Natallie was an amazing lead, she was wonderful during the entire journey, the hotels that we stayed at were nice as well. Overall a very good experience.
I was going to give this trip 4 stars but to be honest I couldn't think of any reason why it doesn't deserve 5 stars as it was an amazing holiday.
This was my first holiday of this type and it really was ace, I was lucky enough to be there with 7 other guests that were pretty awesome, we all got on pretty well and had a bit of friendly banter between us all.
I basiically put this down as a holiday of a lifetime and I will be doing more exodus trips based on how much fun I had on this one.
Mixture of hotels as per say with Explore, from full electricity to an African Hut lit by candle light. Please note accommodation is very basic compared to Western standards which Assan stressed to the group on the first day of the trip.
As mentioned in the itinerary there is a heavy emphasis on the bird life and the majority of trips are geared towards the birds. If birds are your thing then this is a trip for you.
The guide Assan is an excellent & enthusiastic birder with a comprehensive knowledge of the birds from The Gambia & Senegal.
Assan is a very open and honest guide & will relay his personal experiences of his own village life in The Gambia.
Driver Cering was excellent & ensured we were all safe & comfy on the long journeys on the bumpy African roads.
Bottled was provided on the bus along with regular local fruits.
Food wise, a lot of enthesis on fish cooked and served whole.
I am a vegetarian non fish eating and with help from Assan I never went hungry.
Local children enjoyed the sweets the group brought from the U.K.
Another excellent trip with Explore. Fascinating itinerary which helped us discover many parts of both Togo and Benin. The tour leaders, Oscar and Edmund were both excellent and gave us a great insight into these fascinating countries. Some hotels were better than others, but that is to be expected in more remote regions.
Definitely would recommend this trip. All the games drive was amazing seen loads of animals. Safari was on my bucket list for a long time and to do it was amazing.
I thought it might be useful to give a little more info about the walking on this trip as I was very concerned I had bitten off more than I could chew.
I am nearly 73, fit , for my age, woman. Used to walking but I live in Essex so am not used to hills!
I have walked in Vietnam and Georgia in the past 18 months however this trip was much more of a challenge because of altitude and heat. I was the oldest in the group of 11 with the youngest at 22(!)
Whilst three of the group reached the peak a good hour ahead and two turned back the rest of us all succeeded. It was challenging however if I can do it others can!! Very tough on knees and my advice is to get your cardio up to scratch and go for it!
Overall a fantastic trip with excellent walking, very basic camping, great food and Hery a wonderful, caring guide.
The whole trip was just a delight from start to finish, great leader (Bibi), lovely group, incredible country with such stunning and varied wildlife. I really loved the wild camping, listening to the animals around your tent at night, showering under the stars and sitting around the campfire, truly amazing. Special mention to the local camp support guys the way they looked after us and the delicious meals they dished up. The couple of long days on the road are so worth it to fully see the different habitats of Botswana.
This was a trip I enjoyed very much. Besides seeing many natural wonders, we also got a lovely tour leader Hery. No matter when and where we needed his help, he was always there available. He tried his hardest to let’s get the best from this trip in every aspect in Madagascar. He far saw the problems and prepared solutions in advance for them to make our trip possibly smoother. To the end he prepared a list of animals, insects, and plants we encountered, to enhance our knowledge and memory about the trip. Our driver and his assistant were very professional as well. The bus was always clean. They did their best to drive us safely and efficiently under the bad road conditions. I deeply appreciate their efforts.
I arrived with an injury to my rt wrist. Ridouane was exceptional in sorting me out in a local hospital. Carrier on for the 2weeks with Ridouane & group helping me when needed. Enjoyed the trip inspite of my injuries.
Mohamed (sp?) was a great guide. Said was an excellent, safe driver. Overall this was an incredible experience and I would recommend Explore without hesitation. The itinerary was very good. With the large amount of driving, stops were well thought out. The local guide in Fez was particularly good - all the guides were quite good but he stood out. Teas with the nomad family and the Berber family were amazing highlights. A few very minor points and I mention them only for completeness. Most of the hotels were quite good, but many of the rooms did not have shower curtains or glass enclosures :-). The Marrakech guide made a few too many "man/woman" jokes - not a big deal, but just so he could tone that down for next time. The desert camp was amazing - one small thing, the singers only played for a very short time compared to the other camps. But again, a very small point. As I said, this was a wonderful experience. We have travelled a lot on our own but we could not have had this kind of experience on our own. Thanks so much for a fantastic trip!
Ines, Fatima and Koffi tried really hard under very difficult circumstances to make this trip a success. Very fulfilling trip with many interesting sites and experiences. I highly recommend it.
The accommodations were variable, always clean and with hot water but some places were tired and in need of updating. Air conditioning was a must as it was hot and humid, however most were noisy and not good for a light sleeper.
The staff were always helpful and friendly.
Food in the hotels and restaurants was plentiful and there was always fish or chicken for those less adventurous, accompanied by mountains of rice or pasta.
We were able to meet the locals, often visiting their homes, and learn about their cultures and beliefs. Also how they lived off the land and produced most of the food they need for the villages and to sell at the market stalls. We were able to try our hand at weaving, dying cloth and making garments. All extremely interesting and an education.
We experienced Kayaking, canoeing, climbing through the tree canopies in the forest along rope bridges plus lots of other activities. All under the guidance and care of our very informative tour guide Oscar and driver Prince.
Our tours through the castles was quite daunting, learning how the slave trade treated people was shocking.
All in all our holiday was an exceptional experience, if not quite exhausting. We were disappointed with the lack of wildlife but was not through lack of exciting safari drives trying to find the animals, with so much else going on our cameras were never idol.
Jan and Arthur
