooking demonstration. Perhaps it would have been fun in sunshine? The Temple of the Tooth would have been interesting when there was no ceremony going on, to better appreciate the details of the buildings etc. I felt we were intruding on a religious occasion that was of huge importance to local people. Would it be better to spend longer at sites in a smaller geographical area and reduce the travelling between sites. Moving on to the Maldives, this week was great and really hit the spot. We needed sunshine and relaxation and the pace of the week was perfect. Again, the tour guide did an excellent job and supplied us with lovely videos and photos from snorkelling trips. The food on the Dhoni Cruise was excellent, considering the kitchen space and although a bit repetitive, there was a good range to suit all palates. The crew did a great job.

Excellent itinerary showcasing the highlights of the western Cape and the Garden Route. Stunning landscapes- wild and wonderful beaches, unexpected mountain ranges and barren plains. Food was high quality and very reasonably priced, as was the wine. All accommodation was well equipped and of a high standard. Kirstenbosch gardens are lovely. Views from Table Mountain awesome. Storms river camp has a kitchenette but no tea/ coffee/ milk sachets etc so might be worth collecting some along the way. The kayaking at Storms river was well worth doing - despite my initial trepidation I loved the "motion of the ocean" and felt safe. If the opportunity arises Birds of Eden and Monkeyland sanctuaries both well worth visitiing -thanks to our guide Wern for facilitating so many different experiences.

This was a wonderful tour covering key highlights in the Golden Triangle. There were so many highlights but seeing the Taj Mahal at sunrise was very special. Mr Singh was a fabulous tour leader and our group were great company. As first time travellers to India it was an amazing introduction.

A fantastic trip made in large part by a great guide and a well-gelled group of 16 like minded individuals. Yes, it’s largely a bird watching trip but unless you genuinely have zero percent interest in our feathered friends you’ll get a lot out of it. Our guide, Assan, has a genuine passion for birds and caters well to all levels of interest. On day one Assan encouraged us to lower our expectations when it came to hotels, restaurant speed, bush toilets etc but it really wasn’t that bad. Yes, you’ll be tired, there were some early starts, long drives and whilst the tour was graded moderate, it’s pretty close to “full on” – perhaps the fact that (maybe due to the frequencies of flight connections to get to Dakar) the first day and the last day and a half of the titled 14 day trip are free and at a very nice small boutique hotel in Saly and that’s enough to bring that grading down a bit. Food is ok. You wont go hungry but may get a little tired of rice, chicken, fish and veg. And watermelon… There aren’t even many supermarkets to stock up on snacks. Just the occasional petrol station mini marts. But you need small denominations of currency. Hotels were fine. Clean and usually with at least basic wifi and some hot water and air con. The lodge just before the overnight boat trip was probably the most basic but apart from no water in the morning, the odd uninvited member of the insect world (some larger than others) and a few frogs, it was fine. Most people slept ok as we were all pretty tired. In my humble view the large resort hotel we stayed at in Senegambia was the worst, not from an amenities or cleanliness perspective but just, well, because….. Nb: get an esim (Gigsky or equivalent) if connectivity is important to you. The cellular network is pretty reliable and more secure than hotel wifi but use a vpn if you’re doing any work Tips: travel light. If you do need a morning cuppa, bring a mini travel kettle or a flask that the hotel can fill up for you the night before. Bring earplugs to use if you’re sitting at the back of the birding boats near the outboard. Take binoculars. Do try the bissap and wonjo juice. Talking of tips: when we went (late November) you didn’t need a mosquito net but a sleeping bag liner is a good idea. Brush up on your French from school. It helps. We each paid £45 into a kitty that covered a lot of things and perhaps more than on other Explore trips, including daily water and bus snacks supplied by the great driver, Ousman. The only slight surprise was that the kitty didn’t cover the driver’s end-of-trip tip which i’d normally expect it to. So we had to cover his tip individually on top like the guide’s. But he was worth it. Do buy cheap stuff from the street-side ‘shops’, even if you don’t want anything. That said, you probably don’t need as much money as the trip notes imply unless you do want a lot of souvenirs. I got £150 or so equivalent from the airport atm and changed maybe 100 euros later and that lasted me fine. The itinerary worked well and we saw a lot. Yes, lots of birds but lots too of the wider countries. It was my first time in this part of the world so I was surprised by how colourful the place was. The kids especially were a delight. I’m very conscious of and trying really hard not to come across all patronising and white privilege here but the simple life here amongst the poverty, with close knit family values really resonated with me. Also the fact that muslims, christians and other tribal groups were happy living side by side. The people had little but were so very friendly. Show any desire to talk about English football and you’ll be there for hours! Don’t worry about the overnight boat trip. Take an eye mask and earplugs or ear defenders. And a head-torch. It really was a highlight for me just meandering down the river. The other highlight for me was the horse-drawn ride through Fishermen’s Village in st louis. Oh, and the mad dash for the banjul ferry! Assan kept us entertained and informed on the long drives sharing information on the history politics and geography of the region; was careful to tell us when we could and could not take pictures (eg near the many military checkpoints we passed) along with some very personal and moving stories of his own life. Slavery of course is a recurring theme that you meet everywhere and at times very challenging for this Explorer. All these aspects for me at least painted a broader and more vibrant picture of a place that I had my preconceptions of. Its worth saying that Assan also had an occasional pop quiz where points were awarded on a somewhat arbitrary basis (well that’s what I’m saying as I didn’t “win”!) This part of the world isn’t the easiest to be as environmentally responsible as some would perhaps like to be. Theres a lot of rubbish. However, Assan and Ousman were aware of this and we did all try to recycle our water bottles at least. Be aware that generally speaking the horses pulling the carts are treated ok-ish, the donkeys not so much. It varies of course but can be a little upsetting. A few folk had colds of varying severity and a bit of “Banjul Belly” but thankfully nothing too serious and no malaria. Cough sweets useful as colds seemed to get worse due to frequent changes between places with and without air con Nb: you will need to show your yellow fever certificate to get back into Senegal once you’ve finished in the Gambia. I can’t say I’m in a mad rush to go back to this part of the world but so glad I came on this trip and saw what I did with Assan and (as he referred to us) our new extended family. I totally recommend this